Jessica (HDB)

Oh, I LOVED this volume. Hands down, this is my favorite so far. More Than Meets the Eye is still the superior series for me, but above and beyond that was the fact that this whole volume stole my breath away. I wish I could dish about absolutely everything that happens, but then there'd be no reason for you to read this. So, I'll do my best to highlight.

First off, so many layers have been slowly peeled back from these characters. James Roberts has created such depth, even in characters like Swerve. He's my favorite, because of his sense of humor. However I've learned so much about him these past volumes. That he has a deeper set of emotions. That he uses humor sometimes to disguise those. That, even poor Swerve gets lonely.

Another great example of this is Ultra Magnus. I shared the panel where he smiled, which was so totally out of character for him that it was almost terrifying. However there's more underneath that tough and strict exterior. This volume really dove in to what Ultra Magnus is, what he used to be, and how he just doesn't know what to do with himself. He wants to be liked, he's just gotten used to being feared instead. Truth time? I feel for him.

Oh, and then there's the whole idea of relationships that extend beyond just friendship. I find in interesting that I never considered that there might be actual deep relationships in this story. It's probably because I started out this whole journey with the idea that robots don't have feelings. Well, I was definitely wrong. I'm happy about that. And I've learned so much about all of these characters that the fact that they might be happy together? Just makes me smile. And weep. This time, it definitely made me weep.

There's been a lot of destruction, and even some death. I've mostly gotten used to it. In this volume though, it reached a new level. So far, James Roberts has made it feel like most of the time characters can come back. They can be saved. They might be gone for a while, but it's okay because there's always possibility. This time, I don't think that will happen. Poor Chromedome. The final set of panels in this story almost killed me. Does that tell you how invested I've become?

*wistful sigh* So good. So good, and so sad.