THE SOLARIUM

Ten Words: Battle of the butlers! Big, buff bodyguards abound (also bullets.)

Or More: This one’s my favorite of the earlier Artemis Fowl books. The humor is top-notch (Eternity Code might flat-out be the funniest book in the series as a whole), Artemis, Holly, and co. are firmly established as friends, which gives their constant snarking at one another an underlying sense of warmth that makes it all the more enjoyable to read, and the opening is EXPLOSIVE, to say the least.

If I hadn’t read Lost Colony first, Butler almost dying at the start would’ve devastated child-me. Honestly, even knowing that he obviously survived somehow couldn’t take away that tension at the beginning, nor did it diminish the emotional impact of him telling Artemis his name. It is kind of a goofy name, though. I’m not a Russian expert or anything, but I do speak the language–domovoi are house guardian spirits, but not really cool, badass ones (at least not in the folklore I’ve seen), and it isn’t really used as a name, either, to my knowledge. Well, whatever. I get to imagine Butler having a Russian accent, so I’m not going to complain.

I will say, looking back, what has made his “death” in this book feel a little silly to me is how Butler’s heart stopping is basically the free space on a “things that happen in an Artemis Fowl book” bingo card. How many times does someone give Artemis the “his heart stopped… he’ll never be the same…” speech only for Butler to be Exactly The Same in the following book? Someone give this poor man a break.

This really is the first adventure Artemis goes on without Butler by his side, which gives it a certain gravitas, and it’s interesting to see him caught between his instinctive selfishness and budding morality, eventually coming down on the side of good. What a nice redemption arc! It sure would be a shame if something happened to it . . .

Sigh-inducing ending aside (there’s a universe out there where the Artemis Fowl series is a trilogy, and it’s a more logical universe than this one), where this book really shines is in the scenes in Spiro Tower. The break-in/heist/rescue of it all is a ton of fun. Artemis’s schemes are cleverer than ever, and genuinely unsettling in places, despite his pivot toward morality.

I also love that Juliet is included more this go-around! It’s fun to see Holly struggle to reign in someone who disregards rules even more blatantly than she does, Juliet has amazing comedic chemistry with Mulch, and her personal struggles are compelling. In a cast full of characters who know exactly who they are and what they want, Juliet’s a little unsure, despite her outward confidence. She doesn’t fit the role of a bodyguard as seamlessly as her big brother–and, really, who could? She reads as ADHD-coded to me–difficulty focusing, impulsivity, sounds about right. Don’t get too attached, though–you won’t be seeing her for another *checks watch* four books.

As frustrated as I am by the mind-wipe at the end halfway undoing Artemis’s growth and unraveling the increasingly tight-knit camaraderie between the characters, I’m glad the book ends with the promise of more adventures. The Eternity Code is an excellent addition to the series, but, in my opinion, the best is yet to come.