Oops, I forgot to review my books!
I am still chugging along in The Animorphs series! I fell off of it briefly but am catching back up. I was going to skip some volumes, but it turns out my brain is too COMPLETEST for that, so at this point I’ve read the first ten books, plus the first Megamorphs volume.
Megamorphs #1: The Andalite’s Gift: Megamorphs is sort of the “super specials” of the series (shoutout to my BSC babes). Those are an ensemble narrative, which is fun – though I honestly have a hard time hearing each kid in a different voice if I’m not careful. The first Megamorphs introduces a new scary alien that can blast through houses and machinery like a tornado. This provides a lot of great action scenes, but I don’t have much to say beyond that. We’re getting to the point in the series where there are a lot of volumes that seem less important to the lore and more about providing fun side-plots and situations for the kids to get wrapped up in.
The Alien is the first book told fully from Ax’s POV, our Andalite member of the group. We learn a lot more about the Andalite alien species and their war with the Yeerks. Turns out it was the kindness of an Andalite that launched the Yeerks’ takeover of the universe, so their stakes are especially high to stop it. Basically, an Andalite shared advanced technology with the Yeerks, which enabled them to begin their planetary invasions. It’s WILD that this series is still so relevant – I couldn’t help but think of how we continually make technology like drones and AI public before it’s regulated, and then find ourselves in over our heads. Shit man, this series is thirty years old!
This is the first book that introduces the nuanced complications of war. We learn exactly what the Andalites are willing to risk to take down the Yeerks. In earlier books, Ax neglected to tell the Animorphs the consequences of destroying the Kandrona, a vital source of survival for the Yeerks. The kids hoped without it, the Yeerks would begin to die off, leaving the humans they were controlling free to expose the Yeerk invasion with the actual proof the kids lack. But Ax knows the Yeerks will make sure any human housing a dying Yeerk is killed before the beans are spilled. For the first time, the Animorphs have to recognize the casualties of even the best intentions in war, casualties which include a lot of innocent people. My favorite 90s moment of this book was when Ax reveals that the Andalites watched MTV in an effort to understand human life. I’d love to hear their thoughts on Black Hole Sun.
The Secret is not a plot-important entry, but it is a good thematic piece. Its narrator Cassie is our most ecologically sensitive, the most in tune with animals, so she feels very conflicted about how the Animorphs are affecting the natural order of things. For example, when the kids go into a termite morph, gross, Cassie is forced to kill the termite colony’s queen to save her friends. For a cozier example, Cassie uses a skunk morph to protect a litter of kits while their mom is healing up in her parent’s veterinary hospital, but not before one of the kits is eaten by a hawk…who happens to be her friend Tobias… AWKWARD. The skunk plot is great, Cassie saves the day by spraying the shit out of Visser 3 and they tell him grape juice will get the stink out, ha ha, pranks on him now he’s purple! Best 90s moment in this book was when Rachel makes fun of Cassie for her fashion sense, threatening to make her wear a dress sometime. But she assures Cassie that “you can keep your boots” and you know a great dress/boot combo is peek 90s.
The Android introduces, you guessed it – ANDROIDS! The androids, creatures called the Chee, belonged to an alien species called Permalites, dog-like creatures who lived in a utopian society. The Permalites were nearly wiped out by a LESS utopian alien species, so the Androids took the ESSENCES of Permalites and merged that with wolves, eventually becoming domesticated dogs. Yes, dogs are so pure and good and loving because they are beyond our petty human squabbling! The Chee are similarly programmed to avoid violence at all costs. But one of the Chee, who’s been masquerading as the Animorphs classmate Erek, thinks the androids need to consider reprogramming themselves to aid the war against the Yeerks. Erek does this to himself to save the Animorphs when they are caught in a deadly raid, and he annihilates hundreds of Yeerks, humans, and their henchmen. He is left with immense PTSD and he leaves us behind, and CAN YOU BLAME HIM? The Android’s 90s reference is utterly chilling: Cassie recommends the Animorphs simply use a phone book to track someone down. RIP annual phone book delivery, and RIP my youth. Also this book cover was featured in a recent clip from Last Week Tonight, roflmao.
For my video reviews, I’m doing a side-series where I showcase merch or other fun aspects of the Animorphs fandom every time I reach a tenth book in the series. My first video is going to be about this site called ANDALITE TRUTH and it seems to be all about how the official book art is wrong, and that Andalites shouldn’t look like centaurs, but much less humanoid. It features a lot of fan arts with redesigns. Have fun: http://andalitetruth.org/