The Lost Colony
Year: 2006
Author: Eoin Colfer
Length: 504 minutes / 8.40 hours
A good fantasy series knows that it needs to keep building its lore as it progresses past its first few volumes. Some might start to sag around the fifth volume, but The Lost Colony doubles down and introduces a whole new species into its universe: demons. The fact that these creatures are both tied to the fairies that have comprised the series up to now and have their own set of rules that tracks with traditional demon lore is a testament to the research that went into this series.
Of course, introducing demons into the series this late in the game isn’t necessarily what makes The Lost Colony good. Rather, it’s the introduction of a rival for Artemis—who also has the potential to be a rival in love against Holly Short. The last few books in the Artemis Fowl series felt like an episodic “deus ex machina” that didn’t change much in the grand scheme of the main character’s life. The Lost Colony recognizes it’s time for Artemis to grow up and pushes a surprising ending with the potential for character growth in subsequent books.
I’m actually a little surprised that it took five books to get to this point. Most of the character development had been simmering beneath the surface for quite a few books before this one. However, introducing a new character in the form of a demon imp certainly helped keep the focus on more interesting things while also minimizing some of the more childish moments (which are still there, as this is a series for children). Overall, The Lost Colony seems to be a turning point in the Artemis Fowl series, and I look forward to where it goes from here.
Fresh worldbuilding and character development for the Artemis Fowl series, I give The Lost Colony 4.0 stars out of 5.
