Let's Read Animorphs! The Whole Series! Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > Comedy Goldmine > Let's Read Animorphs! The Whole Series! Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges

«‹›236 »

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

In defense of hammerheads, they look really goofy. Not wobbegong goofy, but still pretty goofy.

Animorphs-Book 18:The Decision-Chapter 21

quote:

Cassie said. Her thought-speak voice was a mix of wonder and bitterness. <This is nothing like Earth�s oceans.>

It was true. The continent might have been a dull, uninteresting place, but the ocean was amazing. Earth�s seas contain many fascinating and wonderful creatures, but most of what you see as you swim there is murky water and a sandy bottom.

In this ocean the water was as clear as air. Clearer, in fact, than Leeran air, which is so heavy with humidity it sometimes seems like you�re breathing clouds.

The water was perfectly, utterly clear. We were swimming in water that was forty feet deep, and we could see every detail on the ocean floor.

And what detail! Huge, billowing creatures like white and yellow sails, triangular with biological propellers at each corner. Brilliant, electric-blue worms or snakes, each seventy feet long, swimming in wild schools. A bizarre creature that rose and fell through the water by blowing air into a bladder so thin it was almost transparent. A wonderful sort of fish in the shape of a screw that rotated its way through the water.

And these creatures weren�t scattered here and there, but everywhere. The Leeran ocean was a madhouse of life-forms.
Spread around across the ocean were bubbling chimneys of rock and soil, encrusted with

squirming, writhing creatures, small and less small. My shark senses could feel the electrical discharge from these chimneys, and the intense warmth.

As I watched, a massive school of the brilliant blue worms came swirling around one of the chimneys. It swirled and my shark senses could feel the energy flow from the chimney into the worms.

<Look at that!> Cassie cried, excitement overcoming her sadness. <A thousand marine biologists could stay happy for a hundred years just studying this one small area. The animals. The plants. The � the whatevers! I wish I knew more. I know this friend of my mom�s who studies the ecology of coral reefs. She would cut off her arm to spend an hour here!>

<The creatures are feeding off the geothermal energy and electrical charge from these chimneys,> I said. <This may be an environment without predators.>

<It has predators,> Marco said darkly. <The Yeerks are here. And we�re here. For now. Until suddenly we go �poof!� like Rachel and Tobias.>

That brought us all back to reality. Still, even afraid, even sad, even desperate, we could not ignore the wild, incredible scene all around us.

People were complaining they didn't get a description of the Leeran homeworld. See, here one is...not the boring surface world, but the interesting parts.

quote:

We glided, dark and deadly, through a peaceful sea. The Yeerks had been clever to consider using sharks to control this ocean. Wherever I looked I saw no razor teeth, no crushing jaws. Marco was right: There were predators here. But they were us.

And then �

<Hey, aren�t those Leerans?> Prince Jake said. <Down and to the left.>

I looked. Yes, they looked like the one Leeran we had seen on Earth in the company of Visser One.

They were mostly yellow. They had skin that was slimy, as if covered with ooze, yet rough in texture, like gravel. They had large, webbed back legs. For arms they had four tentacles arrayed around their plump, barrel-shaped bodies.

The head was quite large, with a bulge at the back. It sat right on the shoulders. There was no neck. The face bulged outward and seemed to have just two features. A huge, wide, almost ridiculous mouth. And big, bulging eyes of a green that seemed almost to be lit from inside.

There were four Leerans. They were riding on water jets. The water jets were long, narrow tubes, flared in front to make a sort of wing, flared again in back to give extra maneuverability.

Arrayed along the back wing were clusters of very narrow tubes pointed forward.

They had obviously spotted us and were coming toward us.

<Probably wondering what we are,> Cassie said cautiously. <They�ve never seen sharks.>

<These are the good guys, right?> Marco said. 

<Yes. Maybe we should contact them. They could lead us to the nearest Leeran city.>

<Do it,> Prince Jake said.

<Leerans!> I yelled. <Leerans! I am an Andalite in morph.>

Chuh-wooomp!

The spear flew through the water only slightly slower than a human bullet. I jerked left. Too late! The spear pierced my tail and kept on flying.

<Hey!> Marco yelled.

<I�m an Andalite! Andalite!> I cried. <Your friend! Your ally!>

<Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill and three humans from planet Earth. Not our allies,> a cold, thoughtspeak voice said. He laughed. <You have no secrets from these psychic Leeran minds.>

And suddenly the water boiled with the firing of a dozen spears.

Chuh-woomp! Chuh-wooomp!

This time we were more prepared. Still, we were not fast enough. A spear hit me in the side and stuck. Prince Jake avoided being hit, but Cassie was speared through and through. Marco was hit twice. Shark blood billowed.

The Leeran-Controllers laughed. <Die, Andalite! Die, humans! We�ll carry your bodies to Visser Four!>

<Hey, great war! You can�t tell who�s on what side,> Marco yelled. <What is this, Vietnam?>

Three of us had been hit. But none of us was dead. The spears were fast, but very thin. No doubt they were deadly to Leerans or to other creatures of this gentle ocean.

But we were only hurt. Not crippled.

<We don�t seem to be dead, just yet,> I said to the Leeran-Controllers.

The Leeran-Controllers gaped with their big green eyes.

<But � but the haru-chin spears are deadly!> one of the Leerans said. He sounded like he was pouting.

<Nah. Maybe around here they�re deadly,> Prince Jake said. <But we�re from a much tougher neighborhood.>

<Think it�s true what they say about frogs?> Marco asked. <Think it�s true that they taste like chicken?>

Those Yeerks have just become convinced of the fundamental unfairness of life.

Chapter 22

quote:

We launched toward the Leeran-Controllers. Sharks are very fast in short bursts. Too fast for the shocked Yeerks inside the Leerans to react.

They tried to turn their water jets around. They were still trying when they were hit by four frustrated, scared, angry people in shark morph.

Andalites understand about tail fighting. But there is something very intimate and intimately violent about attacking with a mouth. You have to get very close. You smell and feel and touch your enemy. We hit, mouths open. We hit, and in a flash the four Leeran-Controllers were off their water jets
and trying to swim away.

They kicked their big hind legs, but they were too slow. Using their psychic powers, they could feel our anger. It must have been terrible for them. It must have been terrifying.

I didn�t care.

But then � I was rocked by a powerful psychic vision. A vision that cried out in despair and agony and desperate hope.

One of the Leerans had managed to squeeze out this plea for help. The Yeerk in his head was busy trying to stay alive, and the real Leeran had seized the moment to send this vision.

The picture that appeared in my head was grizzly and awful. But I knew it was real.

<Prince Jake! Bite their heads! Bite off the large lobe at the back!>

<What?> Cassie cried. <They�re beaten already. I�m not going to kill them.>

I lunged for the nearest Leeran-Controller. The Yeerk in his head knew what I was doing, but when he tried to jerk aside I slapped him with my tail, stunning him.

I opened my mouth, then bit down hard on the lobe at the back of his head.

But what was most shocking to see was the Yeerk itself. It was ripped from the Leeran�s head.

The Yeerk writhed, helpless in the seawater.

<The Yeerks are positioned in their rear brain lobes,> I said. <Bite them off!>

<It will kill the Leerans!> Cassie said.

No, a strange voice said. It will free us!

It was four of us against the three remaining Leerans. It was short but brutal work. Four doomed Yeerks writhed, fatally out of place in the Leeran water.

Thank you! the Leerans said. It wasn�t normal thought-speak. It was deeper than that. Images, ideas that appeared in our minds that we then translated into words.

<You need medical help,> Cassie said. <Maybe I could demorph and ->

No, we will be fine. We can regenerate most body parts. It will take some time and we will be weak, but there are caves nearby where we can rest and be safe. Thank you! Thank you!

I�ve experienced some strange events. But four bright yellow Leerans with half their heads removed actually thanking us was definitely one of the strangest.

<We need to reach the nearest Leeran city,> Prince Jake said. <Which way is it?>

It will be very difficult. In the last months the Yeerks have captured many of us and forced us to be Controllers. There are many like us between here and the City of Worms. You are powerful, but if even one Leeran-Controller encounters you and then escapes, your secret will be discovered.

<So how do we get there?> Prince Jake wondered aloud.

<Morph the Leerans,> I said.

Yes! the Leerans cried. Yes, morph us. Take our water jets. As long as you stay away from other Leerans, you will be safe from psychic probing.

Cassie said, <We don�t like to ->

Yes, a Leeran responded, reading her thoughts. You do not like to morph sentient creatures. You respect our freedom. But we offer you this freely. We have read what is in the mind of Aximili the Andalite. We know what he suspects, and we know that even among the Andalites there are traitors. So, friends, carry our DNA and help to free our people from the Yeerks.

We rose to the surface. I demorphed. The humans demorphed. We lay there treading water, rising and falling on the gentle Leeran swells. The Leeran sun was still low on the horizon, coming up on another day. It turned the water golden around us.
I reached and pressed my hand against a Leeran�s slimy yellow flesh.

Where sky meets sea, Andalite, human, and Leeran are joined as allies, my Leeran said. Each with our weaknesses. Each with our strengths.

It moved me somehow, as ludicrous as it might have looked to an outsider. Humans and an Andalite wallowing clumsily beside big, yellow �psychic frogs,� as Marco called them. Three species on a world conquered by the Yeerks. We probably would have seemed pathetic to any Yeerk
who happened to see us.

<A fellow Andalite told me we were weak because we are not united. We do not speak with one voice,> I said. <But this union does not feel weak.>

<Free people who get together to defend freedom are never weak.>

It was Marco who said that. Maybe you can see why, despite all their strangeness, I like humans.

And I was starting to like Leerans.

We let the Leerans go their own way to their underwater caves to recover from their injuries.

And we began what might be the most bizarre morph any of us has ever done. The physical part was strange, but no more disturbing than any number of Earth creatures I�ve morphed. The powerful webbed feet in back, the four sinuous tentacles, the neckless head were almost ordinary compared to the body of a fly or a cockroach.

It was the new sense that was stunning: the psychic sense. It wasn�t that I could read every thought in the heads of Prince Jake and Cassie and Marco. But I could feel enough of their secrets to be embarrassed for them. And, of course, for myself. Because my own secrets, my vain little ideas,
my pretensions were all open to them as well.

I could see so clearly that Marco was hoping for some news of his mother, Visser One. He wondered if she was here on Leera, if she had survived our last encounter.

I could see and feel Prince Jake�s crushing weight of responsibility. The way he kept running things through in his mind, over and over again. Trying to figure out what had happened to Tobias and Rachel. Desperate to find a way to protect the rest of us.

And I could feel Cassie�s mind as she cried for Rachel and Tobias. As she wondered whether we were doing the right thing. As she dealt with the aftereffects of the violence we�d just endured.

<Well,> Marco said, obviously uncomfortable. 

<Same here,> Prince Jake said quickly. <Absolutely.>

<Hey,> Cassie said, <they are just morphs to us, right? Lots of times we have trouble controlling the brain of the morph. But we usually handle it. So maybe ->

<Maybe since these are just morphs to us, maybe we can turn off the psychic thing!> Marco said, clutching at the idea.

Then, one by one, I felt their minds close to me. And I closed my own.

It seemed suddenly very lonely as we grabbed the water jets and rode away through the brilliantly alive sea. Suddenly very lonely.

But I guess each species feels most comfortable when they are just themselves. And for humans and Andalites, secrets and lies and the loneliness of privacy are natural.

That last line is just the saddest I've read today.

# ? Mar 2, 2021 03:25

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 28, 2024 18:21

Bobulus: Jan 28, 2007

I'm guessing when all is said and done, they lose access to the Leeran morphs? Seems like it would be just a little too drat useful for spying on the Yeerks. And separating friend from foe.

# ? Mar 2, 2021 04:53

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Bobulus posted:

I'm guessing when all is said and done, they lose access to the Leeran morphs? Seems like it would be just a little too drat useful for spying on the Yeerks. And separating friend from foe.

For those who want KAA's official statement at the time:

2. If the Animorphs morphed Leerans once, they should do it again, shouldn't they?

No, because Leerans are sentient beings, and the Animorphs don't believe they have the right to appropriate the DNA of sentient beings without permission. On Leera they had permission. But now they have no way of asking the Leerans if they mind

Also, in the same Q&A, she was asked what we were asking....why Ax was so concerned that Visser Three had an Andalite Animal when Alloran probably acquired it before Visser Three to him over, and her answer was:

"You know, I could save myself a lot of grief by just not answering questions like this. (Sigh). Okay, add this to the BIG list of KASU's: Katherine Applegate Screws Up."

Also, if you're curious as to how old the Animorphs are at the time of the books:

"There's a lot of confusion on this point. The Animorphs are 47. They were just held back a lot"

Epicurius fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Mar 2, 2021

# ? Mar 2, 2021 05:03

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Believe it or not, I had an Animorphs dream last night. I dreamed of two books. One involved a plot by the Yeerks to monitor all of Earth's communication systems. In the other, Marco had to read a Shakespeare play for school, but the play turned out to be a coded message by aliens who the Animorphs had to help in exchange for their help against the Yeerks.

# ? Mar 2, 2021 21:43

e X: Feb 23, 2013; cool but crude

I love this thread, not only because I really liked Animorphs growing up, but also because one of the first things I did after becoming fluent in English, was looking up fan pages of Animorphs, since they stopped translating them into German at one point. None of the Chronicle books ever got a translation, so finding out that Tobias was Elfangor's son blew my loving mind. Same with the Hork-Bajir backstory. I am also remembering that I really liked that they eventually did change the Status Quo. The series does have a certain Saturday morning cartoon flair to it, with the heroes battling the villain every week, but nothing ever fundamentally changing. so finding out that didn't last was really cool.

# ? Mar 2, 2021 22:20

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

The Hork-Bajir chronicles is an amazing book.

# ? Mar 2, 2021 23:04

Grammarchist: Jan 28, 2013

I find myself forgetting that this haunting image of Andalites being driven off by superior Yeerk forces began with a mosquito blood heist gone awry.

# ? Mar 2, 2021 23:39

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Epicurius posted:

Believe it or not, I had an Animorphs dream last night. I dreamed of two books. One involved a plot by the Yeerks to monitor all of Earth's communication systems. In the other, Marco had to read a Shakespeare play for school, but the play turned out to be a coded message by aliens who the Animorphs had to help in exchange for their help against the Yeerks.

Sounds plausible enough to be the plot of an actual book.

# ? Mar 3, 2021 00:16

Soup du Jour: Sep 8, 2011; I always knew I'd die with a headache.

Epicurius posted:

Believe it or not, I had an Animorphs dream last night. I dreamed of two books. One involved a plot by the Yeerks to monitor all of Earth's communication systems. In the other, Marco had to read a Shakespeare play for school, but the play turned out to be a coded message by aliens who the Animorphs had to help in exchange for their help against the Yeerks.

One of these isn�t actually far off from the plot of a future book

# ? Mar 3, 2021 00:25

Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

quote:

Those Yeerks have just become convinced of the fundamental unfairness of life.

I still remember this scene. It's not quite obvious, but for once it's the Animorphs turning into the giant alien monsters that shrug off bullets and rip you apart with their teeth and claws.

# ? Mar 3, 2021 01:57

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

I mean.... as Ax points out, a shark is pretty close to the perfect killing machine.

# ? Mar 3, 2021 02:06

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Animorphs-Book 18:The Decision-Chapter 23

quote:

We passed through a loose ring of Leeran-Controllers set up around the far edges of the City of Worms. None challenged us. We were riding Yeerk-issued water jets, and we stayed far enough off that no one could read our thoughts.

The Leeran city rose from the seabed like a wondrous tower, perhaps half a thousand feet wide at its base, dwindling to a few dozen feet at the very top. The top pressed right against the sparkling water ceiling, up to the border between sea and sky. At the very top, huge fans sucked in air and blew out exhaust from the entire city.

The city itself violated every logical law, at least as far as Andalites or humans were concerned.

Andalites and humans are accustomed to moving in two dimensions, left and right, forward and back.

But in the water, up and down were just as likely as left or right.

<It looks like a gigantic Dairy Queen cone, poked full of a million holes,> Cassie said. <Look!

Doors everywhere. Windows and doors all the same.>

The predominant color was pink. But there was blue and green and purple as well, in vast swatches of seemingly random color. Openings were everywhere. Leerans drifted in and out and around and through, a hundred feet up, twenty feet below us, everywhere.

And like some slow-motion tornado, the long, electric-blue worms swam around and around the City of Worms. They formed an eerie halo.

Even as strangers, we could tell the city was tense. There were weapons poking from many of the windows. And nestled up against the base of the city, floating free, were two craft I�d seen only in pictures: Andalite submarines.

<Are those good guys or bad guys?> Prince Jake asked, gazing at the submarines.

<Or a little of each?> Marco asked dryly.

<They are Andalite vessels,> I said.

<Let�s go say hello,> Prince Jake said.

We swam toward the submarines. As we got nearer we could see that a transparent tunnel had been set up between the subs and the city. Andalite warriors were rushing through the tunnel on urgent errands, their tails cocked and ready.

Down we went, sifting air from the water with our Leeran skin. Down we went, expecting at any moment to be challenged, even shot. But we passed through dozens of Leerans who made no move to stop us.

<It�s the psychic thing,> Cassie said. <They know who we are and why we�re here.>

<Then I guess they know who we�re looking for,> Prince Jake said.

And to my amazement, an answer came. It was a vision that filled my head: a sort of arrow showing a doorway we should enter.

<Ooookay,> Marco said. 

We entered the city through one of the thousands of windows. I don�t know what I expected inside, but it wasn�t what I found. The tower was merely a shell. Inside were seven or eight, maybe more, huge, floating, transparent bubbles. In each bubble there were levels, a dozen or more floors. There were open holes in the bottoms of the bubbles. Some seemed to be filled with water. Others were filled with air. All contained Leerans doing work, sleeping, living. And one, mostly air, contained perhaps two dozen Andalites on one floor.

We entered the bubble from the bottom and stepped out at last onto dry ground. Two Andalite warriors were waiting.

<Demorph,> one said curtly. <The Leerans have told us who you are. Commander Galuit is waiting.>

<So humility is just not something you Andalites do, is it?> Marco asked.

We demorphed. It felt good to be Andalite again. But I was worried. I was nervous. I had given my word to Prince Jake that he, and only he, would decide whose orders I should obey. It had seemed easy to make that promise before. But now we were going to see Galuit! The idea of saying no to him� it made me gasp.

We rushed and stumbled to the room where Galuit waited. Only he wasn�t waiting. He was rushing forward to meet us. He was flanked by three tough-looking Andalite security guards, and accompanied by his aide, an Andalite who had lost one stalk eye and half his face from a war injury.

<Aristh Aximili,> Galuit said without bothering to introduce himself.

<Yes, sir, I ->

<No time,> he said with a dismissive wave of his hand. <I�m a member of the highest circles, so I know all about your escapades on Earth. Yours and Elfangor�s. Very disappointed in Elfangor. Although, by the galaxy, your brother could fight! I don�t know how you came to be here with these humans of yours, but it is a stroke of luck! We need you.>

I was almost completely bowled over. First of all, Galuit even knowing my name was incredible. It would be as if a human child were sitting at home by the telephone and suddenly got a call from the head general of the army.

Second, Galuit needed me? Needed? Me?

<Sir, may I introduce this human named Jake?>



<Sir, this is Jake. My prince.>

That stopped Galuit in mid-yell. The guards all stared incredulously at Prince Jake. Then at me. Then at Marco and Cassie, as if they might be able to explain.

<Every warrior must have a prince to follow, and the princes must obey the People,> I said.

Galuit looked like he was seriously considering using his old tail on me. But then he nodded stiffly. <Just so, Aristh. No one is a law unto themselves. We each must serve.>

Galuit turned to speak to Prince Jake. 

�Yes,� Prince Jake said.

<You say yes without knowing what I�m asking.>

�Will it save the Leerans? Will it keep them free? And most of all, will it hurt the Yeerks?�

<Yes to all three. Especially the last. If we save Leera it may turn the tide of the war against the Yeerks.>

�Then we�ll do it.�

Galuit seemed surprised. Maybe even impressed. In private thought-speak he said to me,

drat.

Chapter 24

quote:

Galuit explained what he needed and why.

It was exactly what I had suspected. The reason we had to flee the land and take to the sea. The reason I could not risk being taken by the Yeerks: It had all been a trap.

A trap for the Yeerks.

<We knew the Yeerks would take the battle to the continent,> Galuit said. <And we thought it very likely they would defeat us there. So we had a backup plan. We have planted a series of quantum bombs around the continent. Our plan was to wait until the Yeerks had moved all their troops down to
the continent, then explode the bombs.>

I nodded. <Yes, I suspected this.>

Prince Jake looked at me out of the corner of his eyes, then raised one eyebrow. It wasn�t an angry look, as I interpret human expressions. It was a little reproachful, though.

We had transferred to one of the submarines and were already racing at maximum speed, south to a point on the continent.

<The Leerans don�t need the continent. They are quite happy in their underwater cities,> Galuit said. <But there�s been some kind of problem with setting off the bombs. Our forces were overrun much too quickly. With the Ascalin�s forces we should have held out longer. The main switch was never armed. We�ve been beaming the destruct signal for hours. Nothing. And the Yeerks will soon discover our trap. It�s now or never.>

I hesitated. Should I tell Galuit why our forces were so easily overrun? I took a deep breath.

<Sir, the Ascalin was never in the fight.>

Galuit swiveled both stalk eyes toward me. <What?>

<Captain Samilin was � a traitor,> I said. <He set the ship toward a landing behind Yeerk lines. He was killed. Once it was clear the Ascalin could not escape, Tactical Officer Harelin made the decision to fire all weapons while on the ground. No one survived. Except for us and two of our
friends who have disappeared.>

I could see Galuit slump. He seemed suddenly older. More frail.

�Why us?� Marco asked. �Why do you need us to go in and arm this switch?�

<We have few Andalites here on the planet now. And none who possess the wide array of morphs you have,> Galuit explained. <All Andalite warriors are morph-capable. But few acquire morphs or use them. That is mostly done by our people in intelligence. Spies. But you four may be able to penetrate the Yeerk forces.>

Again, that's official Andalite doctrine on morphing.

quote:

Suddenly he looked confused. His eyes went left, then right. 

A cold lance of fear struck my hearts. Prince Jake was still there. Cassie, too. But Marco �

�Marco!� Prince Jake cried. �Marco! Marco!�

<We are disappearing one by one!> I said.

Goodbye to Marco.

quote:

Galuit yelled a thought-speak summons that was heard clear through the submarine. <Science officer, report to me, right now!>

�This is insane!� Cassie said, her eyes blazing. �What is happening? One by one we�re disappearing.�

Cold fear wormed through my insides. I felt sorry for Marco and the others. Very sorry. But now I was more afraid than anything. It didn�t take too much imagination to figure out that the rest of us would be disappearing eventually.

It�s one thing to face an enemy. It�s very different to wait, powerless, for some unseen force to simply � delete you.

The sub raced on through the bright Leeran sea. But there was no time to enjoy the view. Prince Jake, Cassie, and I were surrounded by Andalites. We were cross-examined by the sub�s science officer. In between questions from him we were bombarded by questions from Galuit and a counterintelligence officer.

It was nerve-racking. But at least it kept my mind off the awful suspense of waiting � waiting � waiting for another one of us to disappear.

<How long were you in Zero-space?>

<Are you sure Captain Samilin knew the ship was heading for Yeerk lines?>

<What was the mass of the creature you morphed on Earth before being dragged into Zerospace?>

<Did Captain Samilin seem embittered, stressed?>

At last, after an hour, Galuit put an end to it. <Enough! Samilin was a traitor. We have to accept that.> He turned to the science officer. <And you�ve asked the same questions fifty times. Give me a hypothesis.>

<Sir, I don�t have enough -> the science officer started to say.

<Just give me your best guess!> Galuit demanded.

<I � I think these humans and this aristh are still caught in a residual flux field. It is pulling them back toward Zero-space. It may even be snapping them all the way back to Earth. But my best guess is that what�s happening is a sort of elastic effect. They were stretched through Zero-space and back into normal space, but a small amount of their mass is still back on Earth. It may be acting like an anchor.>

�We�re on some big Zero-space rubber band?� Prince Jake asked. �It�s been stretching all this time, and now it�s starting to snap back?�

<Yes,> the science officer said, after I explained what a rubber band was.

�Maybe all the way back to Earth, in which case Rachel and Tobias and Marco are alive,�

Cassie said. �Or maybe just into Zero-space. In which case ��

<From the data you�ve given me, the effect appears to be accelerating,> the science officer said.

<You will go, one by one, faster and faster now. Like your friends, you will each disappear.>

Galuit said, <Under these circumstances, I cannot ask you to carry out this mission.>

Prince Jake shrugged. �Under these circumstances, it doesn�t look like we have anything to lose.�

So, will all the Animorphs die? (Probably not because it's book 18 and there are 54 books in the series). Will they fail their mission (maybe).

# ? Mar 3, 2021 04:57

Tree Bucket: Apr 1, 2016; R.I.P.idura leucophrys

Anyone got any recommendations for other books in the Space Opera kind of genre? I've gone orf sci fi over the last couple of decades since it seems to have veered into Grim For The Sake Of Grim territory, but I'm sure there must be some good stuff out there still.

# ? Mar 3, 2021 06:06

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Great couple of chapters. This, along with what they did in 15 without any recognition, really feels like a pivotal moment of... pivoting, I guess... from being a bunch of guerillas in a desperate situation on a backwater planet to actually being an integral part of the war.

quote:

<I�m a member of the highest circles, so I know all about your escapades on Earth.>

Firstly, the word "escapades" in this scenario is delightfully cavalier, and secondly, I remember reading some internet commentary ages ago about the 7th or 8th season of 24 and a reviewer complaining "it feels like every single person Jack meets in the FBI tells him 'I've read your file'," and I remember thinking, yeah, but to be fair, Jack Bauer's file would be loving great reading and would be passed around the office like an airport thriller - as is true of Ax.

# ? Mar 3, 2021 07:47

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

Tree Bucket posted:

Anyone got any recommendations for other books in the Space Opera kind of genre? I've gone orf sci fi over the last couple of decades since it seems to have veered into Grim For The Sake Of Grim territory, but I'm sure there must be some good stuff out there still.

In terms of stuff similar to this (which pretty clearly gets a lot of inspiration from Stark Trek style galactic sci fi) the closest thing I can think of is Philip Reeve's Railhead series. Which also slots in alongside Animorphs in being for YA readers, but also actually tackling pretty serious themes as well as being a rollicking adventure.

# ? Mar 3, 2021 07:49

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

freebooter posted:

Firstly, the word "escapades" in this scenario is delightfully cavalier, and secondly, I remember reading some internet commentary ages ago about the 7th or 8th season of 24 and a reviewer complaining "it feels like every single person Jack meets in the FBI tells him 'I've read your file'," and I remember thinking, yeah, but to be fair, Jack Bauer's file would be loving great reading and would be passed around the office like an airport thriller - as is true of Ax.

Mildly related, but you should check out, if you haven't already seen it, the mini video essay that Jon Bois did on what a truly horrific hell world the universe of 24 is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P52G4Kyq5M

It's pretty good.

# ? Mar 3, 2021 07:52

Rochallor: Apr 23, 2010; ふっっっっっっっっっっっっｃｋ

I'm wondering if the Andalite higher-ups can recognize that the Animorphs are basically Ax's age, rather than full-grown adults. I assume by exploits, it's more along the lines of "they blew up the Kandrona" rather than "one of them burped an alligator that almost ate Jonathan Taylor Thomas."

# ? Mar 3, 2021 09:20

Pwnstar: Dec 9, 2007; Who wants some waffles?

quote:

Galuit seemed surprised. Maybe even impressed. In private thought-speak he said to me,

Galuit owns. I remember reading this book as a kid and dreading another horrible disappointment for Ax but he gets told he's doing a good job and has made good choices, yay!

# ? Mar 3, 2021 09:20

Tunzie: Aug 9, 2008

That sequence where Galuit goes to explain to Jake what the mission is and Jake just says he'll do it, and Galuit admits he's known worse Princes is the part of this book that I remembered clearly to this day despite not having read the book in well over a decade. It's such a good moment.

# ? Mar 3, 2021 09:36

QuickbreathFinisher: Sep 28, 2008; by reading this post you have agreed to form a gay socialist micronation.
`

I get why he says it privately to Ax, but t would have been so nice for Jake to have even one iota of external validation

These poor kids :smith:

# ? Mar 3, 2021 09:48

disaster pastor: May 1, 2007

QuickbreathFinisher posted:

I get why he says it privately to Ax, but t would have been so nice for Jake to have even one iota of external validation

These poor kids

Would it even matter? Nobody has higher standards for Jake than he has for himself. He'd probably just rationalize it away as, "this guy I just met thinks I'm a slightly better leader than the Andalite who turned traitor an hour ago. So what?"

# ? Mar 3, 2021 13:58

Jazerus: May 24, 2011

Rochallor posted:

I'm wondering if the Andalite higher-ups can recognize that the Animorphs are basically Ax's age, rather than full-grown adults. I assume by exploits, it's more along the lines of "they blew up the Kandrona" rather than "one of them burped an alligator that almost ate Jonathan Taylor Thomas."

andalite high command never misses an episode of the barry & cindy sue show. must-see TV, you know

# ? Mar 3, 2021 17:00

Grammarchist: Jan 28, 2013

I know Visser 3 should by all rights be busy elsewhere, but I really want him to have the Animorphs cornered only to have them poof away inexplicably.

# ? Mar 3, 2021 17:20

wizzardstaff: Apr 6, 2018; Zorch! Splat! Pow!

Tree Bucket posted:

Anyone got any recommendations for other books in the Space Opera kind of genre? I've gone orf sci fi over the last couple of decades since it seems to have veered into Grim For The Sake Of Grim territory, but I'm sure there must be some good stuff out there still.

Succession by Scott Westerfeld, originally published as two books (The Risen Empire and The Killing of Worlds). Would make an excellent prestige TV show adaptation since it has multiple adjacent plotlines that occasionally intersect:

-A war hero space captain dealing with his PTSD as he's used as a political pawn
-A transhumanist commando trying to uplift a planet-sized AI
-A cult of personality guarding the secret of an undead immortal emperor
-A galactic senator trying to stave off civil unrest and war

Some of my absolute favorite comfort reading.

# ? Mar 3, 2021 17:49

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Animorphs-Book 18:The Decision-Chapter 25

quote:

We were briefed by one of Galuit�s officers.

<The central arming unit is well hidden. It is in what the Leerans call a �bright hole.� Here on Leera the volcanic past created a number of large, underground bubbles in the rock. Because the rock contains a great many phosphorescent minerals and bio-organisms, there is light in these holes, and thus, life.>

�What kind of life?� Cassie asked. Even now, she was interested in living things.

<Plant only, aside from insects and microscopic animals. This particular �bright hole� can only be reached two ways: Either someone on the surface must tunnel down through several feet of rock. Or one must travel underwater, up a river, enter an underwater cave, pass through an absolutely lightless tunnel, and emerge at last in the �bright hole.�>

Prince Jake took a deep breath. Cassie took a deep breath. I took a deep breath. We each looked at each other.

Galuit said, <That�s not all. The river itself may be guarded by Leeran-Controllers. The lightless cave is inhabited by a species of snake that uses echolocation to strike at anything passing by. These snakes hang from the ceilings and walls. But once within the �bright hole� you are safe. Unless, of course, the Yeerks have already found it.>

�Is it too late for us to change our minds?� Prince Jake said.

Galuit looked alarmed.

<It is humor,> I said quickly. <Human humor often consists of pretending to wish something one does not really wish.>

�What makes you so sure I don�t mean it?� Prince Jake muttered.

<More humor,> I explained to Galuit.

I'd be having doubts by now.

quote:

The submarine took us to the mouth of the river. It was as close as it could take us without becoming far too visible for safety.

�I know the oceans are saltwater here, just like on Earth,� Cassie said. �But how about the rivers?�

<The rivers are lower saline,> the briefing officer said.

Cassie shook her head. �Hammerheads are saltwater fish. I don�t know how they�d deal with freshwater. I just don�t know. But they�re still probably the best morph for moving fast and winning fights.�

<Good luck,> Galuit said. <The freedom of this planet rests on your tails. Or � or whatever humans have that would be the equivalent of tails.>

�Shoulders,� Cassie said.

�As long as there�s no pressure,� Prince Jake said.

<That would be human humor?> Galuit asked.

�Plus a little human fear,� Prince Jake said. But then he laughed.

Five minutes later, we were in the river, swimming against the current, our dorsal fins slicing upward into the air.

<This should be interesting,> Prince Jake said darkly.

 I said. <Up ahead. I recognize the smell from before.>

<Yep,> Cassie agreed. <Good Leerans or bad? That�s the question.>

We powered ahead. Through the slightly murky river water we saw them: two pebbly, yellow, tentacled amphibians.

Psychic amphibians.

As soon as we were within range of them, the Leerans knew what we were. They turned and swam away as if their lives depended on it.

<After them!> Prince Jake cried.

They were heading for the banks of the river. Trying to get up, out of the water, beyond our reach. They didn�t have water jets, just their natural Leeran bodies.

We were faster, but the bank was close, closer! The water grew shallow. No more than seven feet. Five feet! The Leerans were kicking up mud, but my shark senses could feel the electrical field of the Leerans now.

Blind, scraping my belly in mud, I lunged.

My teeth bit down. I clamped and held on and struggled to pull the creature back out into the water. But then, up through the ripply surface I saw a huge, looming Hork-Bajir. Two, no, four of them!

They came stomping out into the water. I pulled back. I tried to turn as the Leeran kept fighting me.

Then I heard the Leeran�s psychic cry to the Hork-Bajir. Explosives! The whole continent is rigged to explode. There�s a central switch. Bright hole! It�s in a -

I bit down harder. The pain stopped the Leeran from saying more. A Hork-Bajir blade slashed down into the water. It sliced me, but not deep.

I let go of the Leeran, jerked my head right, bit down with all my might on the nearest Hork-Bajir�s leg. I heard a howl of pain come burbling down through the water.

The Leeran was scrambling away. Still half-blind, I lunged.

The Hork-Bajir had backed off. And now I dragged the Leeran-Controller back out into deeper water. <No!> the Yeerk in his head cried.

<Oh, yes,> I said. I swept behind him and bit off the lobe at the back of his head. Out came the Yeerk. <Are you okay, brother Leeran?> I asked.

[u[I am now. Thank you, my Andalite friend! Hurry. Hurry! The Yeerks know your mission now! Hurry![/u]

I turned back upstream. Cassie and Jake fell in beside me. They had each had their own battles in the murky, shallow water.

<How long will it take the Yeerks to find this �bright hole�?> Prince Jake asked.

<Using the sensors aboard their orbiting ships, they will have a map of every subsurface cavern on the continent within five minutes. How long to find the right �bright hole�? I don�t know. We must hurry. The fate of this planet depends on us.>

This very much seems like a suicide mission.

Chapter 26

quote:

<There! Is that the underwater cave entrance?> Cassie cried.



<No time to worry about it,> Prince Jake said.

We plunged into the mouth of the cave. The floor rose steadily and we swam on grimly, blind, scared, and in a desperate hurry.

Suddenly I felt my snout break the surface. Air!

 Prince Jake said. <Demorph! Cassie, what do you think? Bat morphs?>

There was no answer.

<Cassie! Cassie!> Prince Jake cried.

<The rubber band effect. She�s gone. Back to Earth. Or �>

<It�s happening faster,> Prince Jake said. <Less time between people disappearing. Just two of us now. We could both be snapped back before we reach this switch.>

He sounded like I felt. Like he couldn�t breathe. Like he couldn�t stop his heart from pounding. It was too much!

<Demorph. Nothing to do now but hurry and try to get this job done!> Prince Jake said.

<Yes, Prince Jake,> I said.

<You know, Ax, there�s just the two of us now. We could probably drop the whole �prince� thing.> He paused, then added, <You could just call me �The Jake formerly known as Prince.�>

<Is that a bit of humor?>

<Yeah. A joke. Not much of one, but Marco isn�t here, so I figure �>

At that point he made the transition to mostly human and lost his thought-speak ability. I emerged as Andalite, standing in a cold, absolutely black cave, with water still sloshing over my hooves.

�Bat,� Prince Jake said. His mouth-sounds echoed slightly.

I focused on the bat. I felt myself shrinking, although there was nothing to see for comparison.

But I could almost feel an upward breeze as I dropped from my own height down to the stumpy, few inches of the bat.

<Just you and me now, Ax.>

<Yes.>

<If one of us is stopped, for any reason, the other one has to keep going. Clear?>

We fired echolocation bursts and saw the sketchy portrait of a cave that stretched on and on, far past our faintest ultrasonic echoes.

We took to wing. We flapped up on leather wings and raced at full, tearing speed.

<We have to remember the snakes,> I said.

<Ugh. Ughughugh,> Prince Jake said with a sort of shudder.

<Yes,> I agreed.

We flapped as if our lives depended on it. Through jutting rocks and stalactites, around sudden turns, up sudden chimneys, and down sudden wells. All of it reduced to colorless lines in our mind�s eye. A sketch drawn with blasts of sound.

Around one hairpin turn and suddenly �

A blast of sounds! A cacophony of echolocating squeaks and trills.

<The snakes!> I cried.

Our own echolocation showed them as writhing lines that hung from the low ceiling and reached out from the walls. There were thousands! Millions! All firing their own echolocations, yammering and confusing the echoes of our own blasts.

Suddenly, in all the ultrasonic noise, the pictures in my head became distorted. Wild, swerving, swooping lines. Writhing borders of objects that no longer seemed solid.

<What do we do?> Prince Jake asked.

<As Rachel would say if she were here: We go for it!>

It was a nightmare! Deadly snakes filled the air. Lost, confused, we powered on, flapping wings that became more and more shredded as more and more snakes found their target.

I was losing maneuverability. Losing speed. I had lost sight of Prince Jake altogether. I could no longer tell up from down. I was spinning, flapping madly, afraid and confused. Lost! Lost in a squirming madhouse of darkness.

And then, swoosh! I blew free of the snakes. The cave walls backed off. The ceiling was gone.

And light! Blessed light was glowing all around me.

I was in the �bright hole.�

I soared upward on tattered, shredded wings. Up into the stale air. Everywhere flowers and plants in absurd colors exploded from the walls of the hole.

<Prince Jake! Jake!> I called.

But there was no answer.

Quite suddenly, I was all alone.

So, Ax is alone....last one there, which is good because he's the narrator.

# ? Mar 4, 2021 05:04

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Animorphs-Book 18:The Decision-Chapter 27

quote:

I landed on a clump of screamingly orange mold or lichens or � something. And began to demorph.

Within minutes I was standing alone, an Andalite in a bizarre underworld universe cut off from the world outside.

The �bright hole� was perhaps five hundred feet at its longest, half that wide. The roof was no more than a hundred feet over my head. It was very large for a hole in the ground. But it felt very small. No rain had ever fallen here. No sun had ever shone here. The only light was from the greenish glow of the walls. A light that never grew brighter, never grew dim.

It was alive, but dead-feeling. A wonder of nature, but a creeping, spirit-crushing place.

In the center of the place was the only artificial object: a vertical cylinder, five feet tall, a foot in diameter. On the side was a control pad, showing glowing blue numbers. Right where Galuit had said it would be. Just as Andalite intelligence agents had placed it.

I looked cautiously around. But I saw no Hork-Bajir, no Taxxons, no Gedds. Just unnatural plants in an unnatural place.

I exhaled, trying to shed my tension. <Whoever decided to hide this thing here sure picked a good hiding place,> I said.

I began to trot toward the cylinder. But the ground was rough, rising, falling, overrun with mosses and molds and clumps of hideous flowers. There were no paths.

I ended up having to step carefully, only able to hurry when I was sure of a place to leap.

Ba-WHOOOOM!

An explosion rocked the room. The concussion, trapped in that hole, knocked me off my feet and left me temporarily deaf.

Brilliant light!

Falling rock and debris.

A hole had been blown into the top of the �bright hole.� Leeran sunlight streamed down in a blinding shaft.

And down, down through the shaft of light, the Hork-Bajir dropped.

Their fall was slowed by small rockets on their feet and tails. The rockets burned red. Two, four, a dozen Hork-Bajir warriors falling in slow motion, unlimbering their Dracon beams. I could see

them peering about as they fell, searching for the cylinder. And for me.

I ran. I didn�t care if I broke a leg. I ran, I leaped, I fell and lurched back up.

It was a race between falling Hork-Bajir and me.

Tseeewww!

ZzzzaaaaPPPP!

The Dracon beam stabbed at me, missed, and boiled a bright blue cabbage into steam. Just a few more feet!

Suddenly, my hands were pressed on the cold metal. The code! What was the code?

My fingers flew.

Tssseeewww! Tseeewww!

�Het gafrash nur!� a Hork-Bajir screamed.

Tsseeewww!

<Aaaahhh!> I felt a burn across my back, a glancing blow from a Dracon beam.

The code! The code! I entered it. Was I right? Had I remembered?

Then �

<System armed.> The cool, thought-speak voice of the computer. <Warning. This system is armed.>

I collapsed, leaning back against the cylinder. Galuit had said once they got confirmation that we had armed the system, they�d wait half an hour to give us time to escape.

Half an hour would be too long. The Yeerks would be able to disarm it by then.

A huge Hork-Bajir hit the ground right in front of me.

I punched the built-in communicator on the cylinder. <This is Aristh Aximili,> I said. <Do it now. Do it now! Blow the Yeerks off this planet!>

�Filshig Andalite!� the Yeerk inside the Hork-Bajir screamed.

I was calm. Shockingly calm.

<Detonation in ten seconds,> the computer warned.

�Disarm that weapon!� the Hork-Bajir commander yelled, switching to Galard, the interstellar language.

<Seven �>



<Five �>

The Hork-Bajir raised his Dracon beam in rage. �You�ll die first, Andalite scum!�

<Three �>

He squeezed the trigger.

The Dracon beam fired. Point-blank range. Five feet from my face.

<One �>

I literally saw the Dracon beam stop. The beam stopped in midair as time froze. I heard a �pop!� And suddenly, I was no longer there.

He was willing to die to complete the mission. It didn't happen, but he was willing.

Chapter 28

quote:

I felt the warm, human skin beneath my six legs.

<What?> I yelped.

<What the � ?> Rachel yelled.

<Whoa! Whoa, I am serious: Whoa!> Marco cried. <This is way too strange.>

I was back. On Earth. In mosquito morph.

We were all back. All back! And all at the same exact moment.

We were in the hospital room, surrounded by human-Controllers who were busy firing human guns out the window at the bushes below. Still trying to kill the Andalite.

Me.

But that was not the biggest problem I had. Because right then, as I sat on vibrating human flesh, surrounded by giant hairs, a huge, sky-filling object came hurtling down toward me.

<No way!> Rachel yelled. <Ax, move out!>

I fired my wings.

The object, five fingers each as big around as a large tree, came slapping down at me.

�Ow!� said Hewlett Aldershot the Third, as he slapped the spot where I�d been busily biting him.

�Ow!� he said again.

�The human! He�s awake!� one of the human-Controllers said.

�He�s not supposed to wake up yet!� another moaned. �He�s in a coma!�

�What do we do?�

�The Visser will kill us!�

�The police are coming. We can�t be taken!�

�Run! Run!�

�What do we do with this Aldershot human?�

�We have no orders.�

�Run!� someone yelled again. And this time, the rest agreed.

There came a loud vibrating thunder as the human-Controllers all raced from the room in a panic. Moments later, a frightened nurse came in.

�Mr. Aldershot! You�re � you�re conscious.�

�Of course I�m conscious,� he said. �Nurse, are you aware that this room is full of mosquitoes?�

First, this is the first time that I know of that a mosquito bite cured somebody of their coma. Second, again, you can see the weakness of Visser Three's leadership style here. His subordinates don't know what to do, they don't have orders, so they panic.

Chapter 29

quote:

�So wait a minute here,� Rachel said. �We get zapped back here through Zero-space, one by one, at different times. But when we get back here, we all arrive at the same moment? And no time has passed?�

I nodded my human head. We were at the mall. At the place where the excellent food places are.

I was in human morph. Behaving perfectly like a human. �Exactly, Rachel. Eggs-ACT-lee. Zactly. We arrived back at the precise moment when we were snatched away. We were all yanked away at the same moment, so naturally we all arrived back at the same moment. Yanked. Yanked is a strange word. Yank. Yank-kut.�

�Yeah,� Marco said. �That�s what�s strange: the word �yanked.� Us turning into mosquitoes to suck some guy�s blood so we could morph into him and instead ending up in the middle of some war to control psychic yellow frogs, and oh, by the way, blowing up a small continent full of Yeerks, saving an entire species, then getting back here to find out Coma-man woke up from a mosquito bite delivered by a morphed alien-slash-deer-slash-scorpion-slash-four-eyed centaur, that�s all totally normal. That�s just an average day. Dear Diary: another boring average day, till someone said �yanked.��

I recognized his tone. Sarcasm. It is a form of humor. So I laughed using mouth-sounds.

�Hah. Hah-hah. Hah. Hah.� I considered, then added, �Hah.�

Prince Jake, Cassie, Marco, Rachel, and Tobias, in his own human morph, all stared at me.

�What was that?� Rachel demanded.

�I laughed.�

�Don�t � don�t do that, Ax,� Prince Jake said. �It�s disturbing somehow.�

�Yes, Prince Jake.�

�Don�t call me prince.�

�I will call you �The Jake formerly known as Prince.��

Marco made a horrified face. �Oh, no. Now he�s making jokes. Bad, bad jokes.�

�Actually, that was my joke,� Prince Jake said stiffly. �Oh, fine. I get it. You can�t laugh at my jokes. Okay. Great. I don�t even care.�

I was an Andalite, all alone, far, far from home. Far from my own people. Except that sometimes your own people are not just the ones who look like you. Sometimes the people who are your own can be very different from you.

�Can we eat cinnamon buns now?� I asked hopefully. �Bun-zuh?�

I don't know. I found that last line very profound. Well, not the last line. Not the cinnamon buns one, although I'm a fan. But the idea about who your people are.

So, what did you think of the book? Of the Leerans? Of the fact we're seeing a bigger universe than just the Yeerks on earth?

Coming up next is actually a Megamorphs book...you know, a longer book where all the characters have chapters? "In The Time of the Dinosaurs". It's about...well, I don't know, it's not a clear title.

# ? Mar 5, 2021 03:59

Acebuckeye13: Nov 2, 2010; If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling
1-800-GAMBLER; Ultra Carp

This was pretty good, and a definite change of pace! It's honestly a shame these books are so short (And that this one had to spend so much time setting up the framing device), since it would have been interesting to see more interactions between the Animorphs, the Leerans, and the Andalites. We also never did figure out why the one captain defected, did we?

Also unlike a lot of these recent books, I remember almost everything about the next one, and I am hella excited for it because it is 300% bananas.

# ? Mar 5, 2021 04:17

Cythereal: Nov 8, 2009; I love the potoo,
and the potoo loves you.

I liked this book a lot. It's the first time I think the Animorphs really swing a major conflict of the war, and as someone who loves the sea, I wish we'd seen more of Leera.

As it is, I don't remember Leera or the Leerans ever appearing again before I stopped following the series.

# ? Mar 5, 2021 04:43

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

I like this book. Ax really begins to step out of his brother's shadow and become a warrior.

# ? Mar 5, 2021 04:43

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Cythereal posted:

As it is, I don't remember Leera or the Leerans ever appearing again before I stopped following the series.

They don't, except as a cameo in one book near the end. However, the stuff that happened on Leera has aftershocks that resonate throughout the rest of the series.

# ? Mar 5, 2021 04:51

Bobulus: Jan 28, 2007

You know, if we make it ask the way through the series, I'll have to celebrate by sharing my grandmother's cinnamon bun recipe. Then everyone can freak out as much as Ax.

I liked this book! A cool change of pace, and seemingly something weird and sci-fi happened without being the Ellimest's doing!

# ? Mar 5, 2021 04:55

Comrade Blyatlov: Aug 4, 2007; should have picked four fingers

At least, not explicitly. Him flicking their consciousness into their extruded mass seems very much like one of his 'I will not interfere' tricks

# ? Mar 5, 2021 05:10

Jazerus: May 24, 2011

it was clearly by happenstance that an andalite ship on the way to a very important moment in the war, with a traitor captain who needed to be dealt with before a second andalite controller emerged, ran over their extruded mass (despite earth's z-space neighborhood being semi-impassible at the moment, which is what's cutting off andalite reinforcement of earth) while they were on a mission that turned out to be easily resolved and non-critical

# ? Mar 5, 2021 05:18

WrightOfWay: Jul 24, 2010

Yeah, this is all way too coincidental to not be the Ellimist, he's just being a bit more subtle than showing up in person.

# ? Mar 5, 2021 05:42

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

This remains my favourite book in the main series. (The unfairly advantaged David trilogy is probably better though.) Reading it again as an adult though, yeah, it is unfortunately very short and limited in what it's able to do. Like, it's by far the craziest thing that's ever happened to them but ultimately it's still like "well, Saturday morning at the food court again! [Exterior shot of shopping mall as Animorphs laugh, roll credits.]" It would have benefited from being a Megamorphs book, except that it's so clearly (and excellently!) weighted around Ax and his conflicting loyalties.

Also I thought the high-stakes insane conclusion was awesome when I was nine or ten years old and it's still awesome. Mission to blow up a continent and save the planet, Ax all by himself, bomb one second from going off, Dracon beam a metre from his face, and he miraculously finishes the cycle and is the last one to snap back to Earth? Come on, that's sick.

Acebuckeye13 posted:

We also never did figure out why the one captain defected, did we?

I would assume just fear - fear that the Andalites are losing, the Yeerks are going to win, and maybe he can carve himself out some kind of safety or comfort in the face of what he sees as the inevitable. (His dialogue was a bit cartoonishly villainous, but eh, it's a kids' book.)

Cythereal posted:

As it is, I don't remember Leera or the Leerans ever appearing again before I stopped following the series.

Apart from Ax mentioning that they're not allowed on the Andalite world, there's no suggestion that they're spacefaring. Maybe they're just like a recently contacted species that's only at the same technological level as Earth, so don't have much to offer to the war effort beyond their usefulness as mind readers. (On the other hand I don't see how Leera could really have been that pivotal though, which everybody in this book says it is.)

# ? Mar 5, 2021 07:47

GodFish: Oct 10, 2012; We're your first, last, and only line of defense. We live in secret. We exist in shadow.

And we dress in black.

Mind readers would basically negate the biggest advantage of either side of the war.

The next book is so wild, I love it, though it's unfair that they don't get to keep their morphs :colbert:

# ? Mar 5, 2021 08:29

Shwoo: Jul 21, 2011

The Animorphs showing up turned a probable defeat into a victory, and when they got back, the guy randomly woke up, despite Yeerk science not being able to revive him before this. There's too many coincidences even for a kids' series. Plus it fits the Ellimist's normal method of making a small change and then leaving the kids to figure out the rest.

quote:

�Yeah,� Marco said. �That�s what�s strange: the word �yanked.� Us turning into mosquitoes to suck some guy�s blood so we could morph into him and instead ending up in the middle of some war to control psychic yellow frogs, and oh, by the way, blowing up a small continent full of Yeerks, saving an entire species, then getting back here to find out Coma-man woke up from a mosquito bite delivered by a morphed alien-slash-deer-slash-scorpion-slash-four-eyed centaur, that�s all totally normal. That�s just an average day. Dear Diary: another boring average day, till someone said �yanked.��

I first saw this line on a list of Animorphs quotes on some fansite. I didn't realise it was from the end of the book, and I spent most of it waiting for the things Marco described to happen. At least it didn't spoil the traitor Andalite. That was a surprising twist.

And dinosaur book next! There's heavy themes because it would barely be an Animorphs book without them, but also, dinosaurs! Not feathered dinosaurs, but it was the 90s.

# ? Mar 5, 2021 08:48

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

GodFish posted:

Mind readers would basically negate the biggest advantage of either side of the war.

On Earth, yeah, but in the rest of the galaxy it seems to be a pretty regular ol' shootin' war. Pew pew!

# ? Mar 5, 2021 09:24

Pwnstar: Dec 9, 2007; Who wants some waffles?

The cool thing about Ax books is that he has so much genuine enjoyment out of things, either cinnamon buns and cigarette butts or weird things humans do that interest/impress him. Marco is the funny guy of the group but when you are reading his POV books he's almost always pretending to be happy or doing something stupid and fun because he desperately needs something normal in his life.

# ? Mar 5, 2021 10:04

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ? Apr 28, 2024 18:21

SirSamVimes: Jul 21, 2008; ~* Challenge *~

freebooter posted:

On Earth, yeah, but in the rest of the galaxy it seems to be a pretty regular ol' shootin' war. Pew pew!

I mean this book just demonstrated that there is infiltration and treachery occurring.

# ? Mar 5, 2021 12:47

The Something Awful Forums > Archives > Comedy Goldmine > Let's Read Animorphs! The Whole Series! Ch-ch-ch-chaaanges

«‹›236 »