Chapter By Chapter features me reading one chapter of the selected book at the time and reviewing it as if I were reviewing an episode of a TV show or an issue of a comic. There will be spoilers if you haven’t read to the point I have, and if you’ve read further I ask that you don’t spoil anything further into the book. Think of it as read-along book club.

PART ONE: AFTERMATH

The book is in three parts and which part we’re in will be shown thusly.

Yes, it’s the last of the three books I was trying to choose from as to what to review next in the Chapter By Chapter series. I’ve already discussed my concerns going in so now it’s time to go in.

It appears we’re starting this story after the events that led to the crew’s disgrace and the Enterprise being destroyed. I’m actually prepared to be frustrated by this part solely based on my personality alone and not any worries concerning the book. I hate when the heroes are mistreated in stories long after it makes sense since they’ve had to prove themselves. I’m not talking characters like J. Jonah Jameson, though by now you’d think New York would trust Spider-Man almost as much as they do Captain America…

Fine, no longer a good example. I’m thinking more along the lines of the Transformers. In recent shows Transformers keep their existence a secret, though how they pull that off in the Bayverse is a mystery I doubt Bay himself would understand if he actually cared. The exception is Cyberverse, where people eventually do learn and we’re told have no problem cheering on the Autobots, but given how little actual human presence there is in the show I’m basically taking their word for it.

However in the comics the majority of humans see the Autobots as big a threat as the Decepticons (oddly, that’s also part of the Bay movies because the government seems to hate their saviors) and attack them just as much. This is not the only series that does this of course but it is the most egregious example of it. So now here I am about to read a book where the heroes I grew up with are about to be treated as the scum of the universe, the scourge of the Alpha Quadrant or something like that and I am not okay with this. If I can get through part one without hating most of the characters who aren’t the usual crew I may be willing to accept why they feel that way after book two. I’m not sure how well this will work for me personally but I’ll try to be as impartial as possible from a storytelling perspective. I know there are some actual authors out there in the readership and I wouldn’t mind hearing some of you weighing in on this storytelling style.

With all that said it’s time for the short prologue and the first chapter of part one.

Continue reading →