The ending to the series *spoilers*

[JFalcon]

My only major gripe with the ending is the cliffhanger, other than that I like the ending. That said a continuation to the series would suit me, I mean it wouldn't feel the same without their fallen friend(s) but I think it would still be enjoyable just because of what it is.

[wotw2112]

Why spoil Ax and Marco's happiness, and jake's beginnings of coping with a Bolivian Army ending?

Hahahahaha!  Priceless.

I'd like to see a second generation (or later) continuation.  Not necessarily the offspring of the animorphs (as they're presumably all dead save the coward) but some kind of futuristic equivalent...though with the near total destruction of the Yeerks I don't think anything like that would be practical as the dynamic is kinda ruined.  The ending really left little room for continuation unless you want a "hey, let's conquer the galaxy" or "hey, let's fight those random enemies" series.

[KOFSoldier]

I agree with almost everyone here (excluding the Cassie-bashing), the final book didn't feel complete at all to me.

Everyone acted out of character at least a little (but I guess we could chalk that up to the war changing them) and it kind of seems like Rachel's death was just tacked on as a last minute addition. Plus, cliff-hangers ALWAYS suck, especially when they don't really end. She knew she was going to piss off a lot of her readers (hell, she even apologized in her Author's Notes at the end), I kind of have respect for her for making such a gutsy move (that takes balls, especially when she immediately promoted her new series 2 paragraphs later), but I still think it was unfair and a bit of a cop out.

[wotw2112]

Why do so many people overlook the fact that, had Rachel not stopped Tom's Yeerk on the blade ship, everyone would have died? What did you think the Yeerk was planning tio do after flying to the Pool Ship? Gloat, then fly away?

Otherwise, I agree with you. Why spoil Ax and Marco's happiness, and jake's beginnings of coping with a Bolivian Army ending?

Uh...what exactly did Rachel accomplish that realistically would have stopped the Bladeship from destroying the poolship?  She killed a few Yeerks.  Wow.  In reality the rest that remained would have blown up the Poolship anyway instead of just "flying off" like they did.  Completely unrealistic.  I would have been much happier had they all just died right there.  At least that would be conclusive.

Plus, cliff-hangers ALWAYS suck, especially when they don't really end.

I agree!  I actually found the self promotion (in wake of the travesty that was the finale) offensive.  I never considered reading anything of hers ever again.

But at least she didn't wimp out like Rowling did with Harry Potter.  That was yet another AWFUL and anti-climactic ending.

[Chad32]

I guess it's a bit unrealistic that absolutely no other Yeerk decided to shoot anyway. But it still doesn't make her death pointless in-universe. Out of universe it is pointless, because there's no reason to kill someone off. And having a happier ending where all the Anis find themselves better off after the war would not be wimping out.

In the end, about the only really good thing was that Earth was saved. However, we all expected that to happen. If KA had the world destroyed or enslaved, she'd find a raging lynch mob outside her door.

[wotw2112]

wimping out

Poor choice of words on my part.  I don't think a happier ending would have been "wimping out" for the Animorphs.  I do however belief it was for Harry Potter as the progression of the story dictated an ending that she was unwilling to follow through on.  But I digress...

[Alic]

the only thing i hated about the ending was...you really dont know what happened to them on that ship. and it felt rushed.
after the last sentence i just sat there forever. thinking, "that was IT?"
seriously it took me 10 years from when i started to get to the end.. i was disappointed.
it wasnt enough for me.. even after putting the books off for years and rebuying them, i guess i never was ready for the animorphs to end.

((i just am reading the replies and it looks like a lot of us agree on that))

[danpfeiffer]

alright, i just finished the series again after like 3 years, i found this site like a month ago and decided to read them again, but i really didnt like the ending. bah!!!! cliffhangers suck. can anyone recomend any good fan fiction?

http://members.shaw.ca/jcmlott/index.html

[EscafilDevice]

the only thing i hated about the ending was...you really dont know what happened to them on that ship. and it felt rushed.
after the last sentence i just sat there forever. thinking, "that was IT?"

The impression that I got from reading the last book was that KA got lazy. I felt like the entire book was "Ok, Animorphs is done, here's my brand-new series Remnants."

I re-read Animorphs every summer and I love it more than Harry Potter or Star Wars or any of the other fantasy/sci-fi/children's series that I read. I really hope that if Animorphs is made into a movie series that the ending will be better. I'd like it to be retconned somehow and for the loose ends to be tied up.

It really bothered me when I found out that she didn't even bother to write half of the series. I don't buy the claim that she "looked over" all of them before publishing or else they wouldn't have been so drastically different from the earlier books.

If she let the series suffer because of her "contract", then she shouldn't claim that she wrote this terrible ending for the sake of "being faithful to the nature of the series." If you cared about Animorphs so much, you wouldn't have started other projects at the same time and/or you would've been a better editor to the ghostwriters.

[Chad32]

Amen to that. It might be a little exagerrating, but I felt traumatized by the ending. Yeah she advertised remnants, but there was no way I was going to read another series. I was afraid the same thing would happen again. I had taken a break from reading Everworld, and never went back after that. I gave away all of my Ani books to the local library because it just hurt me so much. I also felt surprised coming here, and seeing people who actually liked the ending completely, or people who managed to convince themselves that the ending was good after their initial reactions. And then they sometimes say the rest of us aren't true fans.

Though the vast majority of fans feel the same way I do. Which makes me feel better. I also feel better knowing there are still active boards like this. It was like the final arc was from a whole different series of books.

[KOFSoldier]

the only thing i hated about the ending was...you really dont know what happened to them on that ship. and it felt rushed.
after the last sentence i just sat there forever. thinking, "that was IT?"

The impression that I got from reading the last book was that KA got lazy. I felt like the entire book was "Ok, Animorphs is done, here's my brand-new series Remnants."

I re-read Animorphs every summer and I love it more than Harry Potter or Star Wars or any of the other fantasy/sci-fi/children's series that I read. I really hope that if Animorphs is made into a movie series that the ending will be better. I'd like it to be retconned somehow and for the loose ends to be tied up.

It really bothered me when I found out that she didn't even bother to write half of the series. I don't buy the claim that she "looked over" all of them before publishing or else they wouldn't have been so drastically different from the earlier books.

If she let the series suffer because of her "contract", then she shouldn't claim that she wrote this terrible ending for the sake of "being faithful to the nature of the series." If you cared about Animorphs so much, you wouldn't have started other projects at the same time and/or you would've been a better editor to the ghostwriters.

You know, I said the same thing a couple of months ago and people immediately jumped down my throat.

It's clear that she was done with Animorphs, and I think she had become trapped under the monster that she had created. Some people may like the ending, I can deal with the direction of it, but that book did NOT feel complete. There were so many loose ends that were left untied it was almost mediocre. I feel like if I gave you three years of dedication and spent countless dollars on the merchandise, the least she could've done was end it completely.

Also, Chad28, I had a similar experience. I read the first book of Remnants and never continued forward. The book was actually good, but I don't easily forget when I'm "gipped".

[MoonStarRaven]

Like I just posted in another thread I personally hate it when authors start killing of main characters! I mean the only reason I'm reading what they wrote and buying their books is because I like the story and characters that they created. I know the argument is that its not realistic for no one to die in a book series, but you know what? I have enough reality in my real life, that's why I read books is to escape from reality! So yeah I dislike character death and there's a number of book I would change that in!

So far I have read all the Animorph books but the last three. I just got to disgusted with the way the story was going. It was less and less like the story I feel in love with and that drew me into the books. In my mind it had just strayed to far from the winning formula. I mean not to mention that this was supposed to be a book for children, not YA's Children! They should have a happy ending regardless of the point or message of the book.. I mean they'll have plenty of time for reality when their older. Because of what I know is coming at the end. (If it bothers me as an adult that much,) there's no way I'm going let my children read it. It's just such a shame, I love the series 95% of it is great, but as I said before, there's enough reality in real life. Children deserve happy endings!!!

[wotw2112]

I also felt surprised coming here, and seeing people who actually liked the ending completely, or people who managed to convince themselves that the ending was good after their initial reactions. And then they sometimes say the rest of us aren't true fans.

If we weren't real fans why would we be so mad?  It was as much our series as it was hers.  Maybe more so.  At least we read them all. 

[Chad32]

Yep. I paid over four dollars for each main book of the series, and over 13 for the hardback Chronicle books. I know that the author doesn't really have to write just for the fans, but I spent a lot of money on that series. I should be entitled to a negative opinion if my purchase was unsatisfactory.

[EscafilDevice]

Didn't she release some statement saying "OMG I HAVE MAH REASONS, GET THE **** OVER IT?"

I get major George Lucas vibes from her, seriously. If she does write those 5 additional books she has a LOT of retconning to do.