Hey, I'm just wondering, what do you guys think is the best Transformers book out? I looked at [AMAZON]http://tinyurl.com/2q32af[/AMAZON] Amazon and there's a lot. It seems like the Ultimate Guide book is pretty good, but how about the prequel novels (Ghosts of Yesterday and The Movie Prequel)? If anybody's read these, it would help to...uh...help Thanks.
The Ultimate Guide by Simon Furman is great. I also enjoyed the prequel movie novel. The Hearts of Steal IDW graphic novel is a good read, but you might want to just sit down and read a copy at Barnes and Nobles, or Borders(both of these places here in my hometown have amazing graphic novel sections, with tons of TF stuff). I HIGHLY recommend the following book linked below. Great photos and drawings, though it can be pricey. http://www.tfsource.com/Reissues/Generations%20Book/generations-book.htm
I heartily recommend the Transformers: Legends book. It is an anthology of several TF short stories written by several different writers, including good old Simon Furman and Beast Machines writer Bob Skir. IMO, these are the best TF stories in prose format readily available now.In comparison, the movie prequel is pretty meh. I too recommend the Ultimate guide, good light coffee table read, with enough new tidbits to satisfy long time fans. TF Generations may be in Japanese, but it is still a very good reference for TF pictures. If you would prefer an English guide, I'd recommend the Cybertronian Recognition guide series which includes pictures of the toys plus all their original Tech specs as well along with other nice additions. The problem is that it may be hard to find, since it has been out of print for some time.
i rather liked ibooks trilogy,but the big winner would be their "tf:legends" short story anthology...if we're talking comics,marvel and idw are tied for the best stuff,i think...
Transformers Books 1-3 I really liked The Ultimate Guide by Simon Furman. I mean it helped explain in more deepth on how the Transformers came to be and more about Cybertron. But I really liked the 3 book novel. Transformers: Hardwired Book 1, Transformers: Annihilation Book 2, and Transformers: Fusion book 3. It starts with a good hook at the begining. But leaves alot of confusion. When the second book comes into play it answers all of the questions left by book 1. But when you reach the conclusion with Book 3 their is so much action and of course the final battle. Like I said, I really liked it but you never know untill you try it.
I've only read like 2 chapters but the Hardwired novel is great. It's G1 ftr. The Marvel UK stuff is great.
Certainly the Ultimate Guide and Legends Also the IDW Spotlights & Stormbringer (If you don't mind comics)
Prime Targets is fun episode guide for the G1, BW, and BM cartoons. Consider me another recomender of Legends as well. The Ultimate Guide is also quite useful. I also liked the trilogy Transfused mentioned too, but it's not to everyone's taste. For comics - War Within, Target 2006, and Infiltration are all good places to start.
The movie prequel book "Ghosts of Yesterday" is decent. At barely 300 pages, it doesn't take too long to read. I read it the week before the movie released, and it's a fair set-up for the movie characters and continuity, without spoiling a great deal of the movie elements. It has its moments -- pros and cons: PROS: - Starsceam is a central character. If you didn't get enough of him in the movie (and he only had one freaking line anyway), this book should meet that need. - Prime has a lot more presence than in the movie. - It's a quick read and fairly entertaining overall. CONS: - Too much time spent on the human elements of the plot. Every time it cuts away from the bots, you're left wondering if there's something a whole lot more interesting going on besides what's up with the humans. - Weak introduction and description of characters. It's like it's assumed that readers would already know what the TF characters looked like. - Action scenes lack details -- sometimes it's choppy and hard to follow. More like the author is describing action "moments" than a full-out action scene. - Very little Megatron, but that's a given since he's on ice anyway. Although he's referenced through out and does have a climactic moment late in the book. - "Minor" TF characters seem bland and others are nothing more than drones. As I already mentioned, the book's lacking in character depth. - The ending seems rushed and anti-climactic. It merely sets the stage for the movie, and doesn't even come close to directly leading in to it. It could've been a lot better. I'd have loved to have seen Simon Furman co-write a prequel like this with a better sci-fi author like Timothy Zahn.
I just bought and read this book...this needs to be put on screen, somehow. I'm thinking in the form similar to the Clone Wars animated movies that bridged Episodes I-III...something reletively short and lower budget than the feature film.
Legends was GREAT. There is an awsome story about where all the Primes(als) go when they die, including the Armada Prime. Good stuff, and a great little connection between Prime(G1) and Primal.
Such a thing has already been hinted at by one of the movie cast: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/showthread.php?t=142349 Yeah, those were great. I would love to see Genndy Tartakovsky's take on TFs like he did with Star Wars or Timothy Zahn's Star Wars books translated to theatrical or TV fare, but I'm not holding my breath. And I take it you haven't seen this yet? http://www.starwars.com/video/view/000478.html Coming Fall '2008. Woot!
All four of the G1 /legends novels are great. The movie prequel was ok. Nothing great. Kinda just sets up how Megs got to Hoover Dam and more about how we used the cube to advance electronics. The movie novel itself was good. A little more here and there, but for the most part the same as the movie.
Legends was decent - the Annihilation and Hardwired books were, well, not so much. Put me down for Ultimate Guide... it's handy for family and friends who have no knowledge whatsoever of the TFs, and it's pretty to look at, too.
