Review: Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer

Title: Artemis Fowl
Author: Eoin Colfer
Publisher: Hyperion
Publishing Date: 2001
Length: 277 pages.
Summary: (From book)  Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius, and, above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short, of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren't the fairies of bedtime stories; these fairies are armed and dangerous.
Artemis thinks he has them right where he wants them...but then they stop playing by the rules. 
My Thoughts: What the heck did I just read?
There's been a lot of hype over the Artemis Fowl series, and I can see why; the covers are gorgeous, his name is fantastic and the plot interesting, so why did I hate this book?
Blame it on my dislike of Hyperion Publishing and my mistrust of adolescent fiction.
My overall impression of this book was that humans are bad,  fairies are weapon wielding technology geniuses and this little twelve year old boy is a psychologist's nightmare. In the book summary, I half expected the words, 'genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist to show up. The humor was a bit crude at times and I really wouldn't count this as a children's book. The violence had it been in a movie, would have been disturbing, and there were even occasional swear words.
The author seems very likable, and the series as a whole is very successful, so maybe this is just me and not my particular cup of tea.

Review: Skyship Academy, By Nick James

Title: Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars
Author: Nick James
Publisher: Flux
Publishing Date: September 8, 2011
Length:  376 pages
Summary: (From book) A devastated earth's last hope is found in pearls: small, mysterious orbs that fall from space and are capable of supplying enough energy to power entire cities. Battling to control the Pearls are the Skyship dwellers-political dissidents who live in massive ships in the Earth's stratosphere-and the corrupt Surface government.
Jesse Fisher, a Skyship slacker, and Cassius Stevenson, a young Surface operative, cross paths when they both venture into forbidden territory in pursuit of Pearls. Their chance encounter triggers an unexpected reaction, endowing each boy with remarkable-and dangerous-abilities that their respective governments would stop at nothing to possess. 
Enemies thrust together with a common goal, Jesse and Cassius make their way to the ruins of Seattle to uncover the truth about their new powers, the past they didn't know they shared, and a shocking secret about the Pearls.
*Major Spoiler Post*
My Thoughts:  Well....the cover is cool. The one for the sequel looks even better. This book was depressing. Just downright sad. I felt awful for Cassius who will need some serious counseling and repulsed at the idea of his fake mother, 'Madame' who did nothing but use him for her own twisted ideas.
The switching from first person to third person narrative I thought to be wonderfully done and is a technique I haven't seen before. I might have to try it.
The book would have been alright, sadness aside, this is dystopian after all, if it wasn't for what you find out at the end. *Spoiler alerts*  
The Pearls are actually people.  They have been killing people for their power source to fuel their stupid cities. Granted, they didn't know, but still the idea does not settle well for me. The Pearls are actually a form of transport for those from another planet to come to Earth and the boy, Jesse, is responsible for freeing them.
All I could think about was the millions of lives they'd lost.
I don't think I would have read this one if I had known what it was about.  I guess the sequel will about the two boys going out to beat the system and free the aliens.  But  I don't think I want to read it-way too depressing.  Here's what the cover looks like; he's quite dashing. Kind of like a Charlie Mcdonnell.

Things To Be Cautious Of:  Swearing. Nothing extreme, just your usual television usage.
Violence: Mention of fighitng, playing  a role simulating kind of thing, guns, one man is killed, a train with passengers explodes.
Psychological Weirdness: Madame's bizarre control over poor Cassius. Someone please get that boy to therapy.
Awkward Content: One oddly placed scene for a quick kiss, one guy cracks a joke about a guy's manhood.