In the first book of this series Colfer introduced us to the genius-criminal mind of Artemis Fowl. The enterprising teenager was able to steal a fair amount of gold from the fairies, in his quest to return his family to its proper place and recover his father. But we also got to see a more human side of Artemis and understand that he was not exactly as he was portraying himself to the rest of the world. In this book these traits start to come out more and more. We know that Artewmis' father has disappeared in an accident a couple of year ago and that there have been no news about his situation. In this book we are taken back in time to presence the moment in which a group of Russians fish a man out of the water in the Arctic Circle. The man shows sever frostbite but is alive and has personal effects that suggest he is extremely wealthy. Is it Artermis' father? Artemis certainly believes so. He gets a video via email that shows the battered man with a sign around his neck saying Zvdravstvutye syn (Hello son) and a request for ransom. He immediately starts the preparations to get his father back home. In the meantime, closer to the center of the Earth, the fairy world is rocked. Captain Holly Short has been placed on surveillance following the unfortunate Fowl incident. She is not happy with this, but she is in the right place, because there is an attack by the B'wa Kell (the goblin army). The most disturbing fact is that they are using class A-human technology, which means that have been dealing with Mud Men. Holly immediately suspects Artemis is involved, or maybe she just wants that to be true. These events throw Artemis and his faithful and skilled bodyguard, Butler, together with the fairies once more. All our favorite characters are back, including Captain Short, Root, Foaley the Centaur, and Mulch the dwarf. The action is fast-paced and there are plenty of twists and turns along the way. I think that the author took great strides in terms of character development in this installment and that gives him high points in my book. There is only one thing that bothered me and that is a fault I have seen many times before, especially in movies. Mistakes related to chess. In this case, the author trying to show Artemis' genius mentions that he beat a Grandmaster in six moves, which of course is silly. I should be used to these by now, but they still make me cringe. This series is looking great, and I am already eager to read the next book. What will happen with Artemis in terms of his good vs. evil battle? I bet this is a question that most readers are asking themselves.