Well in light of the underwhelming response to recent entries which falls completely in line with my expectations, here's another one! This time, reviewing Bionicle Legends 9!

Yes, I know. The book came out months ago. I only got it today, right? So shush.

"Experience has taught him it was better to have a plan...Life, unfortunately, wasn't going to stop while you did that...sometimes it dropped you right into the midsts of an all-out-war without so much as a "guess where you're going?""

All-out-war. That is basically what this book is. A war between light and shadow, good and evil. A war between the Toa Nuva and the remaining Matoran of Light desperately fighting for their survival and the Makuta; powerful beings of shadow out to control and corrupt everything they touch. Although they do not have an army, they soon create one using their shadow leeches - not that they need one. It is evident from the start that the Makuta have no problem single-handedly destroying a few villages in spite of resistance.

Far more than 2007 where each Barraki had his own army, this book gives me a much stronger feel of war. The Matoran of Light really are desperate, with their friends and allies turned against them, facing uncountable odds. By the time the Nuva arrive they have all but lost, and not just the battle. They really have lost everything. It truly feels like there's something worth protecting here. The fate of the universe is at stake, but so is the fate of these Matoran. This, for me, is what makes the book. The fact that it shows this and gives me something real and non-abstract to care about. With Matoran given far more prominent roles in the story, suddenly their lives start to matter.

This, for me, is a good thing. The past couple of years especially I've had very little interest in the fate of the Matoran, because they simply haven't mattered. Only six Matoran were free in 2006, and they played the hero part so much by themselves I wasn't concerned about them being protected or rescued. Nor did I care for the other Matoran, for they were just a nameless horde. Last year the Matoran got almost no screentime. Almost nothing about their village was revealed, and there were painfully few Matoran with which I could connect or emphasize. This year the Matoran are genuinely interesting characters who, while able to fight their own battles, really do need saving.

A definite thumbs-up here. All through the book there is atmosphere, there is action, there is humour and there is a feeling of grandness and scale that has really escaped the last couple of years. So far so good.

"Tahu, Kopaka...they would be out there fighting. Not sitting here, hiding and waiting."

Now here we get onto something very important: the characters. Fans of the Nuva rejoice! They have returned! While their sets may bear little resemblance to their 2002 counterparts, Greg has revived their characters flawlessly. Each one is true to form, although as expected the Mistika get little more than mentions. Kopaka is ice-cold and calculating to the last, yet has obviously learnt from his time on Mata Nui and at last understands the value of teamwork. Lewa is as likeable as ever, always carrying a joke or two to lighten the tone. And Pohatu? Aaaaaahh. Good, dependable Pohatu. Noble, strong and a friend to all, the Toa of Stone never changes.

In a way, I am relieved. As an old fan, I am delighted to see that Greg has managed to retain their unique personalities that meld so perfectly with the elements they represent. Each one is a true avatar of their element which is why, for me, they will always be The Toa and more than just another team.

But the Nuva are not the whole story. We have Matoran and we have Makuta. First I'm going to talk about the Matoran. You know, those small dudes that the Toa are here to protect. Not so weak anymore, the Matoran fight their own battles. Each has a strong and unique personality and add a whole new dimension which would be lacking if it were just Toa vs Makuta. The fact that Karda Nui has inhabitants turns it into more than just another battleground. While we may not get to know much about the Matoran's way of life, we do get to know them. Solek I particularly like. He's very much the Matoran who, so like his 2001 counterparts, looks to the Toa for protection and idolises them in every way.

Now, the Makuta! I've deliberately left these guys till last, partly because I wanted to test my own patience. I've been itching to write about them. The Makuta really are Makuta in every way. Powerful, confident and nasty, these are not beings you want to be on the wrong side of. Infact, given their disregard for all other lifeforms and their feeling of complete superiority, I'm not sure I'd want to be on any side of them at all! Even when blind, they carry themselves with all the strength and confidence expected of a Makuta. Furthermore, they're not backstabbing traiterous gits like EVERY villain of the last two years! Sure they may not have any great love of each other, but even the vilest of beings can have respect for another. Makuta may not like each other, but they have enough respect and sense to recognise the foolishness of trying to continually undermine and eliminate each other. For that simple fact, I love reading any scene with these guys in.

Oh I could go on for ages about the Makuta, but there are other things to discuss! I might just make a quick mention of Toa Ignika. He's a really great character. He has no real understanding of what it is to be a Toa, or even to be alive. This causes him to do some very...questionable things, which makes it all the more interesting. No one really has a clue who or what he is either, which is good fun.

So, onwards!

There wasn't much there, but what there was told a clear story

Greg has an interesting style. He always finds time to slip in the tiniest hints of irony and some unusual phrasings. I must confess, I adore this sort of thing. I enjoy writing myself, and having studied English (for good or for worse) I do enjoy these small oddities. I'm not going to bore you too much with a stylistic analysis of the book though. I suspect that may not be the most riveting of reads. Instead I'll talk about how he tells the story.

The story is extremely linear, which each event picking up right where the last one left. Reading it does give the feeling of a complete story, which is great! Especially when this book is one of three this year. As always, Greg's book follows the characters rather than a pre-planned developing plot. I like both approaches to stories, but given the circumstances and the length I'd say this approach works very well. There certainly is plot development, that much is certain, but a lot of the book is about what happens to the characters and how they deal with the situations they find themselves in. This allows the characters to be explored nicely, and you really do get to know them as the book goes on.

Something I've sidestepped until now is the action. There's a lot of this in the book. The Makuta seem to rely far too much on their shadow powers, ignoring for the most part their incredible range of other abilities. I tried writing a Makuta vs Toa fight once, and the Toa got completely slaughtered within half a page. I just couldn't see how to avoid it. When you're armed with powers like gravity, magnetism, weather control, teleportation, sonics, accuracy, sleep and all those other abilities, how can you lose? Yet somehow the Toa manage to put up a much better fight against three such opponents than I feel can rightly be expected of them. Nevermind. The fights were enjoyable nonetheless, and didn't detract significantly from the story. Well, I suppose when there's a war on that's hard to do, isn't it?

Antroz perched on a high ledge and looked down over Karda Nui. His searching gaze took in the Matoran villages, built atop fallen stalactites, and the great swamp far below.

I must confess, I don't believe setting to be Greg's strongest point. Maybe it's because I'm used to the days of the MNOLG and the Webisodes, but I never find the books give an entirely satisfactory picture of the surrounding environment. It's actually a failing I (believe I) share when writing, so I'm not going to criticise too much. I do like to be able to picture a scene or a place in my head and, while I can usually do this, there often seems to be a lack of detail. I dunno, maybe I should read it again. I tend not to spend time over the books, given their size. Only an hour or two, really.

Actually, their size could be a reason for this. Description of place can take up a lot of space in a book and, as nice as it is, tends not to be essential to the story itself. In almost any circumstance I'd say 'don't leave it! Put it in!' but when writing to a word limit like Greg, sometimes there are more important things. He does manage to create atmosphere throughout the book, so it can't be all bad. Infact, it's a long way from it.

Karda Nui has a bit more personality than previous settings. Voya Nui and Mahri Nui, for all their potential, just didn't do it for me. They turned into nothing more than battlegrounds for the Toa and whatever enemy they happened to be fighting. This is still somewhat true, and Karda Nui (given its size) can be seen as something as a letdown. The entire place is a huge swamp with a few isolated villages atop some stalactites. Anything else? Any features of interest? No? Ok then. What a thrilling location. I remember Greg once described the Universe Core as being 'almost a universe in itself'. This really excited me. Then we got this. Still, the inclusion of village settings and research labs does add some flavour to the place. Karda Nui, while not what I had hoped or expected, does manage to be an interesting location to visit if not explore.

"There's no getting around it - darkness is going to win here."

So how does the book shape up overall? Well in my opinion, quite well. Like many I am thrilled to see the original heroes back in the main story. They remain as awesome as ever and true Toa to the last. All the characters have personalities which are explored throughout the book - an impressive feat, given the sixteen or so characters all competing for the main spotlight. What happens in the book seems to occur naturally, and not as a convenient plot device like in some books. Another definite plus.

The book provides an excellent start to the year. It sets the scene nicely and introduces many of the characters and problems to be faced by the heroes. Considering the Toa Nuva are in Karda Nui to awaken Mata Nui, there seems to be very little mention of that. Given that there's a war on, perhaps this is unsurprising. Wars to tend to disrupt even the best laid plans.

Settings are an improvement on past years, but still lacking in my eyes. If there's anything I'd like to see improved, it's this. I like a bit of description now and then, although too much tends to get in the way of a story.

So, yes! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in following the Bionicle story. I think fans of the earlier years will like this more than the books of previous years. It features the original heroes, multiple Makuta who are all fantastic characters in themselves, a return to a more traditional Toa-defend-village approach and, of course, the first steps to awakening Mata Nui! It's been a long road, but the end is in sight! I am now eagerly awaiting the next installment not because there was a shocking cliffhanger of an ending (I believe I stated the story is quite nicely self-contained), but because I'm genuinely interested in what's going to happen. I don't think this is Greg's best book, but it's certainly one of the better ones. Let's hope future books keep to the same standard!

Now, sleep. I no longer even have the energy to read through this. If my non-existant readers spot any mistakes, errors or general bad stuff, I hope they let me know.