Transformers by Alan Dean Foster
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Book Reviews of Transformers
Book Review: Ok Book, Die Hard Fans will be Disappointed
Summary: 3 Stars
I just finished reading the book. I will warn you now: There will be spoiler in this review.
The bulk of the book follows three groups of humans with varying degrees of interaction with the Transformers and each other. The main character, Sam, is very weak. He's targeted more at setting a stereotypical nerdy teenager then creating a real person and appealing to a younger audience. Sam had personal struggles that seemed more like they came from a Jerry Springer: Slum Edition. He's likeable enough but completely cookie cutter.
Among the other characters his parents are likable enough but everyone else in Sam's hometown seemed completely oblivious to everything going on around them. His father is one of the most likeable people in this written nior*. He is a strong father figure with solid values and respectable knowledge of family history. His mother, while very loving, is a bit of fruitcake. If you don't believe me, look for some history on Mojo.
The various section of the governmental and military complex(es) was admirably clandestine and well thought out. The executive branch of the government was painted in a less then attractive light and congress wasn't even mentioned. The soldier and governmental employees had clear motives and family matters that anyone could identify with. The soldiers were more believable and far more likable then all of the civilian.
The Transformer themselves gets a remarkably small amount of book time. They usually come in, do something, and then hide. The next 40 pages are dealing with the new deadly situation that was just generated. Yes I know its `Robots in Disguise' but this is sometimes ridiculous. You would think your title characters would get more visibility and development.
The Transformer's character development is horrible. Aside from how they mangled the characters from the original series, the character's personalities are stale. For creatures whose greatest ability is to physically mimic and assimilate their environment they do a horrible job. They seem unable to assimilate basic human speech patterns even though they have recorded trillion of gigabytes of written and verbal language.
I realize they are in a hurry but these creatures have been around for thousands, if not millions of years. Now they get anxious to find the `Allspark'. It seemed like the book reached a point in which the plot had to artificially sped up. Perhaps the original screenplay needed to shorten because of the costs for special effects. If that true then book should have been based on the original screenplay and not the current screenplay because the books suffers greatly.
Finally is the technology. One of the Transformers loses the ability to speak, but he can play any music or recorded message. So - Why - Doesn't - He - Record - Some - Words - And - Play - The - Back - One - At - A - Time? Can't they hook up a Speak-and-Spell to the guy? Maybe a laptop with wifi and a big speaker? I think that lack of vocalizations was a concession from the first draft of the movie script when none of Transformers would have speaking rolls. It really distracting and degenerates the unfortunate character appearance.
The Allspark, The Energon Cube, The Matrix, has one role, to create new transformers. Its no long the storage that mantle of leadership or a storehouse of Transformer knowledge its just a tool. It to can transform for no good reason.
All in all the story is somewhat thin and, many of the characters are Hollywood stereotypes put to paper. Its a good read for a lazy Sunday afternoon but not much else. Die-hard fans will not like the book. Fans may enjoy the movie for its special effects but they will not enjoy the book nearly as much.
* Noir - This book could be classified as noir because there are many mysteries and plot twists within the book.
Book Review: Wo No More
Summary: 3 Stars
This book is well written, but it takes time for the story to really develop. Mr. Foster's book is not what I expected and if the movie reflects the same it will be a slow moving but well developed plot. Megatron does not come into the story until after page 220. The book is 291 pages long. Where is this going? The Transformers is well written, but it is a long drawn out popcorn style story.Book Review: Very Disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
I heard that the movie novel did not have all of the language and the drooling over Sam's girlfriend that were disturbingly present in the movie.This info was wrong. The book still contains the unnecessary foul language and the bothersome sexual suggestions. There is hardly any character development at all. It feels like you are reading a script rather than an engaging story. There is no emotion, and no way to connect with the characters.Book Review: Poor character development
Summary: 2 Stars
I was very disappointed with the total lack of character development in the novel. Foster himself has said that the benefit you can get from a movie novelization is more insight into the characters. You can quite honestly learn more about the characters and their motivations from the back of a toy box than from this book.
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