Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read for Animorphs Boxset: The Diversion / The Ultimate / The Absolute / The Sacrifice by K.A. Applegate starting on January 1, 2025.


Happy Reading!

Spot!

Is this the finale? Or one more after... I mean, I could just look at the schedule, but I'm feeling lazy.

53-54 is the finale... (which I noted in the thread, when Yanique made it)

:D

LOL Yup, I'm lazy. So lazy.

#49 The Diversion Huh, so I knew Michael Crouch was a familiar name, but I only just figured out that he narrated Rick Riordan's Magnus Chase books. (view spoiler)[Another big change, that the Yeerks know the Andalite Bandits are humans... and a big step for Tobias, confronting his feelings about his parents...

And to an even bigger change--finally, finally, coming out to the families... Cassie's family's reaction, how hard it is for them to accept... it's hard, but it's also more... realistic? Marco's father came around awfully fast. Jake's whole family being taken... I was actually surprised when he was able to hold back. I was kinda expecting him to freak out more. And now Tobias's mom was healed by the power of morphing, and they have their first adult Animorph.

Favorite sequences:
1. Rachel's sisters thinking Ax is a Pokemon and they must train him.

2. Rachel's Mom: "What, do I look like a teacher to you?"
Hork-Bajir: take a vote to answer that question. Consensus: yes, she does look like a teacher.
Result: Rachel's Mom is promoted from lawyer to nursery teacher.

You can kinda see where Rachel gets her attitude.

I really liked the ways Tobias thoughts about his life as a hawk, and compared it to his life as a human. His comparison of parents and family--how they would all sacrifice for each other... and that that is only part of what the Yeerks steal from them.

For all the tension in the series, it's easy to forget sometimes that this is middle-grade... they've been working towards the climax but also fitting in a lot of unrealistic HEAs in there--Tobias's mom now, and Marco's parents earlier... I keep waiting for the Grimdark shoe to drop. (hide spoiler)]

Tobias's family gets retconned like 50x in the series... it's one of the more commented things online, since basically Tobias didn't know what happened to his parents, and I think the convenient storytelling thing is he just told a convenient lie to cover how little he knew...

LOL I wasn't even thinking about that--I mean, he's an orphan in a shitty situation. Of course he's going to have a lot of stories about who his parents really were.... But I always thought, (view spoiler)[after we learned about Elfangor, that his mother must've either been in a really bad situation (like physically incapable), or had her memory wiped, or been threatened with his life to walk away from him. 2/3 isn't bad. Then again, those are the obvious "good" reasons, so it wasn't so much guessing. (hide spoiler)]

We've discussed this a bit in the past, regarding possible plotholes and how the morphing technology works, but honestly...

The simplest headcanon that explains how morphing technology works, is that expectations shape the morphing process... it explains all Cassie's super abilities as the child of a veterinarian with better understanding of animal biology and less fear of the process causing random things to balloon out first... elegant...

It explains why haircuts aren't reverted, but injuries are...

It explains why Tobias' human version of himself morph isn't stuck at the age he acquired it, and instead slowly grows as he ages up...

It explains why the above thing with Tobias is possible, and when they morph humans (on rare occasions), they turn into them at the age of acquiring and not a middle school / high school aged version (since DNA is DNA after all, and may as well work that way, with other peculiarities)...

And probably explains anything else I'm forgetting, or is tacked on in the future as a plothole...

Not sure how to explain things like the allergy/etc... but this explains more than most...

I just started #49 The Diversion...

And finished... I knew this was coming, from all the spoilers I've read, but it was still a super dramatic book we've been waiting for for a long time... (view spoiler)[I still feel like they did Jake dirty, making him the only one to lose family to the Yeerks, and losing all of them...

I feel like they did it to keep his dedication to the mission strong, and maybe make him more reckless leading into the finale...

Still sucks, from a character standpoint, even if I can rationalize from a storytelling standpoint...

Even Tobias got the best HEA here getting his mom back, even if they didn't go TOO far, and give her her memories, too... (hide spoiler)]

Timelord Iain wrote: "We've discussed this a bit in the past, regarding possible plotholes and how the morphing technology works, but honestly...

The simplest headcanon that explains how morphing technology works, is t..."

I like this explanation.. Works for a lot of things.

One thing that always confused me was in the dinosaur book when Tobias wasn't healed when he morphed out of his hawk and then back to his hawk? I was pretty sure in other instances when they were injured as their normal self, if they morphed to something and then back they were healed...

They were... plot inconsistency...

The books are honestly riddled with them... luckily, we miss most of them... they're all noted on the wiki...

Alot of the mistakes involve describing people as being morphed into the wrong type of bird, or using thought speak in human form, or forgetting who is and isn't morphed...

One of the worst ones was Cassie's barn suddenly having internet access when the early books said it didn't...

Ah, well that one really stuck with me lol

Maybe they installed internet off page? xD

Most mistakes, especially past book 15-20, is because of all the ghostwriters... Applegate & her husband were just writing the outlines and assigning them to ghostwriters, and hopefully doing an editing pass at the end... which is what made it possible to release a book every month for 4-5 years...

Timelord Iain wrote: "We've discussed this a bit in the past, regarding possible plotholes and how the morphing technology works, but honestly...

The simplest headcanon that explains how morphing technology works, is t..."

I had been thinking of it similar to Stormlight healing--so pretty much the same idea...

Interesting about the ghostwriters. And lol on the internet... back in the early 2000s late 90s that's a pretty big discrepancy. Like, was wireless even a thing yet?

re: #49--Jake definitely drew the short stick...

Ah well then that makes sense!

#50 The Ultimate: what a milestone... and what a decision book...

This reminds of the final season of Buffy (view spoiler)[with all the nascent Slayers (hide spoiler)]

Overall, the book felt cool and sad... (view spoiler)[cool for the ability to cure some kids with disabilities that weren't genetic but accidental (hide spoiler)]

Also, a big deal moment (view spoiler)[that the Yeerks got the morphing cube...

Things are quickly spiraling out of control (hide spoiler)]

Read #50 The Ultimate today, and I totally see what you're talking about with the Buffy comparison... (view spoiler)[and about the cool/sad... I was especially sad for the kid with cerebral palsy--was he the same one who started going walking dictionary when he was able to morph? That was a sweet moment... but then going back to crackling lungs... I really like how their mental prowess was finally put in an environment where they could shine though.

I wonder, if once the war is over, if they would maybe... like, acquire a different human morph and go nothlit?

I'm also wondering... do the Yeerks have the cube.... or does Tom have the cube? And by Tom I mean Tom's Yeerk. There was a moment when he seemed more interested in acting for his own interests than Yeerk interests... maybe they still have time. (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "Read #50..."

(view spoiler)[Yea, Tom has it... Cassie stopped Jake from attacking/killing Tom, for Jake reasons, and to create a 3rd faction among the Yeerks, since Tom's Yeerk was gonna be killed for letting the Animorphs escape, so why not go rogue and gain morphing powers yourself?... (hide spoiler)]

Exactly! That's why I was saying--(view spoiler)[Just 'cuz Tom has it, doesn't mean the Yeerks have it... it could end up sparking the Yeerk civil war!

Sorry, I realize my question looked actual, but it was rhetorical! (hide spoiler)]

#51: The Absolute: another great entry... very fast paced, now that the stakes are real and things change at the drop of a hat... (view spoiler)[Marco basically got to live out the ending of King Kong here, running around carrying the governor to safety...

And now the cat's out of the bag, and we're escalating into open warfare, with 3 books remaining in the series... (hide spoiler)]

Caught up on #49 and #50! love the momentum to an ending we've been having lately. These are two very plot heavy books... (view spoiler)[ I'm wondering after all this is over, will Tobias become a nothlit in his human body.. I'm thinking yes...
But will the others keep the ability to morph??

The new animorphs are a nice addition, definitely see the Buffy comparison.. I would think that giving them the ability to morph is more blessing than curse, especially letting it be their choice

And yeah Tom has the cube, but Visser 3 ->1 doesn't. Slightly better for the animorphs that Tom has it rather than the Visser (hide spoiler)]

re: 50--Tom--(view spoiler)[Do y'all think Tom would join the resistance? Shocked by his death threat? Or too ambitious? (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "re: 50--Tom--[spoilers removed]"

I'm thinking (view spoiler)[ no... I'm not sure if I can give a reason, that's just what my gut is telling me. He might bargain for something though (hide spoiler)]

Read #51 The Absolute today, and am rather sad (view spoiler)[that our little pet theory, that just 'cuz Tom had the cube didn't mean all the Yeerks would get morphing tech immediately, didn't happen. Come on, Yeerk Civil War!! So now we have Yeerks all over the place in morph... but don't they see? With morphing tech, they don't need to take over people's bodies...!! I mean sure, there's the 2 hour limit, but they could figure it out...

Marco thinking about how happy he is, having his family back together... and then "thank god no more algebra"--just feels like an extra dig at his ex-step-mom... I feel really bad for her. And I bet she's never brought up again.

But damn, that ending! Getting the governor on board, and breaking the news to the whole world... Yeerks won't have any reason to hold back now, at all... (hide spoiler)]

I'm pretty sure (view spoiler)[all the morphing Yeerks are Tom's Faction... but yea... barely makes a difference if it's some or all, it's threats on all sides, for the Animorphs, at this point... (hide spoiler)]

Mm, I guess it could still (view spoiler)[end up coming to a head with the different Yeerk factions, we just don't get to see any of it yet--and that makes it seem like it isn't happening... (hide spoiler)]

We’re 2 books from the double length finale at this point… rushing lots of developments / setup…

Yeah, feeling it!

Read #52 The Sacrifice today, and it was another 5 star read... (view spoiler)[mostly because I was immensely impressed with the difficult topics being explored, in a kids series... Ax is really struggling with the realities of war here, and his moral compass in general...

It's kind of been his throughline in the series, with his human and Andalite loyalties, but it was given serious context here with everyone learning about Cassie's actions, letting Tom take the morphing cube... (hide spoiler)]

Nirkatze wrote: "Read #51 The Absolute today, and am rather sad that our little pet theory.."

Yeah (view spoiler)[ i was thinking about the step mom too... like he was feeling guilty in comparison to Jake that he has his parents and that they were still in love, but like NO mention of his step mom??? Damn. (hide spoiler)]

Tonari no Emily wrote: "Nirkatze wrote: "Read #51 The Absolute today, and am rather sad that our little pet theory.."

Yeah [spoilers removed]"

That bothered me enough that it knocked a star off my review. Of every other real-life issue the author deals with with... and this was just dropped? For shame.

Nirkatze wrote: "Tonari no Emily wrote: "Nirkatze wrote: "Read #51 The Absolute today, and am rather sad that our little pet theory.."

Yeah [spoilers removed]"

That bothered me enough that it knocked a star off m..."
Agreed!

Also agree... I feel like Nora was created because they ran out of mom plots, so they added a stepmom... but the second the plot was ready to move forward and de-Yeerk mop, Nora was discarded pretty callously, and ignored ever since...

Nora! That was her name. Thanks Iain. She really got done a dirty...

Read #52 The Sacrifice yesterday, and agree about the (view spoiler)[challenges Ax faced with his moral compass. He's struggled with that through the whole series, like Iain said... I was even thinking, when he got angry with Cassie for what she did with the cube, that he was more angry because he was jealous of her--jealous that her morality was so strong, that she didn't have these feelings of hesitancy that he has been dealing with. Once she confesses to him how conflicted she is, he started coming around... after first being angry again, this time perhaps because she wasn't as strong in her convictions as he thought?

I was rather surprised that Jake came around after Cassie's confession. I would have liked this to be a Jake book, to hear that thought process.

And the solution--that if Yeerks have morphing, they wouldn't need to infest people--seems like more Yeerks might be coming around to that. Of course, THEY would need the morphing... not the human controllers they've taken... The end scene, with the pool raid, gives some hope... (hide spoiler)]

On an unrelated note--did anyone else think that Ax's narrator was a bit off his game this one? Like, normally I'm so impressed with the Animorphs narrators, in that they do each of the other characters so well I usually don't even notice that we've switched narrators. But this one, I had a hard time telling who was talking as they all sounded like Ax.

I didn't notice, but as fast as we listen, these are like 30-45 minute books for us :D

Ax's voice is pretty distinctive.

I listened at work, pausing and playing alot... (view spoiler)[I probably played it off as the story being told by Ax, like a diary/explanation to his Andalite superiors to why he sided with humanity, once and for all... (hide spoiler)]

I dunno... that's all I got as explanation :D

Kinda makes me want to go back and try some of the earlier Ax books, to see if it was this book specifically, the narrator in general, if I was just paying more attention...

Even with Nirkatze's comment about the narration, I don't think i really noticed a difference in the narration from other Ax books.. I think the other narrators might just be a bit better at differentiating voices than the narrator for Ax... And there's not as many Ax books as there are the other kids

Nirkatze wrote: "Nora! That was her name. Thanks Iain. She really got done a dirty...

Read #52 The Sacrifice yesterday, and agree about the challenges Ax faced with his moral compass. He's struggled with that thro..."

I would have like to see (view spoiler)[ Jake forgiving Cassie from his POV as well... Give us a little of what he's actually thinking. He's just been icing her out the past couple books and we haven't gone back to Jake's POV to see what kinds of thoughts/emotions he was processing.. (hide spoiler)]

Jake's the next book... then the final book is more like a Megamorph book with all POVs, I think...

I can't believe we're almost done!

Right?... so many books read... I'm glad you guys joined me...

Timelord Iain wrote: "Right?... so many books read... I'm glad you guys joined me..."

I'm glad you suggested it! Would've missed out on this classic. Totally recommending this series to my friends with middle-grade kids...

I am trying to catch up... The last two books before The Diversion were a couple of the best so far! I have two questions though... (view spoiler)[ 1. Who is the kid that is going to die, asking the Eliminist if his/her life mattered?
2. Did Rachel end up killing David? (hide spoiler)]

I can't lie, both of those made me really sad and even some tears were shed...