As in the Artemis Fowl series, I like Colfer's Pratchett-like dry wit and his techie take on the fairy folk, but this new set of Fowl and Fairy adventures fell just a bit short for me.

Artemis's 11-year-old twin brothers, Myles and Beckett, are basically minding their own business at home when a hapless Fairy creature intrudes. Hapless Fairy creatures naturally attract earnest Fairy cleanup crews and humans with nefarious intent. Myles and Beckett naturally rise to the occasion, taking the whole adventure posse on a wild romp.

I really like the way Myles's and Beckett's different intelligences are celebrated, but overall I needed more from the plot and characters. Myles is insufferable, and though he fiercely and genuinely loves his brother, he has quite a ways to go in understanding and respecting him. Beckett is ridiculous, and though he has a delightfully madcap genius of his own, he has quite a ways to go in communicating that to others. (Ironically.) Lazuli, our Fairy liaison, is boring, and though she has the potential of an interesting backstory and personality, in her current state she definitely can't carry the Fairy side alone. (I miss Foaley and the others. And NANNI is no substitute for a Butler!)

It reads more like an opening chapter than a fully formed foray into a new part of a familiar world. But even opening chapters are worth 3 stars when they're in the Fowl and Fairy world!