Artemis Fowl Violence Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #1

"I am unarmed. But Butler here, my… ah… butler, has a Sig Sauer in his shoulder holster, two shrike-throwing knives in his boots, a derringer two-shot up his sleeve, garrotte wire in his watch, and three stun grenades concealed in various pockets. [...] Butler could kill you a hundred different ways without the use of his weapons." (1.20-26)

Listen to how neutral Artemis's tone is while he runs down the list of things Butler could use to kill their contact in Ho Chi Minh City. It's unsettling to encounter such lack of emotion in a twelve year old as they nonchalantly describe murder. 

Quote #2

"The sprite. Why didn't we simply keep the Book and leave her to die?"

"A corpse is evidence, Butler." (1.134-135)

Here we get a little bit of foreshadowing, since a corpse is evidence, and exactly the kind of evidence the People don't find when they bio-bomb Artemis's house. The fairies seem creepily less concerned with leaving corpses around than Artemis is, though.

Quote #3

She couldn't kill the troll under any circumstances. Not to save humans. (3.203)

Watch the language here—the suggestion is that there are circumstances where she could kill the troll, but multiple human lives are actually valued lower than the life of a murderous beast that frequently threatens the fairy population as well. Fairies have complicated rules when it comes to violence.