Skip to main content

Final Book Review: The Last Guardian(Artemis Fowl #8)





@kangjason on Deviantart

This is part of a series where I review final books in series. Part of this post was published on The Lakehouse Forums earlier this month.

Earlier this month, I read one of my most- and least-anticipated books of the year. Artemis Fowl and The Last Guardian. Most anticipated, because Artemis Fowl is my favorite series ever. The books are hysterical, poignant, suspenseful, engaging, and just enjoyable to read. I really didn't want this series to end, but after reading The Last Guardian,  I'm a bit glad that it did.

My deepest regret is to say that it was not, in fact, a slam dunk for this series. The general fan response has been favorable, but I was a bit disappointed. The book is a notable departure from the rest of the series.

The characters are mostly spot on, as usual. And it doesn't fail to make you laugh! Eoin Colfer is still the funniest and best writer(although perhaps not plotter) ever! The narration is amazing as usual.


The main thing I disliked(same problem with the book before, Atlantis Complex) was lack of plot complexity. It's still a relatively good plot compared to the field of children/YA fiction, but compared to the first six books in the series, with layers upon layers of intrigue and pwningness and defeating different antagonists/conflicts consecutively as well as simultaneously(there has been a lot of comparison with Opal Deception, where reading was like watching an intricate chess game between the two geniuses), it's just not as stunningly woven.

They went a little far with Artemis's redemptive spirit..he turns out sorta like a pansy. It's great that he's redeemed and all, but if you're like me, you kind of miss the days when he was just a deliciously-awesome ruthless evil genius. Now, he's just like SAVE ALL THE LIVES.

There are some GLARINGLY MAJORLY OBVIOUS continuity errors. They aren't really vital to the plot, but they do make you wince a bit.

My favorite part of these books was always the part when Artemis's "ace in the hole" big plan climax, was revealed. This book had one, but it wasn't as climactic as it could have been.

The ENDING. If you've read this book, you'll know what I'm talking about. The-the ending..it's just...ajfd;lsjfl;asdfjsdl;ajkfklasd. it's very.....different. Not really that "ahh, wipe away a tear" feeling I like at the end of books...it was more like "....?!!! huh? what the heck did I just read" At first when I finished reading it I was ready to flip a table at how darn weird and unnatural the ending seemed. I was convinced that someone had kidnapped Eoin Colfer and wrote the ending under his name, not to mention upset that the amazingly beautiful series that was Artemis Fowl had to endure that kind of ending.  I read it several times over and I guess I sort of warmed up to it...  the ending's not terrible...it's either very predictable or totally not predictable, depending on who you are.  It is predictable, I guess...but it still catches you by surprise in the "I-can't-believe-they-are-really-gonna-do-that-wait-did-that-seriously-just-happen???" way.  Of course Artemis Fowl was gonna end in a way that wasn't the usual book ending, but...it was just woah.

So how did it rank on my series ending scoresheet?

Break from tradition: 5/10 
The beginning and middle of the book was a bit like watching a replay of scenes from all the previous books stitched together, except with a different setting. They didn't really do anything special-someone important escapes, makes big plan to end civilization, Arty&co go to stop that plan, chaos ensues, Mulch saves the day, etc.

The end of the book was really......something. It certainly broke from tradition.

Climax of the series: 6/10
The world was certainly in more chaos than it had been in previous AF novels. The disaster/destruction did feel a little rushed.

As for "Artemis's biggest challenge yet", my frustration is that we never really got the chance to find out whether this Opal(alright, you know it's Opal if you've read the back cover) is Artemis's biggest intellectual match, or if she's just sheer numbers and luck. We only get a couple limited scenes with Opal's power, and no scenes with Opal's intellect versus Artemis's, unlike say, the Temple of Artemis scenes in The Opal Deception.

If I had to pick Artemis's greatest challenge, I guess it would have to technically be this one. If someone explained his situation to you, you would agree that he was pretty screwed. The book has a desperate feeling to it, which was nice although a bit depressing.
 
Suspense: 8/10
The suspense was mostly waiting to see what Artemis's plan would be. It didn't seem as urgent and I didn't read as hurriedly as I read the other books, although it is properly suspenseful and driven as a series as high-quality as AF should be. Artemis's plot and the subsequent reveal felt supremely rushed.

Deaths: 3/10
I say nothing. Besides the fact that I was disappointed with the deaths in the novel, how they were resolved, and the emotion they left behind. Deaths should make me feel angry/sad/moved, and I didn't.

"Ahhh" feeling. 7/10
I think the proper term is catharsis or closure. I wish there were more closure. I can't say anything about the ending without spoiling it for you. Nevertheless, most fans that have read it, I believe, either find it horrible or find it perfect.

One thing I really loved was that for each character, there were very short passages sprinkled throughout the book providing a perspective on them over the whole series. It's like each character is sort of closed off individually throughout the book, and the result is very unique and touching.

Overall: 7/10


 I agree with those who said that the series should have ended at The Time Paradox, as Atlantis Complex and this book just weren't up to par with the brilliance that was the beginning of the series. Nothing could make me love the series any less or tarnish that brilliance. The series is still a head above any other series in the field, but it wasn't quite the explosive ending we fans had hoped for.

Stay tuned for Kane Chronicles #3 The Serpent's Shadow review coming after this!

Comments

  1. I have no words for how much TLG disappointed me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I haven't red it yet (i'm from Argentina and "Time Paradox" and "Atlantis Complex" cannot be found here, so i downloaded them, but i can't find this one yet) but i kind of said "WTF??? this was made just to earn money and not to write a nice book" when i read the Atlantis Complex. I was disappointed with the 7th book. The narration is not the same as the other books, it felt like more sloppy, as if he didn't dedicate time to the narration and focused on the (poor) story. The dead Captain's brother came out of nowhere, Creatures died just like nothing would happen and everything seems poorly developed.
    To me, it felt like what you said, like someone had kidnapped Eoin Colfer and wrote the book under his name.
    Well, i'll have to read this book and see what happens...

    ReplyDelete
  3. I recently read the final book, and I must admit that after all the anticipation for the final conflict, I was depressingly disappointed.
    It feels like there was still a lot left untold, such as the fate of all the more minor (but essential) characters, eg. Mulch, Juliette, Foaly, etc and how their lives would continue from there
    Also, I always have a lot of respect for authors brave enough to kill off their main character, and it usually leaves me depressingly exhilarated (if that makes sense). However, I believe the worst thing an author can do is take it halfway- it seems like Colfer began to kill off his main, and then chickened out and tried to bring him back to life. Even worse, he replaced our much loved Arty with a memoryless, empty-eyed clone. I was heartbroken.
    It was also horribly rushed, and honestly, after all the implications in the Time Paradox, I was really hoping the final book would give some more suggestion as to where the romance between Artemis and Holly would lead. Disappointed again.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can't help but agree with this reveiw. The book...it seemed like it was almost...empty...compared to the first six. It wasn't as entrancing and the plot was not twisted, confusing, and complex as it should have been. Heartbreak returned when they replaced Artemis' body with a lifeless clone. What did they do with his real body? Just leave it burried? Why did they have to use the clone? Why not use his original body? His body went through so much! And I have a feeling that if he were real he would be going on more adventures, but I felt that after Colfer stoped writing, the charactors just...in a way...died...what happened after? Did they all live a normal average life in Fowl manor? Did they move out? More adventures? I was lost and confused. I almost don't want to start on W.A.R.P. Because I feel like Artemis isn't over yet, and i feel like he still has more to say. The book was empty. That's all there is to say on the matter

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Amaranthine <3's you. Thanks for the comment!

Popular posts from this blog

three amazing--and relatively little known--psalms

So I'm reading Psalms in the Bible right now. Well, Psalms is one of the three places I read from. I'm reading the Bible all the way through and read two chapters from three places--the Old Testament, the middle of the Old Testament, and the New Testament--every day. I'm in Deuteronomy and Romans in the other sections, but in the middle I'm still right where I started from-Psalms. Cause Psalms is really really long. I was getting kind of tired of Psalms(which isn't really the right attitude to be reading the Bible in). But I realized there are some really breathtaking passages in Psalms, and I'm glad I read them. These are my three favorites: *Buck Forester on Flikr Psalm 65 This one is about God's spectacular creation. What mighty praise, O God,      belongs to you in Zion. We will fulfill our vows to you, 2       for you answer our prayers.      All of us must come to you. 3  Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,      you forgive them a

Ciel Phantomhive vs. Artemis Fowl

  Don't laugh. XD The similarities between the two characters are so distinct and obvious that comparison is inevitable for anyone who's read/watched both series. I seriously thought when I first noticed Black Butler(more popularly referred to as Kuroshitsuji) that it was literally an anime adaption of Artemis Fowl.  Other people have read Artemis Fowl and thought "CIEL HAS A CLONE??!?" So I thought I'd outline some of the differences and analyze who would win. XD Similarities: Appearance:  This is the first similarity, and one of the most major, because if they didn't look so darn alike I don't think the comparison would have been as striking. The above picture of Artemis is a fanart, because there aren't really any good pictures of Artemis, and the manga style makes it more obvious. They are both from the British Isles and have black hair and blue eyes. Both of them lose/change/switch an eye resulting in two different colors. 

I need book recommendations!

    I heard this movie stunk. C'mon, I'm dying over here! In other, unrelated news, want to hear one of the most overrated book series I've ever read is? Alex Rider. I picked up Stormbreaker after legions of people going "READ ITZ AMARANTHINE TIS AMAZING". It was alright....I guess. I didn't...fall asleep or anything. But it was definitely not mind blowing. For starters, Alex is way underdeveloped as a character. He was a little funny and relate able but not on the same level as I was expecting. And he's a bit cliched in the fact that he's just generally smart and knows everything, without any explanation or emphasis. I guess you could say that he's only a genius when he needs to be, and it doesn't add any other levels to the story. Oh, and did I mention that he's well versed in martial arts too? Yeah. Ender could still kick his butt though. I guess it would be a good read for boys who don't read much. Definitely not YA lev