and departs. In the end, Butler demands an explanation as to how Artemis came up with the idea of using sleeping pills. Artemis explains that he had gotten the idea from old fairy tales, in which human characters never wake up at an inopportune moment for the fairies and had guessed that time-stops were the reason. Concluding that the time-stop forces a being to stay in whichever state of consciousness they were in when the time-stop is started, Artemis uses sleeping pills to break out of the time-stop. Artemis finds his mother has fully recovered from her insanity thanks to Holly's magic. Themes Artemis Fowl has a number of underlying themes, but the most essential of these are greed and the conflict between good and evil. Greed is the first main theme that is introduced into the book, and specifically the desire to obtain gold. In a similar manner to other themes in the book, it changes throughout, becoming less of a focus near to the end of the novel, where Artemis is (grudgingly) willing to part with a large sum of money to help someone else. The idea of conflict between good and evil is one that is touched upon in the book in a light-hearted manner. Although Artemis sees himself as an evil genius at the beginning of the book, and is portrayed as such, the end of the story contradicts this image when he pays the fairy Holly to help his mother. Artemis's enemies, the fairies, would be "the good side", but their actions call this view into question—they are as determined as Artemis is to achieve their goals. While only some of them are willing to ruthlessly deploy a troll, regardless of the possible danger to life, all are willing to utilize a bio-bomb once Holly is out of the mansion, to eliminate Artemis. Critical reception In general, the book received a very positive critical response – in 2004 it received the Young Reader's Choice Award and Garden State Teen Book Award, among other awards. The New York Post said "Artemis Fowl is great ... a new thriller fairy tale that will grab your interest, no matter your age." and the Library Journal said "Fun to read, full of action and humour, this is recommended for all public libraries and to readers of all ages." Time said, "Artemis Fowl is pacy, playful, and very funny, an