The Anti-Potter: Author creates 'Fowl' fantasy hero

Eoin Colfer says, "I can invent my own creatures and give them their own powers"

By Jayne L. Bowman
Special to CNN

(CNN) -- Is it possible that Artemis Fowl isn't "Ireland's answer to Harry Potter," or whatever he's been called by every book reviewer this side of Atlantic?

For one thing, Artemis is a 12-year-old antihero, hardly a do-gooder with a magic wand. Sure, he's heroic in his brilliance, ambition, and creativity. But the "anti-" creeps in via Artemis' deep and wide criminal streak. Honestly, can you imagine Harry P. mouthing phrases such as "a corpse is evidence" and "I will be the first to successfully separate a fairy from its gold"?

Ah, so that's it. The fairies and magic are what evoke the Harry Potter comparisons.

Still, this is a boy who toys with magic for profit, not fun. The plot of "Artemis Fowl" concerns the title mastermind, who decides to kidnap a fairy for its gold and to redeem the Fowl family name. In this book, however, the fairies have attitude, and the battle between them and Artemis soon escalates with an entire arsenal of magic at their disposal. It's a plot the author, Eoin Colfer, has described as "'Die Hard' with fairies."

If that sounds like an interesting contrast, maybe it's because Colfer is a man of contrasts himself. Speaking from his New York hotel room, at first he seems very much the schoolteacher he once was. Polite but pleasant (it's hard to describe his Irish lilt as anything but) Colfer gravely discusses the plight of today's children. He laments that they have to live amidst broken families, broken spirits, and a very broken environment.

Serious matters, these, and Colfer's voice is fittingly solemn. That is, until his very own sprite -- Finn -- bursts into Colfer's room. The author's tone audibly brightens.

Colfer's book has been compared to J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, but the characters -- besides being adolescents involved with magic -- are much different

"You'll have to forgive me a moment, my 3-year-old son's just invaded the room. He's been known to hang up the phone, I warn you," he laughs. Clearly this is a man who loves children -- and their rambunctious imaginations.

'It's very liberating'

Colfer invested that imagination in "Artemis Fowl." Unlike most adult fiction, which is limited by bothersome things like physics and gravity, Artemis Fowl allowed Colfer to play. "With this book, all bets are off ... it's very liberating," he says, "I can invent my own creatures and give them their own powers. It was great fun."

Still, Colfer made sure to impose several consistent "fairy rules." For example, no fairy is allowed to leave or enter a human home without permission. Fairies must periodically recharge their powers or lose them completely. Fairies can conjure a time freeze at will, but it won't hold forever, which makes for some nerve-wracking countdowns.

Where -- and why -- did Colfer get this stuff? The answer to that question is three-pronged: His work with kids, his work with Irish history, and his own overworked imagination.

A teacher for 15 years, Colfer knows what kids do and don't like.

"I wanted to teach kids something, but not lecture them. Tell them a story where they could draw the line themselves. I know when I was 12, I loved to read authors like Stephen King and Robert Ludlum. I didn't want to make 'Artemis' a book that would talk down to them ... I really wanted to respect their intelligence."

"It's like smoking," he says. "If you lecture them and say 'You don't smoke in my house!', they think 'Oh here we go, another lecture.' But you still want to slide it in underneath. If they think Artemis is a cool kinda' like, and he doesn't like whaling ships, then maybe they won't too."

History and legend, intertwined

The second wellspring of this book's charm is history and legend. In Ireland, they often overlap, explains Colfer.

"The fairy and magic thing is a very large part of Irish culture, taught in culture (studies) ... The legends are intertwined."

Even the naming of the book and the boy genius had its roots in history. The surname came easily. "'Foul' by nature, 'Fowl' by name," chuckles Colfer.

But the first name was more of a challenge. Colfer wanted a name unique enough to have its own personality, citing Hannibal Lecter and Sherlock Holmes as models.

"I started off with biblical names. Aristotle ... Archimedes was close but still a bit unwieldy. I went on a Web site of Greek boys names ... and I found the name Artemis, either for boy or girl. It means the Hunter, the god of hunting." This fit the somewhat predatory young criminal and the name stuck.

Lastly, Artemis reflects Colfer himself. Open to fantastic ideas, but grounded in intellectual pursuits. Young at heart, with an old soul. He loves his work, but loves his family even more. "Artemis Fowl" attracted more than $1.5 million in publishing and movie deals even before it was published, but Colfer seems unmoved by the whirlwind. "Why would I move to the states and take Finn away from his grandparents?" he asks rhetorically.

In fact, if there is a "moral" to the Artemis story, it's that family matters. Sisters, mothers and fathers play big roles in this book of seemingly ambiguous morals. Artemis can be a cold, calculating thief, but his mother remains his Achilles heel.

"The only lesson I really wanted to get across," says Colfer, "is that family's important. Really important." Given that "Artemis Fowl" is the first book of a projected trilogy, he'll have more chances to impart that lesson. Even with his newfound fame, it seems, the old schoolteacher is never far away.