Transformers: A Novel Mass Market Paperback – May 29, 2007

Well written. Easy to read. Good story plot. Kind of fun too.

This book isn't really meant for kids, because it says the 'F' word and a lot of other cuss words. Being a fan of Michael Bay films, I know for a fact that the movie is a little better than this book. There are definitely a ton of facts in this book, but being a book, it took a while to read, even without school.

Kept me engaged the entire time. I like that it was a bit short so that I could get to the movie quicker.

As usual, Mr. Foster delivers s a well-written, well-paced story as is the norm for this talented, professional writer. There were a few instances of missing words and mismatched tense where a beta reader would have been invaluable, but these were few and far between.The story itself was a nice fill-in between the first and second live-action TF movies, helping to flesh out some of the more vague and under-developed plot points, such as where the two different objectives of Starscream, and Soundwave and the other Decepticons still loyal to the (presumably) deceased Megatron, originated, leading into movie 2. The continuing interactions of Lennox and Epps with each other and their Autobot comrades was also a delight to read.SPOILERS BELOWWhile the ending was rather anticlimactic, the Autobot/Decepticon battles throughout the story were interesting and varied, each taking place in a unique environment and all concluding with the dogged, unfaltering assistance of the Autobots' trusted military companions Lennox and Epps, along with two new scientific advisors. While these latter seemed superfluous as neither were described in the first movie, nor carried forward into the second movie, they proved interesting and contributory, if not somewhat hollow.My favorite parts of this novel by far were the interactions between the main Autobots of the story -- Optimus, Ironhide, and Ratchet -- and the humans with whom they most closely work. There is some lovely discussion and verbal dissection of their science, culture, and physiology that helps to generate a more -forgive me- human element to both the bots and the human characters. There is always going to be a natural curiosity between the species that never really gets explored in the movies, which i find a sorely missed opportunity for the audience to really "get to know" both the bots and their unique relationship to their human friends. Such an examination would really haved helped flesh out a wholely unexplored piece of the bot-human dynamic. I was excited to see this started and scratched upon in places within the book, but then disappointed in how little time this interesting aspect was explored by Dean. Missed opportunity, imo. That, or I am just a geek for wanting to learn more about their fictional personal universes.One other slightly irksome thing: Names of new bots. Why is it that writers of these novels, in general, don't seem to do much research on the NAMES they choose for their second and third tier Cybertronian characters? To wit, in this book -- on the Autobot side we add an alt-mode tow truck named Salvage (which is the name of a well-known bot character from the recent, younger-audience themed flash-animation TF series "Rescue Bots" who transforms into a recycling collection vehicle and is clearly not the same warrior individual described in this book) and a small, alt-mode-motorcycle character named Knockout (which is the name of a VERY well-known DECEPTICON character made famous in his role as Megatron's medic on the Nemesis in the recent CGI TF runaway hit series Transformers Prime). Argh. Why can't authors spend 5 minutes on Google to see if their desired TF name choice for a new character already corresponds to an existing bot? C'mon, Foster. You're better than this. These name duplications are very distracting in a thoroughly unecessary and needless way, and, as I have said in other reviews, really mess up the fluidity of the read. Come on, writers!Overall, despite some hollow spots, and more than one name fail situation, "Veiled Threat" was a fast and easy read, and a good lead-in to live action movie 2.Anyone know if a similar "bridging" novel exists between TF live sction movie 2 and movie 3?

This book was a very close adaptation of the movie. I only noticed a few places where the scene was slightly different from the movie. The action was non stop and moved very quickly. The differences were very minimal and did not take away from the story. In some ways it was better. Sam's parents were not as ditzy as they were in the movie, and although the panic was mentioned, as related to the characters, it was not as over the top as it was played in the movie. I thought the book was very well written and I highly recommend it.

For all transformers its good and helps lead to the 2nd movie.

The book is great. I love reading it. Never gets old.

The movie follows closely. Wish it had more of Bubble Bee's & Optimus' thoughts in it. I'm glad they made Sam a little more mature in the movie.