The Eternity Code (Artemis Fowl, Book 3)

After being held prisoner for years, Artemis Fowl's father has finally come home. He is a new man-an honest man, much to Artemis's horror. He makes his son promise to give up his life of crime, and Artemis has to go along with it. But not until he has completed one last scheme. Artemis has constructed a super-computer from stolen fairy technology. Called the "C Cube," it will render all existing human technology obsolete. He arranges a meeting with a powerful Chicago businessman, Jon Spiro, to broker a deal for the C Cube. But Spiro springs a trap-he steals the C Cube and mortally injures Butler. Artemis knows his only hope of saving his loyal bodyguard is to employ fairy magic; so once again he must contact his old rival, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon fairy police. It is going to take a miracle to save Butler, and Artemis's luck may have just run out.

In this third installment to Eoin Colfer's funny, fast-paced, fairy-filled adventure series, boy genius and arch criminal Artemis Fowl once again can't resist plotting the perfect crime--and, once again, he can't keep from stirring up so much trouble that the fate of the entire fairy world teeters in the balance.

The once hard-boiled Artemis has softened a bit between his bestselling debut and the seat-of-your-pants Arctic Incident, and that trend continues in The Eternity Code: He's still plotting for a billion-dollar-plus payoff for the Fowl family, but now his enemies are human (chiefly Jon Spiro, a ruthless businessman Artemis tries to blackmail using stolen fairy technology) and he has to turn to his old adversary-turned-friend Captain Holly Short and cutpurse dwarf Mulch Diggums for help. The dialogue and action prove as smart and page-turning as ever this time around, with Artemis struggling to bring his faithful bodyguard Butler back from the dead before racing Mission Impossible-style to triple-cross the double-crossing Spiro.

Colfer's young antihero might be getting more likeable all the time, but that hasn't taken the edge off the Tom-Clancy-meets-Harry-Potter action. Artemis has to agree to a memory-erasing "mind wipe" from the People after helping them recover their technology, but only a foolish fan would count Artemis out after this blockbuster "final heist." Book four can't come soon enough.... (Ages 9 to 12) --Paul Hughes