lizzypaul: More Ani-Recaps!

Eppy (

lizzypaul) wrote,
@ 2008-04-27 18:26:00

Current mood:	accomplished
Entry tags:	animorphs

More Ani-Recaps!
A couple more half-assed recaps. Sorry it took so long to get more out, but, uh, I've been a little busy.

Book #2: The Visitor

Summary: The Animorphs decided to infiltrate Principal Chapman's house to learn more about the Yeerks. When exploiting her tentative friendship with Chapmen's daughter, Melissa, doesn't work out, Rachel morphs into Melissa's cat and sneaks into the house. She gets caught and taken to Visser Three, but the Animorphs manage to rescue her with their usual dumb luck and overall insanity. Well, they also use an earthmover.

Comments:

I love how K.A. decides to give us batshit insane Rachel right from chapter one. "Oh noes, people are shooting at us! Let's...DIVE BOMB THEM!" Also, I can't believe everyone went along with her idea without complaint. Come on, Marco. You're falling down on your job as the voice of reason.

(Of course, the one redneck saying to his buddy, "That ain't right. It ain't right that no bird should take my rifle like that," always makes me laugh.)

On the way home from gymnastic practice, Rachel gets chased by a pervert. So she does the only sensible thing and morphs into an elephant in broad daylight. Okay, okay, I know it's all bad for security and whatever, but I'm with Cassie: I would have wanted to see the look on the creep's face, too.

"You know what we need?" I said. "We need another kitty. We should have thought of that. Then we could have the second cat call out to Fluffer."

Marco turned to stare at me. "Meowfluffer, comeoutmeow, meow come and play meow?"

I <3 Marco!

God, the whole Melissa sublot is so frigging depressing. I defy anyone to read "What did I do, Fluffer? Why don't they love me anymore?" and not get a little teary. And then this little scene...

"But why didn't you just tell me that?"

Chapman looked confused. "I...I didn't notice you."

Melissa stepped back like she'd been slapped. "But Daddy, I was crying."

"Sorry." Chapman shrugged.

::sniffle::

So, like, does Melissa get anything more than a mention until MM4? Because damn. That girl is going to be fucked up.

It's a decent book with some good moments, but the plot is just "meh" for me, and it pisses me off that we never hear from Melissa.

Rating: B-

Book #3: The Encounter

Summary: Angst. There's a cloaked ship in the woods. More angst. The ship is collecting air and water. Even more angst. The Animorphs decide to morph into fish, swim up the collecting tubes into the ship, and then uncloak it so the world can see it. Tobias does his best emo impression. Also, he crushes on a girl hawk. (In other words: angst.) The plan goes terribly wrong and they barely make it out alive, while not really accomplishing anything. And then Tobias angsts poetically. The End.

Comments:

Let's just get this out of the way up front: On a creepy scale, where does the Tobias/Girl Hawk romance fall? I was skeeved by that as a ten year old.

Rachel and Tobias team up to save a bird. I think, like, 70% of the books open with this sort of scenario.

Marco and I will probably never be very close. Aw. This just makes the latter books where he, Marco, and Ax are the three (gay) musketeers so much cooler.

I guess I felt that if I ever started to feel really sorry for myself, I might never stop. Wow. Okay, so that explains the entire book.

"Excuse me," Marco said. "But does anyone ever stop to realize that some of the things we talk about doing are totally INSANE?"

"What? Turning into a fish, so we can be carried by a hawk and let ourselves be sucked up the pipe of an alien spaceship, so that we can then turn into tigers and gorillas and whatever and overpower the creepy aliens?" Rachel said. "Is that what you mean by insane?"

"That's it exactly."

Ah, Marco/Rachel banter. Why didn't they get together again? It's a much more natural (and interesting) pairing. (Yeah, okay, so Marco/Rachel is my favorite het pairing. But Marco/Ax will always be my OTP to end all OTPs.) *hides from all the T/R shippers*

But, okay, I guess I'll have to quote:

"Rachel...I never told you..."

"You didn't have to, Tobias," she said. "I knew. Good-bye."

So now you can't kill me, shippers. :p

Man, this book bores me to tears. I really don't like Tobias all that much (though he does get cooler as the series progresses), or, rather, I don't like Tobias books. Too thin on plot and way too heavy on the emo birdpain.

Grade: D

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thirteenmirrors
2008-04-28 11:33 am UTC (link)

I agree on the Tobias books -- which is sad because I'm way too heavy on the emopain myself so I just have no room to judge. But OMG, the Visitor. That was the first book I ever saw or read and I bought it because I'm just such a cat person and then I was like "YES I MUST HAVE THEM ALL" and the rest is history. I wish Melissa had actually been, you know, used in the series. She was a great character, and there was a lot of potential there. It made me sad.

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lizzypaul
2008-04-28 06:36 pm UTC (link)

I agree on the Tobias books -- which is sad because I'm way too heavy on the emopain myself so I just have no room to judge.

And I get why Tobias needs to be all angsty. But, at least in book 3, his angst is so melodramatic and, well, annoying after a bit. Plus the plot was pretty stupid. Balance, K.A.!

I wish Melissa had actually been, you know, used in the series.

Totally.

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poisonivory
2008-04-28 07:42 pm UTC (link)

The Visitor was the first one I ever read too! My mom was like "Here, girl turning into a cat, seems like your kind of thing." And she was right! (And I've always felt like the first book is a prequel, thanks to that. Heh.)

Wow. Okay, so that explains the entire book.
That explains the entire Tobias. Oh, burn!

Ah, Marco/Rachel banter. Why didn't they get together again? It's a much more natural (and interesting) pairing.
Yeah, Tobias/Rachel makes no sense. Why do they like each other? I don't not ship them, I just...don't get it. *hides with you*

"Emo birdpain" is my new favorite phrase ever.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	lizzypaul 2008-04-28 08:22 pm UTC (link)
	It's so much better now, but back in the day, those T/R shippers were hardcore. I guess I still retail a little of that fear 10 years latter. (To be perfectly honest, though, I was just as hardcore about Jake/Cassie as a wee thing.) (Reply to this)(Parent)

eyra
2008-04-29 03:04 am UTC (link)

Summary: Angst.

Yes. That. (*snicker*)

I actually liked Tobias a lot when I read Animorphs the first time around (though, in later readings, I became more of a Marco fan), but I never wanted to read his books; I preferred him in other peoples'. It's just that I lived near a large-ish body of water, and reading a Tobias book always made me want to throw myself in it.

I think I would have been a Marco/Rachel shipper (because I agreed with Jake in thinking the Tobias/Rachel relationship was gratuitously depressing), except that I was a secret Cassie/Marco shipper in my heart. But I tried not to be most of the time, because I was also a Cassie/Jake shipper, so liking the idea of Cassie/Marco felt all subversive. This this was many many years before I'd figured out that the best way to solve rival OTPs was with an OT3.

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	lizzypaul 2008-04-29 03:12 am UTC (link)
	Dude, if I could find well-written Cassie/Jake/Marco, I would die a happy and fulfilled woman. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

eyra
2008-04-29 03:22 am UTC (link)

I tried, for awhile, but kept getting de-railed by the Marco/Ax, because there's so much of it that's fantastic.

I really, really want to find it set post-war, wherein the three of them fix each other. (Ignoring the last chapter of the last book, or pretending that everyone who went after Ax came back okay. I know canon is canon, but that last chapter is so wantonly destructive that my brain kind of refuses to put it in the canon drawer).

(Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	lizzypaul 2008-04-29 03:35 am UTC (link)
	I know canon is canon, but that last chapter is so wantonly destructive that my brain kind of refuses to put it in the canon drawer. The end of the book made me so angry! I ingore it, too. Man, I haven't written Anific in ages. I've got a bunch of plot bunnies running around in my head, but I haven't taken the time to just sit down and write them out. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	lillybeloved 2008-04-29 05:23 pm UTC (link)
	T/R shipper comes out... ok, I won't kill you. but that's simply because it's book 3. and it was an awkward book. I think I finally LOVED them at book 6. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	lizzypaul 2008-04-29 08:21 pm UTC (link)
	Man, you are going to hate me so much by the end of my reviews, because my dislike of the pairing just grows and grows and grows. :( (But I love T/R shippers! Just not the pairing. Don't kill me.) (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	lillybeloved 2008-04-30 09:17 pm UTC (link)
	haha, tis cool. I was pretty canon for all animorphs relationships. but Marco/Ax is hot. We can agree on that. (Reply to this)(Parent)

julygreen
2008-05-16 06:26 am UTC (link)

Ah, memory lane ...

(Of course, the one redneck saying to his buddy, "That ain't right. It ain't right that no bird should take my rifle like that," always makes me laugh.)

I know! That line still cracks me up.

Ahh, Tobias and the lady hawk. I found that creepy even as a kid. Though Tobias/Rachel has (and had) creepy overtones too. (For the record, I liked that ~~plot device~~ pairing, but their temperaments don't really mesh, do they? I like Rachel/Marco better ... bring on the awesome banter). I do like Tobias, but you are absolutely right about his books being too thin on plot and too heavy on the emo birdpain.

I'm really enjoying these recaps, I hope you continue writing. I can't wait for the Ax books, and the commentary on Marco/Ax! Hooo boy *rubs hands together in glee*

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	lizzypaul 2008-05-17 04:29 am UTC (link)
	I'm glad you're enjoying them! More to follow after finals week, I think. :) (Reply to this)(Parent)

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