Books like Artemis Fowl

Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows assembles a crew of teenage criminals for an impossible heist in a fantasy world inspired by Dutch Golden Age Amsterdam. Kaz Brekker, a criminal prodigy who runs a gang from the Barrel slums, recruits five specialists to break into an impenetrable fortress, and the novel alternates between their perspectives as the plan unfolds.

Like Artemis Fowl, the book centers a brilliant young schemer who is always three steps ahead of everyone else, and both stories derive their energy from watching an underdog outmaneuver more powerful opponents. Bardugo writes each crew member with distinct motivations and skills, creating the same kind of ensemble dynamic that Colfer builds between Artemis, Holly, Butler, and Mulch Diggums.

The heist structure provides constant reversals and surprises, and Bardugo balances dark subject matter with moments of genuine humor and warmth. Six of Crows is aimed at a slightly older audience than Artemis Fowl, but readers who aged out of Colfer's series will find a natural next step in Bardugo's morally complex world of thieves and schemers.

Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games drops sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen into an annual televised death match where twenty-four teenagers fight to survive in a controlled arena. Like Artemis, Katniss must outthink a system designed to crush her, using intelligence, resourcefulness, and strategic thinking to stay alive against opponents with more resources and training.

Collins writes action sequences with tight, urgent prose that never wastes a word, and the dystopian world of Panem provides the same kind of high-concept backdrop that Colfer's underground fairy civilization offers. Both books feature young protagonists who are forced into situations far beyond their years and who discover that the adults running things cannot be trusted.

The Hunger Games deals with heavier themes of political oppression and media manipulation, but its core appeal, watching a smart, capable young person beat impossible odds, connects directly to what makes Artemis Fowl so addictive. The trilogy builds in scope with each book, expanding from personal survival to full-scale revolution.

James Dashner's The Maze Runner opens with Thomas waking up in a metal elevator with no memory of who he is, emerging into a community of teenage boys trapped at the center of an enormous, ever-changing maze filled with deadly creatures. Like Artemis Fowl, the novel drops its protagonist into a puzzle that demands both intelligence and courage, and the mystery of the maze provides a driving force that keeps pages turning at speed.

Dashner writes with short chapters and constant cliffhangers that mirror Colfer's cinematic pacing, and both authors understand that young readers want stakes that feel genuinely dangerous rather than artificially safe. Thomas, like Artemis, is a character whose intelligence sets him apart from those around him, and his refusal to accept the rules of the Glade mirrors Artemis's refusal to play by anyone else's terms.

The Maze Runner builds its world through revelation rather than exposition, doling out information about what lies beyond the maze in carefully timed doses that reward readers who stick with the mystery.

Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone introduces Alina Starkov, a young mapmaker in a Russian-inspired fantasy nation who discovers she possesses a rare magical ability that could destroy the Shadow Fold, a swath of darkness that divides her country. Like Artemis Fowl, the novel features a protagonist thrust into a hidden world of power and politics that operates according to its own rules, and both books build their fantasy elements on a foundation of specific cultural detail rather than generic world-building.

Bardugo's Grisha, soldiers who wield elemental magic, function like Colfer's fairies: a hidden society with advanced abilities and its own complex hierarchy. Alina must navigate court intrigue and personal danger while learning to master powers she never knew she had, and Bardugo writes her growth from uncertain orphan to powerful figure with the same attention to character development that Colfer brings to Artemis's moral evolution across his series.

The GrishaVerse has expanded into multiple series and spin-offs, offering readers who finish Shadow and Bone plenty of material to keep reading.

Sabaa Tahir's An Ember in the Ashes takes place in a brutal military empire inspired by ancient Rome, alternating between Laia, a slave girl spying for the resistance, and Elias, the empire's finest soldier who wants to desert. Like Artemis Fowl, the novel features young characters operating inside dangerous systems where one wrong move means death, and both books pair unlikely allies whose partnership drives the plot forward.

Tahir writes action with visceral energy, and her world-building creates a setting that feels lived in and dangerous, with rules that characters break at real cost. The dynamic between Laia and Elias carries echoes of the Artemis-Holly relationship: two people from opposite sides of a conflict who discover they need each other.

Tahir does not shy away from violence and its consequences, making An Ember in the Ashes a natural step up for readers who enjoyed Artemis Fowl and are ready for fantasy with sharper edges and higher stakes. The series runs four books and builds its scope with each installment.

Blake Crouch's Dark Matter follows Jason Dessen, a physics professor who is kidnapped and wakes up in an alternate version of his life where he made different choices decades ago. Like Artemis Fowl, the novel builds its plot around a scientific concept, the multiverse, and treats it with both rigor and imagination, using the premise to create a thriller that moves at breakneck speed.

Crouch writes in short, punchy sentences that mirror Colfer's cinematic pacing, and both authors understand that the best science fiction and fantasy concepts need strong emotional stakes to work. Jason's desperate fight to return to his real family gives the multiverse concept a human anchor, just as Artemis's relationship with Butler and his parents grounds Colfer's fairy technology in recognizable emotions.

Dark Matter is aimed at adults, but its accessibility, pace, and big ideas make it an ideal read for Artemis Fowl fans who want to graduate to grown-up thrillers without losing the sense of wonder that drew them to Colfer's series.

Pierce Brown's Red Rising is set on a future Mars where society is divided into color-coded castes, and Darrow, a miner from the lowest caste, infiltrates the ruling Gold class by disguising himself as one of them. Like Artemis Fowl, the novel features a protagonist who must outperform and outwit opponents with every advantage, using cunning, adaptability, and strategic thinking to survive.

Brown writes action with fierce intensity, and the Hunger Games-style competition that dominates the first book gives way to broader political rebellion in the sequels. Darrow shares Artemis's ability to plan several moves ahead, and both characters evolve from self-interested schemers into leaders who fight for something larger than themselves.

The world-building is detailed and consistent, with a caste system that affects every interaction and a mythology drawn from Roman history that gives the setting cultural depth. Red Rising is the first of a six-book series that grows significantly in ambition, moving from campus thriller to interplanetary war with the same characters at its center.