Web of Shadows

Bionicle Adventures #9

by Greg Farshtey

The Toa Hordika must fight to resist the effects of the Visorak poison that's slowly destroying and mutating them. But they cannot ignore external enemies--who inlcude one of their own number--who seek to destroy them and rule Metru Nui forever.

Based on the 3rd Bionicle movie this is the ultimate showdown between the Toa Hordika and the Visorak hordes.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Childrens, Adventure

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Greg Farshtey is the author of the popular BIONICLE chapter books and Level 3 readers, as well as the long-running BIONICLE comic book series. His day job is Editor-in-Chief and head writer for the LEGO Club Magazine and the LEGO BrickMaster Magazine.

Greg has been writing since fourth grade. After earning a degree in Communications from the State University of New York at Geneseo, he worked as a reporter, sports editor, game designer and editor, and copywriter before joining LEGO Company in 2000. Before becoming involved with BIONICLE, he wrote game material for such diverse properties as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Tales From the Crypt.

Greg is the author of more than 30 novels and guidebooks, as well as the author or co-author of more than 35 game sourcebooks and adventures.

He lives in West Hartford, Connecticut.

For more information, please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Far...

Reviews

[Leonardo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really feel like Greg did not want to write this story. My key insight into this is that the inner monologue we get for our characters reads to me as disdainful of the dialogue they speak and the actions they perform. What floors me is that I didn’t realize Greg sneaks into this book a skip of what must be about two weeks within a scene that is meant to only be a few seconds, just so that his plot from Challenge of the Hordika has a place to be relevant. This movie is perhaps the worst of them to trample over the given story (at least there is no moment like in the last one where Dume’s throwaway line means the events of 2004 all took place in two days), yet I think Greg takes it in stride as well as can be with this novelization. I was gonna give it three stars but I’ll grant a fourth for effort. I really think he tried to turn this story around.

[Eduardo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The 2005 storyline was long regarded as the weakest of the set for a lot of BIONICLE fans, especially with this movie. The Toa are mutated, and Vakama turns evil for a bit. I maintain that the storyline has some great highlights. This movie, and the novelization of it, are not really it.

This book tries really hard to make itself fit with the previous books and comics, but that doesn’t really work? There’s a quick, “And then all that other stuff happened” bit in this book, whereas it’s quite obvious to the reader that it’s inserted into a scene where Vakama goes off by himself and Nork comes to talk to him.

There are also really weird cuts around the story? I haven’t seen the movie in ages (I’ll get around to it soon, I hope), but there’s one bit where Vakama is being turned evil, interspersed with scenes of the heroes going to the Great Temple, implied to be happening at the same time. But then Vakama goes and attacks the heroes, somehow teleporting across the city, right after his conversation is done?? It’s weird.

Throughout the 2005 storyline, Greg tried really hard to figure out how to make Vakama’s turn to evil (brief though it was) into something believable, and he did well with what he had, but it’s obvious that this movie, by itself, didn’t do a good job–and so Greg has to awkwardly pen the novelization to show this rushed characterization that doesn’t make much sense. It’s a cool idea, but it doesn’t make sense.

Also! I don’t know how they find Keetongu. The heroes go from having no idea where to start looking, to being on the path to find him, and I don’t know how.

This is not the worst part of the BIONICLE story, but it’s certainly one of the weakest links.

[Sully Leier · Rating 2 out of 5]

fuuck these beat-for-beat movie novelizations suck so bad. Glad this is the last one for a while. Hope we see more of the Toa Hagah because the idea is really interesting and deserves to be expanded on.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly among the best stories in the novel series so far. The post-epilogue offers a unique insight into a previous team that I didn't think we were going to get.

[LiamB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vakama is comparable to Darth Vader as of now.

[Cam Vincent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is both spooky and cool it showed the toa metru(the heroes) and they have to rescue the matoran(the villagers) but suddenly strange creatures capture the toa and turns them into mutants because of the transformation everyone on vakama's team blames him for this so he leaves his team in the dust to join the evil side.will vakama ever return to his team and will the mutant toa turn back into the toa metru? Find out in this book.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books (and to some extent, the comics) were the BEST PART about the original Bionicle story. Sure it was simplistic, but ever since I was introduced to a tiny Jaller toy in 2001, I was hooked. I still am in love with the beautiful island of Mata Nui and the original six Toa will ALWAYS be some of my favorite heroes.

[Jerome Otte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine Bionicle tale, although it may be a little confusing since it is a novelization of the movie and thus jumbles the timeline quite a bit, including parts of the last two books while leaving some parts out, and then adding a definitive end to the whole Visorak storyline.

[Douglas Baughman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am confused because this book is a rewritten story of 8. So?

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite series in elementary school

[Mellanie C]

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12686753