Leon Abbott the cult leader
Leon Abbot is the demon pride leader; he makes all the big decisions and has ways of bringing Council members round to his way of thinking.
He is the demons' self-proclaimed saviour and their hero.
Leon Abbot is a liar and a manipulator. The truth means nothing to him.
Number One sees through him, but the other imps lap up his self-glorifying legends. Number One sees him as a loudmouth braggart, but the other imps and demons worship him, giving him the attention, adulation and total trust and obedience that he demands.
He may have scales, horns and a tail, but Leon Abbot is a classic, textbook case. Many of the things he says and does can be found in the list in the cult overview: for example, he has a superiority complex, sometimes behaves like an attack dog and presents himself as the sole supplier.
He is just the type to lead his followers to disaster.
The Demonic Bible
Leon Abbot brought a book back from the old world, a book that would save them all according to Abbot.
The book is called Lady Heatherington Smythe's Hedgerow. The demons treat it as their bible and use it not only as the source of all their knowledge about humans but also as a source of names:
“They didn't have real names, not until after they warped. Then they would be given a name from the sacred text.”
This explains the unusual names that demons have, names such as Leon Abbot for example. However, surely the book doesn’t contain nearly enough names to go round!
What the demons don’t know is that their ‘sacred text’ is both fiction and useless as a source of information about humans:
“...Carter Cooper Harbison. The Canadian girl. She was eighteen when she wrote it. Did absolutely no research. She had nineteenth-century nobles speaking like they were from the fifteen hundreds. Absolute tosh, so obviously a worldwide hit.”
This reminds me of the very successful but very unrealistic ‘silver fork’ novels of Ouida, Marie Corelli and the fictional writer Angel in Elizabeth Taylor’s novel of the same name. As mentioned previously, these novels were full of ‘howlers’ but most of the readers didn’t realise this.
Rivals and individuality are not permitted
There is a demon called Hadley Shrivelington Basset who is a cut above many of the others. He is more resistant to Abbot’s influence than they are and criticises his policies and plans.
A good leader would recognise and reward merit, potential and independent thinking and encourage their development, but Abbot just sees Basset as a threat and possible future rival:
“It was a good argument, and well presented. Maybe in different circumstances Abbot would have applauded and recruited the young demon as a lieutenant, but lieutenants grew up to be challengers and that was one thing Abbot did not want.”
Leon Abbot uses his powers to turn Basset into a mindless slave with no free will.
Warlocks are not permitted
Leon Abbot is a hypocrite. He lets slip some things that show he knows very well that Number One is a budding warlock, but later dismisses the idea:
“We've talked about this, Number One. I know you think you're a warlock. But there are no warlocks, there haven't been since we lifted out of time. You are not a warlock. Forget that idiotic notion and concentrate on warping. You're a disgrace to your race.”
Number One gives Master Abbott a demonstration of his powers, using brains where the other imps use brawn, and tries to get him to admit the truth. Abbot shows his true colours: he denies everything, calls Number One an odious little freak of nature and sends him away into great danger.
Abbot fears warlocks because he knows that they can see through him and have the power and knowledge to put a stop to his evil activities.
Good triumphs over evil
With the assistance of their new friend Number One, Artemis Fowl and his colleagues save the day.
Leon Abbot is exposed and defeated and his consciousness rehoused in a guinea-pig.
There is a good outcome for Number One, who has become a full warlock along the way. His life has changed for the better in several ways:
After wishing he could find another of his kind, someone who would teach him how to control his strange new powers, he has met a very powerful warlock and become his apprentice.
He has broken his conditioning and learned to assert himself.
He no longer feels that he has nothing to look forward to, or that no one would miss him if he disappeared for ever.
Not only has Number One found freedom, he will soon be using his powers to help his new friends in their missions.
“No.l smiled contentedly. He was alive, and he had helped to save the island. Finally he knew his place in the universe. Now that Abbot was taken care of, he could live his life the way he wanted to.”
He is very lucky to have found his niche and his tribe. Being able to live as he pleases and no longer being forced to pretend to be something he is not is a luxury that was denied to some of the alienated writers he reminds me of.
Reading The Lost Colony for the first time involved dealing with a new plot, some new characters and much new background material, however it was the familiar character types and associated elements that most held my attention. The first few sentences about the two demons immediately made me think of various writers and cult leaders.
It is ironic that I was reading the Artemis Fowl books to get away from all that!
The eight Artemis Fowl novels:
