Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer

Have you ever wondered what ever happened with the Artemis Fowl series? Well, I did. I remembered after book three Colfer said he wasn't going to write any more Artemis Fowl books. Then there was book number four and book number five, etc.

Well, I did keep up with the releases for quite some time until about four or five years ago. So in checking back in to bring my collection up to date, imagine my not-so-great-surprise to find that there was yet another Artemis Fowl book.

The plot of this book (the seventh in the series?) centers around our high-brow friend developing a mental disorder--which is actually well-timed as he comes into his teenage years. If this were reality, that's probably about when he would start manifesting symptoms. Of course, you can't just give Artemis Fowl a real mental disorder; you have to magic him up something special. Apparently, through all of his misdeeds, the little villain has developed an Atlantis Complex, something quite similar to obsessive compulsive disorder.

"If the old Artemis could see the new Artemis, the old Artemis would die of embarrassment."

As much as I hate to giggle over hyperbole and the actions of someone with a serious mental disorder…Well, the reality is that this isn't a "serious" disorder--it's fictitious--so I guess I can feel okay admitting that it was pretty funny to see Artemis devolve into a paranoid, illogical mess. It was even funnier seeing him develop "multiple personalities."

The psych major in me is horrified.

The book is as good as any of the later Artemis Fowl books. Not a treasure, by any means, but a solid read. I do wish it didn't quite induce so much giggling; I feel like that's sending the wrong message about psychological disorders to children. The good news is that Artemis Fowl may be turning over a new leaf (pun intended--you'll get it if you read it) and saving the world (but really, what else is new?).

~7/10~