Book Review - Artemis Fowl & The Last Guardian

Title: Artemis Fowl & The Last Guardian
Author: Eoin Colfer
Series: Artemis Fowl (book 8)
Publisher: Puffin
Release Date: 10 July 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0141340814

Synopsis
Seemingly nothing in this world daunts the young criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl. In the fairy world, however, there is a small thing that has gotten under his skin on more than one occasion: Opal Koboi. In The Last Guardian, the evil pixie is wreaking havoc yet again. This time his arch rival has somehow reanimated dead fairy warriors who were buried in the grounds of Fowl Manor. Their spirits have possessed Artemis’s little brothers, making his siblings even more annoying than usual. The warriors don’t seem to realize that the battle they were fighting when they died—a battle against Artemis—is long over. Artemis has until sunrise to get the spirits to vacate his brothers and go back into the earth where they belong. Can he count on a certain LEPrecon fairy to join him in what could well be his last stand?

My Review
I became a fan of this series one or two years ago and worked my way through. I still think the first 3 are probably the best, I wasn't as keen on the last 2 but was intrigued to see where it would go.
This book starts of right into the action, Opal is back and she wants revenge. When Artemis, Holly & Foaly discover just what she is planning, they know they have a big battle ahead of them. 
There is a bit of confusion with past, present and future selves after the Time Paradox issue, I was actually puzzled in a few places, had to try not to think about it too hard or it made my brain hurt!
To be honest I was hoping for something spectacular in this book, to let it go out with a bang! After all this is apparently the last one. But I was actually left a bit deflated. There seemed to be a lot of things set up that could have led to something Epic, but they always seemed to just move to something else. I wasn't wowed at all in this book, which is a shame because I really wanted to love it.
I did enjoy getting back into the world and catching up with the characters, like seeing friends you haven't seen for a while. Holly and Butler are in this one a lot and I love them both, Butler's dry humour is great. Mulch is also back, he always grosses me out a bit, but makes me laugh at the same time.
Overall the plot was a little confusing and slow in places but did have good premise. The character development is good, it's amazing to see how far they have all come since book 1. 
If you are a fan of the series then you should definitely read it, you'd regret not picking it up. 

My Rating