I guess I'm just one of the few here who initially liked it and have grown to REALLY like it since my first few listens. I've probably spun it at least a dozen times by now, and I like with every spin. The narration doesn't bug me because Tom Baker does it so flawlessly and it fits the feel of the album.
I read an interview with Arjen saying that Transitus was originally a film idea and not an album, but when that seemed not financially possible, he turned to make it an album, but not an Ayreon album. I think it was the label that mentioned to him that it could be an Ayreon album.
Transitus is probably the one Ayreon album that is tailormade to be a stage production, mostly because the idea stemmed from being a film in the first place. I think if Arjen wasn't to do another live production, this might be the one, especially since the vocalists have already embraced their roles and even been costumed for them in the videos. Sadly, I'm sure the show would have happened in 2021 if it wasn't for COVID, so it might be awhile before a Transitus Live show could ever happen, but it would be awesome to see (I can imagine the stage having the large estate as the main set, with smaller sets for Transitus and Daniel's home).
In that same interview I mentioned above (from sonicperspectives I believe), Arjen did say he was thinking about doing another live production, but did not mention which album(s) it would be. He also brought up that he may do a new re-release of the Universal Migrator albums, much like he did for ITEC a couple of years ago (which I still need to get somehow). I suspect this might be a continuing trend in the future for most of his album, especially since THE and 01 did not have Earbook releases in the past.
Because of Transitus, I've been listening to a LOT of Ayreon lately, and have revisited TFE, ITEC, UM, THE, 01, TTOE, and TS, and I've kind of warmed up to 01 a bit more. I still feel like there's just WAY too much going on and it's a lot to digest, but musically it's pretty amazing. I also enjoyed The Source a bit more as well, which I found fairly good upon release, but rarely found myself going back to. Funny how the earliest stories in the Ayreon universe (01 and The Source) are the ones that I have a harder time getting into.
-Marc.