So i started this series with one thought in mind: a 12-year-old as a master of crime? interesting. 
 i liked book 1, but this second book is even better. 
 So Artemis Fowl is cold and hardened on book 1, but it was good to see him in a different light on this sequel. 
 He never gave up that his father is still alive. He and Butler keep on searching and searching. at last, a sliver of a clue came to them. or rather, a ransom video. it may terrify any kid, but not Artemis Fowl. he was giddy, for this video only represented one thing: HOPE. 
 Seeing him softened when he talks about his father, looking at how he manages to cooperate with Holly and other LePreCons to get the job done - it was a whole other side of his character and i liked that. the author did not bother to lengthen the mystery of how Artemis became a criminal mastermind. piece by piece (although it's not all there yet), i begin to understand why Artemis is what he is. 
 A new character is introduced, Opal. The arch rival of Foaley. Ha! She is one quirky character and i'm looking forward to seeing her in the later books. 
 There is still a whole lot of action, and a whole lot of manipulation (by Artemis, of course). It was a fun read. I'll definitely continue reading this series. So on to book 3!