Plugged and Screwed

Plugged: A Novel,
Screwed: A Novel
by Eoin Colfer


After being introduced to the wry style, colorful characters, and an intricate yet fulfilling story in the Artemis Fowl series, I was curious about Colfer's novel for adults. I wasn't disappointed.

Plugged introduces Daniel McEvoy, a disenchanted ex-military Irish guy working as a bouncer in a sleazy New Jersey club. While not instantaneously charismatic, Daniel grew on me as the story unfolded. His heart is in the right place, he is rugged and resourceful, and he happens to be lucky as well, else there would be no story to tell.

A strange concatenation of circumstances takes Daniel from tragedy to calamity to disaster to near-annihilation. Being the main character, we know he'll survive somehow. At least, we hope he will, as the story is told in his flippant voice.

Clearly, Plugged isn't anything like Artemis Fowl as it is not a Young Adult fantasy but an adult crime thriller. However, it is anything but predictable. Though contrived, the plot is tight and unfolds at a rapid pace that kept me frantically flipping the pages in anticipation.

I used to devour Robert Ludlum, Alistair MacLean, John le Carre, Frederick Forsythe in my youth. While crime thriller, espionage, and mystery are not my top genre anymore, I have constantly read a fair share of them over the years to notice the deteriorating standards in presentation and the formulaic plot points. The more recent James Patterson books co-authored with others comes to mind as the prime example of disappointing novels. Women's Murder Club books were difficult to read. Somehow tedious repetition is supposed to project urgency and direness of the situation when all it ends up being is annoying. But, I am digressing...

The pleasures of reading any genre for me lies in the language nuances and style of narration. Most crime thrillers are fairly predictable - the hero is invincible/lucky/resourceful etc., the villain is devious/evil/equally resourceful etc. The circumstances arrange themselves to allow for plenty of action, and our protagonist and antagonist are physically supreme and well-matched, and possibly mentally as well. And yet, some of us keep going back to the same authors and protagonists wanting more because of the immense reading pleasure we derive.

The irreverent comedic undertones along with Daniel's sardonic wisecracks add to the reading experience. Early on in the book, we learn that Daniel has recently received hair plugs/implants as he is self-conscious about his receding hairline. And then, we encounter a disembodied sidekick Zeb, the "doctor" who performed the hair transplant, who talks in Daniels' head, thus adding a bit of zest to Daniel's monologues.

The subtle nod to erstwhile master of the espionage genre brought a smile: "I am surprised. ‘A disk? A bloody disk. What do I look like to you? Jason goddamn Bourne?”

Early on, in chapter 2, as Daniel slowly unfolds his personality for us, it was perfectly amusing when he asks: "A hair-obsessed ex-army doorman. What are the odds of those Venn diagram bubbles intersecting?"

It is these little nuggets that kept me reading on in furious pace. Of course, there's the usual drug turf war, murder, mayhem, ruthless mob boss and other such typical elements to keep the story moving, but, it is how Daniel moves through these elements that makes it worthwhile.

The sequel, Screwed, is equally cheeky and endearing at the same time.

Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer

A while back I had started reading the Artemis Fowl books. The first three at first pass didn't really catch my fancy. But, really, it is young adult fantasy genre and were I a 10 year old boy I am sure I'd be simply blown away by the books.

However, I wanted to read the next three books in the series just to stay with it and see how it goes... and now that I have read them, I think they are not bad at all. I like Captain Holly Short, especially since she is a fairy, but not the sugar-and-spice kind. Commander Root and Centaur Foaly are essential to a plot setting such as this, it is hard not to admire them. And, Artemis Fowl II, the kid genius with a deviant mind, the protagonist, grew on me over the series. He'd have swept me off my feet were I an 8-yr old, of course :)

I liked the introduction and premise in the Artemis Fowl book One. I didn't like the second book The Arctic Incident - couldn't put a finger on it, but, it just didn't catch my fancy. However, the third book The Eternity Code was all right.

The Opal Deception, The Lost Colony, The Time Paradox are the next three. A few new characters were interesting in these books.

Having said that from the jaded adult perspective, my 8 year old self would be raving about it to one and all! Good pacing, interesting characters, nice plot line, very imaginative - I could get lost in it easily. Well-written. I was transported for the period and at times didn't want to comeback to this world. And, that is saying something!

Would I let my kids read it at the right age? Heck! I'd be disappointed if they didn't!

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

As mentioned a while back, I decided to try Artemis Fowl series. Now that I have read the first 3 books in this series:

1. Artemis Fowl
2. Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident
3. Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code

I feel I must read the rest of them just to find out what happens in the end.

Well, it is Juvenile Fiction, oops, I mean, Young Adult Fantasy, so, I guess if I were in middle-school again, I might enjoy it more. Perhaps. Am not sure. I mean, I did read Enid Blyton and Hardy Boys back in middle school... No, don't get me wrong, the labeling of the genre is not the reason for this not-so-raving beginning here... Bartimaeus Trilogy was also Young Adult Fantasy and I loved that trilogy.

I admit, I have read way too many Weiss-Hickman Dragonlance series, with a red ink pen in hand doing what the editor and proof-reader should have done before it went to print... however, I have immensely enjoyed JRR Tolkien and Robert E Howard, liked George RR Martin and Tad Williams... am a die-hard Terry Pratchett fan, and feel that Pratchett's Discworld series is not easy to simply classify as a fantasy series - they are brilliant parodies (or, "resonances") of our own world.

People who view fantasy as second rate or childish are usually people who don't read or understand it. I like to tell them that good fantasy is social commentary combined with good storytelling - Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, the Oz stories and so many others. Sure, the stories take place in an imaginary world. But those worlds mirror our own and tell us things about ourselves that need to be said and understood. I also like to tell them how often other forms of literature use fantasy as the bedrock of their own stories. Fantasy transcends its own form in wider scope than any other type of writing.
-- Terry Brooks

Back to Artmis Fowl: I liked the premise and the intro to characters in the first novel. I did not really enjoy Arctic Incident, the second book, but liked Eternity Code, the third one. I am just going to leave it at that. Not much of a "review", eh? Maybe after I've read the next 3 books in the series I might be able to be more specific...

It is really light reading - just what I am looking for right now. Life's a bit hectic and tough, not to mention stressful, as it is. So, till I can find my bearings and get a handle on things and figure out a way to strike a balance, I am glad I get to read a few pages each night before passing out for a couple of hours.