by Eoin Colfer
Part of Artemis Fowl, book 5
First published 2007
A demon materializes in a Sicilian theater, confused and terrified after ten thousand years trapped in Limbo. Artemis Fowl waits for him there, having cracked temporal equations that should be beyond human comprehension. But someone else has solved the same equations. This mysterious rival snatches the demon before Artemis can reach him. The demon comes from Hybras, an island that vanished during the ancient war between humans and fairies. While other fairy families retreated underground, the demons attempted to lift their homeland out of time itself. The spell went catastrophically wrong, hurling Hybras into Limbo. Now that flawed magic is breaking down. Demons are being pulled back into the present at random locations. The fairy council monitors these dangerous materializations, but even their scientists cannot predict where demons will appear next. Only Artemis has mapped the pattern. He must team up once again with Captain Holly Short to find the kidnapped demon and stop whoever is collecting them. Time is running short. If the spell collapses completely, the entire demon colony will crash back to Earth with devastating consequences.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, fantasy, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unlikely-allies
Setting: Hybras, Limbo, Sicilian Theater
Period: Ancient War, Present Day
400 pages · Paperback · Penguin UK