The Fowl Twins: Deny All Charges

The Fowl Twins: Deny All Charges by Eoin Colfer (HarperCollins) PB RRP $19.99 ISBN: 9780008324872

Reviewed by Dannielle Viera

The Fowl twins are a perfect combination – Myles is the brains of their enterprises, while Beckett is the brawn. When their latest harebrained plan sees them almost blown up, their parents establish new rules: no fraternising with fairies (including their pixie-elf friend, Lazuli); no access to NANNI, their super-intelligent virtual assistant; and no leaving Dalkey Island.

All three rules would soon be broken, however, when a band of vengeful dwarves hold Mr and Mrs Fowl captive and abduct Myles in order to use his mental skills to steal back their hoard of gold. Can Beckett dig deep into his subconscious knowledge bank to save his parents? And can Myles outwit a paranoid dwarf leader before the whole world literally comes crashing down on them?

Expanding on his beloved Artemis Fowl books, Eoin Colfer delves into the sneaky schemes of Artemis’s younger brothers. While it is helpful to have read the Artemis Fowl tomes as well as the first Fowl Twins volume to fully comprehend the characters and relationships, it is not imperative. Eoin utilises an engaging omniscient narrator to keep readers abreast of events, and the action sequences are exciting enough to ensure that first-time Fowl readers are enthralled at every page turn.

 Humour is a high point of the book, which is clearly aimed at kids aged ten and over. When Beckett and Whistle Blower the toy troll participate in the ‘mingling of the winds’ – tooting towards each other – to seal their friendship forever, this is just the start of the flatulent farce of fart jokes that will make kids giggle.

A mixture of magic, mayhem and merriment sweetens the pages of The Fowl Twins: Deny All Charges. Middle-grade readers will gobble up the goings-on with glee, and then eagerly seek out another tasty instalment in the Fowl saga.