The new Transformers movie, Revenge of the Fallen was released in theaters this week, and for today’s column I’ll give you a look at the novelization by Alan Dean Foster and what I thought of it. Having not yet seen the movie yet, I can’t tell you how faithful it is, but I can whet your appetite for the film and give you some insight into what you might expect. So click on the link and prepare for Their War on Our World.

As I mentioned last week, I’m a big fan of the Transformers in general. I liked that Alan Dean Foster’s prequel/bridge novel between the two films re-introduced more aspects from the original cartoon series into the big screen version, and if this novelization is any indication, it seems that Revenge of the Fallen will do more of the same. It also adds significantly to the mythos, by the introduction of the Fallen, giving a whole new meaning to the symbol worn by the Decepticons.

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Revenge of the Fallen seems to take place moments after The Veiled Threat ends (I believe that book ended with NEST on its way to Shanghai, which is where this book opens). After a fairly intense battle, Optimus is given a warning from a dying Decepticon, the Fallen shall rise again. But back at NEST headquarters, a new US government liaison has been assigned to oversee things, and he suggests that maybe if the Autobots would just leave Earth, the Decepticons would follow – that with the Allspark gone, the Decepticons have nothing to keep them on Earth but their war with the Autobots.

But the Allspark isn’t completely gone; two shards remain. But the one that NEST has been guarding is stolen by the Decepticon Ravage, and it’s used to revive Megatron. It is through Megatron that we’re introduced to the Fallen, a godlike being with a similar origin to that of Lucifer, one of the original 13 Primes who created the Transformers, but who ultimately fell and wanted the power of the Allspark for himself. The Fallen tells Megatron that the information in the Allspark has not been lost, but in fact has been transferred to the human who last held it, Sam Witwicky.

And it’s Sam who has the last shard of the Allspark as well, which seems to activate the knowledge locked inside his head. His plans to go to college and leave the intergalactic war behind are all pushed aside with jarring ease, as the Decepticons track him down with the intent to get the knowledge of the Allspark; one way or another. As the Autobots come to his aid, it’s a race against time to unlock the secrets of the language of the Primes and the history of the Transformers war and its connections to the history of the human race. And when Optimus Prime falls in battle, can Sam use the Allspark shard to revive him as was done with Megatron, before the Decepticons can find the Matrix and use it to start up a machine of enormous power. For if the Decepticons can get that machine, they can convert the power of a star into an endless supply of Energon to further fuel this war, and destroy the Earth in the process.

As I said, I loved all the old references brought into this story, like the Matrix, and even new/old Transformers themselves. There are some interesting developments in seeing robots change sides in the war, as well as some intriguing forms that these new Transformers choose to take. I like that the movie series branches out in ways the cartoons never did; those shows always seemed to stick to large vehicles (and later animals), rarely considering more mundane or surprising objects. Not so here.

It also seemed to me that Alan Dean Foster brings a depth to each character that likely will not be onscreen. There were many times when the reader is given the thoughts of a character, as well as information about what they’ve been doing in the time between movies. In all, I thought the story worked well, and I enjoyed reading it. I’m looking forward to seeing how it compares to the movie on the big screen. But if you’re looking for an enjoyable novel in its own right, I can definitely recommend the novelization of Revenge of the Fallen.