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Animorphs #41
The Familiar
Jake is just a normal kid. Well, as normal as possible considering he can morph animals, and he's in a war against parasitic aliens. But as unbelievable as it sounds, something even stranger has happened. One morning Jake wakes up, and he's twenty-five years old.
Okay. Maybe it's some kind of weird hallucination. Maybe it's a nightmare. Or maybe Jake's just lost it for a while and misplaced a few years. And there's another problem. The world Jake-the-kid went to sleep in has changed. It's ruled by the Yeerks. Jake has to find out if the other Animorphs and Ax are still around. Still somehow fighting. Or if he's really on his own. . . .
Okay. Maybe it's some kind of weird hallucination. Maybe it's a nightmare. Or maybe Jake's just lost it for a while and misplaced a few years. And there's another problem. The world Jake-the-kid went to sleep in has changed. It's ruled by the Yeerks. Jake has to find out if the other Animorphs and Ax are still around. Still somehow fighting. Or if he's really on his own. . . .
144 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2000
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K.A. Applegate
251 books486 followersalso published under the name Katherine Applegate
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February 3, 2023
We’re immediately thrown into a brutal battle, with blood and guts flying all over the place. Rachel is raging out. She’s snapped, overwhelmed by the pressure that’s been building up as the war with the Yeerks keeps intensifying. And Jake has a hard decision to make. Then, for a reason that’s left unexplained, Jake finds himself in the future. It’s a future where the Yeerks have beaten the Animorphs. And Jake is once again forced to make a tough decision.
Jake has to make an important decision for himself here, because he’s the leader of the Animorphs. He knows he’s responsible for taking these big and hard decisions for the whole group. But that doesn’t make it any easier for him. He knows he needs to look confident, brave and decisive for the others. But that doesn’t mean he actually is any of those things.
I think the title of “The Familiar” is actually pretty fitting for this story. The concept feels incredibly familiar. The previous novel in the series “Back to Before” started with a brutal action scene, and brought the characters to an alternate reality to showcase how much the Animorphs have grown as characters throughout the series. This story pretty much does the exact same thing, but the execution is a bit different. The previous story took us back to the past and showed us what would have happened if the Animorphs had never gotten their powers. This story takes us to a future where the Animorphs have lost the war. The previous book showed a rather positive character development, by showing their weaknesses in the beginning of the series. This book shows a more negative character development. With Rachel snapping and going on a bloody killing spree. Tobias is showing the effects of being tortured by the Yeerks. Jake is still crumbling under the pressure of being a leader. And Cassie has a nervous breakdown. They’re all feeling the effects of fighting in this brutal and violent war.
Again, it’s a story that does so many things right. But it also does a few things wrong. Some rather important things are simply not explained at all. And the ending is just left open to the audience’s interpretation. Though, one can make an educated guess based on the clues we are given.
Overall, not a bad read. But it could have used some more explanations and a more satisfying ending.
Jake has to make an important decision for himself here, because he’s the leader of the Animorphs. He knows he’s responsible for taking these big and hard decisions for the whole group. But that doesn’t make it any easier for him. He knows he needs to look confident, brave and decisive for the others. But that doesn’t mean he actually is any of those things.
I think the title of “The Familiar” is actually pretty fitting for this story. The concept feels incredibly familiar. The previous novel in the series “Back to Before” started with a brutal action scene, and brought the characters to an alternate reality to showcase how much the Animorphs have grown as characters throughout the series. This story pretty much does the exact same thing, but the execution is a bit different. The previous story took us back to the past and showed us what would have happened if the Animorphs had never gotten their powers. This story takes us to a future where the Animorphs have lost the war. The previous book showed a rather positive character development, by showing their weaknesses in the beginning of the series. This book shows a more negative character development. With Rachel snapping and going on a bloody killing spree. Tobias is showing the effects of being tortured by the Yeerks. Jake is still crumbling under the pressure of being a leader. And Cassie has a nervous breakdown. They’re all feeling the effects of fighting in this brutal and violent war.
Again, it’s a story that does so many things right. But it also does a few things wrong. Some rather important things are simply not explained at all. And the ending is just left open to the audience’s interpretation. Though, one can make an educated guess based on the clues we are given.
Overall, not a bad read. But it could have used some more explanations and a more satisfying ending.
June 6, 2016
Hoo boy. This is a bizarre book, and I have a lot to say about it!
Ghostwriter: Ellen Geroux, who wrote the grueling #33 The Illusion, which means there's finally some proper callbacks to #33, showing some of the lingering repercussions of that book on Tobias: the experience has left him shaken and withdrawn, which breaks my heart so much.
This being the same writer also makes sense because you guys, this book is a lot a lot a lot. Only 14 pages in, I was rattled and sending hysterical messages to a friend (hi Stephanie ♥️). The opening scene is killer, and if everything that followed was like that, this would have been 5 stars for me: in the span of such few pages it's one of the worst fights they've ever seen, unbelievably gory and violent and horrifying; Rachel enters a psychotic bloodlust rage (another sign of her devolution, and a foreshadowing of things to come); Marco assesses the situation and tells Jake to leave him and Rachel behind because otherwise none of them are getting out; Jake makes the call to abandon those two for the sake of the team; Cassie has a complete nervous breakdown afterwards complete with silent sobbing, and rather than comfort her, Jake walks away from her.
It's this crucial battle, and everyone's shattered reactions to it, that propels the plot for the rest of the book: launching 10 years into the future, where the Yeerks have won, a post-apocalyptic dystopia where all of the Animorphs are infested or broken shells of themselves. It's reminiscent of Rachel's vision of a similar 'bad guys win' future in #7 The Stranger (how great is it that both cousins have had this vision now?), except this is much much much darker. And it's similar to the AU 'roads not taken' Megamorphs #4 -- which apparently came out right before this book too, but oops I got the order backwards so I'm going to be reading Megamorphs next.
Also, do I shelve this book as "time travel" or "dreams"? WHAT DO I DO??? In the end, though, I'm opting for seeing it as an extended dream sequence, because there's just so much that doesn't line up (e.g. ). Those inconsistencies and the way the book slides from scene-to-scene makes for a confusing, disjointed experience: nightmare sequences to waking up to Jake suddenly finding himself in a completely different place, with no memory of how he got there. The entire thing is definitely a dream, IMO: a sort of internal processing as he meets his team one-by-one and sees what's become of them, the horrible things that they've endured. (Rachel! So much nightmare fuel about Rachel!) (The description of Marco's expression and broken voice when his Yeerk temporarily allows him control OH GODDDD)
It's dark. The whole thing is dark. A dream-like, surreal, nightmarish examination of this war and its effects on the soldiers and on leadership; it's a cosmic thought experiment, a way of digging into Jake's psyche and, perhaps, foreshadowing where it's all going to go. (Spoiler alert: nowhere good.)
I need to quote an extensive portion from the middle-end, because I want to discuss and analyse it:
This whole scene, man. It's Jake spouting so many optimistic hopes, almost child-like (the only other character in this book campaigning for the same thing is literally a child). And the ending of this book is ostensibly hopeful -- Jake deciding that he can't become hardened and cynical, that he can't sacrifice people -- but I'd say it's... not self-delusion, exactly, but that it's not going to hold up. How did he know I was just talking big? This is him trying to be idealistic, teetering on facing what this war has done to them. I can't remember every last detail of what happens later in the series, but I keep thinking of a particular line that Jake will cross later -- one that Elfangor himself refused to cross -- which I say means this conversation is both a) brilliant foreshadowing, and b) Jake mouthing what he'd like to happen, that they can stick to their principles and not lose their souls, but that that won't happen.
I also like that it's calling out the horrors that Elfangor doomed them to, when he forcibly conscripted them into this war. This far in, the series is no longer pulling any punches about what's happening: their childhood has been robbed from them, and their lives are now a nightmare. They've been sentenced.
This conversation is also part of the reason the whole thing feels so dream-like, Jake confronting his own internal fears through the form of "Elfangor".
And this happens elsewhere, but I loved the ruminations on Rachel and how she's the soldier that Jake sends into the fray the most, the one he risks the most -- it's also fucking chilling and ties back into past explorations of the same concept, such as during the David trilogy when she realised that she's the killer of the group, an efficient blade in Jake's arsenal.
The voice at the end wasn't the Ellimist, and I feel like Jake would have recognised the Crayak as well, so who in the world was it??????? I love me some cosmic ineffable beings, but I really hope it comes back and there's more explanation later rather than being a one-off.
So in conclusion. If there's so much meaty thematic ground here, why is my rating so 'low' (3 stars)? Mainly because of the execution. I love the post-apocalyptic dystopian setting, the horrible wrenching things that they see (Jake's vision in which all of his office employees are the dismembered forms of every single person he's ever killed? yeah. wow.), but the bizarre dream-like presentation doesn't do it all that many favours either, because it comes across extremely disjointed and confusing to read. Plus the ending is really rushed and unexplained.
In the end, this book is like a cosmic wakeup call to Jake, getting him back on track and reminding him to look after his team, except that I have a feeling it's maybe not going to stick. He's going to do his best, but he can't maintain that idealistic, childish approach: there cannot be victory without sacrifice.
This whole book feels like a nice, extended psychological followup to the Drode's summary of Jake, too: "Right here, Jake. From me, Big Jake. Jake, the reluctant leader. Jake, the oh-so-tiresomely decent one. A sanctimonious killer: my least favorite kind."
I think it's also interesting because, again, the differences between Jake/Marco as best friends: at the end,
In closing, oh jesus christ the last page, I almost burst out crying at the final lines, and the adorable comparison to how nervous Jake was when calling her at the very beginning of the series, and the callback to his my name is Jake, I'm not a Controller breakdown in the alternate timeline:
CRIES.
Ghostwriter: Ellen Geroux, who wrote the grueling #33 The Illusion, which means there's finally some proper callbacks to #33, showing some of the lingering repercussions of that book on Tobias: the experience has left him shaken and withdrawn, which breaks my heart so much.
This being the same writer also makes sense because you guys, this book is a lot a lot a lot. Only 14 pages in, I was rattled and sending hysterical messages to a friend (hi Stephanie ♥️). The opening scene is killer, and if everything that followed was like that, this would have been 5 stars for me: in the span of such few pages it's one of the worst fights they've ever seen, unbelievably gory and violent and horrifying; Rachel enters a psychotic bloodlust rage (another sign of her devolution, and a foreshadowing of things to come); Marco assesses the situation and tells Jake to leave him and Rachel behind because otherwise none of them are getting out; Jake makes the call to abandon those two for the sake of the team; Cassie has a complete nervous breakdown afterwards complete with silent sobbing, and rather than comfort her, Jake walks away from her.
It's this crucial battle, and everyone's shattered reactions to it, that propels the plot for the rest of the book: launching 10 years into the future, where the Yeerks have won, a post-apocalyptic dystopia where all of the Animorphs are infested or broken shells of themselves. It's reminiscent of Rachel's vision of a similar 'bad guys win' future in #7 The Stranger (how great is it that both cousins have had this vision now?), except this is much much much darker. And it's similar to the AU 'roads not taken' Megamorphs #4 -- which apparently came out right before this book too, but oops I got the order backwards so I'm going to be reading Megamorphs next.
Also, do I shelve this book as "time travel" or "dreams"? WHAT DO I DO??? In the end, though, I'm opting for seeing it as an extended dream sequence, because there's just so much that doesn't line up (e.g. ). Those inconsistencies and the way the book slides from scene-to-scene makes for a confusing, disjointed experience: nightmare sequences to waking up to Jake suddenly finding himself in a completely different place, with no memory of how he got there. The entire thing is definitely a dream, IMO: a sort of internal processing as he meets his team one-by-one and sees what's become of them, the horrible things that they've endured. (Rachel! So much nightmare fuel about Rachel!) (The description of Marco's expression and broken voice when his Yeerk temporarily allows him control OH GODDDD)
It's dark. The whole thing is dark. A dream-like, surreal, nightmarish examination of this war and its effects on the soldiers and on leadership; it's a cosmic thought experiment, a way of digging into Jake's psyche and, perhaps, foreshadowing where it's all going to go. (Spoiler alert: nowhere good.)
I need to quote an extensive portion from the middle-end, because I want to discuss and analyse it:
<But you would fight them differently? Sabotage and terrorist offensives make you morally uneasy. You want a better way.>
"What I want is to go home."
<Too much for you?> Elfangor was an awesome presence. I'd be lying to say he didn't intimidate me some. But I was a leader, too. I saw the fight for Earth as more mine now than his. I wanted to be respectful of him, but in my view he'd made a giant mistake with the terrorist campaign. I had to call him on it.
"No. I want to go home so I can keep all this from happening in the first place. If this is the future, I want to go back. I can stop the Yeerks without sacrificing my friends. Without botching the war, and bumbling into your brand of terrorism and half-freedoms. I can stop them before we sacrifice the very things we're fighting for."
Elfangor laughed in my mind. <Victory without sacrifice? You know better than that.>
"You don't have to give up your principles to win. Isn't there always an alternative to sacrifice if you just keep your mind clear, and step back, and see it and..."
<You know better than that.>
The repetition stung. How did he know I was just talking big? It was like he was inside my head, rifling through my personal file of fears and mistakes.
Now I was angry.
"It's all your fault," I said suddenly, surprising myself. "I always thought of you as a hero, Elfangor. A leader. But the truth is you couldn't see another way out. You sentenced us to hardship, pain, and suffering. We were kids. You made us question every value we ever learned. You had no right to heap that weight on us, huge and impossible. You used us!"
<That's interesting, coming from you, Jake. [...] Let me guess what comes next. You didn't ask for leadership, right? You didn't ask to make the tough calls. Plan the missions. Decide how to use your small but loyal force. How and when to put them in harm's way, risking their lives. You're blameless. The role was thrust upon you. Well, I don't buy it, Jake. Every choice is yours. Always has been. You were and are free.>
This whole scene, man. It's Jake spouting so many optimistic hopes, almost child-like (the only other character in this book campaigning for the same thing is literally a child). And the ending of this book is ostensibly hopeful -- Jake deciding that he can't become hardened and cynical, that he can't sacrifice people -- but I'd say it's... not self-delusion, exactly, but that it's not going to hold up. How did he know I was just talking big? This is him trying to be idealistic, teetering on facing what this war has done to them. I can't remember every last detail of what happens later in the series, but I keep thinking of a particular line that Jake will cross later -- one that Elfangor himself refused to cross -- which I say means this conversation is both a) brilliant foreshadowing, and b) Jake mouthing what he'd like to happen, that they can stick to their principles and not lose their souls, but that that won't happen.
I also like that it's calling out the horrors that Elfangor doomed them to, when he forcibly conscripted them into this war. This far in, the series is no longer pulling any punches about what's happening: their childhood has been robbed from them, and their lives are now a nightmare. They've been sentenced.
This conversation is also part of the reason the whole thing feels so dream-like, Jake confronting his own internal fears through the form of "Elfangor".
And this happens elsewhere, but I loved the ruminations on Rachel and how she's the soldier that Jake sends into the fray the most, the one he risks the most -- it's also fucking chilling and ties back into past explorations of the same concept, such as during the David trilogy when she realised that she's the killer of the group, an efficient blade in Jake's arsenal.
The voice at the end wasn't the Ellimist, and I feel like Jake would have recognised the Crayak as well, so who in the world was it??????? I love me some cosmic ineffable beings, but I really hope it comes back and there's more explanation later rather than being a one-off.
So in conclusion. If there's so much meaty thematic ground here, why is my rating so 'low' (3 stars)? Mainly because of the execution. I love the post-apocalyptic dystopian setting, the horrible wrenching things that they see (Jake's vision in which all of his office employees are the dismembered forms of every single person he's ever killed? yeah. wow.), but the bizarre dream-like presentation doesn't do it all that many favours either, because it comes across extremely disjointed and confusing to read. Plus the ending is really rushed and unexplained.
In the end, this book is like a cosmic wakeup call to Jake, getting him back on track and reminding him to look after his team, except that I have a feeling it's maybe not going to stick. He's going to do his best, but he can't maintain that idealistic, childish approach: there cannot be victory without sacrifice.
This whole book feels like a nice, extended psychological followup to the Drode's summary of Jake, too: "Right here, Jake. From me, Big Jake. Jake, the reluctant leader. Jake, the oh-so-tiresomely decent one. A sanctimonious killer: my least favorite kind."
I think it's also interesting because, again, the differences between Jake/Marco as best friends: at the end,
In closing, oh jesus christ the last page, I almost burst out crying at the final lines, and the adorable comparison to how nervous Jake was when calling her at the very beginning of the series, and the callback to his my name is Jake, I'm not a Controller breakdown in the alternate timeline:
CRIES.
October 25, 2017
Animorphs has become so dark! I feel like a broken record, like I say this every review, but wow. The Familiar opens up, as several other recent books have done, in the middle of a big, chaotic battle. The Animorphs have inflicted damage on the Yeerk troops, but the latter are practically inexhaustible, while the former are six adrenaline-fuelled-but-scared kids. And as the tide of the battle turns against them, they start losing limbs. And guts. It’s shocking for the explicitness of its imagery: this is not a series for children anymore; this is definitely YA.
In many ways, The Familiar recapitulates a lot of the themes that have been building and already touched upon in previous books. The Animorphs are starting to tire. They are lapsing into almost caricatures of their respective roles and ideologies. While some of this is ghostwriter syndrome, mostly it’s that they are starting to suffer from the stress of being the only six people on the planet who are fighting back against an invading alien force. The pressure must be intense. So Rachel becomes more and more unfocused and aggressive. Cassie becomes more and more moralistic and interested in non-violence. And Jake—who has always expressed discomfort over his leadership position—once again hints that he’s done with trying to be the leader of this group.
So something happens.
It’s never really made clear, actually, what or who sends Jake into this alternative timeline/universe/microcosm/dream where it’s ten years later and he’s a planetary engineer on an Earth totally controlled by Yeerks. He and the Animorphs advance theories, but we never learn the truth. Maybe we would have if Applegate had ever continued the series. As it is, we can only speculate.
The ghostwriter, Ellen Geroux, does a fantastic job balancing Jake’s confusion over his transposition with the pacing of the plot. We quickly get into the thick of it, with future!Cassie revealed to be a grizzled, cynical warrior who is fine with raining destruction down on the planet if it means denying the Yeerks a Kandrona-shining moon. I love how Jake is just so flabbergasted by Cassie’s change. One has to keep in mind that he’s still a (15?)-year-old kid, and the idea that you might be a very different person in your twenties is hard enough for a normal teenager to grok (I know it was for me).
The Familiar is one of the books that elevates Animorphs and belies the appearance as a pulpy escapist series for kids one might first see when learning there’s like 50 books published in such close succession. Like #22: The Solution and other such sublime entries before it, The Familiar shows us that Applegate did not come to play. Despite the length restrictions of the ordinary Animorphs books (this story could easily have been Chronicles-length), Applegate is writing serious science fiction. It just happens to be serious science fiction pitched to teens and young adults (which, when you think about it, is where a lot of science fiction started off).
This story asks us to wrestle with so many deep questions. Would we sacrifice our friend for the “greater good”? At what point do the ends stop justifying the means, if ever? And is it OK to change one’s opinions on these questions over time—because this definitely isn’t the first time these questions have surfaced in the series. It’s almost as if you don’t get to put your philosophy to bed once you’ve confronted it a single time; you have to keep reaffirming your commitment to your values time and again as the world throws more and more adversity your way.
The ending is very postmodern, refusing to explicitly reveal whether Jake saves the world or saves the girl. I think it’s pretty effectively telegraphed, however, that he chooses to save Cassie. Firstly, the voice’s comment immediately afterwards suggests it wasn’t expecting that choice; usually, this is a signal that aliens are surprised when humans choose love/emotion over pragmatism. Secondly, the book concludes with Jake calling Cassie to see if she’s all right. Because he’s in love with her and he wouldn’t ever sacrifice her ever asdfkjlghafdklj
Anyway. Just a couple of strong feelings about these books.
Next time, the Helmacrons are back for some honey-I-shrunk-the-animorphs fun.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← Megamorphs #4: Back to Before | #42: The Journey →
In many ways, The Familiar recapitulates a lot of the themes that have been building and already touched upon in previous books. The Animorphs are starting to tire. They are lapsing into almost caricatures of their respective roles and ideologies. While some of this is ghostwriter syndrome, mostly it’s that they are starting to suffer from the stress of being the only six people on the planet who are fighting back against an invading alien force. The pressure must be intense. So Rachel becomes more and more unfocused and aggressive. Cassie becomes more and more moralistic and interested in non-violence. And Jake—who has always expressed discomfort over his leadership position—once again hints that he’s done with trying to be the leader of this group.
So something happens.
It’s never really made clear, actually, what or who sends Jake into this alternative timeline/universe/microcosm/dream where it’s ten years later and he’s a planetary engineer on an Earth totally controlled by Yeerks. He and the Animorphs advance theories, but we never learn the truth. Maybe we would have if Applegate had ever continued the series. As it is, we can only speculate.
The ghostwriter, Ellen Geroux, does a fantastic job balancing Jake’s confusion over his transposition with the pacing of the plot. We quickly get into the thick of it, with future!Cassie revealed to be a grizzled, cynical warrior who is fine with raining destruction down on the planet if it means denying the Yeerks a Kandrona-shining moon. I love how Jake is just so flabbergasted by Cassie’s change. One has to keep in mind that he’s still a (15?)-year-old kid, and the idea that you might be a very different person in your twenties is hard enough for a normal teenager to grok (I know it was for me).
The Familiar is one of the books that elevates Animorphs and belies the appearance as a pulpy escapist series for kids one might first see when learning there’s like 50 books published in such close succession. Like #22: The Solution and other such sublime entries before it, The Familiar shows us that Applegate did not come to play. Despite the length restrictions of the ordinary Animorphs books (this story could easily have been Chronicles-length), Applegate is writing serious science fiction. It just happens to be serious science fiction pitched to teens and young adults (which, when you think about it, is where a lot of science fiction started off).
This story asks us to wrestle with so many deep questions. Would we sacrifice our friend for the “greater good”? At what point do the ends stop justifying the means, if ever? And is it OK to change one’s opinions on these questions over time—because this definitely isn’t the first time these questions have surfaced in the series. It’s almost as if you don’t get to put your philosophy to bed once you’ve confronted it a single time; you have to keep reaffirming your commitment to your values time and again as the world throws more and more adversity your way.
The ending is very postmodern, refusing to explicitly reveal whether Jake saves the world or saves the girl. I think it’s pretty effectively telegraphed, however, that he chooses to save Cassie. Firstly, the voice’s comment immediately afterwards suggests it wasn’t expecting that choice; usually, this is a signal that aliens are surprised when humans choose love/emotion over pragmatism. Secondly, the book concludes with Jake calling Cassie to see if she’s all right. Because he’s in love with her and he wouldn’t ever sacrifice her ever asdfkjlghafdklj
Anyway. Just a couple of strong feelings about these books.
Next time, the Helmacrons are back for some honey-I-shrunk-the-animorphs fun.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← Megamorphs #4: Back to Before | #42: The Journey →
January 22, 2022
Come check out my 4 hour 35 minute deep dive into reading every single Animorphs book for the first time on YouTube. I recap and review all of the books from the main series: https://youtu.be/H8kUM2q3CIU
November 16, 2024
Jake in another "what if" scenario...
May 19, 2022
2 stars for filling me with existential dread and depression
Read
March 21, 2022This book is seriously weird. Good thing I'm a fan of seriously weird books.
It begins with one of the most gruesome fight scenes of the series. Later, a freakish moment occurs, in which all of the corpses of the enemies Jake has killed chase after him like a scene out of "Thriller" -- only without the awesome dance moves. Interestingly, Jake's narration doesn't really focus on either of these moments once they have passed. This reveals something about Jake's motivators: that they do not include guilt or fear.
Jake always claims his motivators are saving his brother and the rest of humanity (as well as other threatened races) and keeping his friends alive and uninfested. While I don’t doubt that these are goals that do truly drive him, I think this book displays that they’re not always enough to sustain him.
When Jake is faced with particularly difficult situations or when he is exhausted by the terrors and responsibilities of war, he loses focus and becomes apathetic and resentful, prone to outbursts of “I didn’t ask for this!” and “Fine, then you make the call.” Oftentimes, the books follow these outbursts with some kind of supernatural or strange scientific phenomenon (#11's Sario Rip or #7's Ellimist-provided vision of the future) that steps into the story to give Jake a good scare, to show him why he is needed, to broaden his vision beyond his own plight.
This book is no exception; after the opening fight, Jake is transported, without explanation, to ten years in the future, at a time when the Yeerks have clearly won the war. What he experiences there serves the purpose of reminding him that billions are relying on him, and that it would be impossibly selfish and disastrous for him to give up. In true Jake fashion, he snaps back into good-leader mode as soon as he returns to his own time.
I enjoy how this book juxtaposes the ability of great responsibility to bolster Jake just as much as continually crushes him into a state of self-pity and frustration.
This book is an interesting dive into Jake's psyche (and that of the other Animorphs, to a lesser extent), but it begs one essential question: "So what?" Forty-one books into this series, we know his character pretty well. We understand what drives him, what tough choices he is capable of making, and what drags him down. So what, exactly, was the point?
It begins with one of the most gruesome fight scenes of the series. Later, a freakish moment occurs, in which all of the corpses of the enemies Jake has killed chase after him like a scene out of "Thriller" -- only without the awesome dance moves. Interestingly, Jake's narration doesn't really focus on either of these moments once they have passed. This reveals something about Jake's motivators: that they do not include guilt or fear.
Jake always claims his motivators are saving his brother and the rest of humanity (as well as other threatened races) and keeping his friends alive and uninfested. While I don’t doubt that these are goals that do truly drive him, I think this book displays that they’re not always enough to sustain him.
When Jake is faced with particularly difficult situations or when he is exhausted by the terrors and responsibilities of war, he loses focus and becomes apathetic and resentful, prone to outbursts of “I didn’t ask for this!” and “Fine, then you make the call.” Oftentimes, the books follow these outbursts with some kind of supernatural or strange scientific phenomenon (#11's Sario Rip or #7's Ellimist-provided vision of the future) that steps into the story to give Jake a good scare, to show him why he is needed, to broaden his vision beyond his own plight.
This book is no exception; after the opening fight, Jake is transported, without explanation, to ten years in the future, at a time when the Yeerks have clearly won the war. What he experiences there serves the purpose of reminding him that billions are relying on him, and that it would be impossibly selfish and disastrous for him to give up. In true Jake fashion, he snaps back into good-leader mode as soon as he returns to his own time.
I enjoy how this book juxtaposes the ability of great responsibility to bolster Jake just as much as continually crushes him into a state of self-pity and frustration.
This book is an interesting dive into Jake's psyche (and that of the other Animorphs, to a lesser extent), but it begs one essential question: "So what?" Forty-one books into this series, we know his character pretty well. We understand what drives him, what tough choices he is capable of making, and what drags him down. So what, exactly, was the point?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2020
Original Review at Jaunts & Haunts
3/5
I gave this book three stars.
I have to say, I'm quite a bit disappointed with this one.
In this installment of the series, we're in Jake's POV. After a particularly bloody battle, he goes home feeling exhausted. However, when he wakes up the next day, everything is bizarrely different. He's in a small room he's never been in before, the world outside is drastically, scarily different, and to top it all off he's in his twenties. Can Jake figure out whatever is going on and escape this nightmare?
Some elements were alright in this book, but I had some issues overall.
What worked best for me was the concept. Animorphs occasionally has these crazy alternate reality adventures that have lots of great scifi elements. Conceptually, this was right up my alley and interested me. There was also an element of mystery behind it all that propelled me forward. Who did this to Jake? The Ellimist? Crayak?
That's about as good as it gets for positive points.
Jake as a whole felt a bit flawed. I think his reaction to the predicament he found himself in made sense at first, but at a certain point he just stopped questioning things without much reason. It just didn't make sense to me, I also don't really feel like Jake progressed at all during this journey. Perhaps he made a slight mistake in judgment from the beginning, but it didn't warrant him going through all of this.
The plot felt disjointed to me. We know that Jake's in an alternate reality, yes, but beyond that we don't really get much explanation behind it all, which I found a bit maddening. There's got to be a rhyme and reason for scifi or it just becomes nonsensical.
Lastly, sometimes the details were a bit much, which I honestly can't believe I'm saying. But at the beginning where Jake finds himself in this weird reality, the descriptions felt clunky and really slowed me down.
Overall, this is definitely not one of the best Animorphs. While imaginative and creative, it lacks the progression and logic behind many of the more memorable ones. I'd suggest skipping if you're going through the whole series.
3/5
I gave this book three stars.
I have to say, I'm quite a bit disappointed with this one.
In this installment of the series, we're in Jake's POV. After a particularly bloody battle, he goes home feeling exhausted. However, when he wakes up the next day, everything is bizarrely different. He's in a small room he's never been in before, the world outside is drastically, scarily different, and to top it all off he's in his twenties. Can Jake figure out whatever is going on and escape this nightmare?
Some elements were alright in this book, but I had some issues overall.
What worked best for me was the concept. Animorphs occasionally has these crazy alternate reality adventures that have lots of great scifi elements. Conceptually, this was right up my alley and interested me. There was also an element of mystery behind it all that propelled me forward. Who did this to Jake? The Ellimist? Crayak?
That's about as good as it gets for positive points.
Jake as a whole felt a bit flawed. I think his reaction to the predicament he found himself in made sense at first, but at a certain point he just stopped questioning things without much reason. It just didn't make sense to me, I also don't really feel like Jake progressed at all during this journey. Perhaps he made a slight mistake in judgment from the beginning, but it didn't warrant him going through all of this.
The plot felt disjointed to me. We know that Jake's in an alternate reality, yes, but beyond that we don't really get much explanation behind it all, which I found a bit maddening. There's got to be a rhyme and reason for scifi or it just becomes nonsensical.
Lastly, sometimes the details were a bit much, which I honestly can't believe I'm saying. But at the beginning where Jake finds himself in this weird reality, the descriptions felt clunky and really slowed me down.
Overall, this is definitely not one of the best Animorphs. While imaginative and creative, it lacks the progression and logic behind many of the more memorable ones. I'd suggest skipping if you're going through the whole series.
January 5, 2020
The stakes are incredibly high here. I’m not sure what it is about seeing the characters in this almost hopeless alternative future, but it hits hard. You start to see just how innocent these kids were, how much they lost, and how much they are losing even as the storyline progresses in their actual timeline.
The violence is ramped up in this one, which also gives it a more adult feel.
You also know that a lot is at stake back in the actual timeline, and you’re left with this huge “what if?” hanging over your head throughout the entire book.
The ending feels a bit phoned in. You’re led to believe Jake is going to wake up to this pivotal moment in the series, and then . . . nah. He just wakes up and everything is normal.
But he does decide that from now on his allies come first, before anything else. He’s been struggling with this for a long time, but finally he decides fuck it. This is who he is, and that makes for a sweet ending overall as he calls Cassie to right a pretty big wrong from the beginning of the book.
This one tugged at my heartstrings pretty hard. I’m also beat as hell and tired from going to the gym, and the entire fucking world is on fire either literally or figuratively right now, so maybe that’s why this book got me so choked up.
The violence is ramped up in this one, which also gives it a more adult feel.
You also know that a lot is at stake back in the actual timeline, and you’re left with this huge “what if?” hanging over your head throughout the entire book.
The ending feels a bit phoned in. You’re led to believe Jake is going to wake up to this pivotal moment in the series, and then . . . nah. He just wakes up and everything is normal.
But he does decide that from now on his allies come first, before anything else. He’s been struggling with this for a long time, but finally he decides fuck it. This is who he is, and that makes for a sweet ending overall as he calls Cassie to right a pretty big wrong from the beginning of the book.
This one tugged at my heartstrings pretty hard. I’m also beat as hell and tired from going to the gym, and the entire fucking world is on fire either literally or figuratively right now, so maybe that’s why this book got me so choked up.
July 25, 2016
A different kind of story than usual from this series...but I enjoyed it!
May 16, 2024
Turns out I like the “goes into post apocalyptic future if you fail at your task”
Also Applegate if you ever wanna do an alternate timeline with Animorphs losing the war and being true resistance fighters I’d be down
Also Applegate if you ever wanna do an alternate timeline with Animorphs losing the war and being true resistance fighters I’d be down
October 12, 2015
Y'know, re-reading this series as an adult helps me understand so much of what made my younger self tick; no wonder I was a little unruly since I was busy being EMOTIONALLY GUTTED by the Animorphs.
Seriously, it's incredible that I read this as a kid because it gets sooooo dark. This isn't one of the strongest books in the series, but it's still got quite a punch. It plays off of the "what if" theme of the Megamorphs just before it; where that says what if this never happened, this says "what if they lose?" The Yeerks have taken over Earth in this fast-forward, and Jake leads us through finding where everyone is in the post-war world. The violence here is eerie when my real-life news is constantly covering insurgents in Syria and the continual war for survival in Israel/Palestine. There's a lot of foreshadowing to the end of the series here, I think, but basically this was just heart-breaking from start to finish. I can't say I *liked* this because it was so intense, but I do appreciate the truth of which characters would do what.
But Maaaaarrrrrco, nooooooo, that was basically the worst and ripped my heart out and I won't tell you because spoilers but Maaaaarrrrrco, nooooooo.
Seriously, it's incredible that I read this as a kid because it gets sooooo dark. This isn't one of the strongest books in the series, but it's still got quite a punch. It plays off of the "what if" theme of the Megamorphs just before it; where that says what if this never happened, this says "what if they lose?" The Yeerks have taken over Earth in this fast-forward, and Jake leads us through finding where everyone is in the post-war world. The violence here is eerie when my real-life news is constantly covering insurgents in Syria and the continual war for survival in Israel/Palestine. There's a lot of foreshadowing to the end of the series here, I think, but basically this was just heart-breaking from start to finish. I can't say I *liked* this because it was so intense, but I do appreciate the truth of which characters would do what.
But Maaaaarrrrrco, nooooooo, that was basically the worst and ripped my heart out and I won't tell you because spoilers but Maaaaarrrrrco, nooooooo.
May 13, 2021
This doesn't progress the series at all and is very confusing. not even the ending makes sense....
February 22, 2023
A 3.5, but rounded up because Jake goes full Lady Macbeth
February 17, 2022
After our break, we're back with Jake for another cycle. With it sees the return of Ellen Geroux of The Illusion. She made an impressive debut so I was excited for this. It's an interesting setup and it ended up being quite solid. Writing wise, she's still got it, and this time I noticed one strength of hers is emotion. Both of these do a good job of making you feel what the narrator is going through and it helps a lot.
The premise is simple: Jake wakes up as an adult in a Yeerk controlled future. Nothing spurs it on, it just happens. He tries to figure out what went wrong and survive this horrific world. It's interesting to get another What If right after Megamorphs 4. This time we, spoilers, don't get an explanation for what went on at all, just a vague hint at the end. As far as I know, it doesn't come back putting this is an oddball filler one. It may have been cheap to just make it Cryak/Elemist but whatever. The nature of it does dock points, as I prefer stories that have a clear impact on everything and make sense.
But it's just meant to be a quick What If and it's a good one. The concept carries it, as we explore what would happen if the Yeerks won. This one really ramps up the horrific imagery at times which I dig. This is like our third book to start with an especially harrowing battle to set the stage but in all cases, they get the job done.
This taps into the usual stuff, like how far some will go during war and the setup gives it a unique spin. We see how things have escalated and how some of the others have been changed. We see it the most through Cassie, it's not her book yet this is some of her best stuff in a while I think. It's a pretty harrowing one as we explore everything going on.
It's well paced, it's one I got through quickly as it kept at a good clip and I was invested the whole time. It has a healthy dose of tension all through it. The climax works fine but the ending is pretty abrupt. That said, I like the final line, as it brings it full circle.
I doubt it'll impact the series for a quick one off, it was pretty solid. It's simply well done as it explores this horrible alternate future. Not much more to say except for one thing: The Bad Future is in New York for some reason and Post-Yeerk the only towers standing are the Twin Towers. ....Yeah.
Anyway, next time it's Rachael's turn again as we get the return of some old...friends may not be the right word but that's coming either way. See ya then.
The premise is simple: Jake wakes up as an adult in a Yeerk controlled future. Nothing spurs it on, it just happens. He tries to figure out what went wrong and survive this horrific world. It's interesting to get another What If right after Megamorphs 4. This time we, spoilers, don't get an explanation for what went on at all, just a vague hint at the end. As far as I know, it doesn't come back putting this is an oddball filler one. It may have been cheap to just make it Cryak/Elemist but whatever. The nature of it does dock points, as I prefer stories that have a clear impact on everything and make sense.
But it's just meant to be a quick What If and it's a good one. The concept carries it, as we explore what would happen if the Yeerks won. This one really ramps up the horrific imagery at times which I dig. This is like our third book to start with an especially harrowing battle to set the stage but in all cases, they get the job done.
This taps into the usual stuff, like how far some will go during war and the setup gives it a unique spin. We see how things have escalated and how some of the others have been changed. We see it the most through Cassie, it's not her book yet this is some of her best stuff in a while I think. It's a pretty harrowing one as we explore everything going on.
It's well paced, it's one I got through quickly as it kept at a good clip and I was invested the whole time. It has a healthy dose of tension all through it. The climax works fine but the ending is pretty abrupt. That said, I like the final line, as it brings it full circle.
I doubt it'll impact the series for a quick one off, it was pretty solid. It's simply well done as it explores this horrible alternate future. Not much more to say except for one thing: The Bad Future is in New York for some reason and Post-Yeerk the only towers standing are the Twin Towers. ....Yeah.
Anyway, next time it's Rachael's turn again as we get the return of some old...friends may not be the right word but that's coming either way. See ya then.
March 28, 2023
Pretty ok. I don't really get it I guess I'm not woke tho
August 7, 2014
Um, wow, it's Jake in the future! Sort of. This one was sorta confusing. Worth it, though.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
This book is ghostwritten by Ellen Geroux.
This book came out about a year before the September 11th tragedy, so the New York skyline included the World Trade Center, named specifically as a way that Jake recognizes he is in New York.
The Yeerk name Jake gets called by in his future world is Essak-Twenty-Four-Twelve-Seven-Five. Awfully big number. It suggests the Yeerks are much more plentiful now.
Aliens called the Orff are introduced here. They have single eyes with pupils that orbit the iris, and they have seemingly transparent skin, long necks, and three legs, and the appearance of organs under their skin are actually decoys.
It's odd that Jake would be so sure Tobias must be dead after he'd already seen an ancient red-tailed hawk and even wondered if it was Tobias. Even though it turns out Tobias wasn't that hawk, it seems like an inconsistent thought for Jake.
Marco is described as having battle scars on his face. That seems unlikely if he is still able to morph. Same with Rachel, who's much worse off; why is she crippled if she can still morph? It's never explained why their morphing abilities were taken away, but since the world has many inconsistencies perhaps this was engineered to make Jake wonder about the reality. His own inability to morph at one point could have been part of this as well.
Jake describes seeing purple-blue Hork-Bajir blood. Because this book is a constructed reality, it's not necessarily true that everything has to be true to life, but in a previous book Hork-Bajir blood is green-blue, not purple-blue.
Jake describes walking in a library and stopping when he gets to the E aisle. Libraries aren't organized by letter. They're organized by Dewey Decimal--by subjects. There shouldn't be an E aisle.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
This book is ghostwritten by Ellen Geroux.
This book came out about a year before the September 11th tragedy, so the New York skyline included the World Trade Center, named specifically as a way that Jake recognizes he is in New York.
The Yeerk name Jake gets called by in his future world is Essak-Twenty-Four-Twelve-Seven-Five. Awfully big number. It suggests the Yeerks are much more plentiful now.
Aliens called the Orff are introduced here. They have single eyes with pupils that orbit the iris, and they have seemingly transparent skin, long necks, and three legs, and the appearance of organs under their skin are actually decoys.
It's odd that Jake would be so sure Tobias must be dead after he'd already seen an ancient red-tailed hawk and even wondered if it was Tobias. Even though it turns out Tobias wasn't that hawk, it seems like an inconsistent thought for Jake.
Marco is described as having battle scars on his face. That seems unlikely if he is still able to morph. Same with Rachel, who's much worse off; why is she crippled if she can still morph? It's never explained why their morphing abilities were taken away, but since the world has many inconsistencies perhaps this was engineered to make Jake wonder about the reality. His own inability to morph at one point could have been part of this as well.
Jake describes seeing purple-blue Hork-Bajir blood. Because this book is a constructed reality, it's not necessarily true that everything has to be true to life, but in a previous book Hork-Bajir blood is green-blue, not purple-blue.
Jake describes walking in a library and stopping when he gets to the E aisle. Libraries aren't organized by letter. They're organized by Dewey Decimal--by subjects. There shouldn't be an E aisle.
June 21, 2021
*Hidden for swears, actually, since I'm dropping them into a MG/YA review.*
My reaction from start to finish:
(Gif credit: JD41510 via Tenor.com)
I didn't have a copy of this back in my youth, so I was not prepared... My mom, to whom I've been reading the series, fared a bit better, lol. Proved very patient as I paused to keen/absorb all the major horrors and implications of the series' most indelible "what-if" scenario to date.
Seriously, though, #41 is a devastating dive into Jake's collective nightmares, and I personally loved it -- loved it in the way we horror fans love a good mental/emotional thrashing from a slick psychological thriller. (Also thought the prose was quite brilliant -- hats off to Ellen Geroux -- though I could've used more evil Marco/some evil Ax because apparently I don't just want to feel the screw turning, I want to hear it squeal as it twists...)
If you're unsure whether to read or skip this installment, I encourage you to peruse everyone else's far more detailed thoughts and analyses, as the only impression I really came here to leave is a biased and resounding, "Holy shit."
My reaction from start to finish:
(Gif credit: JD41510 via Tenor.com)
I didn't have a copy of this back in my youth, so I was not prepared... My mom, to whom I've been reading the series, fared a bit better, lol. Proved very patient as I paused to keen/absorb all the major horrors and implications of the series' most indelible "what-if" scenario to date.
Seriously, though, #41 is a devastating dive into Jake's collective nightmares, and I personally loved it -- loved it in the way we horror fans love a good mental/emotional thrashing from a slick psychological thriller. (Also thought the prose was quite brilliant -- hats off to Ellen Geroux -- though I could've used more evil Marco/some evil Ax because apparently I don't just want to feel the screw turning, I want to hear it squeal as it twists...)
If you're unsure whether to read or skip this installment, I encourage you to peruse everyone else's far more detailed thoughts and analyses, as the only impression I really came here to leave is a biased and resounding, "Holy shit."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 23, 2020
The Animorphs reread continues! I didn't like this one. It wasn't super clear what was going on even at the end, and it was mostly depressing. It's also Jake's POV, which might be my least favorite.
June 8, 2016
The Animorphs are barely surviving another battle, and from the very first page. Jake makes the decision to leave two behind, to save the other four. Between that and him rejecting Cassie when she needed to talk to him, to talk through what just happened, Jake has a lot weighing him down.
He retreats to the solace of his bed – but not before lying to Tom to cover his tracks and the blood on his leg – only to wake up and find himself about a decade older in a world run by the Yeerk Empire, where everyone is a Controller.
Jake must adapt quickly, or risk being taken in and subjected to who-knows-what at the hands of the Yeerk authority. Yet, there are so many coincidental encounters; and he ends up in so many diverse places where he witnesses many aspects of this new society which has arisen under the Yeerks. Will he be able to figure out what is going on before he is discovered by the authorities? Will he be able to survive in this world, and maybe even make a difference to it?
We are starting to see Jake’s cracks in this book, even more so than before. He’s coming up to and crossing more and more lines as this war drags on, with seemingly fewer and fewer ways to avoid crossing that line. The front he puts up to “stay strong” in front of the others is wearing him out, to the point that he’s forgetting to foster the personal relationships – especially with the Animorphs – which help keep him grounded and centered.
Overall, this book starts out strong, with a compelling exploration of the new Yeerk-run world Jake wakes up into, and Jake’s reactions to it. It is also great at re-centering Jake, reminding him who he is as a person (not just who he has become as a result of the war), and what is important to him, what is his reason for fighting and suffering in this war in the first place. However, as we meet more and more people from his “past”, the threads start to unravel, the logic of the story starts to fray, with basic rules of the ‘verse being twisted and even broken, hence why I am only giving it 3 stars.
Humorous note: this book has the date of October 13, 2000 in it, as the date of when it came into my possession (Thank you Mom for writing that in there!). 15 years to the DAY since I got this book in my hands!
Save what should be valued above all else.
Quotes and comments:
So anyway, we’re the only ones fighting back. We managed to slow the Yeerks down a little. But it was getting harder to keep up the fight. Harder to keep it together. – page 2
“Every day we’re more like [the Yeerks],” [Cassie] persisted. “Aren’t we?” Tears welled over her lower lids. “Jake?”
I didn’t have the energy for this. The doubt, the introspection, the analysis. I just didn’t have the energy. – page 11 – They are all just getting so tired. It’s really been showing lately – Applegate and the ghostwriters are not giving us any rose-colored glasses to wear anymore.
He retreats to the solace of his bed – but not before lying to Tom to cover his tracks and the blood on his leg – only to wake up and find himself about a decade older in a world run by the Yeerk Empire, where everyone is a Controller.
Jake must adapt quickly, or risk being taken in and subjected to who-knows-what at the hands of the Yeerk authority. Yet, there are so many coincidental encounters; and he ends up in so many diverse places where he witnesses many aspects of this new society which has arisen under the Yeerks. Will he be able to figure out what is going on before he is discovered by the authorities? Will he be able to survive in this world, and maybe even make a difference to it?
We are starting to see Jake’s cracks in this book, even more so than before. He’s coming up to and crossing more and more lines as this war drags on, with seemingly fewer and fewer ways to avoid crossing that line. The front he puts up to “stay strong” in front of the others is wearing him out, to the point that he’s forgetting to foster the personal relationships – especially with the Animorphs – which help keep him grounded and centered.
Overall, this book starts out strong, with a compelling exploration of the new Yeerk-run world Jake wakes up into, and Jake’s reactions to it. It is also great at re-centering Jake, reminding him who he is as a person (not just who he has become as a result of the war), and what is important to him, what is his reason for fighting and suffering in this war in the first place. However, as we meet more and more people from his “past”, the threads start to unravel, the logic of the story starts to fray, with basic rules of the ‘verse being twisted and even broken, hence why I am only giving it 3 stars.
Humorous note: this book has the date of October 13, 2000 in it, as the date of when it came into my possession (Thank you Mom for writing that in there!). 15 years to the DAY since I got this book in my hands!
Save what should be valued above all else.
Quotes and comments:
So anyway, we’re the only ones fighting back. We managed to slow the Yeerks down a little. But it was getting harder to keep up the fight. Harder to keep it together. – page 2
“Every day we’re more like [the Yeerks],” [Cassie] persisted. “Aren’t we?” Tears welled over her lower lids. “Jake?”
I didn’t have the energy for this. The doubt, the introspection, the analysis. I just didn’t have the energy. – page 11 – They are all just getting so tired. It’s really been showing lately – Applegate and the ghostwriters are not giving us any rose-colored glasses to wear anymore.
July 15, 2017
So this book... especially right after Back To Before, just hits you like a freight train. Jake wakes up in a world 10 years after he decides to stop fighting, and boy is it crazy. Cassie and Marco have both become hardened soldiers, though for different sides. Rachel is horribly injured, Ax destroyed his own planet under the control of a Yeerk and Tobias has become Ax via morph and become the leader of Cassie's freedom fighters, who were the peace movement. Sure, they want peace still, but they blow shit up and kill people. Jake is horrified by this. (Elfangor is actually Tobias here)
"What I want is to go home."
Elfangor was an awesome presence. I'd be lying to say he didn't intimidate me some. But I was a leader, too. I saw the fight for Earth as more mine now than his. I wanted to be respectful of him, but in my view he'd made a giant mistake with the terrorist campaign. I had to call him on it.
"No. I want to go home so I can keep all this from happening in the first place. If this is the future, I want to go back. I can stop the Yeerks without sacrificing my friends. Without botching the war, and bumbling into your brand of terrorism and half-freedoms. I can stop them before we sacrifice the very things we're fighting for."
Elfangor laughed in my mind.
"You don't have to give up your principles to win. Isn't there always an alternative to sacrifice if you just keep your mind clear, and step back, and see it and..."
The repetition stung. How did he know I was just talking big? It was like he was inside my head, rifling through my personal file of fears and mistakes.
Now I was angry.
"It's all your fault," I said suddenly, surprising myself. "I always thought of you as a hero, Elfangor. A leader. But the truth is you couldn't see another way out. You sentenced us to hardship, pain, and suffering. We were kids. You made us question every value we ever learned. You had no right to heap that weight on us, huge and impossible. You used us!"
Jake even realizes he is the one who has made his friends into this.
What a great book.
"What I want is to go home."
Elfangor was an awesome presence. I'd be lying to say he didn't intimidate me some. But I was a leader, too. I saw the fight for Earth as more mine now than his. I wanted to be respectful of him, but in my view he'd made a giant mistake with the terrorist campaign. I had to call him on it.
"No. I want to go home so I can keep all this from happening in the first place. If this is the future, I want to go back. I can stop the Yeerks without sacrificing my friends. Without botching the war, and bumbling into your brand of terrorism and half-freedoms. I can stop them before we sacrifice the very things we're fighting for."
Elfangor laughed in my mind.
"You don't have to give up your principles to win. Isn't there always an alternative to sacrifice if you just keep your mind clear, and step back, and see it and..."
The repetition stung. How did he know I was just talking big? It was like he was inside my head, rifling through my personal file of fears and mistakes.
Now I was angry.
"It's all your fault," I said suddenly, surprising myself. "I always thought of you as a hero, Elfangor. A leader. But the truth is you couldn't see another way out. You sentenced us to hardship, pain, and suffering. We were kids. You made us question every value we ever learned. You had no right to heap that weight on us, huge and impossible. You used us!"
Jake even realizes he is the one who has made his friends into this.
What a great book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 28, 2025
While reading the series in a three person book club, I have learned that yes, we all have unique tastes, but more than that, the Animorphs series takes some massive swings that work for some of us and really don't for others. I've grown to admire the gutsiness to occasionally delve into sci-fi madness, when it already has established a profitable routine.
This book is one of those swings.
And some parts really worked for me. Jake's emotional journey was upsetting, sweet, and shows his emotions bare (the ending especially was so warm). The world was more vivid than ever before, fascistic yet alien, and gave me an uneasiness that I haven't felt before with Animorphs.
But the weakness here is that the book invests very little in explaining Why--and I have learned by now that revisiting/wrapping up loose ends is rare.
In the arbitrariness of Jake's suffering-- there's something almost meta-textual. Aliens/God/The Author(s) decide they want to see Animorphs/humanity/characters suffer so they may be entertained. The Why is self evident in the medium.
But do I think this book executes any of that with particular attention or skill? No-- I think I just like thinking about stuff.
This book is one of those swings.
And some parts really worked for me. Jake's emotional journey was upsetting, sweet, and shows his emotions bare (the ending especially was so warm). The world was more vivid than ever before, fascistic yet alien, and gave me an uneasiness that I haven't felt before with Animorphs.
But the weakness here is that the book invests very little in explaining Why--and I have learned by now that revisiting/wrapping up loose ends is rare.
In the arbitrariness of Jake's suffering-- there's something almost meta-textual. Aliens/God/The Author(s) decide they want to see Animorphs/humanity/characters suffer so they may be entertained. The Why is self evident in the medium.
But do I think this book executes any of that with particular attention or skill? No-- I think I just like thinking about stuff.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2022
As well written and deeply compelling this installment was, I’m starting to see a lot of Applegate’s lazy approaches to making this series longer than necessary in order to milk as much money as humanly possible.
Immediately after the last alternate reality storyline, we get ANOTHER ONE 😀
It’s tragic and heartbreaking and amazing but it’s also just another “what if in another timeline, the Animorphs actually suck! Oh look they stick to their morals! Oh look this was all a silly little game by a godlike alien! PLOT TWIST😱”
And then they wake up and show appreciation towards each other back their regular timeline as if they aren’t already a tight knit group that will be trauma-bound together for the rest of eternity.
I just feel really conflicted about this one solely based on how frequently we’re getting these alternate timelines and stories outside of the main overall plot.
It’s a great book that doesn’t need to exist and is simply excess.
CW: war, violence, slavery, mass murder, terrorism, death, grief, slight gore, blood
Immediately after the last alternate reality storyline, we get ANOTHER ONE 😀
It’s tragic and heartbreaking and amazing but it’s also just another “what if in another timeline, the Animorphs actually suck! Oh look they stick to their morals! Oh look this was all a silly little game by a godlike alien! PLOT TWIST😱”
And then they wake up and show appreciation towards each other back their regular timeline as if they aren’t already a tight knit group that will be trauma-bound together for the rest of eternity.
I just feel really conflicted about this one solely based on how frequently we’re getting these alternate timelines and stories outside of the main overall plot.
It’s a great book that doesn’t need to exist and is simply excess.
CW: war, violence, slavery, mass murder, terrorism, death, grief, slight gore, blood
April 7, 2023
Another book where I was wondering why the person I keep bumping in to in our checkouts of the series took so long to get through, until I got to the book myself.
An extremely confusing book, but can be downright horrific at times.
When the audiobook had to emphasize that the books were written before the Twin Towers were no more, I had to remind myself, oh right, this WAS written back in the 90s.
An extremely confusing book, but can be downright horrific at times.
When the audiobook had to emphasize that the books were written before the Twin Towers were no more, I had to remind myself, oh right, this WAS written back in the 90s.
March 7, 2024
the one where jake is ebenezer scrooge and he gets a visit from the ghosts of warcrime future. gory and nihilistic; a nice change of page. interesting world building of what earth would be like as the hub of the yeerk empire. tobias choosing an andalite as his final form is notable.
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October 29, 2023This one was quite good - the bit at the end where Jake was arguing with not-really-Elfangor was especially haunting.
January 23, 2025
I have 2 many questions about wtf just happened but mainly…. Didn’t I JUST read this book lmao
October 1, 2025
This book could have been an email…
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October 29, 2025CONFESSION: every time I have ever pictured Tobias as a human, he is Caleb from Pretty Little Liars
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