I was really impressed with the second book. It was a fantastic sequel to the original. I was most impressed with Colfer's transition of Artemis from the criminal mastermind to the criminal mastermind who can also be a good guy. When you read the first book it's hard to imagine that Artemis is only twelve years old, and the sequel does a fantastic job of reminding the reader that he's a genius, but still a young boy looking for his father. The series is better than I expected, and I can't wait to read the next one.