Eoin Colfer (1965 – )

He is most famous for having written the
The Supernaturalist.

Eoin Colfer grew up in Wexford, Ireland, along with his four brothers, Paul, Eamon, Donal, and Niall. His father was an elementary school teacher, as well as an artist and historian. His mother was a drama teacher. In 1986 Colfer became a Primary School teacher, but continued to write in his free time. In 1991, Colfer married Jackie, who he met long before in his 5th year of high school at a ceili - traditional social dance in Ireland. Now they live together along with their two sons, Finn and Sean.

Works

Colfer's appeal as a more knowledgeable, science-oriented author has made many prefer his works to Rowling's more traditional fairy tales.

Colfer deplores comparison of his popular, pseudo sci-fi fairy tale to the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. Artemis Fowl was written as a modern 'fairy tale', paying homage to Raymond Chandler and James Bond as much as Cinderella. The books in the series are largely humorous, but Artemis does have pangs of conscience regarding his criminal activities, and his character develops significantly over the course of the series. Not that he reforms entirely, either.

However, Colfer has been criticised for being "too modern", for dropping acronyms and names without reference, and for slight inconsistencies and plot holes within the books. In addition, some believe that Colfer's books are too violent for the young adult audience, which has sparked heated debates between fans and those opposed to his books.