Group Re-Read 2.0 #25 The Extreme

[RYTX]

Synopsis
So many Yeerks, so little time....
The Yeerks are building a new device. One that could effectively make any body of water on earth into a Yeerk Pool. It's obvious this thing has to be destroyed. But doing so requires traveling a long way from home. Somewhere near the North Pole. And if the frozen north doesn't prevent the Animorphs from completing their mission, the new aliens under the Yeerk's control might....

Questons
   1. Thoughts on "The Big Date?" Should Marco have had a stronger romantic life during the run of the series? What did you think of the efforts of his friends to "keep him safe"?

   2. The bulk of this book takes place somewhere in the frozen arctic. What did you think of  the book's description of this part of the world, particularly the toll it has on unequipped humans? If you've been to this, or a similar climate, what did you think of it?

   3. Being stranded in the Arctic adds new pressures to the Animorphs survival. How do you think you would fare in this environment, with and without the morphing ability? The Animorphs hesitate for a moment before feeding on scraps: Would you be willing to hunt and scavenge for food? How would you face the environment without the benefits of human technology?

   4. The official mission of this book is to stop a Yeerk device that could turn bodies of water around the globe into Yeerk pools. What do you think of this idea? How important is it for the Animorphs to stop this project? How beneficial would it be for the Yeerks to have decentralized feeding stations? How would they utilize these pools without the public becoming aware?

   5. In this book the group gains a new power morph: the polar bear. What did you think of this animal from the external and internal perspectives presented in this book? Do you think the descriptions of it's attitudes and abilities were accurate, undersold or exaggerated? What do you envision the experience of being a polar bear to be like?

   6. We get another new alien in this book, the Venber. What do think of this new speices- their physical strength, and unique physiology for frozen environments? What do think about the Yeerks reviving the Venber from their own purposes via an unexplained hybridization with human DNA? What reasons are there to validate or deny the restoration of an extinct species?

   7. We see in this book a very sentimental Marco. What did you think of his perspectives on the baby seals, the fate of the Venber, and other things in this book? How, if at all, has Marco's personality developed so far during the series?

   8. Approximately when is the last time you read this book? What changes do you expect or would like to see in a re-release?

   9. Anything else?

Answer, ignore and submit your own questions and comments as you please; but remember to vote!

Next week: #26 The Attack

[Ember Nickel]

"An alien race from a frozen moon several dozen light-years from here," Ax explained. "We learned about them in school. They were among the earliest evidence we obtained of life beyond our own planet." <- Ax, you have aliens on your own moon.

The "GUARD!" tactic was hilarious.

Nice to see Cassie getting to the point here re: survival.

Would love to see what Derek thinks when the news of the Animorphs breaks.

I like how Applegate mentioned in the Anibase that this was inspired by life in Minnesota. (I'm a Minnesotan myself.)

[RYTX]

   1. Perfect. Takes out a beautiful girl, falls asleep. It's why Marco is awesome. I see a thread on the this subject recently came up and most the major reasons: a non-Animorph relationship would be risky and time consuming, and wouldn't really fit. Really though, I attribute a lot of it to Marco. He's charismatic, but  with few exceptions hes not a committal, relationship kinda guy that you need to be at that age. I sympathize.

   2. I've been to cold, but never that cold. Do not like it. Like the rain forest, the ocean, and the desert, it's the type of place that's stunning to behold, and would murder you without a second thought. Do think the wolf, tiger, even the grizzly should have fared a little better. Amazed the fleas lasted at all, even in the fur.

   3. With morphing, I'd be fine. I think most of them have a morph that would survive, or at least help get a better morph. Lots of gulls can go pretty northward. Without: Dead. This is the setting that would kill me. Most settings would, but I think I'd be okay in forest, even desert for a little while, but arctic is brutal. Even with equipment, I'd be less than optimistic. I've no objections to hunting and killing when you have to, and I'm not to proud to scavenge when starved, I just doubt my abilities to do so successfully. And shelter? I've never managed a good snow shelter. Arctic+me=death.
             And if what you say is true, I'll avoid Minnesota forever

   4. I neither understand how this would work, nor how they expect people not to notice the neighbors new head clap on the bathtub. This and 41 make me think that Yeerks don't have to leave biologically, they do it for convenience of numbers during the invasion, but most of the series makes that seem not to be the case. I don't see decentralizing as a big advantage to the Yeerks, spare it takes away a major target, but for the Animorphs it means not only the target, but the intel based around it. 8/10 on importance charts.

   5. I can't help but laugh. I've seen polar bears at play, and she got the relaxed mentality pretty well. I certainly wouldn't object to this morph: good senses, lots of strength, but I've also seen them annoyed at 60 degrees; not without draw backs. Always surprised Rachel never made this standard seeing as it doesn't seem to have the vision problems she complains about, and strength is comparable.

   6. As always, kudos KA for non carbon based life, much more possibility when you do that. But I must point out DNA is a carbon based molecule. Venber DNA then is not DNA. So the hybridizing thing doesn't seem to work. It was made out to be very dramatic with the human mix, but nothing came of that. All in all cool species. Bit sick what the Yeerks where doing, but mind control is their thing. I see no reason at all to revive the dead, spare curiosity or to put them to work. Extinction's no more or less noble than existence.

   7. This was weird Marco. (Also GW Marco, so that may be why.) He was very distracted I think, trying very hard not to die. Maybe he's just getting better at being sympathetic, maybe it's reflective of the ambiguity of his life. Not as rip-roaringly funny or cunning as usual, but nothing to put down.