The Predator / The Capture / The Stranger / The Alien (Animorphs #5-8) + Andalite's Gift (#7.5)[February 1, 2024]

[Yanique, Thread Master]

This is a Buddy Read for Animorphs Boxset: The Predator / The Capture / The Stranger / The Alien by K.A. Applegate starting on February 1, 2024.


Happy Reading!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

For the real childhood reading experience, here are the flip book gifs I found online... these were included in the bottom right corner of each page of the book and could be flipped to see the transformation/etc:

Predator:



Capture:



Stranger:



Alien:

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

The Centaur alien tranformation seems kinda suggestive... where them feet go / come from?...

[Nirkatze]

Oh dear... I don't really want to think about that...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Almost time to move to a new omnibus thread... I thought about reading #5 early, but I'm just going to wait and read it at work on Thursday, I think...

[Tonari no Emily]

I'll probably read tomorrow. I'm starting Feb reads today and this is second on my list!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I still have to read Empire of the Vampire, after Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands...

Cutting it close to the wire, but I'm finishing January just in time... just in time to be swamped with February Buddy Reads...

[Tonari no Emily]

I wanted to fit in both Emily Wilde's this month, but I decided to put them on the backburner in light of February *vaguely gestures*

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

February is fine... totally fine...

[Tonari no Emily]

[Tonari no Emily]

About halfway through #5 The Predator (view spoiler)[ This is gonna give me whiplash! I was literally cackling about the lobster scene and then this is followed up with a pretty deep scene with Marcus and his dad... The dad needs to get it together for his kid... (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Finished! Liked this one a lot! (view spoiler)[ Okay the ants section was some serious body horror. *shudders*
Was not expecting Marco's mom to make a return! I'm glad his dad realized he needs to live for his son at least... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Tonari no Emily wrote: "About halfway through #5 The Predator [spoilers removed]"

Totally agree--I didn't really like Marcus up to now, but this book has me converted... (view spoiler)[Marcus has such a great sense of humor! I was rather disappointed in Ax though. Even if he isn't an adult, I'd like to think that kids like Marcus & co have better sense than all the crazy Ax started doing. And he should've been used to the human morph by now, so I don't buy the morph taking over him like they do when first changing...

Totally agree about the dad... while I feel sympathy for him, losing his wife, when you have a kid you don't get to indulge like this. Or if you do, you make sure your kid is taken care of first. Kind of reminds me of the first half of Fairy Tale... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Finished also! (view spoiler)[Was expecting the mom to be alive as soon as it was mentioned her body was never found... but wasn't expecting it to be this book! Shoulda put it together when they said Vasser One was a human controller. And what a mind-f***! Not just discovering what his mom is now, but now having to wonder.... how much of his memories were a Yurk??? I'm hoping she was abducted when she disappeared, instead of the opposite chicken-egg.

Ants and lobsters... honestly, I was more bothered by the lobsters... though the bit about how ants are more homicidal than humans was pretty eye opening... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Ax is definitely treated a bit as comedic relief, with his addiction to sugar/Cinnabon, later on...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

The narrator for Marco's book seems perfect... just started...

I think Marco's narrator does better character voices than the other narrators... but I've also read so many books this past month, that it's hard to say if I really remember all the other narrators, right now...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Early book... (view spoiler)[Ax's antics at the mall weren't great... but they definitely solidified the idea that the Animorphs are Andalite Bandits, and not humans with morphing technology... the second the Controller Cop passes the sighting up the chain of command... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

The ants: (view spoiler)[I haven't reached it yet, but it's definitely one of the most memorable morphs of the series, all these years later... truly horrifying/claustrophobic... (hide spoiler)]

Mom: (view spoiler)[this is such a big reveal... and adds more stakes (as if there aren't enough already)... but it also adds a layer of book-conveniences, where the kids chosen to get morphs (out of everyone in the world) have alot of connections to high level Yeerks...

Stuff like this happens a few more times in the series, in roundabout/different ways (I keep hinting that there's more to Tobias' unknown parents than we know so far)...

One of the Chronicles books also reveals how and why the Yeerks discover earth and start invading... (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Timelord Iain wrote: "The ants: [spoilers removed]

Mom:."

Oooh looking forward to those bits!

[Nirkatze]

Ooh, I like all the bigger-series connections shared there... always enjoy those kind of reveals. Also appreciate the note on the early book ripples--(view spoiler)[the solidification of the group's "identity" as far as the Yurks are concerned... (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

Just finished The Predator #5 Really have been liking these and I am very surprised by it! I just wasn't expecting it and I can see Rick Riordan being a bit influenced by them, specifically of how the young characters talk to us, the readers... Sanderson does the same thing with the Atticus series too...

(view spoiler)[ I actually enjoyed Ax's antics and his discovery of taste, but I agree that he comes off much younger than I thought of him before.

The Lobster morph was the most disturbing to me here. I just knew that they would end up in someone's cooking pot!

The ants morphing was an interesting look at the nature of ants. It was very memorable for all the obvious terrifying reasons, but also Marco's observation that the statement that if ants had nuclear bombs, they would destroy the world in a week, would not be true, because they would actually destroy it much faster! Chilling! I always thought of ants as kind of scary, but now I will be thinking of them as sociopathic killers!

I get Marco's experience with his dad after his mom "died"... When I was little, one of my brothers passed away and my mom had a mental breakdown and completely checked out... Thank goodness for extended family living together, or my brother and I wouldn't have made it... But he only has his dad, and he should have stepped up. At least at the end, he decided to get back to being a father... But that type of scar never goes away for the kids...

That was surprising, about his Mom though. I hadn't caught on and was " Whaaaattt???!" How absolutely Earth shattering this has to be for Marco! Wow! At least it's going to keep him working with the group against the Jerks! Yeah, I like that kid! (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

you gonna binge these again, Choko?

Reading Order / Chronology matters with the Megamorphs, I think, if you're gonna include them:

The Predator -- Marco
The Capture -- Jake
The Stranger -- Rachel
The Andalite's Gift -- all POVs -- Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco, Ax
The Alien -- Ax

With the Chronicles, I think you can potentially read them more out of order, since most take place far in the past, and just include backstory and some surprising character/detail reveals...

The only potential exception is Visser, which I haven't read before... I think I stopped keeping up with the series around book 30, sometime after my grandfather died... I vividly remember explaining the series to an old lady while in Virginia for the funeral (nice old lady, friend/neighbor of the grandparents, probably just humoring a grieving kid)... that's a whole other story...

Anyway, Visser is present day, I think... it's (view spoiler)[a Visser 3 vs Visser 1 story, where Visser 3 puts Visser 1 on trial to the Yeerk higher ups, for her failures on Earth... I think there's still a fair amount of flashback backstory... but there's a framing story in the present day as well... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

That's a bittersweet memory to have... thank goodness for old ladies like that!

Are we reading the first Megamorph here in the schedule?

@Choko, your writing of "Jerk" for "Yeerk"... huh. I wonder if the author's choice of name had that in mind, since j can be read like a y....

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I included all chronicles and megamorphs at the appropriate production time in the title… I think Yanique linked in comment 1 as well…

I’m reading them… I try to call all supplemental short stories/etc as optional, as much as possible, tho…

[Tonari no Emily]

Every time I hear Visser I think of that one show Archive 81... That one legitimately creeped me out.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Yea... I'm not much for Horror... and Archive 81 was nightmare fuel, with the infected media...

[Tonari no Emily]

Had to watch it during the day time with my husband in the same room lol

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I binged the hell out of it... it was based on a podcast... and I think the podcast had more seasons...

I wish the show did, given how season 1 ended...

[Nirkatze]

Timelord Iain wrote: "I included all chronicles and megamorphs at the appropriate production time in the title… I think Yanique linked in comment 1 as well…

I’m reading them… I try to call all supplemental short storie..."

Ah, ok, I see it in the title now, totally missed that for some reason...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'd say 50% of the months have extras...

Megamorphs 1 is 7.5
Andalite Chronicles is 12.5
Megamorphs 2 is 18.5
Hork-Bajir Chronicles is 22.5
Megamorphs 3 is 29.5
Visser is 35.5
Megamorphs 4 is 40.5
Ellimist Chronicles is 47.5 (and the only one that doesn't have any context yet :D)

EDIT: I checked the wiki, and context is coming soon... (view spoiler)[The Ellimist is introduced in #7 The Stranger (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Going to work those into my schedule...

EDIT: Hm... Megamorphs 1-2 on Hoopla, #3 audio comes out Feb 24 this year, Visser set to come out March 5, same date as Megamorphs #4, Ellimist doesn't seem to have audio yet or release date...

Also noticed that the Hork-Bajir Chronicles are listed improperly on Hoopla--had to search for it twice, with "Hork-Bajir Chronicles Applegate" and it's listed just as title "Animorphs" and not in the series list.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Reading #6 The Capture: the title is suggestive, but the book still manages to pack in a bunch of twists and turns... and some great chances for worldbuilding...

[Nirkatze]

On to #6 The Capture as well... through Chapter 10. The morphing is reminding me of Wild Magic series--(view spoiler)[Especially the bit where Jake is reflecting on how he used to laugh at roaches caught in bug spray... but now it was him. The MC in the Wild Magic eventually becomes mostly a vegetarian, because of her experiences in shifting into animal shapes... I'd like to see some more reflection like that from our crew here, but I guess they're pretty busy trying to save the world...

While the direction the Yurks are taking is pretty obvious, this is still the first it's been directly addressed... reminds me a bit of the movie They Live! (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

(view spoiler)[getting into a Yeerk head, so to speak, was also pretty insightful... psychology, differences between Yeerks, etc etc etc... makes them a bit less sci-fi scary and a bit more real-world scary... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Finished #6 The Capture! Really enjoyed this one. (view spoiler)[Jake getting taken by a Yeerk so early in the series--and the team working together to keep it corralled until it died--really helps take that fear off readers' shoulders. The possibility that one of them would be taken has been hovering since the beginning, but knowing that even if (when?) it ever does happen again, they have already overcome that hurdle once makes it easier to face.

I also like Iain's interpretation, how though the Yeerk could see through all Jake's memories, Jake also saw into the Yeerk--and now has those memories living in him--somewhat... not humanizes but maybe de-demonizes the Yeerks, making them just another group of people with their own drives and quirks. Also very curious about the history with the Andalites the Yeerk hinted at. (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Finished this one yesterday! (view spoiler)[ I kind of liked how this one was a bit more... internal? than the others? We spent a lot of time in Jake's head with the Yeerk.. And yeah I agree it more de-demonizes them...
It kind of makes you think about how a sentient obligate parasite lives... Is there a way for them to inhabit someone that isn't totally taking over them? Could they find a way to take over a dead body a la Selphids or something? Like its one thing to inhabit a host body because you have to, but its another thing to do that and also go and try to conquer the galaxy... Are there any Yeerks who feel bad at what they do.... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Ooh, I like your questions, Emily--and I totally want that to be explored...

Makes me wonder if The Host wasn't inspired by the Animorphs... when I read it I thought it was a Stargate concept... I'm not sure if Animorphs predates that show or if the were concurrent... both early 90s...

[Tonari no Emily]

Was just thinking about that book too Nirkatze!

[Nirkatze]

I know right? Has me racking my brain for more brain-parasite stories, but not coming up with much... I guess Codex Alera has the Takers...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Semi-answers and vague memories: (view spoiler)[I recently watched a retrospective on the Stargate Universe, and I believe the movie came out in 1993... show started a few years later, around the time of the book series... not sure when Applegate started working on the series premise, tho...

I THINK the series explores some nicer Yeerks, the same way the show explores nicer Goauld... AKA symbiotes that share the host, instead of parasites that take it over... but I could be wrong... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

re: Stargate v. Animorph--and the Goauld slugs weren't introduced until the TV series---in the movie, it wasn't clear how the aliens took over bodies or what their original shapes were, so that gives a larger gap as well... Fingers crossed for that "I THINK", I would love to see that, just like Emily mentioned...

[Tonari no Emily]

Ooh i hope we get that too!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

We're getting close to when the series starts exploring other alien races...

(view spoiler)[
8 introduces The Ellimist
10 is called the Android, which I think introduces exactly what it says... sentient robot/android race...
12.5 is the beginning of the Andalite/Elfangot backstory...
relooking into the series, there's this whole trilogy of books about miniature aliens in the early 20s I forgot about...
Around the same time, we get the Hork-Bajir Chronicles, where you learn the trajic story of their subjugations (they're actually herbivores, despite the scary blades... blades are for chopping tree bits off to eat),,,
By contrast, the Taxxons are as scary/hungry as they sound... remind me of those sandworms in WoW & Final Fantasy... obviously an homage to Dune worms...

Later on, I know there's a Free Hork-Bajir colony somewhere... (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

I am up to Ch. 15 of The Capture #6 ... The morphs into insects creep me out! I always thought of insects as aliens anyway, but getting into their bodies is very unsettling. Not nearly as much this time around, as it was with the hive ants though... (view spoiler)[They weren't able to see the body of #3, but he is obviously close with Jake's brother... This makes me very nervous for Jake. And I know they are the main characters, but I am constantly thinking they will be stepped on or just accidentally killed... (hide spoiler)] ... I am really enjoying this series!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Started #7: (view spoiler)[International Elephant Police!!! LOLOL :D (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Finished... these go so fast... like 1hr at 3x speed... (view spoiler)[this one focuses less on the Yeerks as a threat... there are some moments, but they feel overshadowed by the Ellimist storyline, expanding the lore and showing that the future isn't set in stone...

Also shows that Rachel can be a bit reckless... which we already knew from her actions in book 2, when she revisited Melissa after almost being caught by Visser 3, as a cat... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Started #7 The Stranger and also LOL'd at Iain's LOL... Through Chapter 9--(view spoiler)[I like how the book is delving into a very common child crisis--divorce, and divorce + parent moving away... I have to wonder, if Rachel didn't have the Animorphs, would she have gone with her Dad? It does seem like a pretty good deal...

When my parents divorced, I was lucky that they were still in the same city, and it was still a juggling game... School year I'd spend the school days with mom, and 3 weekends with dad, one weekend with mom, then it would swap in the summer...

It *does* make me wonder about the Yeerks in other places. Do they have established Yeerk pools and populations in other parts of the country, or would Rachel's father be safer farther away?

Or is he already a controller, and his promotion is to spread their influence...? (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Finished #7 The Stranger--(view spoiler)[Wasn't expecting the new Aliens to arrive, but I guess those are the "strangers." And these are the "Ellimist" for the future .5 books! I did like how it turned out, with the Ellimist not allowed to interfere so trying to show them a hint... (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Jumped right into #7.5 Andalite's Gift and it's interesting getting all 4 POVs in one book... and it does feel a bit weird, like the story is unmoored from time... since it's not directly plugged into the main series. Through Chapter 12 (view spoiler)[Rachel coming across a woman who has survived Yeerk possession... and has a Yeerk pool in a trapdoor? I'm a bit confused, but curious too. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

(view spoiler)[The Ellimist pops up occasionally throughout the main series... not sure it's connected to all the Megamorphs books... it definitely gets it's own book towards the end of the series...

Andalite's Gift is apparently considered one of the worst books in the series... especially the amnesia plotline...

The later Megamorphs books have pretty wild plots... one involves going back in time to the dinosaur era... and another to an alternate dimension where they didn't go through the construction site and get morphing powers and learn about the Yeerk Invasion... (hide spoiler)]