Bookworms who grew up in the 2000s are likely to remember having read an Artemis Fowl book. After all, there were several of them, and, having a 12-year-old criminal mastermind as the main character, the series seems to have anticipated the increased demand for morally grey rather than purely good leads, as we see in YA of the 2010s such as The Grishaverse books. A breath before the release of another chapter of The Fowl Adventures, can we expect yet another book in the future?
Artemis FowlOverview
For the uninitiated, The Fowl Adventures is a YA fantasy series penned by Irish author Eoin Colfer. The first and best-known novel – that came out in 2021 – expertly combines a cunning, genius protagonist, a heist, and fairies! Young Artemis Fowl is keeping the family's criminal empire going, but he didn't know what he signed up for when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short, who is nothing like the Fair Folk fairy tales told us about.
Combining unexpected elements works really well in fantasy, all the more so when a series is well-written, with interesting characters and consistent themes. While the book is concerned with good ol' good vs evil, this is touched in a light-hearted manner, without being annoyingly didactic.
Greed is also a theme the author intended to explore, as Artemis must make choices that will shake his own image of himself as an evil genius. The author has stated that he wanted to tackle the moral dilemma of doing something bad for gain, versus showing kindness without gain. By the last book in the series, Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian (2012) the main character is a changed hero, who is much more willing to make sacrifices for a good cause.
In 2010, a little before the publication of this last book Eoin Colfer talked about his intention to end the series, concluding: "I've grown fond of Artemis. I'll be reluctant to leave that world."
In a sense, Colfer made good of this promise, as he indeed ended Artemis' story in 2012. However, the reluctance to leave the masterminds' world translated into the expansion, from Artemis Fowl to Fowl Adventures. In 2019, a spin-off about Artemis' younger brothers, twins Myles and Beckett, came out. Like its predecessor, the series is generally well-received, suggesting that, despite the largely failed movie adaptation, this is still a profitable series that, however, true to its theme, won't sacrifice quality for gain.
Will There Be Another Artemis Fowl Book in 2021?
Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian (2012) has an ending that felt complete and appropriate. In that sense, writing another book that would change it, would likely mean to do Artemis an injustice. The same cannot be said for the adventures of his younger brothers though, as the story of the Fowl Twins is still going strong. The Fowl Twins Deny All Charges came out in 2020, and it was fun as always.
As of 2021, we can expect one more Fowl Twins book: Get What We Deserve has a November 23, 2021 release date on Goodreads and it promises to be Myles and Beckett's "most bizarre adventure yet."
In the blurb, we read:
"For almost two years, Lord Teddy Bleedham-Drye, the Duke of Scilly, has been plotting revenge against the Fowl Twins, who humiliated him in Book One. Teddy plans to give them exactly what they deserve: permanent death.
He threatens Myles with his weaponized jet and Beckett and Specialist Lazuli succeed in disarming the aircraft and causing an accident that kills the duke. But does it really?"
Related:Will There Be Another Percy Jackson Book? 2021 Updates and Everything We Know So Far
Will this be the last we see of the Fowl clan? With the latest book not out yet, it's hard to tell. The author seems to be conscious of his commitment to the writing vocation and doesn't want to trivialize it completely. About writing The Fowl Twins, as well as completely different projects, he stated:
‘It would probably be a lot easier if I was on Artemis 15 by now. I just find I get bored, and if I get bored, the work suffers.'
It gets deceptively easy to lean on existing worlds and characters, but one needs to know the right time to say goodbye, so we trust that the author will continue the Fowl Adventures if he truly has more stories to tell.