BIONICLE® Adventures #4: Legends of Metru Nui was a difficult book for me to get, not just because it is not officially released until September, but also because of the proliferation of BIONICLE books. When I first went to order the book, I was presented with BIONICLE® Chronicles #4: Tales of the Masks . “No,” I said, “I’m looking for Adventures .” Having finally determined the correct book to order, I returned when they said it had come in. I was presented with the BIONICLE: Metru Nui City of Legends guide book. “No,” I said, “I ordered Legends of Metru Nui .” And so they disappeared and returned with BIONICLE Adventures #1: Mystery of Metru Nui . “No,” I said, ” Legends of Metru Nui .”
“There’s more than one Metru Nui book!?” they said. “Yes,” I said, “you have an entire display of them.” And so they do. A prominent display at the end of one of the book shelves in the “Children’s Books” department is devoted to all of the BIONICLE books. All except, that is, Legends of Metru Nui . But after the fourth trip to the mysterious back room, my precious book order was finally brought to me.
Legends reads more like the movie novelization it is than a continuation of the Adventures series. Instead of picking up at the end of BIONICLE Adventures #3: The Darkness Below , we start back at the beginning when the TOA METRU are still MATORAN. Actually, there is a beginning before the beginning; a shorter-than-usual prologue from Mata Nui pulls us into the tale.
Don’t expect to run into the Morbuzakh or the shape-shifting Krahka though. They only get mentioned on the back cover. The search for the Great Disks goes by at a blinding pace of one paragraph per disk. Much of the entire book has a quickened pace, sometimes made to seem even quicker by intercutting scenes from multiple locations. I can only guess that the movie will use this same approach.
I don’t want to spoil the book or the movie by delving further into the plot other than to say that the TOA METRU continue searching throughout the story for one thing or another, but mostly to find themselves, their own powers, and their own way in life as TOA METRU. I can’t help but think of the TOA METRU as allegorical teenagers.
Speaking of spoiling the book and/or the movie, there are sixteen half-page color images in the center of the book. The pictures are supposed to be exclusives from the movie, but we have seen several of these before and those are definitely not from the movie. The pictures don’t give away much by themselves, but unfortunately the captions do. If you want to preserve the surprise, don’t look at the pictures until after you finish the book. To be completey safe, don’t even read the description on the back of the book.
All in all, the story is quite pleasing and action-filled. The frenetic pace, compared to the earlier stories, took me by surprise a little bit at first, but you quickly get used to it. For the most part, the plot is accessible to anyone, not just those steeped in the lore of BIONICLE. The sole exception is a bit of a gratuitous ending tacked on which will only truly resonate with those in the know.
0 Comments