As brilliant now as it was when I first read it on alt.toys.transformers.fanfic almost a decade ago. This story, and the series it introduces, comprises *the* definitive Doubledealer story, as far as I'm concerned. The folks at Hasbro, IDW, Darby Pop and whosoever might also be paying attention should be taking notes...

 ... or just hiring Mr. Bourque.

Ah, concepts. People sometimes forget that you can have all the flowery prose in the world, but a scanty concept doesn't really make your work memeorable. You, my friend, understand a good idea -- and you revel in it. A good point-of-view from a character we tend to forget about, but your new perspective on him adds an irresistable dimension and makes for a thrilling discovery.

Unfortunately, the only truly distracting point comes from an excess of Cybertronian-izing of human phrases -- particularly ones that are already cliches. 'Kicking skidplate and taking ID sigs' may seem clever on the surface, but rather than making an overused human expression and making it 'native', it mgiht be best to create a new phrase altogether. Minor quibble, but omitting the small things makes it easier to focus on the bigger things.

An impressive work, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series -- and if it's further execution of good ideas with a level of prose that isn't amateurish, nobody has to fear a low rating from me.