Group Re-Read 2.0 #36 The Mutation

[RYTX]

Synopsis
You won't even get the chance to change your mind
Visser Three is after the Pemalite ship. He's developed a sea going vessel to retrieve it, and is mutating host bodies trying to make a fleet of water warriors. The Animorphs battle to sink this ship takes a bizarre turn when the Sea Blade is taken by a strange race of aquatic creatures. Creatures that apparently collect ships, and the people on them. Now the Animorphs have a new problem: they have to escape a sunken city, or end up the newest part of its museum....

Questions
   1. Most of the last several books, and most of the rest of the series is written by ghost-writers: conceptualized and reviewed by Applegate, but primarily penned by others. Have you noticed changes in the writing style, stories, or characters' development? When do these changes begin to take root? How is the series effected?

   2. What do you think of Visser Three's desire to acquire the Pemalite ship? What do you think of his (failed) efforts to genetically modify Hork-Bajir for the task, and his new ship for aquatic warfare?

   3. Both Jake and Cassie iterate vengeance for the Hork-Bajir as a motive to bring down the Sea Blade. What do you think of this coming from each of these individuals?

   4. What did you think of the Nartec; their account of their origins, their current society, their efforts to preserve their race and desire to conquer the Surface? What do you think their ultimate fate was? Would you have liked to see them elsewhere in the series?

   5. What do you think should have been done with Nartec, post Yeerks? If their existence were exposed to the public would you push for their destruction, try to work with them and save their race, or just let them die out? Why?

   6. In this book the Animorphs utilize a creature they've come across before, the orca aka Killer Whale. What did you think of this animal in this book and throughout the series? Do you think the descriptions of it's attitudes and abilities were accurate, undersold or exaggerated? This is another animal considered to be intelligent, and in the description Jake says the whale's mind was aware of his: what was that about?

   7. What did you think of Jakes leadership in this book? Where his pursuits of the Sea Blade wise?  How effective was his handling of the Nartec, and when forced his interaction with Visser Three?

   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: #37 The Weakness

[Underseen]

I think Tobias should've morphed a Nartec again...

[Ember Nickel]

This is one of the first main-sequence books not to start with "My name is _" (although 30 didn't either). Is this because it was following up Visser/setting a new pace?

Depressing to realize that the Yeerks could control a navy plane. <- do we get any more information about this?

No time for regrets. Better to do down fighting than to sit around and wait for death. <0kay,> I said grimly. <We’ll give them what they want. All of us. We hit at the same time. Top speed.> <- foreshadowing maybe?

The Nartec as a whole seemed bizarre/a dumb choice of subplot.

[RYTX]

   1. The differences are subtle. I feel the changes around begin 31,32, and it may be more in plot that style. The biggest change in my eyes was how in all non Rachel books, she becomes more and more hostile, and more of a concern to the others. This happened some in KA's books, but it's more here, and worse, in her own books by GW, if that's not an issue of the book, she's not dealing with it. They all become a bit more issue driven and one dimensional-this book is prime example-but Rachel's regression develops here.

   2. Okay, no reason not to want the ship I guess. How he found it this time is something else, but it'd be a good thing to have.You don't get enough of the differences of the Sea Blade vs the Bladeship to appreciate the difference. The Hork-Bajir modifications is typical brute idealism on his part: give em webs and gills, bipeds will never be fit for ocean swimming. Plus, what the hell, the only thing he'd have to fight in water out side the ship is Animorphs, who would be too large as whales for Hork-Bajir to handle. Maybe (and awesome) if they went up as sharks, but they wouldn't be able to hold up a ship.

   3. This here I'ma give fault to GW as well. Horrible out of character for both. They're nice, thoughtful people, but Cassie constantly talks down revenge, and Jake's never shown a desire for it against anything but Tom's Yeerk. Of all the characters, these are the worse to ascribe vengeance to, disgustingly bad.

   4. This however was cool. Neat to see an off shoot of the human race, Regardless of the truth of their origins, it's impressive they survived. And the seagulls. If they were really strong enough to attack the Surface, well I think shear numbers would again be on our side, but yeah that could be fairly frightening. But then I live fairly close to the cost. I don't think the Animorphs ever mentioned them, and I don't think they were discovered in any manner that would allow them contact with the rest of the world. I figure they died out, and that was the end of it.

   5. And that's what I'd let them to. Maybe I'd inform people who'd want to help, but personally I'm not big on conservation. Their hostility keeps me from wanting to go back, and since they aren't much of a threat, no point in wiping them out yourself. A touch of pity, but all in all, I've little qualms but leaving them to their fate.

   6. A wonderful creature that gets the best and worst of the human imagination. Intelligent, powerful, aesthetically interesting, but a bit disdained for it's power, and it's diet. This is a good animal for them to have, could/should have replaced dolphin early for sea morphs. Again, I'll fault GW here about the whale mind knowing Jake, no matter the intelligence, a morph isn't supposed to do that, and it's things like this the make me feel like a number of people stopped caring about content and rules of the story, in favor of just getting a book out.

   7. Not overwhelmed, but he did good. Whales vs ship, I think they should have had a different plan of action-very risky. He handled the Nartec pretty diplomatically, but again, luck is what got them out. Nothing bad with Visser Three, but something is lacking in their interactions-leaders of the two factions, they should have a bit more than mild negotiations when they do come head to head. Not overwhelming, but nothing disappointing, i.e. he didn't spend forever griping about his mistakes this time.

   8.

   9. "What? What, I can't compliment a fish girl?" Magnificent