I’m feeling rather bored right now. Since I just figured out a few new ways to mess with my Blog settings, I decided to write a few more reviews. Since I don’t have any Inika yet, I’ll go over my feelings on the books, Bionicle Legends by Greg F. I’ll try to keep it Spoiler Free, but I’m sure there’ll be a few that make it through. So be warned. And read at your own risk. It’s pretty long.

Spoiler Warning!

Island of Doom. The first book, bringing back the Toa Nuva and introducing the Piraka. Pretty much, it’s been the coolest Bionicle Legend book I’ve read so far. Only Time Trap was better. For one thing, the storyline is pretty straightforward. The Piraka are all introduced, and we get about an equal amount of all of them and their personalities and powers. Even better, the Matoran get the largest part in the storyline. Although these are Matoran, their personalities and powers make them a joy to read about. What’s really cool is that the story follows the Matoran resistance going against the Piraka with no ally whatsoever. I have always enjoyed stories that mostly involve the Matoran; they get by without the power or strength of the Toa, and have to use their intellect and cunning to win. That’s the main reason I like Legends 1 much more than the others so far; it focuses the most on the Matoran villagers.

The second reason I like it the most is because it brings back our favorite heroes; the Toa Nuva. Tahu, Lewa, and the gang get to have their personalities perfectly displayed in Greg’s writing. Their powers are often used, and it reminds me of the good old days. However, it is also interesting to see their powers pitted against the new powers of the Piraka. Specifically, it’s interesting how Reidak, Avak, and Zaktan all outwit the Toa Nuva because of their unique powers. The battle between the Toa Nuva and Piraka is one of the best I’ve read in the Bionicle books, and it was worth the read. With the book following the Matoran resistance and the Toa Nuva’s battle, it was a very enjoyable read.

Some nifty quotes that you may be interested in.

Jaller ~ “You like riddles, Matoro… try this one. What’s white and gold and can’t keep a secret to save his life?”

Velika ~ “When the Kanohi Dragon roars, do not look for the stone rat.”

Pohatu ~ “Um, they’re hiding behind a rock. Remember me? I’m Pohatu. I do rock.”

Garan ~ “Let’s show them you don’t have to be a Toa to be a hero!”

Dark Destiny. The second book, following the Piraka’s takeover of the island and Jaller and Co’s journey through Karzahni. It is still pretty good, but a bit more quick paced than the first one, and not as much detail on the struggle on Voya-Nui. However, that might be because the characters in the limelight have doubled. Despite the fact, Dark Destiny is a great book, and lots of fun to read.

The book is split up between two stories, one on Voya-Nui and one in Karzahni. Jaller and Co’s travels through the twisted land are great. I feared that Jaller would get most of the character development, but I was very glad that Hahli, Matoro, and Nuparu also got a fair share of characterization, while Hewkii and Kongu mostly got to say witty comments. I especially like how Nuparu thinks of ways to build stuff numerous times. While there is not too much action in this part of the book, it is full of descriptions and characterization of the soon-to-be-Toa-Inika. Plus, I’m pretty sure the morals of the story come through the scenes where Matoro stands up against Karzahni’s visions and the nameless Matoran urges Jaller to go on his way. The scene where they escape Karzahni in the canisters was just excellent, and my favorite part of the story. In addition, some little mysteries were revealed in the land of Karzahni, including the legend of Karzahni and Artakha, the origin of the Toa olda, and the origin of the Manas. While it was normally the slow and descriptive part of the book, I did enjoy it.

The rest of the book followed the details of the Matoran resistance, the escape of the Toa Nuva, and the arguments of the Piraka. Characterization in this section wasn’t as strong… only Kazi really got more limelight than he did in the previous book, yet he still hasn’t used his Echo Forks! The escape of the Toa Nuva and their fight with the Matoran was good, but it felt a little rushed. Yet it did help get the Matoran and Toa together, and their plans to fight the Piraka underway. Moving onto the Piraka, they had less character development besides breaking apart from one another. Hakann got the largest role, and Vezok virtually disappeared for the greater portion of the book (he was likely searching for the Nuva, I guess, when the Toa Nuva were ambushing the other, more lazy, Piraka). However, we got to see more of Thok’s manipulation, Avak’s power at work, and Zaktan’s leadership abilities (or lack thereof). Additionally, Brutaka and Axxon were introduced, although not entirely by name, and their characters were still shrouded in mystery. The big battle in the end between the Piraka, Toa Nuva, and Brutaka was the highlight of the book. We got to see how the powers of the Piraka were used to an advantage and to a disadvantage. I also liked how Lewa outsmarted Reidak… again! However, the battle ended abruptly and too quickly for my like… by Brutaka. The ending showed Brutaka’s amazing strength and left the reading with a numb feeling; things were really starting to heat up, and then it ends. This massive cliffhanger leaves me wanting the next book more than ever, and the last part at the end with the arrival of the Inika adds to that anxiety. While Dark Destiny wasn’t as powerful a book as Island of Doom, I still thought it was well worth the read.

Some nifty quotes that you may be interested in.

Kazi immediately began using the old Ko-Matoran trick of counting to himself to prevent an explosion of temper. With Velika, he sometimes reached numbers in the high seven digits.

Axxon ~ “Well, what are you waiting for, Naming Day? Get out of there!”

Hakann ~ “Doom. Destruction. The end of all existence. You know Zaktan, always great company.”

Hewkii ~ “All I see is, whoever is in charge of attracting tourists here is doing a lousy job.”

Nuparu ~ “Only thing worst than a Po-Matoran carver is a Po-Matoran carver with a sense of humor.”

Kongu ~ “So we’re being stalked by a really big turtle?”

Karzahni ~ (In response to “You’re Insane!”) “I prefer the term ‘creative’. Though I suppose there is not much difference between the two in the end, is there?”

Kongu ~ “What did you seek-find? A new kind of bolt driver? A really great wrench?”

Hakann ~ “It’s incredible how fast the sun can set on a new day around here.”

Lewa ~ “You owe a lot of things. Like an apology to the universe for existing.”

Zaktan ~ “No matter our differences, we are still Piraka. The Mask of Life can still be ours, once we kill these Toa Nuva!”

Power Play. The third book that pits the Toa Inika against the Piraka, with Axxon and Brutaka thrown in as well. In searching for this book, I must’ve been to twelve bookstores over two months searching for it, and never found it till two weeks after the official release date. :annoyed2: Anyway, I’ve only read it all the way through once, so my opinion on it may not be fully formed. I say this because I did not enjoy it nearly as much as I first thought I would.

There are many reasons. First of all, there are many, many characters that need development. The Matoran resistance seems to lose a little bit if their charm when they begin to work with the Toa Inika. Garan sounds a little too much like a Turaga, Dalu turns a lot rougher and tougher than she has been in the earlier books, Kazi’s secret is revealed without too much suspense, and Balta and Piruk get little character development. Only Velika stayed in a strong character, with his riddles. While the Matoran are active in the book, their role in it is much less than it was in the other books, as the focus shifts onto the Toa and Piraka.

The Piraka are fun to read. We get to learn a little bit more about Vezok, and how he’s “dumb”, and Zaktan’s secrets continue to grow. Hakann and Thok get large roles in the end battle, but Avak’s role is less and Reidak is hardly mentioned, much like Vezok was in Dark Destinies. Their powers are used, but not to a greater extent than the other books. However, like their powers defeated the Nuva’s ignition attacks in Island of Doom, the Piraka’s powers are defeated by many of the Inika’s powers. Additionally, Brutaka and Axxon have their history more thoroughly explained, but their unique powers aren’t displayed as much (besides Brutaka’s mask in the very beginning).

Where the character development is strong is with the new Toa Inika. Greg did a fine job of showing how the Toa learn about their powers, although some of it was cheesy to me, like when Matoro found his mask power. However, that’s because it looks like something I might’ve written, so it felt slightly reused. However, it was nice how the Toa initially discovered their powers, and then used them later on in the battle. Plus, all the Matoran’s personalities are shown excellently, especially with Hewkii and Kongu and Nuparu. The battle itself seemed a little too quick for me, but the struggles that Greg did write about were fun to read. While it did not seem as good as the Toa Nuva’s first battle with the Piraka, the battles between the Inika and Piraka were the best part of the book. I especially liked how the Piraka turned against each other numerous times in the last part of the battle, in which Hakann and Thok had Brutaka’s energies.

The one thing I didn’t like about the book was the storyline, which was messed up in sections. The first two books went back to back, but this one has many tie-ins with the comics. In some ways, this is a good thing, but it does make the story a little choppy when Axxon and Hakann appear wounded from a struggle that wasn’t present in the book. In this way, you would need to read both the books and the comics at the same time, and if one is missing the comics, then they are missing out. All in all, the story did seem as smooth or detailed as the first two Legend Books. But then, I may have to read it a few more times cover to cover, and then I may just change my mind.

Some nifty quotes that you may be interested in.

Garan ~ “I don’t know who or where they are, but there are six new Toa on this island. And they are coming for you.”

Nuparu ~ “You’re no vision of beauty yourself, Hewkii.”

Reidak ~ “I should throw you off cliffs more often. It’s fun”

Thok ~ (In response to a threat from Brutaka.) “I point him to Reidak and get out of the way.”

Hewkii ~ “I’m not sure I want to know what my mask does. It might turn me into a Le-Matoran or something.”

Kongu ~ “They can deep-carve that on our memorial stones. ‘But at least Nuparu had fun.’”

Matoro ~ (In response to “You should be enslaved!”) “Oh, is that what that does? Then I don’t feel so bad about doing this.”

Jaller ~ “We’re not. No, not Toa Nuva. Toa Inika.”

Hewkii ~ “I’ll show Brutaka how a kohlii ball feels when it’s kicked into orbit.”

Kongu ~ (In response to “I thought Toa always put the interest of Matoran first.”) “I thought Matoran were taller.”

Kongu ~ “You’re right, next time maybe you should stick to a fire or ice Toa-hero. A lot less pressure.”

Hakann ~ “Then live no longer.”

Axxon ~ “No, Toa, just in case you succeed.”

Hewkii ~ “That’s not very good sporting. If you’re not going to play by the rules, you’ll have to be penalized!”

Zaktan ~ “Now, my treacherous companions, my hunters in the dark… now the true battle begins.”

Nuparu ~ “Maybe you don’t choose a destiny like that. Maybe it chooses you.”

Vezon ~ “After all, the waiting is half the fun.”

I would also like to comment on Greg’s writing style. Throughout the books, I can pick up little tid-bits that certainly seem to have come from discussion from BZP (or the general fan-base). And I marvel at how he is able to insert this stuff into his writing. Greg’s always being descriptive and including plenty of action, and he is surely a great author. It’s interesting seeing what you can pull from his writing. I’ve found a few things of interest that I want to point out.

Island of Doom ~ Balta… peered closer at Avak’s handiwork. “What’s that do?” he asked, pointing to an unfamiliar component. “And what’s that? How do those pieces join together? Is that the only color that piece comes in? I think it would look better in a different shade of gray.”]/i]

Greg uses Balta to voice some of the questions I might heard an MOCer ask, especially the part about the shade of gray.

Power Play ~ His mind was now full of the babble of everybody else’s thoughts… Hewkii was a little upset no one had commented on the fact that his armor had changed from brown to yellow when he became a Toa.

Greg takes one of the most controversial aspects of the Toa Inika (their color change) and inserts it into the story. Hehe, I thought that was an interesting way of doing it.

And now that’s my review for the first three Bionicle Legend Books. They were all a good read, although some were worth the money more than others. I will undoubtedly buy all the Legend Books this time around, and when I get the next one, maybe I’ll review that one too. And as of now, I’ll end this massive Blog entry.