Well, about the dying part at the end of the book... K.A pretty much explained how and why it ended up that way. It wasn't just a rushed up Rachel dies part.
That's the point of cliffhanger endings... leaving you feeling all that...
And I beg to disagree. The ending wasn't lame at all.... I liked the ending (except the One part) very much. Although at first, I was in denial, just like you. I wished everything would have ended up like that and all of it. I guess I just learned to accept it maturely...
I completely disagree and think that books 53 and 54 were an entirely fitting ending to the series. Not in any way the product of laziness.
53 didn't have any big Harry Potter-style final battle, but it was better off without one. We've already read about the Animorphs fighting Visser Three/One in some crazy morph a million times. So KA made Tom into the central villain of the story, pushing Visser One off to the side to play the role of horrible twisted mass murderer. She uses Tom, the major villain, for the final battle and then kills him. There's even the nice imagery of Tom dying in the form of a snake.
KA keeps Visser One alive to explore whether there is a connection between him and Jake as war criminals. Instead of giving him the death sentence, she traps him as a blind, mute slug in a cage for the rest of his life. The whole series, right from the beginning, had brought up powerful themes and imagery involving cages, slavery, and the Animorphs fighting for freedom, so it is very appropriate and compelling to see Visser One, the enemy of freedom, forced into the cage that he had trapped so many others in. That's not laziness on KA's part.
Cassie and Jake part ways because Jake perceives an insurmountable wall between them. He had killed the seventeen-thousand Yeerks as a diversion, and that's why he feels like he can't be with Cassie. Throughout the series we'd seen that there was a conflict between taking the ruthless but effective course, the clear line leading from A to B, and the humane course that allowed the Animorphs to fight their enemies without becoming like them. KA followed through with that theme at the end of the series, and that's not lazy, tired writing.
Yeah, Tobias had his mom. But if you read the very end of 49, there's evidence that the bond between Tobias and his mom can't fill Rachel's void. And it's not like Tobias abandons everyone. He still has Cassie and the free Hork-Bajir. But Tobias is an extremely introspective character. Rachel is the one who had always helped him with his introspection. He could have gone around looking for friends to help him deal with his issues and work through the pain, but that's the exact role that Rachel had filled and Tobias doesn't want to relive that process with a different person. Tobias usually tended to be bitter about the circumstances of his life, and it's completely believable that Rachel's death brought back that bitterness. Tobias became hardened. He had had enough and he wanted to be left alone.
And then there's the One, who is also NOT lazy half-assed writing. He's a representation of everything the Animorphs had always been fighting against. He's a slave master, a cult leader. He steals bodies and keeps his victims trapped. He is one being with many forms. KA ends the series with the Animorphs confronting him to represent how these fictional heroes are always going to be fighting for freedom.
And "Ram the Blade Ship" is really the ultimate bad ass "Let's do it!" Xena Warrior Princess Animorphs strategy. I don't get the impression that they're about to die. Elfangor survived this move in a much weaker ship. And it's easy to believe that the Ellimist and Crayak are continuing their game, with the rule in place that there is always a way for the Animorphs. The Animorphs have always been doing death defying stunts, and I love that Jake recognizes this and smiles Rachel's smile as Tobias gets excited and Marco freaks out again. It's such an amazing, perfect ending.
You call that lazy writing? Would you have preferred, "Ax was happy to have avenged his brother by killing the Visser. Tobias was sad, but with his mom and his friends there for him, he was able to work his way through the pain. He led a human life and everyone idolized him. Jake and Cassie named their baby Rachel. All was well."
KA's endings and finales aren't always fulfilling, predictable, thrilling and satisfying, but they are always always always appropriate to the story she had been telling and the themes it contained. (potential SPOILERS) Everworld examines a bunch of issues such as the question of which life is preferable: A life of security and mundanity or a life lived to the extreme, with all its horrors, but with a sense of purpose? And the theme of divisions between people based on their races, orientations, and beliefs. Yes, there was more story to tell, but Everworld wasn't a hit and it was stressful to write. Even though she ended it early, she was able to give the story an awesome final battle/conflict and deal with its overarching themes.
Towards the end of Remnants is does seem a bit evident that KA was getting burnt out, but she is still able to provide an appropriate and thought=provoking ending. Remnants is about politics and abuse of government. Again and again we see all the members of a group fighting for control, and that's reflected in the second-to-last book of the series. And the final book hearkens back to the first book, in which the government withheld the information that the world was about to end. The series ends with the question of whether the Remnants have learned enough to avoid abusing their power and making that irresponsible decision a second time.
by someone in the old forums... Hylian Dan or something...
Lol. I'm sorry, but doesnt that sounds like half-assed writing to u? It didnt have to be ridiculously useless. It didnt have to be a happy perky everything is well and perfect ending. In fact, i found that Harry Potter epilogue wasteful.
All im saying is that reading that whole book made it seem she got tired and rushed through it. I think she has a habit of doing that cause i noticed she did the same in Everworld and Remnants. But oh well.
Ram the blade ship is a cool way to go out, but i wish things would have been foreshadowed about this new villain. Tobias could have had his mom if she's gonna kill rachel, no buts. I think Marco would have been a much deeper guy than the superficial person we saw. Dont even try to deny that he was a bit over the top from his usual persona. It was like he had never got involved in the war.
And i know a lot of u thought it was justified, but Cassie and Jake needed to be together. Period. Thats my opinion and im sticking to it. Like i say, sometimes after a war, the only person who can help u get back to somewhat normalcy are the ones who were there WITH YOU THROUGH IT ALL.
