Author Topic: Group Re-Read 2.0 #44 The Unexpected  (Read 4296 times)

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Offline RYTX

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Group Re-Read 2.0 #44 The Unexpected
« on: November 17, 2012, 11:11:03 AM »
Synopsis
Some say you shouldn't play mind games. Tell that to the Yeerks....
The Animorph's latest mission at the airport got a little chaotic, and now Cassie's gotten stuck on an outgoing flight. And the Yeerks know that there is an Andalite bandit on this plane. Now Cassie's on her own, with no way home and being pursued by the Yeerks, across the Australian outback....

Questions
   1. For a short amount of time, the Animorphs may be able to present the government new proof of alien life, in the form of Bug fighter wreckage. Is this significant at all? What proof must the Animorphs provide to convince authority that the invasion is real? What help could the government be at this point in the series?

   2. The Animorphs have collectively visited many exotic places around the world: The Amazon in #11, the North Pole in # 25, and now Cassie down under. In each of these occurrences, they run into Native residents and are often taken as spiritual entities, though they may explain otherwise. What do you think of the recurring depiction of a "spiritual" mentality in modern, though remote, peoples in the series?

   3. What did you think about Cassie and Yami? Though they never give in, Cassie and Rachel have shown to be tempted by others in the series, yet Jake and Tobias are not seen to be allured outside their relationships-why is this?

   4. Cassie seems to end up on her own very frequently in the Animorphs book. What do you think of her performance? In this book she escapes several Yeerks, and performs surgery (again). How important where her accomplishments in this book? What do you think about her character development to this point?

   5. Cassie spends a lot of this book with the voices of the other Animorphs in her head. How do you think any of the others would have fared had this not been a Cassie book? How would you have fared?

   6. In this book Cassie morphs a mother kangaroo. What did you think of this animal 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 kangaroo to be like? What have you learned about this or other animals by reading these books?

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

   8. Anything else?

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

Next week: #45 The Revelation
Something, something, oh crap I pissed everyone off again....

Offline Ember Nickel

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Re: Group Re-Read 2.0 #44 The Unexpected
« Reply #1 on: November 17, 2012, 12:15:17 PM »
The Yeerks weren’t interested in them. They’d thaw out, never knowing time had elapsed, never knowing they’d been paralyzed and unconscious. <- The Yeerks have a magical freezing ray that just paralyzes everyone? Can't they just use that to infest airplanes full of people?

Offline RYTX

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Re: Group Re-Read 2.0 #44 The Unexpected
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2013, 11:51:23 AM »
   1. No, another meaningless cold open. They have list of controllers, locations, morphing, aliens, Chee, space toilet; it's a waste of effort to spend time chasing down this kind of thing anymore.

   2. This is a mix of funny and offensive to me. Even if they aren't equipped with surround-sound, all these people seem aware enough of science and technology that when someone says it's not magic, it's science, well they should accept that. The jungle rats comments from MM3 come back to me in these scenes. It feels like they are forced to this, I don't know, idealistic type of believe where the spirit of  world is fighting against evil. It's funny, but that it happens so often is kinda looking down on anyone beyond the suburbs.

   3. Sexism. Maybe I'm reaching, maybe I'm baiting, this seems like old fashion men of virtue, fickle women. I know it's not an big deal, but it's something to consider that it's the boys who aren't tempted. Easier for Tobias, being hawk few girls will give him the time. Cassie and Yami was that cute "I have a boyfriend back home, but you can be my summer fling" deal, and though I wasn't really moved by it, I took a savage delight in seeing Cassie feel guilty, and never really do something to absolve her from it.
   4. As next, this didn't really need to be a Cassie book-except for the surgery part. Nothing about this book was monumental, but she wound up there in the first place by her own fault. I consider this a break book, nothing to advance the story, and thankfully, no more complicated methods to make Cassie into Supergirl.

   5. I picture most of them booking home straight away. Jake might have hung out a while to assess, but once they were given a bearing, I think they'd just fly off. That's what I'd have done anyway. Birds aren't heat prove, but, lingering wouldn't appease me.

   6. I learned kangaroos can be tall, which is a surprise considering all the ones at the zoo. And the drowning thing (that is *** up. Brutal.) Maybe it's the ears, maybe it's the feet, but this comes across as a giant rabbit to me. Wary, but able to challenge many of it's would be attackers, and I like that. I've seen them box, and while I wouldn't want that fight, their technique seems on the fly. All in all I can see that being a decent life if left well enough alone. Wouldn't pass on the opportunity, but nothing I'd sell my soul for.
Something, something, oh crap I pissed everyone off again....

Offline Tim Bruening

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Re: Group Re-Read 2.0 #44 The Unexpected
« Reply #3 on: August 19, 2015, 10:46:25 PM »
The Yeerks weren’t interested in them. They’d thaw out, never knowing time had elapsed, never knowing they’d been paralyzed and unconscious. <- The Yeerks have a magical freezing ray that just paralyzes everyone? Can't they just use that to infest airplanes full of people?

Or why not use this freezing ray in battle?

The cover shows Cassie morphing into a kangaroo.  The inside cover shows the kangaroo HOLDING A WEAPON (a hunting boomerang).  The Cassie-kangaroo's ability to hold a boomerang makes me wonder if she could have operated a Dracon beemer with her kangaroo paws?

The plane arrives in Sydney with most of the luggage missing, the cargo hold and cabin clearly damaged, and the passengers suffering burns from the Drakon beams the Hork-Bajir applied in an effort to smoke out Cassie.  Unless the Yeerks have a major presence in Sydney, I predict a major scandal!

At the end, Visser Three sees two tourist planes approaching, so he erases all evidence of aliens from the battle scene in the Australian Outback, and leaves.  Why doesn't he just destroy the tourist planes?