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

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Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Oh, at this point, I assume all the Yeerks under Visser 3 realize the Animorphs are human but that nobody is brave enough to tell him.

# ? Feb 28, 2022 20:29

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# ? May 26, 2024 10:50

Capfalcon: Apr 6, 2012; No Boots on the Ground,
Puny Mortals!

FlocksOfMice posted:

If this wasn't a filler book I'd be way more worried too that Rachel is breaking kayfabe and talking to yeerks all the time in what is clearly not the way an andalite would ever choose to communicate.

Imagine the yeerk water cooler talk?

"Yeah so then the andalite stood over me and instead of killing me or capturing me it told me to go home. Like, yeerks go home."

"Weird! This one polar bear disarmed me and said 'this is for the old man.' What do you think that's about?"

"So they're definitely morphing humans, right?"

"Obviously."

"We can't tell Visser 3 about that without him getting angry and killing us, right?"

"Obviously."

It is a pretty funny aside earlier in the series where they basically say the exact same thing with the teenagers who disappeared by running into the ocean.

# ? Feb 28, 2022 21:20

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 15

quote:

<One hour and fifteen minutes. Seventy-five minutes, total.>

�This is just fabulous. This is just perfect!� Marco raged. �In less than two hours Cassie�s going down. One way or the other. Infestation? Maybe. Torture? Why not. Life as a gigantic fur ball? Possible.�

<Marco.> Tobias�s voice was emotionless. <Stop. I�m sure Rachel feels bad enough �>

�And she should!� Marco whirled to glare at me.

I lowered my head and the tears spilled faster.

�Nice, Rachel,� Marco spat. �The �Don�t-be-mean-to-me I�m-a-girl� thing is pathetic.�

<Marco!> It was Ax. <That is enough. Unproductive. And enough.>

We were in Cassie�s barn. Cassie�s favorite place. Which, thanks to me, she might never see again.

�I� I thought she was out �� I whispered.

<We�ve got to deal with this situation,> Tobias went on. <If the Yeerks infest Cassie and force her to demorph, we�re history. The mission is over. The entire war is over. It might be already.> Marco snorted. �Shouldn�t we let our new fearless leader decide the next move? She�s been just fantastic with strategy so far. I, for one, am impressed.�

I sniffed and swiped at my eyes with the back of my hand. �Marco ��

�Yes? Did you want to say something to me?� He crossed his arms and stared. ��Cause I don�t know if a macho warrior like you wants to be talking to me. I�m the one who thinks too much. I�m the boring one with the Hamlet complex. The one who says, �Gee, Rachel. Don�t you think we should take a look first? Investigate? Prepare? You know, before we march into certain death?��

Okay, now I was mad. I�d screwed up really, really badly. But wasn�t I punishing myself enough? For God�s sake, I was crying! Not something I made a habit of doing. �I didn�t know that Garatron inspector would be there!� I shouted, my fists clenched.

Marco shook his head. Like he was disgusted. �Yeah, well, you would have if you�d listened to reason.�

<We are wasting time,> Ax said. <The visser has probably taken Cassie to the Yeerk pool.> Ax still hadn�t looked at me. Not right at me. Not once since we�d run off from the Community Center, flown back to the barn. <Our course is clear.>

Tobias stretched and refolded his wings. <Rachel�s our leader, Ax. We might not be thrilled with that decision right now but we�re the ones who made it. I think we should take responsibility for it. Stick with it.>

My stomach clenched. I felt chilled.

Not exactly a strong endorsement from Tobias.

But why would he be pleased with me? Why should he stick up for me? My show-off performance had put us all - all - in serious danger. Had quite possibly condemned us to death.

An old man, dead. Cassie �

I was going to be sick. I clapped my hand over my mouth.

No. Get control, Rachel. Not here. Not now.

�No!� I turned to Marco. Tobias. �Ax. Please. Look at me.� He did, with his main eyes. �I�m not your leader. Not anymore. I can�t bring that old man back to life. I can�t tell you to go down to the Yeerk pool to rescue Cassie. I can�t tell you to do anything! I screwed up. I ��

<Rachel. All leaders make mistakes on occasion. It is not a desirable thing but it is an observable truth. Tobias is correct. You are our leader. You must behave like a commanding officer.>

I shook my head. �No. Ax �� I swallowed hard and looked to Tobias. �And Tobias. Thanks for the loyalty. It must be hard, pretending to have faith in me. And Marco? Thanks for the honesty.� I laughed a forced, sick laugh. �It�s ugly but I deserve it. But � I�m going down to the Yeerk pool alone. It�s the only way.�

�Are you on medication?� Marco put his hands to his head. �No, I really want to know. Seriously. �Cause I think your dosage needs to be adjusted.�

�I�m going alone. That�s final. Look, Cassie went down alone when she had to.�

�When the rest of us were totally incapacitated,� Marco shot back. �Different situation. She had no choice. You do.�

<It would be suicidal,> Ax said. 

�Yeah, well, Jake�s not here,� I snapped. Even to my own ears I sounded like a petulant child. �And if he had been I guess none of this would have happened.�

<So, it�s Jake�s fault?> Tobias said harshly. <That he trusted us to handle situations while he was away? That we chose you as interim leader? That you made a mistake and now want to bail on us? I don�t know, Rachel. Maybe you really don�t deserve to be leader.>

Tobias �

Guilt. Shame. Overwhelming sadness. And anger.

Why was this happening? How could things have gotten so bad? Gone so wrong? It was all too much. Too much!

I couldn�t �

�I quit. I resign. Let Marco be leader,� I yelled, kicking an old wooden crate against the wall. A wounded raccoon moaned nervously in its cage. �It�s what he�s wanted all along. I�m out of here.�

So, since the Animorphs thread is sort of nostalgic thread for a bunch of people, let me throw in a quote from another nostalgic favorite: Avatar, the Last Airbender

"�Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame.�

Because that's really what's going on here. Rachel is in over her head, but in a lot of ways, she has herself to blame for it, and now she wants to martyr herself for it. And Ax is right....none of this helps. She made a mistake, and they're in a bad situation, but this is when she has to actually step up and lead, and part of that means listening to people and taking their advice.

Chapter 16

quote:

Marco followed me out of the barn.

�Rachel. Wait up.�

I did. I don�t know why. But I threw my arms up in the air and slapped them down against my thighs and tossed back my head and growled.

He trotted up and came to stand in front of me.

�No,� he said.

�What do you mean, �no�? Don�t want to have to deal with my mess?� I said flatly, brushing away a final tear and pretending it was a speck of dirt. �I understand that. It�s a no-win situation. And you�re nothing if not pragmatic, Marco.�

Marco nodded. �You�re right about that. Lousy odds for success. And I am pragmatic.�

�The odds are always lousy. But Jake beats the odds.�

�Yeah. We�re lucky we have Jake. But he�s screwed up, too.�

�Your pity isn�t really helping me, Marco.�

�Jake never walks out. Never quits.�

�Yeah, well, goody for Saint Jake. You�re the one who didn�t want me in charge. Why not just take your big victory and be happy. The Animorphs are all yours till the Almighty Jake comes home.�

�Look, I can�t lead. Not right now. This isn�t my mission.�

�Look, maybe someday I�ll be in charge. If I am, I�ll probably screw up. Like I said, even Saint Jake blows it sometimes. What makes you so special, anyway?�

�Yeah? Then it�s your turn to screw up. I�m gone.�

Marco grabbed my arm. I jerked it away. He looked as angry as I was.

�Listen to me, you mall-crawling psycho, we have one hour and ten minutes to get Cassie out of the Yeerk pool. Now, I can come up with a clever plan. I can work all the angles. I can see the perfect solution. But all that takes time. We don�t have time, Rachel. We don�t have time for clever and subtle. We need reckless. We need impulsive. We need dangerous. We need out-of-your-mind, pure
adrenaline, butt-kicking, total out-there insanity.�

He stabbed his finger in my face. �We could have used me, back at the Community Center. But right now we need you. We have an hour to save your best friend, Jake�s girlfriend, and the entire human race. You got us into this, now get us out.�

Tobias and Ax were still waiting in the barn.

I closed the door behind me. I stood just inside, Marco within arm�s reach, peering into the blue and gray gloom of the barn.

It was evening, about six o�clock. I was already late for dinner but I�d deal with my mother�s questions tomorrow. If she�d even noticed I was gone, with all the time she was spending at the office lately on a major new case.

�Tobias?� My voice came out a little raw. �We have to act. Now. Anything new we need to know about the entrances to the Yeerk pool?�

There was a beat of silence. I thought I saw Ax smile, in that incredible mouth less way Andalites smile. But I could have imagined that, too.

Another beat of silence. Tobias said, <What are you planning to ->

I slammed my fist into my other hand. �I�m planning to get Cassie out of there. Now answer my question. Everything you have on Yeerk pool entrances. Now.�

<Gap dressing room. McDonald�s bathroom. Community Center playground tunnel.>

�Any other options?� I asked quickly.

Tobias cocked his head and seemed to consider. <Possibly. There�s a new office building a couple of blocks from the McQueen Building, where we were today. I�ve been watching it since it went up about two months ago. Strange thing is, it�s still empty. No tenants.>

�Lousy real estate market?� Marco wondered.

<No. I watched the construction, too. Mostly it was kept under wraps, but nobody was expecting a hawk to be snooping around. I�m no engineer, but I�m pretty sure office buildings have things like stairwells and elevator shafts. But not this building. And I�m also pretty sure the roof is retractable.>

<Not a common feature of Earth dwellings, I believe,> Ax said.

<Right. The other day I thought I saw what had to be a cloaked Bug fighter dropping through the roof. I can�t be sure. I was too far away, but you know, we�ve always wondered how the visser gets spacecraft in and out of the Yeerk pool. I don�t ->

�Time check, Ax?�

<Sixty-five of your minutes.>

 Tobias said.

�Take us half an hour to get there, another half hour to infiltrate,� Marco said. �If it is a Yeerk cover, it�ll be guarded. More so, now. Then, we�ll need time to get to the Yeerk pool, find Cassie, bail out. I don�t see it. Not in any sixty-five minutes.�

�It doesn�t take a Bug fighter that long,� I said.

<We do not have a Bug fighter,> Ax said.

I took a deep breath. I had a terrible idea. A suicidal idea. I half smiled at Marco. �You wanted insane? I�ve got some insane.�

So, I might have mentioned this in an earlier book, but the Marco-Rachel relationship will never not be interesting to me, because they're very different people and have this rivalry going on, but also this strange respect for each other, and they'll put up with comments from the other one that they won't put up with from anybody else.

# ? Mar 1, 2022 04:23

Capfalcon: Apr 6, 2012; No Boots on the Ground,
Puny Mortals!

That was a pretty good pair of chapters. I can believe Rachel essentially freaking and breaking down when she realized she got Cassie trapped, and Marco's endorsement of Rachel's strengths being more appropriate for the situation over his own is good.

There's even a not-so-subtle shift from the general perspective of Jake as first among equals during mission planning from previous books to an explicit acceptance of a military chain of command.

# ? Mar 1, 2022 05:19

CidGregor: Sep 27, 2009; TG: if i were you i would just take that fucking devilbeast out behind the woodshed and blow its head off

Epicurius posted:

So, I might have mentioned this in an earlier book, but the Marco-Rachel relationship will never not be interesting to me, because they're very different people and have this rivalry going on, but also this strange respect for each other, and they'll put up with comments from the other one that they won't put up with from anybody else.

This is exactly why I loved the poo poo out of Megamorphs #4. (well, one of the reasons.) It's the only remaining book I still remember anything substantial about, because the Marco & Rachel storyline in that book cracks me up every time.

# ? Mar 1, 2022 05:21

disaster pastor: May 1, 2007

There are, I think, two things in this book that are worth the paper they were printed on, and that Marco/Rachel conversation is one of them.

Epicurius posted:

So, I might have mentioned this in an earlier book, but the Marco-Rachel relationship will never not be interesting to me, because they're very different people and have this rivalry going on, but also this strange respect for each other, and they'll put up with comments from the other one that they won't put up with from anybody else.

I'm sure we discussed this earlier and I brought it up then, but I'll do it again: they're both really, really smart. It shows in different ways (Rachel's a conventional genius, Marco's a lazy student who's smart enough to coast on minimal work), but they both know it about each other and their whole dynamic grows out of it, and it gets an additional wrinkle when the war starts because Marco is absolutely the better tactician, so the books get a bit more subtle about Rachel's intelligence. Though she does win that award!

They very frequently disagree (but not always, and Marco is more like Rachel than he likes to let on), but they have that respect for each other's brain, and I think that's why they put up with the things they put up with from each other: they each recognize that, regardless of the context or tone, the other one is very smart and if they're saying something severe or insistent, they should probably be paid attention to.

Trouble is, the ghostwriters have a lot less respect for Rachel's intelligence than Applegate and Grant did, and we're at the point where it's getting forgotten about. :smith:

# ? Mar 1, 2022 14:29

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 17

quote:

�Okay, Rachel. This is insane. I mean, genuinely insane. How are we going to get to that plane without getting shot at or eaten by German shepherds?�

Okay, so the situation looked a little grim. Morgan Airport. For small jets, both corporate and privately owned. Even though the sun hadn�t yet set, too-bright white lights illuminated the airfield, which meant no convenient shadows in which to lurk. Flat, open terrain, which meant no natural cover. High fences. Some of which just might deliver a nasty shock to anyone attempting to scale them.

And if a jolt of electricity didn�t get the intruder, rows of barbed wire would. That or one of the eighty-pound, highly trained guard dogs.

Human guards posted at every gate. Guns in low-slung holsters at their waists but lazy-looking, and wearing sunglasses - behind which they were probably dozing. But I was through making risky assumptions. At least, for the moment.

All these safety measures to protect the private jets of the rich and famous. And we were about to hijack one of them. I wondered if the owners had insurance. And then I spotted the corporate logo on the jet we�d targeted. And on the one next to it.

Philip Morris. Oh, yeah. The owners of these babies had insurance. Lots of it.

I shrugged. �No time. Ticktock. Back to basics: We make a run for it.�

�I so knew you were going to say that.� Marco turned to Ax and Tobias. �I knew she was going to say that.�

�On the count of three, guys. One. Two. THREE!�

We were off!

Scrambling up the first fence, fingers grasping, sneakers jamming into then out of too-small toeholds. No electric jolt but plenty of barbed wire at the top. Launching ourselves over the prickly coils and dropping to the ground on the other side.

�Owowow!� Good thing we�d worn jeans and sweatshirts - stuff we�d stashed in Cassie�s barn for emergencies - against the cool night air. Across the concrete apron! Running full out! Weird to be running as a human. It had been a longtime.

�Hey! You kids! Stop!�

�ROWROWROWROW!�

I glanced over my shoulder to see two German shepherds being held by their collars, straining to do what they were trained to do. Take down the intruders!

I raced on. Our sneakers slapped the ground like hands clapping too fast and too loud.

A bullhorn now. �I said, stop in the name of the law! Or I�ll let the dogs go!�

�Anyone got any liver snacks?� Marco panted. �Nice doggies!�

�Almost there! C�mon!�

I reached out desperately for the handrail of the retractable staircase and yanked myself up the first few steps.

A mechanic appeared underneath me, vacuum-type tool in hand. He must have come from under the plane.

�Hey, girlie! You can�t ��

I darted a look at his balding head.

�Oh, yeah. I can.�

He reached up and over the rail to grab me. I twisted and he missed. I ran on and reached the door of the plane, Marco, Tobias, and Ax right behind me.

�ROWROWROWROW!�

�In, in in!� I shouted, dragging Ax - who�d had some trouble with the stairs - through the narrow opening.

Began to haul the stairs and door shut �

SLAM!

�Thank you, Rachel. Human legs are far too wobbly ��

�Later, Ax. Keep an eye on the guards.�

�I could get used to this,� Marco said, looking around the posh interior of the jet. �Not a problem. Cushy leather seats. Twelve-inch video monitors. Gorgeous women serving � hey, where are the babes?�

�Down, boy,� I snapped. �Tobias, make sure the door is secured. Tight. Ax, can you fly this thing?�

�Without a doubt. But first I will demorph in preparation for throwing myself out at the appropriate time ��

�If not sooner,� Marco muttered.

I growled. �You guys are not helping.�

�I am,� Marco said suddenly, turning from a window on the far side of the plane. �I�m telling you there�s about, oh, ten guys with guns and nightsticks, ready to beat the crap out of us. Once they shoot their way inside, of course.�



Ax stood in the small cockpit, four legs braced firmly, and began to flip switches on the control panel with his nimble fingers.

MMMrrrr �

The engines came to life. Ax pushed a control stick forward slowly and the plane began to taxi.

�You sure you understand the concept of takeoff, Ax-man?� Marco asked nervously.

Ax swiveled his stalk eyes and gave Marco a look of disdain. he said dryly.

The jet picked up speed. Ax steered it onto the taxiway and turned toward the runway. But still, it felt like we were crawling!

�Ax! The guards are gaining on us! Can�t you ��

Ax turned onto the runway and opened up the throttle. At last, some speed!

Suddenly � <Ax! Look out!>

A deer! It had bounded out of the woods off to the right! Too fast, too close for Ax to stop! The deer froze twenty yards in front of us, its eyes glowing in the night, stunned by the jet�s headlights, oblivious to the shouts of men and the frantic barking of dogs!

Szwoooosh �

Ax swerved off the runway and the jet trundled over the grassy field. It missed the deer by - feet! Inches, it seemed!

�Excellent save, Ax!� I cried as he guided the plane back onto the concrete.

<Thank you, Rachel,> he said, his voice tight. <But I am afraid that evasive tactic cost us the necessary speed required to get the jet off the ground by the end of the runway.>

<They�re getting real close,> Tobias warned. <And they�ve got a security van.> He had demorphed and was perched on the back of one of the two forward-facing passenger seats.

�Is there any chance, Ax?� I shouted.

<There is a small chance I can get us up. But if I fail �>

I darted a quick glance at Marco and Tobias.

Marco nodded, his eyes dark.

Tobias � his inscrutable hawk stare was unchanged, but I knew.

�Do it, Ax! Go for it!�

Faster, faster, faster. The engines louder. Trees rushing by, blurring �

I gripped the back of the pilot�s seat, my knuckles white.

Yes!

<We have liftoff,> Ax said calmly.

I ran a hand over my forehead, beaded with sweat. I was nervous. Excited. Thankful. The rescue mission was underway.

We rose. Gained altitude and speed. Higher Faster. Over the anonymous country, suburb and city where we live. Toward the new Beane Tower And the Yeerk pool. And Cassie.

Animorphs just stole a corporate jet, you guys.

Chapter 18

quote:

Higher. Higher. And faster.

The sky slowly darkening, the blue deepening.

My heart pounding in my chest. Counting every beat as a second in time.

Ticktock.

Cassie�s time running out.

Our time running out!

Finally - finally! We were at seven thousand feet in the air over the Beane Tower.

�Ready, Ax?� I asked.

<We are in position.>

�Everybody ready? Marco, start your morph.�

�I�ve changed my mind,� he said. �All that stuff I said about needing insane? I was just suffering from low blood sugar.�

�Marco. Do it.�

<It is time,> Ax said. <Do you recall the instructions I gave you?>

�Yeah,� I said. �Get on with it.�

Szwooooosh �

�Holy ��

A ninety-degree dive! Nose down, hurtling straight for the roof of the Beane Tower!

A roof that looked pretty seriously solid right now.

�Okay, Ax! Give me the stick!� I shouted over the roar of the engines and rushing wind. �Morph! Then the three of you bail!�

<Rachel �>

�It�s okay, Tobias,� I said. �I�ll be okay.�

Ax dropped to his knees and dug his weak Andalite fingers as far into the nap of the plane�s carpeting as they would go. With weak Andalite arms he strained to pull his heavy body up to the door. With stronger, more muscled legs he shuffled up and forward. Struggling to keep from falling back, Ax pulled open the door and barely caught himself as the suck of air rushed from the jet.

I struggled to hold the controls steady until the others got out. To keep my body from being forced from the seat by the ferocious vacuum. To keep from smashing headfirst down against the windshield.

I was vaguely aware of Ax shrinking to northern harrier. And an osprey and a red-tailed hawk giving themselves up to the enormous sucking power of the wind, and letting themselves float out of the plane.

Then, finally, I was brutally aware of being alone in a four-ton jet, plummeting through the air toward what still looked like a too, too solid object.

Did I really expect the roof to retract for me? The enemy?

Had to ride the jet down. Ax was clear about that. Autopilot would be useless. Had to wait, wait, till that rectangular roof seemed to fill my entire field of vision, till there was no way to miss, till �

Morph! Now!

Bald eagle.

As soon as I thought it, I released my grip on the arms of the pilot�s seat.

SMASH!

I had braced myself but I was still thrown into the wall, then a passenger seat.

SMASH!

I ignored the bruises and allowed myself to be pulled, yanked, dragged toward the open door.

Yes! I�d made it.

I let go my grip and my still-human body flew from the plane.

Insanity!

I watched through wind-battered, tearing eyes? the jet seeming to slowly - then more quickly - drop away below me. Knew my friends had to be still above me, following. Engines still wide open.

I felt the oven heat of the backwash.

Morph! Morph! Morph!

Head over heels! Heels that were shriveling, narrowing into the powerful, gripping talons of the hunter. Too slow!

Panic � Fight it, Rachel! You�re the hero, warrior king! You can do this. You have to do this! This is who you are.

<Rachel!>

Had someone called my name?

Hurtling, hurtling �

And then I felt the tickling along my arms, legs, back. The tickling that meant a tracery of feathers was etching itself on my skin. A tattoo that would cover my entire body and then � raise into three dimensions!

But a feathered human couldn�t fly! A feathered human would crash-land �

BOOOOMM!

The jet hit!

It hit the roof of the Beane Tower and plowed through the roof that had not retracted. The jet exploded on impact, tearing a massive hole through the roof.

Whooooosh!

A fireball! Of amazingly enormous proportions that I, half-morphed and falling, speeding through the air, could not fail to see, hear, feel.

Blast after blast of intense heat! The air around me shimmered like the surface of a clouded, rippling lake. Then black, acrid smoke billowed up from the Beane Tower.

And I was falling, falling into the inferno! A feathered human now with the eagle�s keen eyes.

Better to see my own destruction rising up to meet me �

�Ahhhhhhhh!�

Had I cried out? Or had I screamed in my head? And what did it matter?

The shattered roof, so close! Jagged pieces of metal and broken glass, sticking up at crazy angles. All around the edge of the hole. Like ragged, dangerous teeth, ringing the gaping maw of a beast. The flames!

Still morphing � Was I lighter? Had my bones hollowed?

The speed, the heat, the wreckage, the �

<Ahhhhhhh!>

ZWHOOOP!
I
was through!

Sucked through the awful hole that had been the roof! Drawn down in the wake of the plummeting, fiery jet.

Feathers singed, lungs filled with smoke, but alive!

Morph, Rachel! Finish the morph!

Too fast! I was falling too fast! I�d smash into the jet, twisting and diving below me. Be the eagle!

Down, down through one, two, three stories of empty building!

Tobias was right. No tenants. No floors or dividing walls or elevator shafts or staircases, either. Just a hollow tube. A tunnel down to the �

Four, five, six stories! Yes! Wings! My body still too large, not fully the eagle�s yet, but �

I flapped, pulled up against the sucking wake of the plummeting jet, struggled �

Seven, eight stories!

<Ahhhhhh!>

BOOM!

Just to remind you all, this book was written pre 9/11,

# ? Mar 2, 2022 05:17

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

An aide rushes into the room where George W. Bush is reading Animorphs #9 to a roomful of schoolchildren. "Sir," he whispers in his ear, "America is under attack."

# ? Mar 2, 2022 05:43

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

After that, this has turned into a recovery op, not a rescue mission. :stonklol:

# ? Mar 2, 2022 05:47

HisMajestyBOB: Oct 21, 2010; College Slice

Animorphs did 9/11 :911:

# ? Mar 2, 2022 13:53

Capfalcon: Apr 6, 2012; No Boots on the Ground,
Puny Mortals!

Epicurius posted:

Chapter 17

Animorphs just stole a corporate jet, you guys.

Wonder if they're gonna send another anonymous envelope of cash to pay for it

# ? Mar 2, 2022 15:46

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

HisMajestyBOB posted:

Animorphs did 9/11

jet fuel can�t melt yeerk pools

# ? Mar 2, 2022 16:11

Bobulus: Jan 28, 2007

Capfalcon posted:

Wonder if they're gonna send another anonymous envelope of cash to pay for it

Nah, they've "got insurance". It's fine. Plus: Philip Morris. gently caress 'em.

quote:

Philip Morris International Inc. is a Swiss-American multinational cigarette and tobacco manufacturing company, with products sold in over 180 countries. The most recognized and best selling product of the company is Marlboro.

# ? Mar 2, 2022 17:10

Nihilarian: Oct 2, 2013

It's weird to hear KA Applegate acknowledged the megamorphs healing issue. There was a line in there about Rachel returning to human and having cuts on her feet. In retrospect it's ambiguous enough to mean she re-cut herself on the grass but as a kid i always took it to be an intended new wrinkle.

The Aldrea books are by far my favorite of the series, although I also love the Marco books. This book and the Atlantis one are the first to just feel wrong. This doesn't feel like Rachel. Starfish book had different Rachels too but that was clearly intentional

Anyway I'm caught up now. I didn't read Visser as a kid. They did a good job humanizing her, and then pulling back the curtains and revealing that no, she is actually a monster. The paragraph about infesting her daughter was horrifying

# ? Mar 2, 2022 17:28

Strategic Tea: Sep 1, 2012

Do I smell Visser One at work? Jet fuel can't melt steel hangar doors...

# ? Mar 2, 2022 22:51

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

I thought Marco making a crack about being on meds was a 90s moment, but this, lol

Anyway yeah that conversation in the barn - not just Marco and Rachel but also Ax and Tobias trying to reign them in - was a good piece of character writing I wouldn't have expected from this ghostwriter given the rest of the book. I do wonder, again, whether KA didn't just give outlines but would actually provide passages of dialogue for some of a book's more pivotal moments.

Having said that, it's a real "cheaper for the TV series to use an existing set" moment for them to bother going all the way back to the barn to debrief when the clock is ticking for Cassie.

# ? Mar 3, 2022 00:17

Nihilarian: Oct 2, 2013

Speaking of meds one of the things that was funny to me reading this thread was every time Cassie said Meds and had to explain that Meds means Medication. I think it happened like 3 times

# ? Mar 3, 2022 01:50

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

I actually don't dislike this book. It's not anywhere near the best book in the series, and the Garaton is kind of annoying, but it has some good exchanges, is a look at exactly what Jake is good for, and looks at leadership and the failure of leadership.

# ? Mar 3, 2022 01:55

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 19

quote:

BABOOOM!

The wreckage of the jet crashed through a ceiling or a hatch or something. I followed.

<Aaaahhh!>

Down through the opening! The plane falling, spiraling down from the high-domed roof of the Yeerk pool! Through the thunderous rushing of sound that accompanied the hurtling jet I could make out the harrowing cries of involuntary hosts. A cry far too familiar.

�GHAFRASH! WATCH OUT!�

Could hear the stunned, panicked shouts of Hork-Bajir Controllers. Could see them, barely, herding hosts back and away from the edge of the lead-colored pool itself. Away from the jet �

SPLOOOOSSHHH! SZZZZZZZZZZ!

Into the pool! The still-flaming body of the jet tearing through the dull gray surface of the Yeerk pool. Disappearing for a moment.

The contents of the pool sizzling and sloshing and churning. Spitting up pieces of twisted metal that bobbed to the slimy, fiery surface.

Hundreds, maybe thousands of Yeerks were in that pool! How many were dead? How many had just been killed?

Pull up, Rachel! Pull up!

I flared, talons forward, killing airspeed.

Yes! I was fully eagle now.

I righted myself. Flapped and soared above the panic on the floor of the massive underground complex. No one seemed to notice an Earth bird in the commotion.

Involuntary hosts were being slammed into cages. Voluntary hosts, whose Yeerks were currently in the cauldron that was the Yeerk pool, were being slammed in alongside their reluctant brothers and sisters. Just in case.

But where was Cassie? My keen eagle eyes darted from right to left. I flapped higher, scoping the pool, the buildings � the two steel infestation piers.

And found her. A massive off-white beast, her fur matted and stained with blood and gore. Her head hanging low. Each tree-trunk leg manacled to the other. Surrounded by three Hork-Bajir guards, one who held a blade to her throat.

No time to lose! Even with the Yeerk pool disrupted, Visser Three would demand the Andalite bandit be forcibly infested by a Yeerk. Forced to demorph. Compelled to reveal everything How many minutes did Cassie have left in morph? I�d lost track. Fifteen? Five?

No time to look for the others! Had they even made it alive through the burning, jagged hole that was once the roof? Had they survived the flames and blasts of intense heat and �

<Cassie! It�s me. Hang on!>

Only a slight, slight movement of her bent head. Enough for my keen eagle�s eyes to detect. Not enough to give warning to her Hork-Bajir guards.

A surprise attack!

One bald eagle against who knew how many Yeerk warriors!

Adrenaline surged through my body and mind and soul.

I was insane.

It was necessary!

I dove. Flared, talons out. In for the kill!

Swooosh!

�Raaahhh!�

I tore at the eyes of the guard who held his bladed wrist at Cassie�s neck. Immediately he dropped to his knees, blood dripping through the hands he�d raised to his face.

<Rachel!>

Attack! Talons extended, again. Another Hork-Bajir down. One more to go.

What was she �

Brilliant! Cassie was slowly, carefully demorphing. Controlling the demorphing process like only Cassie can. Shrinking, just enough to slip the manacles and chains that bound and incapacitated her.

Yanking the restraints away from her hind paws, tossing part into the still-roiling Yeerk pool.

Wrapping another part partially around a front paw.

Now she was reversing the morph. Lumbering to her full height! Eight feet of towering polar bear! Powerful beyond imagining. And angry. Cassie swung the heavy chain around her head.

�HSSSSROOOAAARRR!�

Yes!

THWUUMP!

The third Hork-Bajir, stumbling to his feet after surviving my attack, was down.

Cassie fell to her four paws. I landed on her broad, strong back.

<Surprised to see me?> I asked.

<Sky falling in, flames everywhere, Yeerks running for cover? Who else would it be but you?> Down the infestation pier, big taloned feet thudding and thundering, blades hissing as they slid and jostled against one another, came five Hork-Bajir.

SWAAAP! SWAAAP!

The bleeding, blinded Hork-Bajir were slammed out of their way.

<What�s the plan, Rachel?>

<Stop them. Somehow.>

Closer! Then the Hork-Bajir leading the five guards slowed. Just a bit. Another few yards or so and all they�d need to do was push us back, off the pier, into the Yeerk pool. Easy. Why rush?

<Take off, Rachel!> Cassie said wildly. <Get out. I�ll fight them off as best I can.>

<And then what? Less than ten minutes in morph, Cassie,> I guessed. <Then you�re Nanook for life. No. I�m getting out of here and I�m taking you with me. We�re barreling through. We charge for an exit.>

If they take anyone, I thought, make them take me. And then, I�ll do whatever I have to do. Whatever.

But now �

Almost within arm�s reach!

I tensed for action. Beneath my talons I felt Cassie�s muscles bunch and coil, ready to charge. The lead Hork-Bajir guard raised his blade-wielding arm and �

<Halt!>

Thought-speak! Hugely loud. Thunderous. It could only belong to one person.

Visser Three.

The five Hork-Bajir stopped and stood as If frozen.

And then the horrible voice again.

<You are very lucky to be here today, Inspector. We have captured another Andalite traitor for your entertainment!>

I think "Andalite traitor" is the wrong term here. "Spy", maybe, or "guerilla", or his old favorite "bandit", but not traitor.

Chapter 20

quote:

<Not good.>

<No,> Cassie agreed.

CLOP CLOP CLOP CLOP.

The visser came into view at the far edge of the pool. Next to him - suddenly, as if by magic - appeared the inspector. That weird, spindly, faster-than-the-speed-of-sound creature. In some odd way, the cause of Cassie and me being trapped here.

Two blue-furred, four-legged aliens. Possibly related only by the fact that each was a slave - perhaps both involuntarily - to a Yeerk.

<My dear Inspector, perhaps you would like the honor of killing the Andalite scum before us. Wait. I have a better idea.>

Visser Three paused and swiveled his stalk eyes to look down contemptuously at his colleague.

The animosity between the two was palpable, unmistakable.

<Because you seem to think it is so easy a task to eliminate these enemies of the Yeerk Empire,> the visser went on, He waved an arm broadly around, encompassing the pool. 

<TokillthesepatheticEarthcreaturesisnochallengeforacreaturewiththespeedandskillofaGaratron,> the inspector answered.

<Rachel? Maybe now�s not the time to ask, but - are the others with you?>

<You�re right,> I said, every eagle muscle tense, my keen eyes watchful, boring into the inspector, hoping to anticipate a move. <It�s a lousy time to ask. And the answer is, I don�t know.>

Visser Three chuckled. A very disturbing sound. <My dear Inspector! Are you saying that you decline my challenge? I don�t understand. You berate me for not having been successful in permanently subduing the Andalite bandits. And yet, when offered the opportunity to do so yourself, you refuse? I�m afraid I must take your refusal to mean an admission of �>

<Iacceptyourchallengethatisnochallenge,> the inspector spat.

<Cassie, get rea ->

ZZZIIISSSPPP!

A bluish blur that seemed to shoot through the air over the Yeerk pool.

The creature ran on water!

Whoooosh!

THUUWMPF!

<Aaahh!>

I was down!

Thwacked off Cassie�s back by the Garatron�s whiplash speed before I could even lift off! I was on my back. Slightly stunned. I beat my wings madly against the steel pier, trying to right myself. Whooooosh! Whoooosh!

The inspector zipped around and around Cassie, in an ever-tightening-then-widening circle. In and out, in and out. Amazingly fleet and surefooted on the narrow pier.

Cassie, huge and suddenly cumbersome compared to her foe, smacked and batted the air with her massive paws. Hit nothing!

Reared up to her full height and swung the length of chain over her head -

FWUPFWUPFWUP!

- and let it fly!

SPUH-LOOSH!

Into the Yeerk pool!

<Rachel! I can�t touch him!>

Whoooosh! Whoooosh!

Cassie batted again. Missed. Fell back to her four huge feet and swung her massive body around and -

<Aaahh!>

Her back right leg slipped off the edge of the pier! She scrambled back up, one paw wet and matted with sludgy gray liquid.

<I�ll get him, Cassie! Keep him occupied!>

I was back on my feet. The air was not good for flying - for gaining altitude, getting high enough so that I could dive and attack.

But I had to try!

I was a bald eagle! A bird of prey that could spot darting fish beneath the surface of a river or lake at a thousand feet! A bird that could dive for that swimming fish - that moving target - and catch it, still alive and squirming, in my talons� strong grip.

I flapped - hard, harder, even harder.

Threw my body upward into the motion, willing myself to climb.

I rose off the slick surface of the steel pier where the inspector was still madly, untiringly circling Cassie, impossibly creating a whirlwind in the wet air, slowing only every few revolutions for less than half a split second to THWAP! her with his brutally fast tail.

A tail that was beginning to leave deep, bloody slashes along the polar bear�s already lacerated flesh.

I rose into the damp mold-and-earth-smelling air.

Saw that all around us, ringing the pier and the pool like Romans cheering on the gladiators, were Controllers watching the inspector destroy my best friend.

Controllers led by Visser Three, evil emanating from his stolen Andalite body like the nauseating smell of sour milk.

It ticked me off.

A lot.

I had enough height, was maybe a few hundred feet above Cassie and the Garatron.

No Dracon beam sliced through the air to stop me. Obviously, the visser didn�t want to interfere with this interesting event. This fight to the finish.

For a second I wondered who he was rooting for - his nemesis, the inspector, or the Andalite bandits.

Politics, I thought with disgust.

I targeted my prey. The moving target. The vague blue blur that was menacing my friend and making the lives of the Animorphs seriously uncomfortable.

I dove. Closer� closer.

Couldn�t � there! Banked slightly � no �

Dive, dive!

Talons forward, big feathered legs stretched and eager!

Got him �

<Aaahhhh!>

<Rachel!>

WHUMPF!

I was down!

Smashing down onto the pier, twisting and wrenching my neck, bending back my left wing. Sliding! Coming to a bad stop inches from the end of the pier.

I�d missed, maybe only nicked the inspector�s sleek Garatron head, maybe not.

I couldn�t �

I was the hero. Warrior. King. And I couldn�t defeat the enemy! Couldn�t save my best friend.

Couldn�t �

�Tseeeeer! Tseeeer!�

<Tobias!>

Politics! All the clowns on the Council of Thirteen, am I right? What a bunch of clowns!

# ? Mar 3, 2022 04:59

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

Rachel just killed the entire Yeerk Pool :stare:

# ? Mar 3, 2022 05:31

Nihilarian: Oct 2, 2013

How many human controllers were in that tower when she blew it up?

Also I dug out some(?) Of the animorphs books I still have and this book was there so i guess i did actually read it. Somehow still not familiar though, i must not have liked it even back then because i read most animorph books multiple times

# ? Mar 3, 2022 23:41

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Nihilarian posted:

How many human controllers were in that tower when she blew it up?

Well, I think the idea is that the building itself is just a decoy, built over the Yeerk Pool entrance. The building itself in empty.

# ? Mar 4, 2022 01:54

Capfalcon: Apr 6, 2012; No Boots on the Ground,
Puny Mortals!

Epicurius posted:

Well, I think the idea is that the building itself is just a decoy, built over the Yeerk Pool entrance. The building itself in empty.

Yeah, it doesn't have any elevators or anything. It's just a four tall walls to disguise the landing path to the pool, form my reading.

# ? Mar 4, 2022 02:20

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

The flaming plane crashing into the Pool, with god knows how much avgas onboard, however...

# ? Mar 4, 2022 02:59

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Chapter 21

quote:

�Tseeeer!�

Yes!

From the arched roof of the vast underground space that is the Yeerk bastion �

From what seemed to be the very center of the high dome, past the steel supporting beams, down, down past the high walls of dirt � came the cavalry.

A red-tailed hawk.

A northern harrier.

And in the talons of the hawk and the harrier - a cobra!

Fast, muscular, crushingly strong. A body that was nothing more and nothing less than a long and powerful whip.

A whip and a mouth that contained fangs and sacs of deadly poison.

Kinda the perfect morph for Marco, when you thought about it.

The Garatron came to a dead stop, somehow at the safe end of the pier. Out of reach of the injured bald eagle and dazed and bleeding polar bear.

<Aha!> Visser Three. <Why, here are a few more Andalite bandits coming now,> he boomed.

<Are you feeling up to the challenge, Inspector?>

<YoumustcallmeCouncilor.>

<Oh, I will, you may be sure,> the visser said, his tone taunting, his voice thick with false emotion. With a weak Andalite arm, the visser gestured grandly.
Dramatically.

Mockingly.

 he went on, <that the glory of the bandits deaths will be yours. In fact, so grateful will I be when you succeed in this mission at which I have so miserably failed, I will voluntarily resign my post as Visser Three, leader of the Earth invasion, and throw my considerable support behind your ascension to the council.>

The inspector said nothing.

<And you will succeed in killing the bandits won�t you, inspector?> the visser said, his voice suddenly flat and cruel.

�Tseeeer!�

The inspector looked up. Shifted his hooves and seemed to tense when he saw the three Earth creatures so close, only yards above his head.

Once again, I struggled to my feet. Watched as Tobias and Ax released their dangerous burden within striking distance of the Garatron!

Who didn�t zip away. Who looked down at the slowly wriggling creature. Dismissed it as unimportant. Looked upward.

To watch Tobias, flapping madly to regain some height. Then coming back around again, diving, talons outstretched, for the inspector.

The inspector moved, maybe only an inch or two, but so amazingly fast that Tobias missed.

Circled, struggled for height again.

<Ax! Hurry!> I shouted.

Hork-Bajir! I hadn�t heard the visser give an order but Hork-Bajir, ten or fifteen of them, were moving toward the Garatron from where they�d gathered around the cages of human-Controllers.

To his aid or � for a moment I wondered.

But the inspector�s attention was riveted on Ax, who was demorphing to Andalite. And then, up, to the screeching, attacking bird �

<Ow! Don�t these guys cut their toenails?> Marco, being carelessly stepped on by a running Hork-Bajir. Then, more deliberately stomped �

<Get a clear shot, Marco!> I cried.

<Gee, I hadn�t considered that option �>

ZZIIISSSPPP!

The Garatron was back in action. He dashed away from Marco�s reach. Spun madly around Ax.

Fwapp! Fwapp! Fwapp!

Ax missed, every time.

<Keep him busy, Ax-man,> Marco ordered.

Slither, coil. Uncoil, scrunch. Forward, slow but sure.

The cobra advanced silently around the Hork-Bajir guards who had gathered in a loose ring around the battling inspector and Ax.

To make sure the inspector didn�t walk away? To make sure he fought to the death? Whose death? But their eyes weren�t on the ground. Their eyes were on the spectacular, dizzying display of stunning speed before them. On the madly, futilely slashing young Andalite.

Slither, coil. Uncoil, stretch.

Closer and closer.

Close. Inches.

HSSSIIIPP!

Marco launched!

For a brief moment I saw more of the inspector than just a blue blur as Marco held one of his legs with his fangs. As he pumped killing poison into the Garatron�s unsuspecting alien body.

Marco had struck the Garatron while he was moving at full speed. Like snatching a bullet out of the air.

<You�re fast, Yeerk,> Marco said. <I�m faster.>

And then Marco released his victim, slithered, coiled, uncoiled, and stretched off behind the confused Hork-Bajir.

But still the Garatron ran!

<Oh no!> Cassie said. <What if the venom doesn�t have an effect on the Garatron?>

<We�ve got to help Ax! Let�s do it!>

But before Cassie and I could drag our battered bodies back up the pier and into the fray �

The Garatron! The inspector was slowing. Stumbling.

Still circling Ax, but his long tail drooping.

One slim front leg suddenly, awkwardly, entwined with the other.

<What is hap - pen - ing!> he cried, even his speech was slower, thicker as he came to a faltering, swaying stop.

<Are you experiencing a problem, my dear Inspector?> Visser Three boomed, his voice dripping phony concern.

<Cassie, now! Into the Yeerk pool and get to osprey or seagull,> I commanded. I didn�t turn around when I heard a smooth sliding dive be hind me.

<Ax - you, too. Go bird, now! Everybody! I don�t know what kind of macho game is going on with these two guys, but we are so out of here the second we get the chance!>

<You okay to fly, Rachel?> Tobias, still circling.

<Yeah. I�m okay. Just get Marco. And everybody, go out the way we came in.>

The inspector fell to his knees. And then rolled over onto his side. I rose into the air with difficulty and watched the Garatron�s legs straighten, stiffen.

The ring of Hork-Bajir guards stood still, Silent and unmoving. Not going to the inspector�s aid.

Not making any attempt to stop Ax from finishing his morph. Not preventing Tobias from swooping down to grab Marco in his talons.

Too afraid to infuriate the visser by turning their attention to the polar bear in the Yeerk pool.

But the visser was watching and noticing everything.

<Inspector!> he cried. <Look! The Andalite bandits are getting away! You must go after them!>

 the inspector responded weakly, haltingly.

<Yes, and very, very soon you will not be able to breathe,> Visser Three said matter-of-factly. 

Slooop!

Cassie!

Rising from the sludgy gray Yeerk pool as seagull!

<Come on!> I cried, already giddy with the sense of victory, no matter how bizarre it was or in what strange way it had been gained.

We were going home. All of us.

Obviously, the Garaton Controller didn't know what a cobra was and what it did. Visser Three does.

Chapter 22

quote:

The sense of triumph didn�t last. It never does. Real life is complicated. It gets in the way nice, simple emotions.

I went to see the old man�s grandson.

Maybe I would have gone to the funeral or something if they�d had it here. But they said the man�s family had flown his body to his own hometown somewhere across the country for the funeral and burial.

�Interment,� they said. Ugly word.

The news also said the old man had a history of serious heart trouble. That he was bound to die at any time. �Just any old time,� his sister was quoted as saying.

Maybe going to the funeral would have been easier. Probably. I could have sat at the back of the church or whatever and just paid my respects silently. Without having to come face-to-face with the man�s grandkid.

Without having to say anything to him.

Like, �Gee, sorry your grandpa died. I�m kind of responsible, actually, so if you hate me or anything, that�s okay� .�

I didn�t say that.

I got the kid�s phone number - easy enough - and spoke to his mom. The old man�s daughter. I asked if I could come by and � I told her I�d been in the TV studio that day and seeing her father die had been really �

Somehow, she gave me permission to speak with her son. He was about Sarah�s age.

He was okay with the death now.

At least, he seemed okay. I think he was kind of weirded out by having to talk to this strange blond girl while his mother watched and listened intently. Making sure I wasn�t a whacko there to hurt her kid, I guess.

�I�m sorry,� I finally said.

The kid shrugged. �Okay.� And then he looked up at me. �Why?�

I tried to smile. I stood up. �I just am, I guess,� I said. �I have to go now.�

I raced out of that house so fast. And ran straight into Jake, waiting at the end of the driveway.

�You�re back.�

Jake raised an eyebrow. �You noticed? Your powers of observation are really amazing, Rachel.�

I grimaced and we turned toward our own neighborhood.

�You heard?� I asked. Very afraid of the answer.

Jake smiled. �Got home late last night. My dad turned on the late news. They�re talking about �escaped� wild animals busting up a TV studio, bunch of other places. A private jet doing a swan dive into a high rise. That all sounded like maybe some people I knew were involved.�

�It was a big day.�

�I figured I�d better call Cassie. She told me some of it. I talked to Marco, and he told me some more. They both said you�d probably want to tell me some stuff yourself.�

�I don�t want to tell you anything,� I admitted. �But I guess I have to. I screwed up. Big time.�

He walked in silence beside me for a while. �How many Animorphs were there when you started?�

�Six.�

�And now?�

�Still six. Yeah, I didn�t get anyone killed.�

�Well, that�s the first thing to do, you know: Don�t get anyone killed. If it makes you feel better, the others think you did pretty well.�

�Do they?� I thought for a moment. Kept my eyes forward. �We failed to get rid of the visser. Like Tobias said, we�re back to the evil we know.�

Jake laughed. �Yeah, well, Rachel, the visser�s hard to get rid of. Doesn�t mean we stop trying,� he added.

�I know. Hey, maybe the Yeerks will reconsider the Garatrons� usefulness as hosts,� I said hopefully. �At least for combat.�

�I wouldn�t be too sure we�ve seen the last of them.�

�Aren�t you Mr. Optimistic,� I said, feeling a little deflated. Like the little bit of glory I�d taken away from the whole episode was not worth very much, after all.

�You did good, Rachel,� Jake said simply. �You did what you had to do.�

I stopped walking. I looked at Jake. �How do you do this? How do you make decisions that may get people killed? How do you live with that?�

�It�s a war,� he said. �We do what we have to do because we�re forced to do it, right? Someday it will all be over. Someday the Andalites will come. Or the Yeerks will decide we�re not worth it. Someday we�ll win.�

�Maybe. But how do you make decisions that get your friends hurt? That maybe someday will get us killed? How do you keep it from getting inside your head and just eating away at you?�

Then I saw something strange on his face. For just a fleeting moment it was the face of a terrified kid on the edge of tears. It shocked me. I knew what I was seeing. It was my face when I�d realized the old man had died. My face when I thought I�d lost Cassie forever.

But then the mask came down. And he was Jake again. �I don�t think about it,� he lied.

We walked on in silence for a few minutes.

�You okay?� Jake said finally.

I shook my head, as if to shrug off the question. �Yeah, you know. Urn, Jake?�

We made a left at the end of the block and started to walk toward home, the setting sun at our backs.

�Yeah?�

�Don�t ever, ever go away again.�

I like this last chapter, and I know that, even in this thread, a lot of people don't like this book, but I didn't dislike it. I don't think it's the best book, but I don't think it's a bad book. It's certainly better than the Atlantis book. I almost wonder if part of the reason the book has a bad reputation is because it comes so soon after Visser, which is one of the best books in the series, in my opinion, so of course it compares negatively.

I don't know that the characterization of Rachel is the best, but it does get down the problem of Being in Charge, and realizing a lot of the time you don't know what you're doing but have to seem to anyway, and the pressure that can put on you. But your mileage may differ. So what did you like or dislike about the book?

The next book is an Ax book, so that's always fun....book 38, The Arrival, ghostwritten by Kim Morris, and we'll learn about her and start the new book tomorrow.

# ? Mar 4, 2022 04:27

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

Finally. I've been waiting to post this TAOC TEH WODNER DOG masterpiece ever since I found it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi1026qCTDU

# ? Mar 4, 2022 08:58

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

quote:

�I know. Hey, maybe the Yeerks will reconsider the Garatrons� usefulness as hosts,� I said hopefully. �At least for combat.�

�I wouldn�t be too sure we�ve seen the last of them.�

Lol, I would be. See you next week for a new adventure, kids!

Epicurius posted:

I like this last chapter, and I know that, even in this thread, a lot of people don't like this book, but I didn't dislike it. I don't think it's the best book, but I don't think it's a bad book. It's certainly better than the Atlantis book. I almost wonder if part of the reason the book has a bad reputation is because it comes so soon after Visser, which is one of the best books in the series, in my opinion, so of course it compares negatively.

Strongly agree, though I think the reason it's not liked is because it has the kernel of a really good idea that goes to the heart of the character dynamics (certainly far more than most ghostwritten books) but just doesn't reach its potential. It's not bad by any means, but I feel like if it had been a KA-authored book in the earlier years (or even authored by one of the better ghostwriters like Melinda Metz) it would have been stronger.

I also like that last chapter, and suspect that may be another one where KA handed over more than just a light outline, but it's tempered by e.g. the preceding chapter where I like the general idea of what happens but the actual writing of it - the flow and mechanics of this action setpiece - are really confusing. A classic example, in fact, of the writer dashing off a few sentences for the outline and the ghostwriter struggling with it. (Also lol wtf why is Jake just hanging out waiting for her at the bottom of that kid's driveway, was he tailing her?)

Also, this triggered some memory:

quote:

Marco had struck the Garatron while he was moving at full speed. Like snatching a bullet out of the air.

<You�re fast, Yeerk,> Marco said. <I�m faster.>

I swear there's some book where Marco is a cobra and Ax is a rattlesnake (or is it Cassie... does she have a snake morph?) and they both coil up the legs of the visser or something to threaten him and someone says, like, "you're fast... those snakes are faster." Has that already happened? Does it happen? Or did I just totally imagine it?

(Also props to this book for cracking out the rarely-used morphs but also acknowledging why, in some cases, they're rarely used.)

# ? Mar 4, 2022 09:17

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

I suppose it hasn't occurred to Visser Three that, generally speaking, killing inspectors or allowing them to die while you stand back and watch, is frowned upon?

Then again, the state of the Yeerk Empire, the response will probably be 'well the inspector clearly wasn't up to the task.'

# ? Mar 4, 2022 09:21

WrightOfWay: Jul 24, 2010

I hope the authorities are incredibly incompetent and don't manage to track down the group of teenagers that stole a plane and crashed it into a building.

# ? Mar 4, 2022 09:54

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

WrightOfWay posted:

I hope the authorities are incredibly incompetent and don't manage to track down the group of teenagers that stole a plane and crashed it into a building.

I was going to make a quip about "it was the 90s" but I think the actual answer is that the Controllers who made sure nobody noticed a hollow building downtown will also quash that investigation early on. (Also no smartphones = no broader questions about "uhhhh I don't think it makes sense that this was just a 'shooting star'???")

edit - in fact I think the only explanation for some of the insane poo poo happening now is that, at this late stage in the story, the Yeerks control like 80-90% of the local police/government

edit 2 - now I'm having a vision of this one uninfested public servant attending a dinner party in SoCal in the late 90s and the other 10 guests are so secure in their domination they're just full-on talking Yeerk Empire Council politics and he's like... hmm... no idea what they're talking about, but better just nod and smile or they'll think I'm stupid

freebooter fucked around with this message at 10:31 on Mar 4, 2022

# ? Mar 4, 2022 10:27

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

WrightOfWay posted:

I hope the authorities are incredibly incompetent and don't manage to track down the group of teenagers that stole a plane and crashed it into a building.

Swamp gas.

# ? Mar 4, 2022 10:28

nine-gear crow: Aug 10, 2013

Comrade Blyatlov posted:

I suppose it hasn't occurred to Visser Three that, generally speaking, killing inspectors or allowing them to die while you stand back and watch, is frowned upon?

Then again, the state of the Yeerk Empire, the response will probably be 'well the inspector clearly wasn't up to the task.'

Again, I'm betting the Council is probably regretting that whole "exonerating Visser Three for open-and-shut charges of treason" thing probably even more now than they were like, I dunno, a week ago.

# ? Mar 4, 2022 10:42

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

freebooter posted:

edit 2 - now I'm having a vision of this one uninfested public servant attending a dinner party in SoCal in the late 90s and the other 10 guests are so secure in their domination they're just full-on talking Yeerk Empire Council politics and he's like... hmm... no idea what they're talking about, but better just nod and smile or they'll think I'm stupid

lol just lol if this isn't already 90% of your social interaction

# ? Mar 4, 2022 10:47

disaster pastor: May 1, 2007

Epicurius posted:

quote:
<You�re fast, Yeerk,> Marco said. <I�m faster.>

This is the other part of this book I always thought was worthwhile.

Epicurius posted:

I like this last chapter, and I know that, even in this thread, a lot of people don't like this book, but I didn't dislike it. I don't think it's the best book, but I don't think it's a bad book. It's certainly better than the Atlantis book. I almost wonder if part of the reason the book has a bad reputation is because it comes so soon after Visser, which is one of the best books in the series, in my opinion, so of course it compares negatively.

I don't know that the characterization of Rachel is the best, but it does get down the problem of Being in Charge, and realizing a lot of the time you don't know what you're doing but have to seem to anyway, and the pressure that can put on you. But your mileage may differ. So what did you like or dislike about the book?

I didn't read Visser in its proper place the first couple times I read it, so that's not it for me. I think the book is dreadful and undercuts any interesting ideas it has with lousy implementation.

1) The characterization of Rachel is unforgivable. She's always known she doesn't want to be in charge, and she's known for a long time how hard it would be to be in charge. She has a moment with Jake all the way back in the David books where she makes the point to him that everything he thinks is true of her as a violent fighter is also true of him as a leader of a guerrilla band, because while they each handle the one they're doing better than the other one would, both are traumatic: there's no going back to "normal" for either of them at that point. As other people said in the thread earlier, Rachel's characterization here is pretty close to that of Mean Rachel from book 32, down to the lack of foresight, and there's no good reason for it. If they wanted to do a Being In Charge book and make it interesting, it should have come early on, not well after the point every other Animorph has acknowledged how hard it is for Jake.

2) The book comes off as deeply lazy to me. Visser Three, as you pointed out, calls the Animorphs "traitors" more than once for no good reason. The plane crash scene is a clear "let's do this to get from A to B and not think deeply about it." If the Yeerks are suppressing the investigation into the plane crash somehow, you'd think they'd at least do their own investigation into the handful of kids who somehow hijacked a jet. And while the books have always played loose with the question "how long does morphing take?" I really don't believe that Rachel could have stayed in the plane long enough until "that rectangular roof seemed to fill my entire field of vision" and completed a morph in the time it took the plane to crash through the roof and then through the ground, let alone done so while surviving being banged around the plane, sucked out of it, and remaining alive and conscious while falling through the explosion and debris caused by the crash. It's just "don't think about it, things have to work this way for the plot to work," and when it's this obvious, it takes me out of a book hard.

# ? Mar 4, 2022 13:30

Epicurius: Apr 10, 2010; College Slice

Book 38The Arrival
Ghostwritten by Kimberly Morris

Morris is probably the most prolific of the ghostwriters, having written or ghostwritten over 50 books. She started working in animation, writing and being a production coordinator of episodes of Silver Hawks, Strawberry Shortcake, and Thundercats, among others. She then went on to write and ghostwrite children's books including books in series like Mary Kate and Ashley, Disney Fairies, Fraggle Rock, the Muppets, the Muppet Babies, and the Sweet Valley books (she wrote 35 Sweet Valley books), and also wrote standalone novels. She went on to become a motivational speaker and to teach seminars on childrens' book writing, and is the founder of a company called Publishing Matters, which, from its website "produces trade-quality books and printed matter for nonprofits and corporations to use as powerful fundraising, education, and marketing tools. We can provide every area of service your organization needs to create a successful publishing project - concept, content, marketing plan, print production, and fulfillment."

Anyway, on to the book!

Chapter 1

quote:

Crumph! Crumph!

The thudding of fists against human flesh is not a pleasant sound. It is particularly sickening when heard through a metal pipe. The sound echoes and is magnified.

�That�s enough. Stop it,� a human voice commanded. The sound was muffled, vague, indistinct. I was feeling the voice through my six legs, through my antennae.

�But he�s told us nothing,� a second human argued.

I should not call them humans. They are human-Controllers.

There is a difference.

Human-Controllers are humans whose bodies have become hosts to the Yeerk invaders.

Yeerks! Foulest creatures of the universe. Gray slugs who enter the body through the ear, fit themselves into the human brain, and take over. Mind and body.

Of course, not all hosts are human.

Visser Three, leader of the Yeerk Earth invasion, has an Andalite host.

My name is Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill. I am not human. I am Andalite. The only Andalite among the group that calls itself the Animorphs. Four humans. A red-tailed hawk. Me. We are the resistance. We fight the Yeerk invasion until help from my home planet arrives. Or until we die.

The latter possibility seems ever more likely.

It would be unwise to tell you very much more. The Animorphs and I have many secrets to keep. And I, as an Andalite, have the secret of my own race to keep.

Crumph!

The sound again. Had we not been on the pipe we would not have heard it. Roaches feel vibrations. The pipe carried those vibrations directly to us.

We were making our way up a corroded, rusty metal pipe within the interior wall of a two-story office building. Our mission, to rescue our friend and collaborator, Mr. King. We had all seen the front page article on The Sharing, the Yeerk front organization. We had been suspicious that the paper had become yet another Yeerk-run organization. Mr. King had thought it safe to break into the offices of The Chronicle and examine their computer data, find the truth.

Apparently that was a mistake.

�Talk!� human-Controller Two shouted. �What are you doing here? Who are you? Why are you snooping?�

Crumph!

�I said stop it!� human-Controller One repeated angrily. �If you kill him, Visser Three will execute us for wasting a potential host body.�

There was a long pause before human-Controller Two spoke again. �Visser Three will execute us for incompetence if he finds out we couldn�t beat the truth out of a mere human. Let�s kill him and incinerate the body. Visser Three will never learn that we failed.�

�Visser Three will wonder why we did not simply infest him and learn the truth.�

�I tell you there is something wrong with this human. I tried to enter the ear canal, but it�s blocked in some way. You don�t believe me, you try it!�

<Ax? What happens if they hit the Chee with a Dracon beam? Can they fry him?> Prince Jake asked me in the thought-speak language we use while in morph.

<I am assuming that it would depend on the amount of power used. A low setting might only disturb the Chee�s holographically projected body. It would reveal the android beneath. But a fullpower setting could very possibly destroy Mr. King entirely. Which would be worse from our own narrow perspective? It is an interesting question.>

<Thanks, Spock,> Marco said, using the human tone I�ve come to recognize as sarcasm. <Sure you�re not a Vulcan?>

<Vulcans are fictional creatures,> I replied. <And not a particularly convincing creation. Variations among real alien species tend to involve more than cosmetic variations in ear formationand eyebrow alignment. As I believe you may have noticed.>

Marco said, <Hey! Who just crawled over my back?>

<Sorry,> Cassie said. <Lousy visibility.>

The sound of a new blow came echoing through the pipe again. �Talk! Talk or we�ll kill you!�

We were inside the wall. To one side, the torture. On the other side? We would have to find out. Prince Jake�s voice was sharp and urgent. <Follow me and get ready to morph.>

<Why doesn�t Mr. King just walk out of there and save us a whole lot of trouble?> Marco asked.

<What�s the problem, Marco, missing the Rugrats marathon?> That was Rachel. Rachel never found reason to resist action.

For my own part I sympathized with Marco. The Chee were frustrating. Very useful allies. But also liabilities. My human friends have a certain sentimental sympathy for the pacifism of the Chee. I do not.

<Rachel, have I mentioned that I consider you the most attractive cockroach around? Psychotic, yet with a certain cockroach style.>

Rachel laughed. <Anyway, there�s two of them and five of us. So don�t wet yourself.>

<We�re here,> Prince Jake announced.

<Any idea where �here� is?> Cassie inquired.

<Here�s where there�s an eighth of an inch crack,> Prince Jake explained. <That�s good enough for me.>

Prince Jake navigated a bend in the pipe and crossed to the wall itself. Above him was a tiny thread of light. I followed.

Prince Jake flattened his body. Disappeared between two boards. I did the same.

We emerged into the light. I fought the instinct to panic and retreat back into the baseboard. I waved my antennae, checking for danger.

<All clear,> Prince Jake announced, although his roach senses were no better than mine. He had to be making an educated guess. <Demorph!>

<Let�s rock and roll,> Rachel said.

Rock and roll is a type of human music. Its relevance to the battle before us was a mystery to me.

So for some reason, an immortal, indestructible ancient android who can project holograms was captured by the Yeerks. Maybe Mr. King just isn't very good.

I also like Ax's just general disdain for pacifism (appropriate), and the Yeerks both realizing that Visser Three will kill them if they fail and coming up with the strategy of "What if we just don't tell him" (likely).

Chapter 2

quote:

Morphing is an odd and disturbing process. It is never the same twice. The last time I came out of cockroach morph, my hind legs were the first portions of my Andalite anatomy to emerge.

This time, it was my eyes.

The two that are on stalks. Not the ones on my face. I had no face at the moment so eyes would have been quite out of place.

I felt the nub of both stalks pushing out through my hard, insect exoskeleton. My head split with an audible crack.

It was not painful. At least not in the conventional sense. But there was a sense that it should hurt. Therefore while there is no actual pain, there is the anticipation of pain. Which, in its own way, is quite painful.

My two eye stalks emerged and I was able to see the others with far more clarity than the roach�s dim senses allowed.

Marco. Rachel. Cassie. And Prince Jake. All demorphing from roach to human. Neither transition, roach to Andalite or roach to human, is attractive to watch. I try to be sensible about such things but it is simply disturbing to watch human flesh grow out of a roach�s hard, caramel-colored exoskeleton. The melting of enlarged roach mouthparts to re-form as human mouthparts is particularly unsettling. Possibly because for an Andalite all mouths seem alien.

We were in a room filled with what appeared to be filing cabinets. There were newspapers piled high in stacks. The sound of torture came from the other side of the wall.

<Still clear outside here,> Tobias reported. He sounded bored. <Just watching the moon go by overhead.>

Tobias is a nothlit, a person who overstays the two-hour limit and becomes trapped in morph.

He has, in fact, reacquired his power to morph and could, should he choose to do so, resume human form permanently. Assuming he would be willing to become a sort of human nothlit, trapped forever in his original form, never able to morph again.

He has chosen to remain a red-tailed hawk. He usually provides air surveillance for us during a mission.

Prince Jake looked at the others. And then at me. �Ax, you go in as yourself. Everybody else, battle morphs. We�re doing this fast. And we�re doing it right.�

We heard the door to the next office open and close.

�I brought in three Dracon beams,� human-Controller Two said. �Enough to reduce him to a little pile of ash.�

Prince Jake began the tiger morph. His eyeteeth grew, surging forward like plunging daggers.

Two sharp tiger ears sprouted from his hair before his own human ears disappeared, creating a very odd appearance.

His forearms bent at an odd angle, growing shorter and sprouting orange-and-black fur.

The others were right behind him. Or, in Cassie�s case, ahead of him. She is quite talented at morphing. I was soon in the company of a tiger, a wolf, a grizzly bear, and a gorilla.

If someday an Andalite reads this and wonders what these animals represent, I should point out that the animals of Earth are often very powerful, capable of doing tremendous damage with a combination of claws, teeth, lightning reflexes, and highly acute senses. Among the animals of Earth, these four, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, formed a powerful force.

For human readers I should explain that my own Andalite body is of course sufficient for battle situations. I have four eyes, four legs, two arms, and a tail blade that can slice a human in half with one swipe.

Well, perhaps two swipes. I may perhaps have a tendency to overstate my capabilities.

<They�re right on the other side of that wall,> Cassie said. Her wolf senses could pinpoint our targets within a few feet one way or the other.

<Too bad there�s no door,> Prince Jake said. <Rachel? Marco? Ax? Make a door.>

Rachel stood. Eight hundred pounds of loose, shaggy brown fur over massive muscle and bone.

KABOOM!

Rachel slammed into the wall.

The flimsy drywall cracked from baseboard to ceiling in several places.

�What the � ?� Before the human-Controller on the other side of the wall could finish his cry �

SNAP!

Marco grabbed the cracked wallboard and ripped it back.

Fwapp! Fwapp!

I whipped my tail over my head and sliced the bent Sheetrock so that it fell away with a clatter and a puff of dust.

Cassie was through the gap in a flash of gray fur, teeth bared. Jake was right behind her.

�Andalites!� the two human-Controllers screamed.

The Yeerks believe we are all Andalites. Actually there was just the one Andalite. Me.

I felt that would be enough.

Nothing much to say other than that I enjoyed "I could slice a human in half with one slice....well, maybe two slices. I have a tendency to overstate my abilities."

# ? Mar 5, 2022 04:10

freebooter: Jul 7, 2009

I like this one. One of the better books in the post-Visser late phase ghostwritten stretch, and certainly better than the last Ax book, since it actually has thematic relevance to his story arc instead of just being a story about cows that could've been narrated by any of them.

quote:

And I, as an Andalite, have the secret of my own race to keep.

...what's he talking about here? Seerow's Kindness was only a secret to the Animorphs and they learned about it ages ago. Is the Hork Bajir genocide a secret?

# ? Mar 5, 2022 05:04

Nihilarian: Oct 2, 2013

EDIT: My first instinct was "i cant let people know Andalites exist" but rereading it, that doesn't feel right in context. I'm honestly not sure

Nihilarian fucked around with this message at 06:51 on Mar 5, 2022

# ? Mar 5, 2022 06:41

pile of brown: Dec 31, 2004

I also read it as hiding that he's an andalite is an additional layer of secrecy he has that the rest of the animorphs do not.

# ? Mar 5, 2022 07:06

Fuschia tude: Dec 26, 2004; THUNDERDOME LOSER 2019

pile of brown posted:

I also read it as hiding that he's an andalite is an additional layer of secrecy he has that the rest of the animorphs do not.

Yeah, that's what I thought on reading that.

# ? Mar 5, 2022 07:28

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# ? May 26, 2024 10:50

Capfalcon: Apr 6, 2012; No Boots on the Ground,
Puny Mortals!

Starting out pretty solid, and Ax has always been a fun narrator, so looking forward to this one.

Re: the last book, I'd probably put it in the bottom half, but nowhere near rock bottom, mostly due to inconsistency. But it's got more than enough good parts that I can imagine what the better version of it is.

The big change I would make would be for Rachel be a more reluctant leader at first, and only get pushed into it when the group decides they need to have these missions done. Then, have a few of the rapid fire hits go well before she gets into the adrenaline rush of deciding to go Maximum Bear and the rest of the book after that is mostly the same. Ultimately, it's likely a problem of having very short page counts to pack a set up, a series of battle set pieces, multiple emotional arcs, a final battle, and a chapter to wrap it up in a very nice bow, all within a month.

I'm torn on the Inspector. On the one hand, we're coming off Visser, which was all Yeerk politics, all the time, so it can't help being underwhelming compatibles. Also, we don't learn much about him, aside from the fact that he hates Visser Three (which is quite a bit club in the Empire alone) and he's got a new host body that could spell trouble in the future.

But if we take Visser out of the equation, it's awful fun to get another peek at the Yeerk Empire's self destructive rivalries. Also, Visser Three is ice cold at the end, basically tricking his rival into getting himself killed.

# ? Mar 5, 2022 07:55

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

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