Artemis Fowl Series

This six-part series by Eoin Colfer contains Artemis Fowl; Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident; Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code; Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception; Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony; and Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox. It doesn't seem like there are going to be further books: the conclusion of the last one isn't exactly begging for further story, and there isn't mention of any more books online (the author's website doesn't even list The Time Paradox; if you want info on the series, the Wikipedia pages are more helpful).

Whenever I've read one of the books, someone around the library or around SLIS has asked me how I'm enjoying it, and my answer is always "meh." They aren't exactly amazing, but the author uses full sentences and never forgets the closing quotation mark. They are a bit exciting, but not violent or gory. Their intensity and Artemis' personal growth makes them a good bridge between juvenile adventure stories, where the good guys always win, and young adult novels, where good and bad aren't always so clear. Artemis is a bad guy, but a bad guys who maybe is good, despite his best efforts.

"Artemis Fowl, hero of a new book of the same name, isn't anything like Harry Potter. He's sneaky, deceitful, and considers himself a criminal mastermind. But Talk Miramax Books and Hyperion, his American publishers, hope he'll attract the same audience that J. K. Rowling's hero has drawn when Artemis Fowl is published this month. ... But critics may not be as generous. SLJ's reviewer (p. 148) calls the character of Artemis "too stiff and enigmatic to be interesting." -- from "Make Way for The Anti-Harry," School Library Journal, 5/1/01

In Artemis' defense, I think his character intrigues readers, and his stiffness allows for a good deal of growth, both personally and among the characters.

There is also a graphic novel and some short stories. The Artemis Fowl Files was less literary, more a way of making more money from a popular money-making trend.