Lol I have been having severe de ja vu about discussions in here too, so I apologize about everything I have or am about to repeat.
I guess let me clarify: I don't think that it all took place in Rachel's head as some lame excuse so the book never happened. I mean, it's not my favorite book in the series, and I am among those who wish Rachel's narrative swan song was...different, but that doesn't mean this book had no redeeming qualities. I just like the dream explanation better.
First of all, stylistically, if this were real, this book doesn't feel "Animorphs." The two bumbling idiot henchmen, the secret underground lair, the tidal wave of rats...idk, it seemed almost deliberately incongruous. That, and the fact that what happened should have real-world consequences (Visser Three was like, there...I mean, he finds out they're human in the next book anyway, but shouldn't him finding out that his boss was tempting his main enemy mean something?) pretty much tells me either this story is so inept that it didn't even consider that stuff, or something else is going on.
I guess I like the dream explanation better b/c at this point, I don't think Rachel's internal dilemma is about a power struggle or her giving into the war or whatever. I think she's been given over. Damage is done. I think, at this point, the issue is her coming to terms with it. Am I a monster BECAUSE I get such a thrill out of fighting, or do I get such a thrill out of fighting because there is something dark, but not totally dishonorable, inside of me? I think David personified both the best and worst of what Rachel was capable of--wanton cruelty, torture, disregard for human empathy. But that didn't make her inhuman. She did all those things DESPITE her humanity. She trapped David because it needed to be done, even though he cried and begged and pleaded. I think this whole book was her subconscious attempt to reconcile her inhumane violence with the honor and necessity of having to do dirty work. War, especially in Animorphs, is about always toeing that line that separates you from the bad guys, and I think this book was just about how that line is a total illusion. Good and bad aren't so one-dimensional.
So I guess I don't think it's a dream because the book is bad. I think it's a dream because it makes the book better.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2011-05-14 05:35 pm (UTC)I guess let me clarify: I don't think that it all took place in Rachel's head as some lame excuse so the book never happened. I mean, it's not my favorite book in the series, and I am among those who wish Rachel's narrative swan song was...different, but that doesn't mean this book had no redeeming qualities. I just like the dream explanation better.
First of all, stylistically, if this were real, this book doesn't feel "Animorphs." The two bumbling idiot henchmen, the secret underground lair, the tidal wave of rats...idk, it seemed almost deliberately incongruous. That, and the fact that what happened should have real-world consequences (Visser Three was like, there...I mean, he finds out they're human in the next book anyway, but shouldn't him finding out that his boss was tempting his main enemy mean something?) pretty much tells me either this story is so inept that it didn't even consider that stuff, or something else is going on.
I guess I like the dream explanation better b/c at this point, I don't think Rachel's internal dilemma is about a power struggle or her giving into the war or whatever. I think she's been given over. Damage is done. I think, at this point, the issue is her coming to terms with it. Am I a monster BECAUSE I get such a thrill out of fighting, or do I get such a thrill out of fighting because there is something dark, but not totally dishonorable, inside of me? I think David personified both the best and worst of what Rachel was capable of--wanton cruelty, torture, disregard for human empathy. But that didn't make her inhuman. She did all those things DESPITE her humanity. She trapped David because it needed to be done, even though he cried and begged and pleaded. I think this whole book was her subconscious attempt to reconcile her inhumane violence with the honor and necessity of having to do dirty work. War, especially in Animorphs, is about always toeing that line that separates you from the bad guys, and I think this book was just about how that line is a total illusion. Good and bad aren't so one-dimensional.
So I guess I don't think it's a dream because the book is bad. I think it's a dream because it makes the book better.