Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony

Lore & Background

In Barcelona, Spain, Artemis Fowl II and his bodyguard Butler encounter a demon who transports Artemis through time. Butler pulls him back using silver cuffs. Meanwhile, Wing Commander Vinyáya recruits Holly Short and Mulch Diggums into Section Eight, an elite squad monitoring demon activity. The island of Hybras was lifted out of time at the battle of Taillte by demon warlocks, but the process went wrong, trapping the demons. Occasionally demons appear on Earth due to their connection to the Moon. Holly is sent to ask Artemis how he predicted a demon materialisation that Section Eight could not.

On Hybras, an imp named No.1 is bullied for not having warped into a mature demon. He discovers he may be a warlock. Leon Abbot, the demon leader, uses something like the mesmer to urge No.1 to jump into the island's volcano. Artemis, Butler, and Holly encounter a girl named Minerva Paradizo, who captures No.1 with the help of mercenary Billy Kong. Artemis and allies rescue No.1, but Kong takes Minerva hostage. Artemis trades No.1 for Minerva at Taipei 101. Kong plans to bomb Hybras, but Artemis removes No.1's silver bullet, causing No.1 to dematerialise. They reach a gallery where four demon warlocks are frozen in stone; No.1 frees the leader Qwan. Artemis, No.1, Holly, and Qwan travel to Hybras, where Holly is killed. Artemis uses stolen magic and the time spell's irregularity to revive her. With five magical beings, they reverse the time spell and return to Earth, but land three years in the future.

Reader's Guide

Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony expands the Artemis Fowl universe by introducing the demon race and the island of Hybras, suspended in Limbo. The book deepens the series' mythology with the concept of warlocks, the time-spell, and the silver bullet anchoring demons to dimensions. It also introduces new characters such as Minerva Paradizo, a young genius, and Billy Kong, a mercenary with a personal vendetta against demons. The novel received positive praise, with VOYA calling it 'fast-paced, funny, and wholly enjoyable' and an 'action-packed thrill ride through fantastic worlds'. The book includes the fairy Code at the end, used to solve cryptic messages found throughout the series. Its significance lies in advancing the overarching plot of the fairy-human conflict and setting up events for the subsequent book, Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox.

Did You Know?

• The book was originally expected to be published on 7 September 2006 but was shipped to stores early.
• The island of Hybras was lifted out of time at the battle of Taillte by demon warlocks.
• Artemis steals some magic in the time tunnel, which he later uses to create a spark.
• When the party returns to Earth, they land three years in the future.

Publication & Release Timeline

Artemis Fowl and the Lost Colony, subtitled simply The Lost Colony in American editions, stands as the fifth installment in Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series. Originally slated for a UK and Irish release on 7 September 2006, the book reached retail shelves ahead of schedule due to early shipments to stores. The American audience received their copy on 12 September of that same year, with additional international markets following shortly thereafter. The novel is itself followed by Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox, continuing the saga of the young criminal genius and his fairy world entanglements. The early-ship incident, while a minor publishing hiccup, gave eager readers a brief head start before the official launch date, a small but notable footnote in the book's commercial history.

The Island of Hybras & Demon Lore

The island of Hybras, suspended in a timeless void called Limbo, forms the mythological backbone of the novel. During the ancient battle of Tailte, demon warlocks cast a devastating time-spell that ripped the island out of the flow of time, intending to give their kind a sanctuary to recover and resume the long war against humanity. The spell, however, backfired: the demons became trapped, unable to return to Earth. Only occasionally do they briefly materialise on the human world, drawn back by their deep spiritual tether to the Moon. On Hybras itself, a young imp named No.1 is mocked by his peers for being the oldest to have never warped into a mature demon. His accidental transmutation of a wooden skewer into stone raises the unsettling possibility that he may be the first true warlock born since Tailte, when all known warlocks were believed to have perished during the casting of the original spell. The island's volcano, the very site where the time-spell was first conjured, becomes a focal point for the demon pride's desperate ambitions.

Artemis's Tactical Demon-Hunting

Artemis Fowl's strategic genius is on full display as he outmaneuvers both demons and human adversaries throughout the narrative. In Barcelona, he and Butler are ambushed by a demon that drags him through time, but Butler's quick reflexes and the silver cuffs on Artemis's wrists anchor him back to the present. Foaly later reveals that Artemis had predicted the exact moment and location of a demon materialisation that Section Eight, an elite squad tasked with monitoring demon activity, had failed to chart. This prediction leads Holly Short to seek his expertise. At the Massimo Bellini Opera House, Artemis identifies a blonde woman, Minerva Paradizo, as a key figure in demon research. When the imp No.1 materialises on stage, he is immediately tranquilised by Paradizo's mercenary Billy Kong. Artemis then orchestrates a daring infiltration of Paradizo's French chateau, enlisting Mulch Diggums and the pixie criminal Doodah Day to sabotage security systems, ultimately forcing Minerva to abandon her plan to house demons in a zoo.

The Climactic Resolution Across Two Worlds

The novel's climax unfolds across two dimensions. After a failed hostage exchange at Taipei 101 in Taiwan, where Kong intended to detonate a bomb to annihilate Hybras, Artemis executes a brilliant counter-move. He has already extracted the silver bullet anchoring No.1 to the human world, and when the imp drops it, he dematerialises and reappears at a nearby silver pendulum, where Holly secures him with a bracelet. The group then reaches the unopened Kimsichiog Art Gallery, revealing a 10,000-year-old sculpture of four of the seven demon warlocks frozen in stone, with only their leader Qwan still alive. Back on Hybras, where Abbot has crowned himself demon king, Artemis, No.1, Holly, and Qwan confront him at the volcano. Artemis reasons that the bomb's energy, combined with the magic he stole in the time tunnel, could power a reversal of the original time-spell, requiring at least five magical beings to cast it. Butler and Minerva ensure Kong faces justice for his brother's murder under his real name.