Reminder: Transformers: Exiles Available Today

Lord Onixprime wrote:Was the first book even any good? I've heard it was sloppy and contradicts itself withing the confines of its own pages.

Lord Onixprime wrote:Was the first book even any good? I've heard it was sloppy and contradicts itself withing the confines of its own pages.

tigertracks 24 wrote:I'll pick it up, but not sure when I'll get to reading it.

The first was good. But I enjoy G1 related fiction. And Alex Irvine lived in Michigan, so I also must support the local boys gone bigtime.

Sabrblade wrote:

tigertracks 24 wrote:I'll pick it up, but not sure when I'll get to reading it.

The first was good. But I enjoy G1 related fiction. And Alex Irvine lived in Michigan, so I also must support the local boys gone bigtime.

Even though it technically isn't G1 fiction.

tigertracks 24 wrote:It has 'G1' era characters and not movie characters, right? Good enough for me.

Sabrblade wrote:

tigertracks 24 wrote:It has 'G1' era characters and not movie characters, right? Good enough for me.

It has "homages" to G1 characters, but they're the War for Cybertron versions, which isn't G1 either.

tigertracks 24 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

tigertracks 24 wrote:It has 'G1' era characters and not movie characters, right? Good enough for me.

It has "homages" to G1 characters, but they're the War for Cybertron versions, which isn't G1 either.

Stop ruining the experience for me!!!

The epic battles between Optimus Prime and Megatron have long thrilled Transformers fans. But these two giants weren’t always great leaders and bitter foes. This new novel continues the electrifying saga that started with Transformers: Exodus, unveiling the origins of the conflict—the explosive events that unfolded before Optimus and Megatron arrived Earthside, forever altering the destiny of their kind.

Suvudu wrote:Shawn Speakman: Hi Alex! You’ve written two tie-in novels for Transformers — EXODUS and EXILES. How did you get the chance to work on one of the most recognized franchises on the planet?

Alex Irvine: Well, that was thanks to Tricia Pasternak. I’d worked with her on an Iron Man novel and (memory fails) a couple of other things. When the Transformers project rolled around she asked me if I was interested…and of course I was. Then I had a bunch of conversations with Michael Kelly and the rest of the cool cats at Hasbro, and off we went.

SS: Where do these books fit in with the chronology of the movies and how much liberty were you given since they were prequels?

AI: I had a lot of liberty within the broader parameters of Hasbro continuity. In Exodus, my mandate was essentially to tell the history of the civil war and tie it to the portions of the story presented in the War for Cybertron video game. Transmedia! But within that framework, I could do anything. I wanted Optimus to believe what Megatron was preaching initially, so that when Megatron betrays his own principles it’s a real shock to Optimus, and leaves a scar that never quite heals. Exiles continues that story and also tees up some things that you might see in the coming season (or seasons?) of Transformers: Prime.

(By the way, speaking of Megatron: for those Suvududes of either sex who do not follow the NFL, the Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson is nicknamed Megatron.)

SS: What kinds of things will Transformers fans learn if they read EXILES?

AI: They will learn about lost Cybertronian colonies—including Velocitron and Junkion; some of the history of the Thirteen; and how Optimus deals with betrayal when he has to confront the fact that one of the Autobots is a spy for Megatron. Also there are cool fights. They might see a kind of bot that is very rarely seen, and they will certainly learn something interesting about the origin of Junkion. And did I mention the…? Oh. I can’t mention those.

SS: Got a favorite Transformer? And I have to know, do you own him in toy form?

AI: Starscream! And yes, although my son Ian took him apart a while back and we never did find all the pieces. So he has transformed into something else.

SS: An age-old question: Can Optimus and Megatron ever settle their differences and become friends again?

AI: I envision the two of them on the porch of the Home for Aged Star-Faring Cybertronians in Iacon, sipping Maccadam’s and…by which I mean no. I think that Megatron would never let it happen. He’s too resentful about Optimus becoming the standard-bearer for the movement Megatron created, and he’s also never going to get over Optimus being named Prime.

SS: You are always busy with something. What are you currently working on and when will we be able to see it?

I’m putting the finishing touches on my Star Wars novel right now. It’s due to come out at the end of next year. I would tell you the title, but I’m still fiddling with different ideas. I wrote the novelization of the Tintin movie that’s coming out this Christmas; the book is out November 1. That was a great excuse to dig back into Tintin comics. I’m trying to teach the baby to say “Blistering barnacles!”

Also I am working on a couple of different game development projects, one of which will go live in January. And I’ve got three novels on the boil. I’m hoping to finish one of them by spring, but I don’t know which one.

SS: Thanks Alex!

AI: Thanks Suvudu!

gothsaurus wrote:I actually really enjoyed the first book... with only very minor complaints. (Usually reading this sort of thing, you encounter so many that's-not-cannon! events or traits, you can't enjoy them... especially with so many different timelines... movie, classic, animated, prime, armada....) Anyway, will definitely be picking this up.

The only other TF novel I really got a kick out of was the Legends book of short stories. Very fun stuff... especially the one with the obscure dinobot Paddles. I seriously recommend picking that one up. Paddles rules.

gothsaurus wrote:I think my gripe so far... it seems like a mix of too many universes. War for Cybertron, Movie continuity, and G1. Mixing all of them just feels odd. (Bulkhead on the Ark for example.)

Sabrblade wrote:It's a mixing of elements from these universes.

Bleak5170 wrote:Reading it now and all I have to say do far is, "What happened to Ironhide?" He was there on the ship with the rest of the Autobots at the end of Exodus and he's completely gone in Exiles. He was mistakenly mentioned on page 26, (was actually Ratchet, not Ironhide), but that's all I've seen so far.

Did Hasbro tell Alex that since he's dead in the movies now, disregard him in the books, (even though they are different continuities)?

tigertracks 24 wrote:But I feel like I am watching/reading Armada and Cybertron, not this story that is supposed to be set... wait when is it?

tigertracks 24 wrote:I guess I should just wait for the Sabrblade cliffnotes before trying to actually understand how it all fits with the previous continuities.

tigertracks 24 wrote:

Bleak5170 wrote:Reading it now and all I have to say do far is, "What happened to Ironhide?" He was there on the ship with the rest of the Autobots at the end of Exodus and he's completely gone in Exiles. He was mistakenly mentioned on page 26, (was actually Ratchet, not Ironhide), but that's all I've seen so far.

Did Hasbro tell Alex that since he's dead in the movies now, disregard him in the books, (even though they are different continuities)?

No, he's in there more. It's just kind of odd how the grouping works, and as was said before, some characters are just there to fill a needed role, but not necessarily representative of what we previously thought they were.

Bleak5170 wrote:

tigertracks 24 wrote:

Bleak5170 wrote:Reading it now and all I have to say do far is, "What happened to Ironhide?" He was there on the ship with the rest of the Autobots at the end of Exodus and he's completely gone in Exiles. He was mistakenly mentioned on page 26, (was actually Ratchet, not Ironhide), but that's all I've seen so far.

Did Hasbro tell Alex that since he's dead in the movies now, disregard him in the books, (even though they are different continuities)?

No, he's in there more. It's just kind of odd how the grouping works, and as was said before, some characters are just there to fill a needed role, but not necessarily representative of what we previously thought they were.

Ah gotcha. Thanks for clearing that up. It seems to me like these books are kind of along the same lines as the video games, (War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron), and use most of the characters seen in the movies, (O.P., Bumblebee, Jazz, Ironhide, Ratchet), and other recent TF media such as Animated, (Bulkhead, Prowl).

tigertracks 24 wrote:It's all very confusing. Even Sabrblade, who knows everything, is confused. As I hear it, all these incarnations together in EXODUS and then EXILES are supposed to be headed towards TF Prime being the future, so Bulkhead, Ratchet, the non-speaking Bbee, and Prime all make sense. We don't yet know how others will gel with them, like Arcee, and why they become such a small group in PRIME (forgive me I have only seen an episode here or there of Prime, and have not seen the beginning yet).

I'd have to read this book again to get it, but frankly, I really don't want to right now! I could barely stand it! Too much nonsense went into this book coupled with some very tedious exposition and really vapid action. I know this is a premature rating, but I'm calling this book a "C-".

Zequem wrote:Velocitron-part was decent, and not much confusing, though it's still mystery how and when Decepticons landed. First they were in that hall or something, and few chapters later they landed again on the surface and were treated like no one had seen them before. Did I miss something or what?

Zequem wrote:Junkion-part, however... What a mess! Characters kept appearing and disappearing out of nowhere, at one point Junkion got destroyed completely, and in the next scene there's still parts of it floating in the space. I had no idea where the Ark or the Nemesis exactly were, and apparently I missed the part where Optimus got to the Requiem Blaster.

Zequem wrote:And don't get me started on those Star Seekers.

Zequem wrote:However, I kind of enjoyed Exiles, but it might be just because in its cover reads "Transformers". If not... well... I would have probably stopped reading after reading the first half.

Sabrblade wrote:

Zequem wrote:Velocitron-part was decent, and not much confusing, though it's still mystery how and when Decepticons landed. First they were in that hall or something, and few chapters later they landed again on the surface and were treated like no one had seen them before. Did I miss something or what?

I was confused about that too. Until I realized that the first landing wasn't made by the Decepticons, but by the Star Seekers. You can tell it was them later on when they arrive at Junkion and use the Universal Greeting and demand to know if there were Cybertronians there like how they did on Velocitron. The confusion comes from them being mistaken for the Decepticons by the Velocitronians.

The Decepticons show up for real later on, after the Star Seekers had left and the damage from their fight earlier is noticed by the Deceps.

Zequem wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Zequem wrote:Velocitron-part was decent, and not much confusing, though it's still mystery how and when Decepticons landed. First they were in that hall or something, and few chapters later they landed again on the surface and were treated like no one had seen them before. Did I miss something or what?

I was confused about that too. Until I realized that the first landing wasn't made by the Decepticons, but by the Star Seekers. You can tell it was them later on when they arrive at Junkion and use the Universal Greeting and demand to know if there were Cybertronians there like how they did on Velocitron. The confusion comes from them being mistaken for the Decepticons by the Velocitronians.

The Decepticons show up for real later on, after the Star Seekers had left and the damage from their fight earlier is noticed by the Deceps.

Ooh, now I get it. Thanks for clearing that up! I kind of realized there was something fishy about in the "first" landing because Decepticons names weren't used, but never could I have figured it was actually the Star Seekers.