Harry Potter has competition... (1 Viewer)

[SteveGon]

...and his name is Artemis Fowl.
I'd never heard of this latest literary phenomenon until I saw his first two adventures advertised in a book club flyer. I ordered the first novel, entitled Artemis Fowl, for my nephew. Of course, I had to first give it the once-over!
Penned by Irish author Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl can best be described as the antithesis of J.K. Rowling's omnipresent creation. Fowl is a twelve-year old genius and the scion of a wealthy crime family. When the story opens, Artemis is determined to restore his family's standing and riches which have deteriorated after the disappearance of his father. How is he going to accomplish this? By kidnapping a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold! And he has the smarts, the technology, and a menacing bodyguard named Butler to help him pull it off. But fairies have a few tricks of their own to play...
As far as literary merit goes, Artemis Fowl is at least on the same level as Harry Potter. This is a deft blend of the fantasy, science-fiction and crime-thriller genres with a decidedly unorthodox protagonist. The people who don't like Harry are gonna hate Artemis!
Recommended for that Potterphile in your family.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

The author of Artemis sued JK Rowling (dunno what the outcome was)

 

[SteveGon]

Why did he sue?

 

[Michael Fennessy]

I think you are thinking of another author. Someone claims rowling stole the idea about Harry Potter from books she wrote like 10 years ago. Not sure about the truth of it but her argument was pretty convincing (again, her facts may have been wrong)

Mike

PS. Could I be more vague?