Artemis Fowl is a young adult fantasy novel written by Irish author Eoin Colfer. It is the first book in the Artemis Fowl series, followed by Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident. Described by its author as "Die Hard with fairies", it follows the adventures of Artemis Fowl, a twelve-year-old criminal mastermind, as he kidnaps a fairy for a large ransom of gold.

Artemis Fowl 12, rich genius guarded by only friend Butler, wants back dad lost in Russia, and mum lost in daydreams. For leprechaun gold, he kidnaps Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance Unit. But Commander Root has centaur Foaly's high tech, dwarf Mulch Diggums, time-stop bubble, fatal bio-bomb, and willingness to break rules.