7.8 /10 1 Votes
Country United States Publisher Scholastic Paperbacks Pages 128 Originally published 1 January 2003 Page count 128 Followed by Beware the Bohrok | 3.9/5 Goodreads Language English Publication date January 1st, 2003 ISBN 0-439-50116-4 Genre Speculative fiction OCLC 52779294 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Similar Catherina Hapka books, Bionicle series books, Other books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tale of the Toa is a novel by Cathy Hapka. It is the first part of the Bionicle Chronicles series based on the set of Lego toys sharing that name.
Contents
Background and Plot
The book chronicles the power of six and 6
protectors, or Toa, of Mata Nui, a faraway island named after the Great Spirit who brought its inhabitants there. These people that the spirit Mata Nui guided are called Matoran. Then Mata Nui gave the Matoran three virtues: Unity, Duty, and Destiny.
It was the bestowing of these virtues that led the Matoran to name their new home after the Great Spirit. Mata Nui had a brother named Makuta. This brother grew envious of Mata Nui and used his magic to put him into a deep sleep. Makuta, the Master of Shadows, spread his evil all over the island, causing fear wreaking havoc, and infecting the minds of inhabitants and turning them evil.
The six Toa were sent down in large canisters to rescue the Matoran and free Mata Nui. Each Toa had special traits, powers, and abilities. They came into the world with little knowledge and memory. Each found his or her designated village and learned that their first priority was to find the Great Kanohi Masks of Power. Each Toa had to have all six, which meant five more for each of them to find as each already had one. The Great Masks were hidden and scattered all over the island of Mata Nui.
The Toa fight many of Makuta's monsters and eventually gather all of their Great Masks. They venture to Kini-Nui, the location of the Great Temple, and each receive golden masks that they use in this adventure's final battle against powerful Rahi called Manas. The only way to overcome this challenge is for all six of them to combine into the two Toa Kaita. After stopping the Manas they revert to their original six forms and face Makuta's next minios: the Shadow Toa. The Shadow Toa are evil doppelgangers of the real Toa and almost defeat them. It is only when the Toa switch up their opponents and fight each other's dark counterparts.
Matoran
The Matoran are the common people of Mata Nui, lacking any special abilities, unlike the Toa. They are split up into the six villages named Ta-Koro, Le-Koro, Ga-Koro, Onu-Koro, Po-Koro, and Ko-Koro, which represent the six elements of Fire, Air, Water, Earth, Stone, and Ice respectively. Each group of Matoran has a leader, called the Turaga (a mysterious elder), and each group has their own Toa protector. Matoran is also the name of the written alphabet created for the world.
Toa
The Toa are the heroes of Mata Nui, sent to rescue the Matoran from Makuta's darkness. The Toa are tall and wear Kanohi masks that give them special abilities, and each Toa has an elemental power. In order to defeat Makuta, each Toa has to find his or her own set of all six Great Masks.
The six Toa are most powerful when working together, but only join up in times of great need. They prefer to be in their own realm of the island.
Turaga
The Turaga act as leaders of the Matoran and advisers to the Toa. Because the Toa are childlike and ignorant of much on the island when they first arrive, the Turaga are their main source of knowledge and wisdom.
The Rahi are animal-like monsters that inhabit the island of Mata Nui. Like Matoran, Toa, and Turaga, they also wear masks, but the Evil Makuta has infected the masks of some Rahi making them slaves to his whims. Makuta sends numerous types of Rahi after the Toa in this book.