Animorphs Book Series--Any fans?

[Nerys Ghemor]

I've run into a few of you across the forum and I would LOVE to have a discussion about it!

Here's my first question. Despite being a big fan, do any of you other guys feel like the ending to the series pulled an "Endgame"? (OR should I be comparing to the Sopranos?) Was anybody else left cold? Did any of you envision alternate endings?

Also...did this series to your mind ever beat Star Trek in any way? To me, the explanation of the morphing ability is something we should've seen in Trek but didn't...and we also got a lot more answers about the Yeerks (and Iskoort symbionts) than we ever did about the Trills.

My last question. Are the Andalites really heroes, or just arrogant jerks who happened to be opposing something far worse?

 

[Eyes]

Well, I can't really comment on the ending of the series, since I've only read various ones I could find at libraries, which means I've read books 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 16, 21, 25, 26 and a few ones in the later era which I've forgotten the numbers for. I know for certain I've never read a book narrated by Cassie.

As to the Andalite question, I remember reading a couple of Andalite ones in the later series, one where they end up on an Andalite ship on a far off planet, and one where a few advance Andalites arrive and act a bit like jerks. In the former, I seem to remember that both of these examples showed the Andalites as being too arrogant, for a species which was supposed to be the good guys.

The series had some definite kick-ass moments, and some very nice character moments, but in a different way to the ones in Trek, mainly because the characters were teens. In a way, that was refreshing over Star Trek. I wouldn't say it was better than Star Trek, but it was different.

Actually, the setup of the 6 main characters is not too dissimilar to the main setup of the crew we normally get on a Trek series. You have the 'captain' (Jake), the strong female (Rachel), the outsiders (Ax and Tobias) etc.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Good point about the "crew" setup...not to mention we also had the "Eddington" later on (David), and you could also say Cassie was kinda the "Troi," but with more to contribute than Troi was given on TNG.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Wheee! Hork-bajir, Taxxons, Leerans, Yeerks, Andalites, Skrit Na, Iskoort, Arn, Chee, Ellimist and Crayak, even Helmacrons! Before there were Cardassians and Andorians and Vulcans and Trills, before there were Narns and Minbari and Centauri, there were these aliens. This series was my introduction to sci-fi.

They were funny:

The password is "six"!

Trashcans.

"Bookmarks are not good to eat, though they do taste nice"

"I am a juvenile delinquent, and I am causing mayhem in this store"

and sometimes very moving:

"Hork-bajir have no prey. Hork-bajir not kill. Yeerk kill. Yeerk kill Andalite. Andalite kill Yeerk. Hork-bajir die"

I actually didn't mind the ending, because I thought I "got" it, or at least I liked my interpretation of it and it tied it up nicely for me. That might just be me, though. I'll post more on this in a sec.

There were indeed some ways in which, despite being for kids, it managed to beat Trek. The whole angle on child soldiers was something Trek could never really do, of course, and this series did it well. The morphing was explained well, as you say, and the always non-humanoid aliens were nice.

The Andalites...well, their military leaders are indeed jerks, but then they've been fighting for decades in a war against a terrible foe they unleashed accidently (Seerow's Kindness), so I can sympathise. But, yes, they're jerks. They never seemed quite willing to actually try to help humans, hork-bajir and other victimized races; instead they saw them in the end just as the yeerks did- as bodies for service in the Yeerk Empire, nothing more. Andalite culture in general seems to have many admirable traits though, even if they are largely humourless and, it's hinted, somewhat misogynistic too. So they're definitely flawed, but those military leaders probably can't be used to judge the culture as a whole (indeed the final book even states that civilian andalites are much more lovable and humble).

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Okay. Here's my interpretation of the ending:

Spoiler: Animorphs ending

The One, whatever it is, calls Jake "Great Jake, Yeerk-killer" if I remember correctly. That's Crayak's sarcastic name for him, I believe. So I assumed this was Crayak manifest in some form, and that following the collapse of the Yeerk Empire, he was making a new move. We know Crayak's goal is to have races fight and subjugate/destroy one another until only one race is left, the super-powerful worthy race that will (I think) worship him. Maybe this Borg-like "One" business is how he's going to achieve it now? And when the animorphs ram the Rachel into the Blade Ship, the One is destroyed. Game over. Ellimist wins. So, now peace and life will be able to spread throughout the galaxy, which is why it's called "the Beginning"...the beginning of a golden age. But, true to the child soldiers tragedy of the series, the animorphs can't live to see it, save Cassie, who was the only one able to truly hold on to her humanity. So, it's a happy ending for me, but terribly sad and it underscores the central theme quite well.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

About losing one's humanity...I saw that most strongly with Rachel (who, if you ever read Ishmael Beah's book Long Way Gone is strikingly similar to how Ishmael was right after his rescue), and with Marco, whose lack of compassion coupled with egotism was turning him VERY much into a little Dukat. Tobias literally lost his humanity, and I think the war really prevented him from getting other kinds of help he really needed. As for Ax, his culture really seemed to have institutionalized that sort of thing, and I did NOT think it was good for them.

Jake...I think he really danced on the line sometimes, but I do not know that I would say he lost his humanity.

Cassie--I certainly don't think she did.

Oh, and in my own fanfic...I don't picture that happening to 7/8, either. Some of that may have been helped by the symbiosis/balancing act that occurred between the two of them, plus I think sometimes dissidence can have a different psychology from defense against an outside force.

I guess part of my dislike for the ending comes from the fact that when we were a few books out from the ending, I'd started writing my own, and frankly, I liked it a lot better. It was the sequel to a prior fanfic I'd written which dealt with an unofficial "Animorph" #7/8 (more like spy).

I would say that Andalite society was not just misogynistic, but also disdainful towards those with disabilities. Couple that with the attitude of their military leadership...and I felt like I was actually seeing the seeds of where the Crayak might be able to make a move on them soon. I had a plot all worked out as to what could happen...and bear in mind this was before I saw the Klingon war arc in DS9, OR the way the Vulcans acted in ENT. I was playing with what would happen if the Yeerk Peace Movement were to gain the upper hand, and basically force a coup. I had this idea where the new leaders petitioned for peace, only for the "Electorate" (swayed heavily by Alloran) refused to believe it out of a combination of hate and arrogance towards the Yeerks and disdain and mistrust of humanity. And at that point, Crayak realizes he's lost his hold over the Yeerks, and so starts making a move on the Andalites instead. I left it with Earth facing the threat of another invasion, with only some VERY uneasy allies (with technology inferred to be behind the Andalites) to hold back the oncoming Andalite fleet.

I REALLY enjoyed that idea, and had it set to be a 4-part book. I still have the outline of books 1-3, and a brief start on an outline for book 4 (which I remember was called The War for the Stars). No wonder I liked the Klingon-Cardassian arc later in DS9 when I finally got to watch the whole show! (Not to mention the asshole Vulcans on ENT.)

I felt there were signs in the series that the Andalites were at risk of this sort of thing, but I also didn't think the Animorphs should've all died. (I was also pissed at Marco being rewarded for his behavior.) And I thought it would've been VERY interesting to see Earth deal with such an alien and creepy former enemy in order to prevent their destruction.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

About losing one's humanity...I saw that most strongly with Rachel (who, if you ever read Ishmael Beah's book Long Way Gone is strikingly similar to how Ishmael was right after his rescue), and with Marco, whose lack of compassion coupled with egotism was turning him VERY much into a little Dukat. Tobias literally lost his humanity, and I think the war really prevented him from getting other kinds of help he really needed. As for Ax, his culture really seemed to have institutionalized that sort of thing, and I did NOT think it was good for them.

Jake...I think he really danced on the line sometimes, but I do not know that I would say he lost his humanity.

Cassie--I certainly don't think she did.

Oh, and in my own fanfic...I don't picture that happening to 7/8, either. Some of that may have been helped by the symbiosis/balancing act that occurred between the two of them, plus I think sometimes dissidence can have a different psychology from defense against an outside force.

I guess part of my dislike for the ending comes from the fact that when we were a few books out from the ending, I'd started writing my own, and frankly, I liked it a lot better. It was the sequel to a prior fanfic I'd written which dealt with an unofficial "Animorph" #7/8 (more like spy).

I would say that Andalite society was not just misogynistic, but also disdainful towards those with disabilities. Couple that with the attitude of their military leadership...and I felt like I was actually seeing the seeds of where the Crayak might be able to make a move on them soon. I had a plot all worked out as to what could happen...and bear in mind this was before I saw the Klingon war arc in DS9, OR the way the Vulcans acted in ENT. I was playing with what would happen if the Yeerk Peace Movement were to gain the upper hand, and basically force a coup. I had this idea where the new leaders petitioned for peace, only for the "Electorate" (swayed heavily by Alloran) refused to believe it out of a combination of hate and arrogance towards the Yeerks and disdain and mistrust of humanity. And at that point, Crayak realizes he's lost his hold over the Yeerks, and so starts making a move on the Andalites instead. I left it with Earth facing the threat of another invasion, with only some VERY uneasy allies (with technology inferred to be behind the Andalites) to hold back the oncoming Andalite fleet.

I REALLY enjoyed that idea, and had it set to be a 4-part book. I still have the outline of books 1-3, and a brief start on an outline for book 4 (which I remember was called The War for the Stars). No wonder I liked the Klingon-Cardassian arc later in DS9 when I finally got to watch the whole show! (Not to mention the asshole Vulcans on ENT.)

I felt there were signs in the series that the Andalites were at risk of this sort of thing, but I also didn't think the Animorphs should've all died. (I was also pissed at Marco being rewarded for his behavior.) And I thought it would've been VERY interesting to see Earth deal with such an alien and creepy former enemy in order to prevent their destruction.

Oooh, I like the Andalite idea very much. That's an interesting take on things...

 

[God Magnus]

I haven't looked at the Animorphs books in years but I remember enjoying them a lot when they first came out. That said, the ending left me really cold and I remember being really disappointed that the story ended the way it did. Some people dig that sort of ending and that's cool, but I wasn't fond of it.

And yeah, some of the Andalites were totally arrogant asses IIRC.

 

[Starbreaker]

I read the first 23 and the two Megamorphs and the Hork-Bajir and Andalite Chronicles when I was in elementary school... 12+ years ago. I actually just bought the whole set to relive my childhood. Should be fun.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Do post an overall review, or any other cool points that come to your attention!

 

[HappyDayRiot]

I happened to be on holiday in the US around the time Megamorphs 1 came out and someone bought it for me. Only when I got back home did I find it was only part 1 and was clearly part of a much longer series. Took me an eternity to find part 2 but got going on the main series. Strangely, there was this gigantic gap between books 18 and 19 coming out but my grandparents happened to go to America around then so I got them to bring back each and every last one of the remaining published books at the time. So I have books 1-18 in the original design, 19-23 in the new swirly pattern design and then 24 to 54 in the far superior American editions. I loved those animal pictures. Handy to be about 20 books in front of the UK - in fact the lag got so bad here, books 51-54 were released in double book sets rather than separately.

Basically Animorphs was my favourite book series as a teenager and I still enjoy most of them now. It was pretty damn dark to begin with and got even worse - the ending arc was depressing as hell once Visser One figured out their identities in book 49. Not to mention when Cassie gave the Yeerks the morphing cube - that made things all kinds of awesome. It was a bloody stupid thing to do... yet you knew it would help the Animorphs somehow down the line. I never anticipated how though!

(Incidentially, Visser Three is probably my favourite villian in history. I mean, what a bastard!)

I liked the final book up till the very end. I could see a cliffhanger coming but didn't expect the one we got. I wouldn't have minded if it was against the Yeerks, but some new, probably Crayak-manipulated thing? No, it was lacking something. Personally, I think it ended well - the whole set-up echoed Elfangor's actions in The Andalite Chronicles and he turned fine... right up until he got eaten.

There were a few filler books as I recall. The ones where Cassie went to Australia, Helmacrons went inside Marco and with the cows were probably the worst. My favourite was always 18, I think, when they morphed mosquitos and ended up on the Leeran homeworld. Oh, and Megamorphs 3. That was time travel done well. Actually, they did time travel and unstable time loops pretty well overall - my favourite line of the whole series was the Drode screaming at the Ellimist in Megamorphs ("YOU STACKED THE DECK!"). My one regret is that the Animorphs didn't get to keep their dinosaur morphs. That would have been mighty interesting.

Oh yeah - no Animorphs thread should be missing this gem:

"It's freaking OATMEAL!"

 

[Deranged Nasat]

Oh yeah - no Animorphs thread should be missing this gem:

"It's freaking OATMEAL!"

Instant ginger and maple oatmeal! How could I forget that?

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

I REALLY agree about the way time travel was handled in the Animorphs series, and temporal loops...that was every bit as convincing as Star Trek, sometimes even more so.

Another thing that was really interesting is how dark the series was--yet with just enough light that it didn't totally miss its target age. I think that in Trek terms, though, DS9 is the best comparison.

Curious, though--did you ever read Everworld? Man, if Animorphs was DS9 dark, then Everworld was nuBSG dark...

 

[Starbreaker]

Something I didn't realize until earlier this year, everything beyond #25 is ghostwritten.

 

[Deranged Nasat]

I REALLY agree about the way time travel was handled in the Animorphs series, and temporal loops...that was every bit as convincing as Star Trek, sometimes even more so.

Another thing that was really interesting is how dark the series was--yet with just enough light that it didn't totally miss its target age. I think that in Trek terms, though, DS9 is the best comparison.

Curious, though--did you ever read Everworld? Man, if Animorphs was DS9 dark, then Everworld was nuBSG dark...

I never read Everworld, no. Was it as good?

 

[Nightfall to-Ennien]

Everything beyond #25 is ghostwritten.

Actually, K.A. came back for the very last book, but the rest, yeah, all ghostwritten, but at least edited by K.A. and her husband, in between writing the Everworld novels, which I ended up reading as well, and enjoying a great deal. Obviously, another Animorphs fan here, and yes, Everworld got DARK. She did do a remarkable job handling Jalil, speaking as a clinically diagnosed Obsessive Compulsive Disorder sufferer, from Chicago.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

Something I didn't realize until earlier this year, everything beyond #25 is ghostwritten.

I only found out about it later, but in a lot of ways, it didn't surprise me, based on my experiences with the fanfic. Her style was very, very easy for another author to walk in and imitate to a T, even me at my age (though I purposely strayed a bit for unofficial Animorph #8, in my work). For an adult, I'm sure it was a piece of cake.

Curious, though--did you ever read Everworld? Man, if Animorphs was DS9 dark, then Everworld was nuBSG dark...

I never read Everworld, no. Was it as good?

It was good, but I never got as attached to the characters as I did to the Animorphs. I have found myself wondering, though, whether my opinion might change now that I'm older, and I've watched nuBSG.

(BTW, Nightfall--nice to see someone else who likes Uhura's Song!)