"Island of the Lost Masks": Official Discussion Topic

[Rooster Nui]

Alright, so I got the book today and just finished reading it, and I must say, it was pretty good. The last few pages felt a bit rushed IMO, but other then that, I loved it. I'd like to talk about it more, but I don't know how to use a spoiler tag.

You can use spoiler tags by starting a paragraph or whole text with ['spoiler'] and ending it with [/'spoiler']. There doesn't have to be spaces between these and the words they're next to. Also, don't put in the quotation marks. You can find out how to actually use spoiler tags and more information regarding them in the Common Negatives section here.

Edited August 28, 2015 by Rooster Nui

[MarkSurge9411]

 

Alright, so I got the book today and just finished reading it, and I must say, it was pretty good. The last few pages felt a bit rushed IMO, but other then that, I loved it. I'd like to talk about it more, but I don't know how to use a spoiler tag.

You can use spoiler tags by starting a paragraph or whole text with ['spoiler'] and ending it with [/'spoiler']. There doesn't have to be spaces between these and the words they're next to. Also, don't put in the quotation marks. You can find out how to actually use spoiler tags and more information regarding them in the Common Negatives section here.

 

Thanks!

[believe victims]

re: Kopaka's mask: I don't understand the confusion, quite honestly. Of course Skull Warrior came with a drained mask. Do you know how horribly it would sell if it was the only Skull Villain without a drained mask? It didn't matter whether or not they ended up using it in the story (which I imagine they didn't because, unlike the other 3, Skull Warrior is a swarm. there's no single Skull Warrior that they could single out to be the one to wear the mask.) I doubt they even quite worked out the final details of the story at that point. They probably just figured the general idea of masks being drained, and the drained masks coming in the sets.

 

Avoiding rambling too much: the mask was put in the set because that's the Thing. It doesn't matter how "canon" it is. All skull villains come with drained masks.

[MarkSurge9411]

 

I loved that nod to G1 with the whold unity and duty thing, If only they'd mentioned destiny.

Also, I wish the book had ten more pages, I feel like it would've benefitted greatly from that. Finally, the battle against Kulta was awesome.

 

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

Oh man, so awesome that a new book is out. Didn't realize it was that time of the summer already. I'd love to get a digital edition, but I can't seem to find it on any retailer website in Canada... :/ Anyone else having the same problem?

 

-NotS

[Logan McOwen]

So I got Island of Lost Masks yesterday and read though it before I went to bed, and I must admit that my expectations were probably a little too high.

The story is great. I love how it focuses on each of the Toa’s individual journeys before they meet up, instead of focusing entirely on Tahu like the animations. The sequence before the Toa with Bingzak and Nilkuu was really nice too.

Without giving too much away, the journey through the city takes up about a quarter of the book, which I felt was a bit rushed. It would’ve been nice if the Toa were more investigatory of their surroundings, learning more about the city’s past. Also, I felt that the final sequence was somewhat rushed. All in all though, it was still a good part of the book.

In regards to learning new things in the book, other then what’s likely going to happen in the last few animations, we don’t learn too much at all. Which is fine really, considering that there’s a second book for this year coming out soon that’ll likely have more titbits for us to take in. But it’s still not a lot of new information really.

Also, much to my satisfaction, are some titbits here and there that suggest that the characters are indeed mechanoid to a significant degree. For example, Ekimu’s joints are said to be rusty when he exits his sarcophagus, and the tail that Vizuna apparently possesses is said to be specially fitted with sensors. Also, there’s various bits here and there which point to the characters having metallic bodies - the term “armour” is used often. However, it is mentioned on two occasions that Tahu has the sense of smell, so they may well be biomechanical like in G1. I’m not particularly disappointed that that’s not really clarified one way or the other however, as that leaves everyone open to assume what they wish.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It’s clear that it’s not really intended for somebody my age, as the writing style is very simplistic, but it was still quite fun. I just felt that it was a little rushed, although again that’s likely due to the intended audience of it.

Definitely worth getting if you’re a G2 fan, but don’t expect anything akin to Rowling, Morpurgo or Pratchett.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

 

I've read through the whole book, and I will say that I enjoyed it. I really liked the first half of it, with the Toa working with their respective Protectors to obtain their Golden Masks. It was great to finally learn more about said Protectors, though I do think some of them weren't developed as well as some of the other ones. It was also good seeing how some of the other Toa besides Tahu got their masks. I'm really glad that this book didn't become a Tahu fest like a couple of the webisodes became. In fact, Tahu doesn't appear until page 39 of the book. (Yes, I noticed that. ) 

 

Learning more about Okoto's history, and how it was before Ekimu stopped Makuta, was also very interesting. I particularly liked that there are more than one destroyed city on the island. They could make for some great places to explore in the future. 

 

But once the Toa meet up and go into the Ancient City, the book drops in quality IMO. The Lord of Skull Spiders is mentioned here and there in the first half of the book, but is beaten quickly by the Toa once he shows up. Just like in the webisode. The Skull villains are not given any real time to develop to anything more than 'bosses' for the Toa to face in the city. Only Skull Slicer and Skull Scorpio actually give the Toa any actual challenge when they appear. The Skull Warriors are beaten pretty quickly, and Skull Basher is only on three pages of the final chapter of the book. (Yes, I noticed that too.)

 

And then there is Ekimu and Skull Grinder. They both only appear in the last chapter, and Skull Grinder isn't even mentioned until then. Thus, there isn't any build up to him. He's just a villain who appears out of nowhere to suddenly try to destroy the Mask of Creation. Though he is shown to be quite a threat when he one-shots the Toa and destroys their masks. As for Ekimu, his story is told in the book, so his introduction isn't out of left field. What is odd to me, however, is the fact that he is ultimately the one who stops the Skull Grinder, not the Toa. I get that they wanted to show how powerful he was, but we had spent almost all the book with the Toa. I really wish that they had been the ones to defeat Skull Grinder, and not have Ekimu save the day at the last second.

 

This isn't to say that the second half of the book didn't have its good parts. The mentioned battles with the Skull Slicers and Skull Scorpios were good. There was also the 'Beware their Stinger Tails' quote which I thought was great reference to Gen 1 Bionicle. And Onua destroying parts of the city not going unnoticed by Ekimu.

 

Overall, I think that the fact that this book had to adopt its story from the webisodes hurt it. Especially the ending, which really felt rushed. But I also have remember that I'm an adult, one that is used to looking for and finding plot holes and errors in stories at that. Plus I'm used reading more complex stories. (Thanks, Gen 1 Bionicle. ) What I'm saying is that this is a book that is not in my age range, and that even though I thought the ending could've been better, I still enjoyed the book overall. I really liked the first half of the book too. It did a good job of setting up the Gen 2 story with the history of Okoto and introducing the Toa and Protectors. The second half just doesn't have that same feeling. It feels too rushed. I really believe that the book would've benefited from having a few more pages added to its lengh, if only to help give the Skull villains a little more time in the spotlight.

 

Edited August 28, 2015 by Toa Smoke Monster

[Guardian Legend]

*Tries not to read any comments* Well, I just bought my first BIONICLE book in what, 6 years is it? Looking forward to reading it once I finish my other book.

[Votuko]

Well, some annoying errors / inconsistencies cropped up in that book that I felt I needed to list, to see if anyone has any explanations for them (most important have * before them):

 

 

1) Where the character names are written in Okoto alphabet, the letters are styled as if written untidily with ink. However, occasionally a letter sticks out because it is perfectly defined, as if they accidentally used a preliminary image file that hadn't yet had its "written with ink" effect added.

 

2) The Okoto letter "H" when used in the names is left-right mirrored compared to the "H" in the alphabet border at the top of the pages. As the border seems to have X and Y mixed up, and given that the "name H" looks more distinct from "I" than the "border H" does, it looks like the border uses an unfinalised version of the alphabet.

 

3) On page 10 there is a point where it says "said Nilkuu" when it had in fact been Bingzak replying to Nilkuu.

 

*4) Vizuna is described as having a tail connected to his spine, rather than one on each foot. (I suppose I can overlook that one by imagining the book means that it is wired into his spine, but still physically located on his foot.)

 

5) Kopaka's mask is never stolen. And it doesn't work to say "Warrior is a horde enemy so there is no single important one that would get the mask" because Scorpio is also a horde enemy. We see two Scorpio, and one steals Pohatu's mask. (Hopefully the next book, or graphic novel, gives Kopaka's drained mask a canon appearance.)

 

6) The book describes the Ancient City as being in the Region of Jungle, while the map on the website draws its outline as being in the Region of Water.

 

*7) The book implies that it was the battle between Ekimu and Makuta that set off seismic activity that created the six elemental regions. This contradicts the Legend video, which shows the shockwave travelling over an already-divided island. The contradiction is made worse because inside Ekimu's tomb is supposedly information about the six regions, which probably wouldn't have been created yet at the time of his entombment unless A: the start of the book is wrong, or B: they took a really long time to bury Ekimu. (Or I suppose maybe the information was added later for Ekimu to read after awakening?)

 

8) Ekimu doesn't even use a shield in his fight with Kulta. There is also no sign of the fight he has in his character video. (Perhaps the shield will appear in later stories, but the character video fight is probably non-canon because it took place in the Arena, which is pretty destroyed by this point. It could still happen in the next book, and I hope it does, because that 1 v 5 victory is Ekimu's finest moment and otherwise the Hammer of Power's shooting feature hasn't even been made canon...)

 

-Incidentally, all the arguments about Ekimu having a "new form" we had up until this point are null and void, because they were based on someone claiming that his change took place after the fight with Kulta, and due to the Mask of Creation. In fact, as I and others suspected, the book confirms that the change happens before the final fight and is actually due to the Hammer of Power.

 

9) Skull Slicer's mask is described as a decorated Skull Mask. This seems odd, seeing as we were previously told that Slicer was resurrected by LoSS and that gave a good reason for him to wear a dead Skull Spider on his face. (Perhaps the mask is supposed to be a Skull Mask decorated to look like a Skull Spider, to stop people thinking that LoSS can control Slicer, but you would think that they would have said that in the book...)

 

10) Last one is a sillier one: how did they recognise the mask on the tomb as being Ekimu's mask? It was made of stone, so stone coloured, and was the exact same shape as every other villager mask that the Toa have seen.

 

 

/End rant Some more positive things I picked up on were:

 

 

Each region seems to have its own ruined city, and the earthquakes that made them uninhabited, as well as created the weird elementally-divided island, are a cool explanation. They even - dare I say it - make sense, seeing as the MoUP was responsible for the shockwave and is a mask of all six elements.

 

Skull Spiders seem to be confirmed as a creature, rather than "magic masks with legs", seeing as one was easily chopped in half (didn't expect that in kids' book, haha) and one falls a "skeleton-crushing" distance.

(Non-Skull) Scorpio are also a creature which exist elsewhere in Okoto. (Yay for Rahi!) Maybe the trans Skull Scorpio mask could represent what they look like without a Skull Mask controlling them, ie it could represent their bare face?

 

Gali and Kivoda can talk underwater. Water-breathing may be a Water tribe thing, or maybe breathing isn't necessary in G2?

 

I also liked the bit where they acknowledged the "father to son" discrepancy with Korgot. But my favourite bit of new information was the line where Kopaka responds to Lewa feeling a breeze with "What are you? The Master of Air? I look forward to seeing that in a future animation. (Although that also counts for the contradiction list, because earlier Lewa had controlled air to save Vizuna. He also only "brushed aside" the vines that he had been shown to move using Jungle powers in the animations...)

 

 

Edit: Fixed stuff.

Anyone who bothered to read my huge nit-picky wall of text can give themselves a Copper Villager Mask.

Edit 2: Just realised, the book also tells us that the purple energy coming through rocks in the animation trailer isn't going to be Makuta (unfortunately); it's actually

the bit where Onua lifts the Toa out from under the Arena, into the graveyard.

 

Edited August 30, 2015 by Votuko

[Guardian Legend]

Well I finally got around to reading it. Without spoilers, I enjoyed it for what it was worth. I think it could have been longer, specifically for each journey with the Toa finding there masks. The ending was also very rushed, as has been stated. Overall it got the job done of fleshing out characters, especially the protectors, which I appreciate. Hopefully they only get better from here. It was very nice being able to buy BIONICLE book. It's been a long time. 

[Toa TAK]

Overall, I liked it. I agree with others that the first half of the book is much stronger with more of a focus on each characters (the Protectors and their respective Toa). The book was stronger when it wasn't just a slave to the animations and was able to fill in the gaps with character development and information that the animations didn't talk about (such as why the island is the way it is). Ending was weak as well, as it just "ends" with no real satisfying conclusion. But all the callbacks to G1 were great and I'm looking forward to the next book regardless. Hopefully it'll be less about the main arc and able to tell its own story while focusing on the characters.

 

TAK

[Shadow Destroyer]

Overall, I liked it. I agree with others that the first half of the book is much stronger with more of a focus on each characters (the Protectors and their respective Toa). The book was stronger when it wasn't just a slave to the animations and was able to fill in the gaps with character development and information that the animations didn't talk about (such as why the island is the way it is). Ending was weak as well, as it just "ends" with no real satisfying conclusion. But all the callbacks to G1 were great and I'm looking forward to the next book regardless. Hopefully it'll be less about the main arc and able to tell its own story while focusing on the characters.

 

TAK

 

Yeah, I'm hoping that future books don't rely so heavily on the animations. Although it helps tell a cohesive story, it also is disappointing to see the same plot elements in two mediums. 

[masterchirox580]

I'll probably publish a more in-depth review of it on my channel but I have very mixed feeling towards it. As in I enjoyed the first half of the book but the second half was just the summer animations in text form. 

[fishers64]

Got it today. 

 

I miss Greg Farshtey. 

 

 

I liked the details about the Mask of Time, how much of a threat the Skull Spiders really were, and that "captured villager observation deck" thing with LoSS' defeat. 

 

Someone mentioned that Bingzak got a lot of characterization - I'm going to disagree and point out that he was abandoned midway through the book, after basically being used as a tool to explain just how much of a threat the Skull Spiders were. It's starting to become a major pet peeve of mine when Character X is introduced just so Purpose Y can happen. Characters are people, not puppets. 

 

Aside from the "captured villager observation deck" none of the villains were given any characterization, even Kulta. Come on, that guy has got to have more behind him. 

 

Also, while Korgot is asked about why she's in the Protector role, no explanation is actually given. I found that to be annoying. 

 

 

 

I miss Time Trap. 

 

Anyway, most of it I could have picked up just by reading the animations and BZPower over the past couple of months. It appears that expecting any characterization or depth out of this story as of yet is foolish.

 

Cool it, fishers, we're still in 2001. It will get better in 2-3 years. Relax.