註釋
Having eaten my way through the first book like a dwarf burrowing through loosely-packed earth, I found this one slightly slower going. My new favorite genius-millionaire-criminal mastermind is now a teenager and he's not as tough and full of brass as he was in book one.
Cut him some slack though, his mommy's back to normal, and ready to start trying to control his life, and he's just discovered that his dad is still alive, and being held for ransom by the Russian Mafiya in a nuclear submarine graveyard. Even geniuses have their limits.
Captain Holly Short isn't having a good time either. After Artemis successfully procured half of the Recon ransom fund in book one, she's been given a "time-out" doing stakeouts for smugglers for the Customs and Excise Department. It seems that someone is organizing the dim-witted goblins to do some good old fashioned gun running, and of course, our intrepid heroine lands herself in the middle of the melee.
Opal Koboi is a new character, a pixie with talents to rival the resident geek Foaly the Centaur, and has absolutely no scruples whatsoever.
Someone has been re-engineering laser guns to work with regular AA batteries, and Holly feels that Artemis is involved. Artemis would rather get along with the process of rescuing his father, but after an interrogation proves Holly incorrect, they team up as an unlikely pair of secret agents to solve both problems.
What follows is action galore, as the book accelerates to warp speed, and even Artemis is forced to be a hero, albeit a puny little one. Each of our favorite characters from book one takes center stage at one time or the other and even Mulch becomes a leading dwarf with a pivotal role.
The story ends with a crazy rescue plan that goes terribly wrong, until girl power again triumphs over rotten luck.
A wonderful follow on from the first book, and an encouraging preview to the third.
Amanda Richards, October 6, 2004.
