I won't give too much away, but I'll say that in some ways it reminds of 2001 through 2003 in its structure, but it really has a very different feel to it. One of the first things that struck me while reading it is that Vulcanus is a very different kind of village than Ta-Koro. Unlike the laid-back and serene villages of Mata Nui, where all the little Matoran gather 'round the campfire to be told stories by the wise old Turaga, the villages of Bara Magna have all the hustle and bustle of actual towns. In fact, the Glatorian stay at an inn, and there's mention of Strakk getting into a fight with Vulcanus' "main chef." Raanu also came off more as a mayor than as a mystical shaman like Vakama.

In other ways, though, Raid on Vulcanus is far more like the old days than anything we've seen in recent years. I'm very happy to see that there's an actual feeling of real community and culture that hasn't been present for a long time. When the characters travel around you meet up with an extended cast of villagers who serve as familiar faces, sort of rooting the location down. It's like back on Mata Nui when you'd run into Jala, Kapura, Vakama, and even those little guard-guys whenever you went to Ta-Koro. They were kind of just the "townspeople."

Also, though this isn't inherent in the book itself, the role of the book in this year's story is far more... 'episodic' than anything from 2006-2008. The last several years have been completely single-minded. The goal was generally just "get the Ignika, destroy the evil team." (This was lessened a bit last year, but it was still very much there.) Whereas in 2001-2003, though the overall goal to awaken Mata Nui was there, there were many separate adventures along the way that were only loosely connected together. Because Raid on Vulcanus shares this quality, I have a feeling this book will be a lot easier for a casual fan to pick up without being confused or overwhelmed.

And that brings me to the meat of the book. The villains of this book are not the Skrall, despite what everything else this year would seem to indicate. Though they play a role in it, it's largely behind-the-scenes stuff. The Bone Hunters are the real villains here, and they do a very good job of it. I wasn't very interested in them before I read this book, but now I've been inspired to draw a picture of them or something because I now know that they have an actual culture and aren't just a generic bunch of baddies. The book makes mention of veteran Bone Hunters, young ones who are still learning, and also the fact that they have their own language, which really surprised me.

In fact, just about all the characters come off as far more interesting than I expected, including Ackar, Malum (and his Vorox tribe), Metus (Greedy McGreedster), Strakk, Raanu (who turns out to be a tiny bit cowardly) and even Gelu (who turns out to be a main character, much to my surprise).

And before I finish, here are a few of my favorite minor points in the book:

• Ackar apparently has traumatic memories of a Core War battle fought in the Iron Canyon, where "two armies crept through passages too narrow for more than one warrior to pass through at a time. If the leader of the column got killed, he would block the path, leaving all those behind him exposed to the spears and arrows of the enemy in pursuit."
• Vorox are apparently like magpies. When Gelu and Gresh toss shiny armor into their midst, they squabble over them because they want the 'treasures.' It's... Kinda cute.
• When Gelu encounters Malum and sees how crazy he is, he mentions that he's not a coward, but "this place reminded him a little too much of the Agori 'settlements,' the places for those who had spent too much time in the sun and sand and lost their minds." I don't know if that'll ever become a plot point, but it's certainly interesting.

So go out and buy it, it's amazing.