Review - Transformers: Exodus - War For Cybertron Novel

[MISP Steve]

I have read the movie verse Ghosts of Yesterday and the Veiled Threat by Alan Dean Foster, so my opinion of where Exodus falls is compared to those two novels. Ghosts of Yesterday may not have been the best story but it was in the end a story I could follow without feeling too jarred. Exodus has left me feeling like there just wasn't enough or too much to cover in one 276 page book. Read the Full Review Here

[Strife]

While I won't write an entire review for the book, I will agree that Ladywreck's points are all valid. For me the issue is that this book was supposed to coincide with the War for Cybertron game, and events are so different that I can only conclude it's a totally different universe than the one High Moon Studios created. Bumblebee's inability to speak when he chatters non-stop through the game, the way Optimus becomes the Prime, Sentinel/Zeta's situation, etc. It just seems to me that with all the continuity errors in the book versus the game, along with attempts to shoehorn in every plot device /ever/ mentioned in Transformers this seemed more like an attempt to combine most of the universes into a single continuity, and that simply doesn't fit. (The Matrix, Covenant of Primus, Plasma Energy Chamber, Vector Sigma, and he Allspark Cube are /all/ integral to Cybertron in the book) It's an interesting character study on Megatron and Optimus, and reveals a few other tidbits that might be interesting, but I wouldn't take it as part of the War for Cybertron universe. It might very well be part of Transformers: Prime, though I thought that was going to be tied more to the movie universe? Either way, save your money unless you're just desperate for a Transformers story, this one isn't worth full price.

[PhantomMorphX]

Thanks ladywreck for the great review!

I have already read the book, and because of the way I read (and watch movies) I enjoyed it, not as much of other books, but still enjoyed it.

And thanks to a review like yours, I get shown all the flaws and characteristics I didn't see (sometimes I might not agree, sometime they might not bother me, but there are still there) and now I know they are there and can see the book under a different light, and can ask for and expect better next time a smilar thing is done, and still got to enjoy this one the first time I read it.

[Tramp]

In all honesty, I have to disagree with Ladywreck's assessment of the book. I've read it twice, cover to cover, in less than a week, and browsed through it again, a third time, and enjoyed the book whole-heartedly. I liked the pacing and flow of the book, and felt it did provide the character development for the relationship between Orion Pax and Megatron, and how it all fell apart was well timed in my opinion. The excerpt from the Covenant going over the war between chapter's fifteen and sixteen was, in all hosesty, very well done and well placed. Given that the war spanned millions of years even before the Autobots and Decepticons left for Earth, I feel this was a very good choice on how to cover this huge span of time between the beginning of the war and the exodus from Cybertron, by detailing the major battles.

 

As for the Covenant of Primus, and the Quill, I have no problem with them, or their being mystical objects of power. Such talismans have been part of Transformers since the Matrix was introduced in the '86 movie, and since Primus was introduced in Marvel comics. Thus, the mythical and "magical" elements are already there. I had no problem grasping the concept or accepting it. Perhaps that also comes down to the fact that I like the mystical elements within the Transformers franchise.

 

As for the style of writing and editing, I don't feel there was anything inherently bad or wrong with it. It may simply be "different" than what you're used to. I certainly had no problem with it. The pacing isn't much different from books such as J.R.R. Tolkien's, and those are considered some of the greatest pieces of modern literature. Granted, Alex Irvine is no Tolkien, but my point still stands. There's nothing inherently wrong with the pacing or structure.

 

Thus, I feel a lot of it comes down to expectations more than anything else. If you were expecting a certain type of story going in, and it doesn't live up to those expectations, you won't enjoy it. On the other hand, if you have no specific expectations going in, or accept the more "fantastic" elements, you're more likely to enjoy the book.

[Quickshift]

I like the detailed thoughts in the review - and many of them are very insightful - but with so much harping on the book needing editing, so does this review. Grammatical errors abound, and some sentence revision would've gone a long way towards keeping me focused on what the author was saying rather than forcing my brain into proofreading mode.

 

That being said, mention of this book and quill that literally writes the future is a bit unnverving. It sounds out of place, but I also haven't read the book myself to know firsthand. There have been more fantasy elements creeping into TFs lately, though: Animated Prowl and his circuit-su teachings, the use of tridents, swords, and whips in toys lately (similar to weaponry found in Greek mythology)... it could be that this is just the next step in a gradual process to introduce new story elements to keep the franchise fresh. After all, they're re-prequeling characters that were established 26 years ago. It's hard to keep a concept relevant for that long.

[Tramp]

I like the detailed thoughts in the review - and many of them are very insightful - but with so much harping on the book needing editing, so does this review. Grammatical errors abound, and some sentence revision would've gone a long way towards keeping me focused on what the author was saying rather than forcing my brain into proofreading mode.

 

That being said, mention of this book and quill that literally writes the future is a bit unnverving. It sounds out of place, but I also haven't read the book myself to know firsthand. There have been more fantasy elements creeping into TFs lately, though: Animated Prowl and his circuit-su teachings, the use of tridents, swords, and whips in toys lately (similar to weaponry found in Greek mythology)... it could be that this is just the next step in a gradual process to introduce new story elements to keep the franchise fresh. After all, they're re-prequeling characters that were established 26 years ago. It's hard to keep a concept relevant for that long.

Another thing to add to what Quickshift is saying about the mystical objects, such as the Quill and Covenant of Primus, is that these objects are linked to an as yet untold story, namely the story of the Thirteen Original Transformers created by Primus. These objects are divine objects, just as the Thirteen are essentially demigods. Thus, these objects don't necessarily have to follow the same "laws" that we do, and the limits people have in their understanding of them, makes sense to me at least.

[Ender]

Tramp, you (and a few poor souls like you) are the one(s) and only person (people) on the face of the @(#*ing Earth who will like this book. Frankly dude, it's because you are Hasbro's B*tch.

 

I swear if an intern at Hasbro declared in an "almanac", "guide", or "definitive chronology" that the feces of Transformers fans tasted like fillet mignon, you'd try it, and when you were done puking, you'd pop up on every board to tell us all how right Hasbro was and how a little bearnaise sauce really brought out the flavor.

[ladywreck]

The only expectations I had coming into this novel, were the previous novels by Alan Dean Foster. That's all I compared them to. (Well, that and all the other books I've read.) The story structure just didn't work for me. I didn't expect it to wow me and I also didn't expect it to blow me out of the water. I really DID like the first 100 pages. And that's why I was so disappointed with the last half of the book because the first half seemed so nice and interesting. (As I described in my review... I won't repeat it all again.) So my frustration stems from not really expecting a whole lot, being pleasantly surprised with the first 100 pages, and then completely deflated with the last end of the book.

 

And this book should not EVER be compared to Tolkien. He would be insulted. It's like trying to put a diamond and cubic zirconia next to each other, and you telling me they are the same thing, but they aren't. One is a cheap knock off. (Or, as my husband so eloquent put it, one is Spaceballs and the other is Star Wars.) =>

 

Tramp ... If these objects are linked to an as yet untold story, namely the story of the Thirteen Original Transformers created by Primus, then shame on them for not writing it and putting it out there so I can have the whole story. If I'm getting slices of it as they decide it is relevant in this book, then it is incomplete and it supports my point. The execution could have been better and more organized. Sadly the track record so far is when they finally DO get around to telling it, the details are half thought out and rushed into a story that feels incomplete. And it doesn't have to be like that.

 

Quickshift ... I will try harder in the future to live up to your grammatical expectations. The difference here is obviously I spent a week reading the novel, which no one else seemed to care to review, and I wasn't getting paid. In fact, I bought this book. I paid the publishing industry to read it and review it. lol! I'm wondering just how much they paid the author to write it, probably not enough because he didn't tell it very well. Feel free to write your own review and wow us with your talents.

 

In the end, it's just too bad that the game and the novel didn't sync up. It would have been a nice touch and I would have been impressed.

[praxus07]

I actually like the book, maybe I'm biased because I got it dirt cheap, AND didn't go into reading it with any stupid preconceptions that it's related to the game, or the craptastic movieverse, or the new cartoon. I took it on it's own as a new TF novel and was pretty damn happy with it. The last TF novels I read were the kinda-sorta horrible David Cian trilogy, so this, to me, was a welcome respite from having nothing but movieverse garbage crammed in my face for years now.

 

I'd say if you can get it cheap, get it. If not wait for the paperback. No book, IMHO, is worth a $27 cover price, no matter how much I like what's inside.

[Lord_Onslaught]

Tramp, you (and a few poor souls like you) are the one(s) and only person (people) on the face of the @(#*ing Earth who will like this book. Frankly dude, it's because you are Hasbro's B*tch.

 

I swear if an intern at Hasbro declared in an "almanac", "guide", or "definitive chronology" that the feces of Transformers fans tasted like fillet mignon, you'd try it, and when you were done puking, you'd pop up on every board to tell us all how right Hasbro was and how a little bearnaise sauce really brought out the flavor.

 

Try getting into a continuity discussion with him.

 

Sorry Tramp but Ender is right about you. You take everything that Hasbro throws out and likes. This I noticed during the continuity discussion we had