Join the world of "Artemis Fowl", the number one bestseller by Eoin Colfer. Rumour has it Artemis Fowl is responsible for every major crime of the new century. Just twelve years old and already he's a criminal genius, plotting to restore his family's fortune with a spot of corruption and kidnapping. Kidnapping a fairy for ransom, to be precise. Artemis Fowl has discovered a world below ground of armed and dangerous - and extremely high-tech - fairies. But he may have underestimated their powers. They will fight back. Is the boy about to trigger a cross-species war? Let the misadventure begin. "Fast-paced, tongue in cheek ...laugh-out-loud". ("Sunday Times"). "A huge hit". ("The Guardian"). "Artemis is a brilliant creation". (Anthony Horowitz). Winner of the WHSmith Children's Book of the Year Award and Children's Book of the Year at the Children's Book Awards. It is shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year Award. Eoin Colfer was born and raised in Wexford in the south-east of Ireland. He began writing plays at an early age and, as an adult, continued to write. "Artemis Fowl", his first book featuring the brilliant young anti-hero, was an immediate international bestseller and won several prestigious awards.