Well, what a let down. The first book, while not a favorite, was pretty interesting. A friend and I decoded the message on the bottom, and I was really looking forward to reading the sequel. It took me FOREVER to get through this book. It is amazing that the two plot lines, which could have been interesting, actually lulled me to sleep while reading. I think the author tried to cram too much information into too short a story. The plots should have been seperated to be more fully developed if Colfer was aiming at a certain book length. OR, he should have kept them together and just made the book longer. Either way, the characters and story were underdeveloped and I was confused at times and unable to visualize what was happening.

Now I have a problem. Do I read the third book? I hate to quit a series, but I don't want to suffer through book 3 if it is anything like the second. Also, I am interested in what happens to Artemis' father. We'll see. Maybe some day down the road I will pick up the third book.