Grey Liliy reviewed Transformers: Exiles by Alexander C. Irvine
Review of 'Transformers: Exiles' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
Having enjoyed the first book in this series, it only felt natural to pick up the sequel. Exiles picks up where Exodus left off, with Optimus Prime having left Cybertron in search of the All Spark on the Ark with Megatron and the Nemesis close behind.
Plot wise, this book's a little all over the place. They're jumping from colony to colony, so the stories at first feel sort of episodic. They land on Velocitron, deal with the problem there. Go to Junkion, and deal with their problems. As it progresses, there's a bigger story going on underneath with the Original Thirteen Primes, and some stories about what's going on back home on Cybertron, as well as a search for some ancient artifacts. There's a lot going on.
If I had any complaint about the book, it'd probably be just how much information he tried to pack into one little …
Having enjoyed the first book in this series, it only felt natural to pick up the sequel. Exiles picks up where Exodus left off, with Optimus Prime having left Cybertron in search of the All Spark on the Ark with Megatron and the Nemesis close behind.
Plot wise, this book's a little all over the place. They're jumping from colony to colony, so the stories at first feel sort of episodic. They land on Velocitron, deal with the problem there. Go to Junkion, and deal with their problems. As it progresses, there's a bigger story going on underneath with the Original Thirteen Primes, and some stories about what's going on back home on Cybertron, as well as a search for some ancient artifacts. There's a lot going on.
If I had any complaint about the book, it'd probably be just how much information he tried to pack into one little 300 and some page book. In addition to the already sizable cast of already-known Transformers, the book introduces another ten to fifteen original characters just for this book. If I hadn't already known who most of the characters in this book are from years of being in the Transformers fandom (through multiple medias, series and universes), I would have been overwhelmed by the cast size.
Unfortunately, this also lended the book to many scenes that were pages of exposition or thought (often trying to explain who someone was, or what their motivations are if you didn't happen to know who this character was) which made the book drag a little.
It wasn't all tedious though. The book had quite a few good lines, and I particularly enjoyed the Alpha Trion interludes that happened every so often. Characters like Wreck Gar and Prowl stole the show. It was great seeing Makeshift get a rather large role (a character from another series in this universe who was limited to one episode, even though he had potential for more), and I rather liked Axer.
And I'll give props, the appearance of Nexus Primethere at the end was pretty great. It drew together some things I had wondered about earlier in the book, and hey! The guy winked at Optimus, which is always a plus.
Overall, it's not bad. I already have the next book waiting for me, and I look forward to reading it when I have the time.
I'd check it out if you're a fan of the speedy bots of Velocitron (like Override) or love the Junkions. Otherwise, you didn't miss much if you plan to skip this one over and pick up the next book.
