[identity profile] frenchroast.livejournal.com

She laughed bitterly. ≺You think we can make peace between human and Yeerk and Andalite? Don't be stupid.≻


≺No, I don't think we can make peace between all humans and all Yeerks and all Andalites. But you and I can have peace. One Yeerk, one human.≻



This is a huge book in terms of tonal shift for this series. I've always thought that this book is where the war loses a lot of its black and white "Andalites/Humans vs. Yeerks" and becomes more grey, more muddled, and more confusing. We learn that not all the Yeerks want to enslave humans, especially not children, but that they also feel trapped and caught up in this war.

I can't say that I really agreed with many of Cassie's decisions in this book, but I also don't think they came out of nowhere, or that she had bad reasons for her decisions. They were all reaching a breaking point, and it's no surprise to me that the Animorph who least liked violence is the first to say "enough."

I love what KA did with the caterpillar/butterfly "natural morph." It also makes me wonder what creatures on the Andalite home world have natural morphs, and if one of them was Escafil's original inspiration for the morphing cube? We'll never know, I suppose.

My only issue with this book is, if Aftran gave up making Karen a Controller and opted to just stay in the Yeerk pool, and Karen apparently wasn't re-infested (since I'd assume a new Yeerk would've ratted the Animorphs out ASAP), how did Karen get out of reporting stuff about her father? Did she have to pretend to be a Controller? That seems like the most logical thing to have happened, but it still puts her in danger. Anyone else have a theory?


Next time: #20 The Discovery--The first book in the David arc. It's Morphing Cube Time!
Mod Note: These next three books, I would like to do in quick succession, simply because they're one story arc, but I do still want to discuss the books individually. I'm thinking one book per week, with a fourth week devoted to the arc as a whole. Does that sound good?
[identity profile] asenseofwonder.livejournal.com
I have been doing my own re-read of the series for the first time (I read each and every book when it was originally released) and this quote just stuck out, so I thought I would post it here.

"I guess sometimes you have to choose between smart, sane, ruthlessness, and totally stupid, insane hope," I said, not even realizing I was speaking out loud. "You can't just pick one and stick with it, either. Each time it comes up, you have to try and make your best decision. Most of the time, I guess I have to go with being smart and sane. But I don't want to live in a world where people don't try the stupid, crazy, hopeful thing sometimes."
-Jake
[identity profile] buffyangellvr23.livejournal.com
Cassie's had it. After the last mission, she realizes she's getting tired of missions. Tired of battles. Tired of being an Animorph. She decides that she just can't do it anymore. So she quits.
But that's not the worst that's happened. It seems a human-controller named Karen followed Kassie after the last run-in with the Yeerks. And she knows Cassie is an Andalite-or human. Either way, if she exposes Cassie, it's all over.  No more Cassie. No more Animorphs. And no more Earth...

I can see how long the talk on this book is gonna be lol. Ther'e'll be a lot of speaking out about Cassie and her actions, but there is also one good thing about this book. I do like how KAA plunges us into shades of gray and shows us the Yeerk's POV. She lets us actually feel a bit of empathy for them.

I still think it would have been interesting if Aftran had stayed inside Cassie for a while but I can see why it was dangerous too. I think they should've made her a human nothlit with that frolis thingy, but then I'm getting a little ahead of myself. That's not until The Sickness.
[identity profile] buffyangellvr23.livejournal.com
Cassie begins struggling with her feelings about the war and the killing, and decides she has had enough. She says she's leaving the group and runs into the woods where she meets a young controller named Karen and the yeerk Aftran in a meeting that we will later see having big effects.

I've been waiting for this book because I'm extremely curious about our thoughts and comments surrounding the book and its themes.
What do you think of Aftran's comparison of humans' predatory habits and yeerk's parasitic habits?
Do you think many of us would empathize with the yeerks if we were born into bodies like theirs?
hmm...how about, why do you think many yeerks don't feel anything for their hosts? Especially after so much anguish in the host's mind.
Do you think there could be a better way? (this one might be difficult though because there's a tendancy to think of the YPM and the Iskoort...)
I personally don't think it makes what they do right but Cassie and Aftran's talk definately provokes a lot of thought.

I think I can see the distinction between the Visser Three brother thing and Aftran's situation...brother in this case two grubs means born from the same parent yeerks while in Visser Three's case it was like identical twins, two from one grub. In case anyone wondered.

There's a lot of good writing fodder here. I'd love to see stories like Aftran's memory of seeing and hearing for the first time.

Remember the rules...I think it might be okay with this book to bring later stuff like the peace faction and iskoort into it but try your best to stick to this book if at all possible. Start out on topic even if you drift off topic later on. Keep it civil and respectful.

Next week: There's a new Animorph in town.
(what DID happen to our regular re-read host?)

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