50 Fun Facts About Artemis Fowl

Who wrote the Artemis Fowl books?

He was a primary school teacher in Wexford before the series made him a full-time writer.

How did the author famously pitch the first book?

Holly Short was based on John McClane and Holly Gennero, and Artemis on Hans Gruber.

How old is Artemis in the first book?

He claims to have the highest IQ ever tested in Europe, but no coordination or athletic ability.

Which elf does Artemis kidnap in the first book?

She is the first female officer in the LEP's reconnaissance division, LEPrecon.

What ransom does Artemis demand for the kidnapped elf?

He keeps half the gold and spends his one wish on curing his mother's madness.

What does LEP stand for?

Its reconnaissance branch is LEPrecon, a pun the humans got wrong for centuries.

What is the first name of Artemis's bodyguard, known only to Artemis and his sister?

He is the third-best martial artist on the planet, behind a Pacific island monk and his own uncle.

What is the name of Butler's younger sister?

She appears in most of the books and is possessed by a fairy warrior spirit in the finale.

What kind of creature is Foaly, the LEP's technical genius?

He wears a foil hat to block human mind-probing technology and delights in annoying Commander Root.

What kind of fairy is the villain Opal Koboi?

She built Koboi Laboratories to crush her father's company and hates Foaly for beating her in a college science contest.

What kind of fairy is the kleptomaniac Mulch Diggums?

Stealing from humans cost him his magic, but he kept enough of the gift of tongues to speak 'American dog'.

What nickname does Commander Root's ruddy face earn him?

He hates being called Julius, especially by Foaly.

In which book is Commander Root killed?

Koboi kills him with a bomb and frames Holly for it.

Where does Artemis obtain the fairies' holy book from an alcoholic sprite?

He decodes the Gnommish text with translation software and learns how fairies restore their magic.

What must a fairy plant to replenish magic in the ritual Artemis decodes?

It must be taken near a river bend under a full moon; Artemis staked out 129 possible sites.

In what language is the Book of the People written?

Mulch claims all tongues trace back to it, which is why he retains the gift of tongues.

What does Commander Root use to lay siege to Fowl Manor in the first book?

Artemis claims he can escape it, and he does, by sleeping through it under sedation.

Which creature does Cudgeon release into Fowl Manor to force Artemis's hand?

Holly had captured the same rogue troll on the surface at the start of the book.

Who is holding Artemis's father captive in the second book?

The LEP first suspects Artemis of organising the B'wa Kell goblin rebellion before they team up.

What is the name of the goblin gang that rises up in the second book?

They are armed and manipulated by Koboi and the disgraced officer Briar Cudgeon.

What is the C Cube that Jon Spiro steals in the third book?

Artemis built it from fairy technology left over from the siege of Fowl Manor.

Where does Artemis put the dying Butler in a desperate attempt at cryonic preservation?

Holly's healing brings him back, but the process leaves his body older than it should be.

What condition does Holly impose for helping recover the C Cube?

Artemis slips Mulch a disc disguised as a medallion so his memories can be restored later.

Which environmentalist does Koboi mesmerise into thinking she is his daughter?

She poses as 'Belinda' and gets him to drill a probe toward the fairy city of Haven.

What is the name of the demon island stuck in Limbo in the fifth book?

The demons sent themselves out of time after the Battle of Taillte, and the spell is crumbling.

Which child prodigy kidnaps the demon warlock N°1 hoping to win a Nobel Prize?

She switches sides after her own security guard, Billy Kong, turns on her.

After the fifth book, Artemis and Holly have swapped what?

He ends up with one blue eye and one hazel, a side effect of the journey through time and space.

What illness strikes Angeline Fowl in the sixth book?

The only cure is the brain fluid of a silky sifaka lemur, the last of which Artemis sold at age 10.

Which animal's brain fluid is the cure Artemis must retrieve from his own past?

His ten-year-old self sold it to the Extinctionists, led by Damon Kronski, to fund the search for his father.

What is the name of Artemis's alter ego brought on by Atlantis Complex?

In Greek myth Orion is the enemy of Artemis; the condition mixes OCD, paranoia and multiple personalities.

Who is the villain of the seventh book?

Commander Root's criminal brother wants N°1 to reverse the ageing of his human wife, Leonor.

What does Koboi open on the Fowl Estate in the final book?

It releases the spirits of fairy soldiers who died at the Battle of Taillte, and they possess people, animals and corpses.

What are the names of Artemis's younger twin brothers?

They get their own trilogy, The Fowl Twins, set five years after the original series.

How many books make up the original Artemis Fowl cycle?

The Fowl Twins trilogy brings the whole series to eleven novels.

Roughly how many copies had the series sold by 2013?

The books have been translated into 44 languages.

Which 'pixel' supervises the twins' house arrest in The Fowl Twins?

She is an elf-pixie hybrid, helped by NANNI, an AI based on Holly's and Artemis's brainwaves.

Which World Book Day short story is set between the first and second books?

It was later collected in The Artemis Fowl Files alongside interviews and Artemis's school report.

Who narrated the main Artemis Fowl audiobooks?

Adrian Dunbar and Enn Reitel voiced other editions.

Who directed the 2020 film adaptation?

Jim Sheridan had been linked in 2011, with Saoirse Ronan mooted as Holly Short.

Who played Artemis in the 2020 film?

The Irish newcomer is the grandson of Jaws actor Robert Shaw.

Which Dame played Commander Root in the film?

The character was rewritten as a woman, 802 years old, for the screen.

Who played Mulch Diggums in the film?

The film's Mulch is a 'dwarfus giganticus', which explains the casting height.

Which actor was added as Artemis Fowl I during reshoots?

His involvement was only revealed in the second trailer in March 2020.

Where was the film released on June 12, 2020, instead of cinemas?

Disney pulled it from the service again in May 2023.

What approval rating does the film hold on Rotten Tomatoes?

Forbes called it 'one of the worst YA fantasy movies ever'.

At which studio was the film's Fowl Manor set built, designed to last for sequels?

It had been torn down by May 2020, a month before the film came out.

In which Irish county was the author born?

His father was a teacher and historian and his mother a drama teacher.

Which famous series did the author add a sixth book to in 2009?

And Another Thing... continued Douglas Adams's series eight years after Adams's death.

Which national honour did the author hold from 2014 to 2016?

The post is called Laureate na nÓg.

What was the author's job before he became a full-time writer?

He spent four years teaching in Saudi Arabia, Italy and Tunisia after graduating.