Pitched by its author as "Die Hard with fairies",[2][3] the novel follows fairy LEP reconnaissance officer Holly Short (based on John McClane and Holly Gennero McClane) after she is kidnapped by twelve-year-old criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl II (based on Hans Gruber) for a large ransom of gold.

Captain Holly Short, an elf in the Lower Elements Police (LEP), is tracking a rogue troll that has managed to reach the surface of the Earth from Haven City, thousands of feet underground.

Assisted by the technically minded centaur Foaly and LEPrecon commander Julius Root, she incapacitates the troll before leaving for Tara to replenish her magic.

After decoding the book using translating software, Artemis learns the specifics of the ritual fairies use to replenish their magic: take an acorn from an ancient oak tree near a bend in a river under the full moon and plant it elsewhere.

An LEP retrieval team is sent to scout Fowl Manor using their 'shielding' ability, which allows them to vibrate faster than the human eye can follow.

The team enters the manor grounds, where Artemis has installed a camera with a high frames-per-second rate, allowing him to detect the threat.

The attempts to gain entry to the manor continue as the LEP recruits an infamous criminal, the kleptomaniac dwarf Mulch Diggums, to break in.

He tunnels underground to reach the house while Foaly feeds a loop to the manor surveillance system, allowing Mulch to freely explore.

The Fairy Council, deciding that nothing is working, promotes a lieutenant called Briar Cudgeon to acting commander, temporarily usurping Julius Root.

In a similar manner to other themes in the book, it changes throughout, becoming less of a focus near to the end of the novel, where Artemis is (grudgingly) willing to part with a large sum of money to help someone else.

Although Artemis sees himself as an evil genius at the beginning of the book,[8] and is portrayed as such, the end of the story contradicts this image when he pays the fairy Holly to help his mother.

[10] The New York Post said "Artemis Fowl is great ... a new thriller fairy tale that will grab your interest, no matter your age.

"[15] The Amazon.com official review highly complimented the book, saying "Fantastic stuff from beginning to end, Artemis Fowl is a rip-roaring, 21st century romp of the highest order.

"[17] USA Today's review concluded: "All the familiar action-flick clichés are trotted out: the backstabbing, politically astute subordinate; the seemingly loony but loyal computer expert; the dabs of family loyalty; the requisite happy ending; the utterly unsubtle plugs for the sequel; the big action scenes. ...

Later, in 2019, in promotion of the upcoming 2020 film, Disney released a new version of the graphic novel, this time adapted by Michael Moreci and drawn by Stephen Giplin.