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Epicurius posted:It does end on a hopeful note, saying most of all a good leader needs to be lucky, like Elfangor was, until his luck ran out and he died. Wait, no, that's not hopeful at all. animorphs.txt
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# ? Oct 29, 2020 03:35 |
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# ? May 28, 2024 16:11 |
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This book really is just Jake making worse and worse decisions until he dies. And he's the only one who remembers it. Poor guy. At least he got to be a jaguar in a rainforest for a little while.QuickbreathFinisher posted:Apparently Applegate and Grant are exiting the movie due to "creative differences." Rick Riordan posted:For example, check out my website, rickriordan.com. Do you see any indication there that the Percy Jackson movies ever existed? No. No, you do not.
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# ? Oct 29, 2020 04:28 |
This book is probably the first real indication of where this war is going to take Jake. I dunno if you'd call it foreshadowing or what, but Jake being all alone, having to make impossible decisions and wearing the consequences is a recurring theme and his ultimate fate. All the best kids books have enormous PTSD!
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# ? Oct 29, 2020 04:49 |
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Shwoo posted:This book really is just Jake making worse and worse decisions until he dies. And he's the only one who remembers it. Poor guy. At least he got to be a jaguar in a rainforest for a little while. Riordan, Applegate/Grant, and Ursula Le Guin are/were kind of the Mount Rushmore of Throwing Shade At Adaptations Of Their Work They Hated.
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# ? Oct 29, 2020 04:57 |
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I always had trouble trying to envision how a good film adaptation of Animorphs would work, so I'm not surprised KA and Michael decided to pull out. The series just feels very ill-suited for the silver screen, especially compared to the graphic novel that just came out or even the old TV series (Flawed as it was).Shwoo posted:This book really is just Jake making worse and worse decisions until he dies. And he's the only one who remembers it. Poor guy. At least he got to be a jaguar in a rainforest for a little while. There was a lot of talk about how boring Jake is as a character earlier in the thread, but as this book demonstrates I don't think that's really true. Jake's arc is really all about him coming to terms with being the leader of the Animorphs, which is an immense psychological burden, as it means taking responsibility for the lives of not only his friends, but every single human being on the planet, and it's a theme that's explored in most of his books. For instance, this book obviously gave Jake a grim vision of "What happens if you make the wrong decision, and say Go to the wrong mission?", while the last book explored "What happens if you get captured? Can the group survive without you?", and even the very first book demonstrated the burden of command by having Cassie get captured and Tobias get trapped in morph. And later books will continue looking at the consequences of failure and the increasing desperate and ruthless lengths to which Jake is willing to go to in order to achieve success as well as an extremely dumb underwater adventure but we can agree to ignore that one. But while the struggles of the other Animorphs are out in the open for the rest of the group to support each other (Tobias being trapped in morph, Ax being away from his species, Marco's unwillingness to cause pain to his dad), Jake bottles up pretty much all his internal struggles. Outbursts like the one in this book from Jake over being forced to be the leader are extremely rare in the series—instead, he handles his role as the leader as best as he can, all while growing more hardened and accustomed to the realities of war, to the point that (BIG spoiler): he's willing to sacrifice his brother and his cousin to achieve victory. Of all the characters, Jake ends up changing the most from the beginning of the series to the end, and not for the better, and books like this are why I think he is one of the more interesting characters in the series—even if it's not always apparent from the other character's perspectives.
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# ? Oct 29, 2020 05:29 |
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FlocksOfMice posted:I really thought the resolution was more clear, solid, something, though, thinking about the book. It just kinda... resolves a bit unceremoniously doesn't it? I really didn't remember it ending this abruptly! Side note - I *think* we see the Lerdethak show up again as in, a real one, in the Hork Bajir chronicles. Which is kinda neat, since V3's morphs are usually just one-and-done crazy monsters of the week that are never heard of again.
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# ? Oct 29, 2020 06:42 |
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freebooter posted:I really didn't remember it ending this abruptly! If I remember right, the big yellow snake reappears in book 15, though of course that's a Marco and he doesn't recognise it
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# ? Oct 29, 2020 06:45 |
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FlocksOfMice posted:Normally I hate "haha and none of it really happened!" stories but I still like this. It lets Jake feel the full consequences of "this is what happens when you screw up and you actually full on die" which doesn't really teach him as much of a lesson so much as it teaches him "being an animorph sucks." Yeah, that ending was why I didn't like it back then. Just seemed trivializing, the whole Wizard of Oz movie ending, and I thought the story was playing kinda fast and loose with the rules of time travel. And like you say, it could have at least used an epilogue sort of final chapter. Epicurius posted:It does end on a hopeful note, saying most of all a good leader needs to be lucky, like Elfangor was, until his luck ran out and he died. Wait, no, that's not hopeful at all. That is a good point for the story to make, though. A whole lot of history revolves around pure luck (and bad decisions). Fuschia tude fucked around with this message at 09:51 on Oct 29, 2020 |
# ? Oct 29, 2020 09:48 |
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Oh, hey, I think this next book is the last one that I read as a kid! Oh, and sometime later I grabbed the Andalite Chronicles, but that was basically it. I'm interested to see what I missed.
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# ? Oct 29, 2020 19:31 |
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At this point there are two sides of Jake: The one that likes playing basketball and fetch with his dog, and the one that in another life would go on to topple a foreign government
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 00:18 |
Please, he'd be wasting civilians left and right
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 00:26 |
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SardonicTyrant posted:At this point there are two sides of Jake: The one that likes playing basketball and fetch with his dog, and the one that in another life would go on to topple a foreign government in fairness to jake this is every animorph except cassie
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 00:42 |
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Well, now that we've left Jake traumatized by a failure and death that only he can remember, lets switch to a book where Rachel....gets the sniffles? I don't know. Book 12: The Reaction-Chapter 1 quote:My name is Rachel. That's a good attitude, I think quote:That’s all any of us do. Any of us Animorphs. We just try not to give in. This is a book that promises Rachel revenge, and I'm into it. Also, something I think is interesting is that you have the obligatory summary "I can't tell you who I am....' but it seems kind of truncated compared to previous books. Chapter 2 quote:“Field trip.” Two of the best words in the English language. Our class was going to the zoo at The Gardens. Do you remember, when you were a kid, the wonder that was a school field trip? It always seemed especially sweet. Here you were, supposed to be in class but instead you were someplace else. It was like you were getting one over on someone. I remember when I was in high school, I went to the Elizabeth Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. She was a big art collector, the wife of this big shipping magnate, and when she died, she had her house turned into a museum, and her art collection opened to the public. If you like art or rare books, you should go if you're ever near Boston. We also went to the Higgins Armory Museum, which had a big collection of arms and armor, and is now closed, but most of the collection is apparently in the Worcester Art Museum, although only part of it is currently on display. Also worth a look. quote:Cassie didn’t agree. That's awesome. Totally and completely awesome. quote:“Cassie, Cassie, Cassie. When you start taking advice from Marco, the end of civilization is very near. Besides, you and Nine Inch Nails? Do you even like the band?” So, cliffhanger....or, crocodile pit railing hanger....will the dumb little boy survive?
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 01:06 |
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This is Animorphs, I expect the little boy to get bisected by a crocodile and reflect upon the nature of futility
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 01:46 |
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quote:Right in front of me, not ten feet away, some dumb little boy was climbing up on the railing. “Hey! Hey! Get down off there, you -” Animorphs predicted Harambe.
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 01:46 |
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This book is very weird! Not really in terms of content, but in how there’s a later book in the series which is basically this exact plot again right down to “animorph struggles with morphing problems but the later book just... does everything in this one better? It’s not very often that happens with a ghostwritten retread. Not that this is a bad book, we’ve got a long ways to go before any bad animorphs books.
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 02:02 |
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I'm kind of surprised we've only had one Tobias book this entire time still even yet. I guess I just reread Tobias' book so OFTEN his perspective stuck with me for so long, but he's been a fairly minor character for the most part other than running surveillance. Wild. I don't even REMEMBER this book. I stopped reading in the early 30s and I don't even remember this! It's like the first time then, fun.
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 02:17 |
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I love how we've rolled over into a second book now and the thread title hasn't changed from #10 yet.
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 02:19 |
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Epicurius posted:Also, something I think is interesting is that you have the obligatory summary "I can't tell you who I am....' but it seems kind of truncated compared to previous books. FlocksOfMice posted:I'm kind of surprised we've only had one Tobias book this entire time still even yet. I guess I just reread Tobias' book so OFTEN his perspective stuck with me for so long, but he's been a fairly minor character for the most part other than running surveillance. Wild.
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 04:09 |
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nine-gear crow posted:I love how we've rolled over into a second book now and the thread title hasn't changed from #10 yet. Book 11 truly never happened. The Forgotten
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 04:09 |
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While everyone else got their own books, Tobias and Ax had to share, leaving us criminally underserved when it came to Tobias and Ax books. Scholastic took the attitude that the characters should be stand-ins for the audience...that boys should be able to see themselves as Jake and Marco, girls should be able to see themselves as Rachel and Cassie, and that kids wouldn't be able to relate to an alien and a hawk, so instead of their books being 5 apart, they're 10 books apart. Books that end in 3 are Tobias books, books that end in 8 are Ax books. This belief by Scholastic wasn't true, as anyone reading this thread knows, and Ax was put in the normal rotation starting with book 46...so 46 was an Ax book, 49 was a Tobias book, and 52 was an Ax book. Unfortunately, the series ended with book 54, so Tobias and Ax didn't get as much time to shine as they should have.
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 04:27 |
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I'm a pretty big dummy because not only did I not pick up a pattern in the rotation when I read a dozen or two of these books as a kid, I also failed to notice it when I blitzed through the series as an adult. The choice of narrator seemed random and the thought that Tobias and Ax were shafted never crossed my mind. But I was always a bigger Marco fan anyway.
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 04:44 |
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I think the rotation goes completely out the window once the books enter the final story arc? edit - huh, looking at it now, I was wrong, it basically sticks Ax in at the beginning of a new cycle, in between Marco and Jake but maintains the rotation. But they only got through one full cycle before then just having an Ax book, a Jake book, and then the final multi-POV book. So it feels random. edit edit - Also, the weirdest thing about the final story arc (huge spoilers obviously!) is that it feels like it kicks off in 45 with Marco's identity being compromised, but then they just pootle around with a couple more story-of-the-week books before that happens to the rest of the group in book 49. I distinctly remember how they talk about how they have to stage Marco and his dad's death, and then in the next Jake book it's life as usual with his parents nagging him about doing chores. Motherfuckers, his best friend just got murdered as far as you know! freebooter fucked around with this message at 06:27 on Oct 30, 2020 |
# ? Oct 30, 2020 06:17 |
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Oh yeah, didn't 48 start with Rachel dreaming she's on a field trip to Washington DC, and realising afterwards that Marco wouldn't have been there because he faked his death and is now living with Ax in the woods? Marco's part of the final arc didn't really feel connected to the rest of it. Numbering chat: Up until book 46, every book number ending with 1 or 6 was Jake, if it ended with 2 or 7 it was Rachel, if it ended with 4 or 9 it was Cassie, if it was 5 or 0 it was Marco, all Tobias's books ended with 3, and all Ax's books ended with 8. After 45 it switched to a six book narrator rotation instead of five, with Toabias between Rachel and Cassie and Ax at the end, but not for long enough to really establish the pattern. Since it ended on what would have been a Rachel book under normal circumstances, Jake got one more book than the other fully human Animorphs.
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 06:39 |
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This is blowing my mind that Tobias had only 3 books. I guess I had some kind of nerd crush on him as a child and reread his books so often he felt as common as the others. This is some Berenstain bears poo poo. The book after this one is the Tobias one where he gets the ability to morph again, right? It felt like that happened so much earlier. Memories are weird.
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 14:19 |
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FlocksOfMice posted:This is blowing my mind that Tobias had only 3 books. I guess I had some kind of nerd crush on him as a child and reread his books so often he felt as common as the others. He didn't, he had 6. 3, 13, 23, 33, 43, 49. I said earlier that what Tobias and Ax lacked in quantity, they made up in quality, and I stand by that. I still think Tobias has the highest book quality overall, and Ax is either second-highest or slightly behind Marco for third.
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 15:09 |
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FlocksOfMice posted:This is blowing my mind that Tobias had only 3 books. I guess I had some kind of nerd crush on him as a child and reread his books so often he felt as common as the others. This is some Berenstain bears poo poo. There are 6 Tobias books - 3, 13, 23, 33, 43, 49. And yeah he was my favorite character as a kid so on my reread it struck me as strange how little a presence he is, especially before the plot point you mentioned. But yes, that is upcoming next.
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 15:09 |
I mean Tobias is an outcast even among outcasts, so it's not surprising so many identify with him
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# ? Oct 30, 2020 19:39 |
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Book 12: The Reaction-Chapter 3quote:“Aaaaahhhhh!” We all know she's going to do something dumb. quote:I leaned far out over the railing. Everyone was pushing to get a view of the kid named Tyler. But no one could see him. He had fallen straight down and rolled into a shallow alcove at the base of the wall. Told you she'd do something dumb. The problem is, acquiring an animal puts it in a trance, but for less than a minute, and when you're stuck in a crocodile pit, that's not a lot of time. Chapter 4 quote:“Acquiring.” That’s what we call it when we absorb the DNA of a creature. It's true. Crocodiles are old. The first known crocydillians date to the Cretateous. quote:The crocodile knew two things. There was prey - the little boy. And there was an enemy - the other big crocodile. That last part is the greatest disappointment. But, if you wanted to see an animorph fight a crocodile, this is the book for you.
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# ? Oct 31, 2020 01:03 |
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quote:Cassie grabbed my arm to get my attention. She stared into my eyes, making sure I heard her. Rachel.txt
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# ? Oct 31, 2020 02:44 |
How did she not get seen morphing? Oh, alcove. I guess if it was under the rail or something but I dunno, every zoo exhibit I've seen has had more than one angle to see from. I just had a hard time buying that no one would see it
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# ? Oct 31, 2020 03:16 |
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It's very convenient that she did not get seen morphing. Calming the animal down and running away is one thing, but straight up shape changing in a crowd is another
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# ? Oct 31, 2020 06:45 |
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Rachel is truly a font of spectacularly poor decisions. Also this is technically from the last chapter but loving at Cassie's mom and "Nice is Neat." When I read this book as a kid I didn't really have a frame of reference for what kind of music NIN was, but the joke ended up sticking in my brain for years. I'd actually completely forgotten it was in this particular book, so reading it again now gave me a good chuckle.
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# ? Oct 31, 2020 21:17 |
I got my copy of the graphic novel last week and just want to point out that despite the context, the photo of Elfangor's family on his ship where wee Ax is being held in his parent's arms like how I hold my dumb cats is extremely
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# ? Oct 31, 2020 22:52 |
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pastor of muppets posted:I got my copy of the graphic novel last week and just want to point out that despite the context, the photo of Elfangor's family on his ship where wee Ax is being held in his parent's arms like how I hold my dumb cats is extremely This makes me wonder about infants and the blade tail. Does it grow out later in life? If they're born with it I'm surprised they survived as a species
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# ? Oct 31, 2020 23:13 |
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Holy gently caress. I thought the Nice is Neat joke went to a completely different book.
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# ? Oct 31, 2020 23:30 |
Synesthesian Fetish posted:This makes me wonder about infants and the blade tail. Does it grow out later in life? If they're born with it I'm surprised they survived as a species I vaguely remember something like this being addressed later on maybe in the Hork-Bajir or Andalite Chronicles? but it's been so long since I've read them, so I guess we'll find out when they come up.
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# ? Oct 31, 2020 23:39 |
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Book 12: The Reaction-Chapter 5quote:“I see,” Jake said. “So basically you’re saying it was no big deal. You jump into an alligator pit,you -” Am I the only one who finds it kind of creepy in the Jake and Rachel books that they point out that the other one is good looking and then go on to say, "Of course, (s)he is my cousin, so nothing would ever happen, but...." That part just seems to make it worse. quote:Anyway, lounging on a big bale of hay was Marco. Marco is Jake’s best friend. Marco is not the leadership type. He’s very smart but unfortunately, he uses all his brain to make stupid jokes. If you're curious, Applegate came up with the word "nothlit" because when she was writting one day, she happened to be across the street from a Hilton. quote:There’s a two-hour time limit on morphing. Stay more than two hours and you stay forever. Tobias likes her. Book 12: The Reaction-Chapter 6 quote:Jake scratched his ear. He grinned sheepishly. “Just because I would have done the same thing doesn’t make it right.” Second book in a row somebody experiences a weird occurance and decides not to tell anyone else. You can tell they're cousins. quote:Cassie raised her hand. “Are we done with yelling at Rachel? I have work to do.” As fun as this banter is, my favorite part is just Ax having no idea what they're talking about. quote:“If Jeremy Jason McCole becomes a spokesman for The Sharing, they’ll be signing up girls like crazy,” I said. You tell 'em, Jake. So, we're just 6 chapters in and already this is the horniest of the Animorphs books.
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# ? Nov 1, 2020 00:58 |
I mean, they ARE in puberty.
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# ? Nov 1, 2020 01:04 |
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# ? May 28, 2024 16:11 |
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Twenty websites??
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# ? Nov 1, 2020 01:15 |