And Another Thing...(Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Book 6) by Eoin Colfer (3.5/5 stars)

This is the 6th part of 3 in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. Douglas Adams always wanted to have a sixth book in the series; and Eoin Colfer (best know for the Artemis Fowl series) was the writer chosen to write this sixth book. Overall it was an okay book. I read the original books so long ago that I had trouble comparing this book to the original. This book was very creative and had a similar tone to it that the previous books had. I found it hard to stay engaged in the story though with all the sidetracking that was going on.

Arthur, Ford, Random, and Trillian have spent a while living a life that they weren't really living. They awake to find that the alternate Earth that they are on is going to be destroyed; very familiar to the first book! They are rescued at the last minute by Zaphod who is piloting the Heart of Gold. Of course, things go wrong on The Heart of Gold and they are then about to die again when they are rescued by the immortal Bowerick. Bowerick agrees to help them if they can find a way to kill him. Zaphod readily agrees. From there they are off to the planet of Gods to convince Thor to kill Bowerick. The other part of the story involves the leader of the planet Nano and his search for a God for his planet; as the last colony of humans this story eventually ties in with the one involving Arthur and folks.

This was an interesting story. The plot is creative and the Guide Notes as intriguing and somewhat useless as they always were. The tone of the book seemed in keeping with the previous books (although my memory on the previous books is a bit vague). Still despite the non-stop action and constant stream of creative prattle, I had trouble staying engaged in this book.

Maybe it is because I haven't been involved with these characters in a long time, but I have trouble staying engaged in the characters or their story. Part of the problem was that it was like the story had ADD, it just couldn't stay going in one direction for very long. I remember the original books kind of being like that, but I think this was worse. With the interruptions of facts from the Guide occurring almost every page (okay, probably every other page) the continuity of the story was constantly interrupted. The story itself also schizophrenically switches between different characters and different locations.

Overall this was a somewhat interesting read. It kept with the humorous writing of the original series and had the constant splattering of odd and miscellaneous facts that I remember in previous books. I had trouble getting through the book though because neither the story nor the characters could really keep my interest. I think plot was a little to minced up and unfocused for me. I guess if you are a big fan of the series I would read this book; definitely don't use this book as an entry into the series...you will be totally confused if you do. The original four books still remain the best in my mind. Let's hope that this is the last we see of new books to the HHG2G series.

The Time Paradox (Artemis Fowl Book 6) by Eoin Colfer (3/5 stars)

This was the 6th book in the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. Sounds like this is going to be the last Artemis Fowl book for a while. There is mention of Colfer writing a seventh book in a couple years, but right now no more books after that seventh one. This was a pretty good book although I didn't like it as much as the previous books.

Artemis Fowl's mother comes down with a mysterious illness that can only be cured with the brain fluid of a specific type of lemur that Artemis himself helped to make extinct four years ago. In order to save his mother Artemis must travel back in time to confront himself and save the lemur. To accomplish this he will need the assistance of many of his old friends; No. 1 and Holly Short are both back to help him.

This book was okay. I didn't think it was as well put together as some of the previous books. It is interesting to read about Artemis as he tries to grow comfortable in his "good-guy" role. From the description of the book I thought we would be treated to moredialogue where Artemis banters with himself, but that really didn't happen. There were a number of times where everything was going well and then oops! something went wrong. In fact this happened so many times in the course of the book that it became kind ofpredictable and I thought made the book much lengthier than it needed to be.

I missed Foaly who was absent through most of the book. I also missed Artemis being clever and all the neat gadgets that the faeries usually bring into play. All the characters were a bit mushy and weak throughout and the witty dialogue that usually packs the pages of these books was conspicuously absent.

Although I liked this book and enjoyed reading it; I think it was one of the weakest books of the series. Most things are tied up at the end of this book, but there are a couple large clif hangers that could fuel a plot for another book. Unfortunately I think Colfer is sick of writing this series and it came across in this book; the characters seemed tired and desperate and the plot did not carry me forward and excite me like it usual does.

Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer (3/5 stars)

This looks to be the first in a new series by Eoin Colfer. I am not actually sure if a new series is planned but the way the book ends would lead you to believe the potential is there.

Fletcher Moon is a certified detective that is pulled into a case where he ends up being one of the main culprits. I could take more time to describe the storyline but I think it would bore you because in general I found this book to be pretty boring.

This is nothing fantastical about this book, it is a straight detective story. While Moon is occasionally clever; he more often stumbles upon things than he actually conceives them. In fact I thought Fletcher himself was one of the less interesting characters in the book. Fletcher's older sister and Red were by far more interesting than Fletcher.

The book was well-written and an easy read. I did not find the storyline especially creative or surprising; I figured out who the criminal was early on in the book and was very disappointed when I was right...I had been hoping for some fun twists.

The only other Colfer books that I have previously read are the Artemis Fowl books. The Artemis Fowl series is leagues more interesting and creative than this series. Artemis Fowl himself is a much more intriguing character; the supporting cast of that series is also much more fun.

I won't be reading any more books in this series. I am curious as to whether or not other Colfer books (outside of Artemis Fowl) are more interesting than this book. I *do* eagerly await the next Fowl book.

The Lost Colony (Artemis Fowl Book 5) by Eoin Colfer (4/5 stars)

The Artemis Fowl books have continued to be a great series to read. For some reason I always start reading these books with a bit of reluctance because they are, after all, kids books. A few pages into the book though I am always hooked again; this continues to be the case.

In this book Artemis calculates that the time warped island that demons live on is slowly unraveling. He is attempting to prove his calculation by detaining a time warped demon. With a demon as proof he is hoping that fairykind will take him seriously and take action to save the demon race. When he shows up at the next demon appearance he finds that he is not he only one who has made calculations about demon appearances. A girl Artemis's age, name Minerva, kidnaps the displaced demon in hopes of completing research on the demon and hopefully winning the Noble Prize. Of course everyone's plans end up collapsing and chaos ensues.

The book is action packed and non-stop intellectual fun from the beginning to the end. The new characters introduced are wonderful. Minerva is the perfect female counterpart to Artemis and No.1, who revels in his new found English vocabulary, is a hoot. The whole gang is back and ready to deliver. Holly is in for a lot of action and Foaly has a whole new bag of tricks in his hands..er...I mean hoofs. Artemis is taking his turn as a "good guy" seriously and his new outlook on life really endears him to the reader. The addition of Minerva as a possible love interest is very interesting. Finally Artemis has someone to laugh at quark jokes with.

This is another fun book that further enhances the Artemis Fowl series. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

Here is a link to this book on amazon: