I'll admit that I've been going from memory, but that's because the group re-read started, like, a week after I'd just finished my own re-read of the series. So it's still quite fresh. XD
1. This book begins with the Animorphs discovering that Visser Three has conducted genetic experiments on Hork-Bajir in an attempt to create an amphibious creature. The experiment fails and 50 Hork-Bajir die. What do you think about his methods? Are they comparable to the Arn, for example?
I think the big difference between V3's experiments and the Arn is that the Arn actually knew what they were doing. Now, maybe they'd done some questionable experiments BEFORE they got to the point they're at in HBC, but as we know them, they would have thought out the experiment a lot more, and wouldn't have gone through with it if they'd seen that it wouldn't have worked.
Visser Three, on the other hand, just forged forward with no idea what he was doing, hurting innocents along the way.
2. Cassie takes this mission personally. For her it is a chance to avenge Hahn's death. In short, it's about revenge. What does this say about Cassie's character and how it has or hasn't changed?
Cassie seems to take a lot of battles seriously, it seems... in one sense I can see how she might feel that way, but in another way it's a bit hypocritical. She's so often the voice of "are we doing the right thing?", but as soon as it's personal to her, it's like it doesn't matter anymore if it's the right thing... *shrugs* But, at the same time, it's very human. A lot of people don't condone the death sentence, but if you kill their loved ones, they might change their mind awfully quickly.
3. The battle between Orca and Sea Blade is oddly reminiscent of the end of the series. When Jake is sure that they are all defeated instead of turning tail he says something that essentially means, "ram the Sea Blade". What do you think about these parallels?
Heh, I never even noticed that before, actually. Very interesting observation.
4. Okay, any thoughts about Atlantis and the Nartec?
I thought they were actually pretty interesting. I also liked how Ax was pretty much picking apart their legend in thought-speech as they were telling it.
5. Thoughts about the brief moment that Visser Three and the Animorphs are working together? Do you think that this book shows Visser Three in a state of villain decay?
It's not the first time we've seen them working together for the sake of survival. There was that one time against the Helmacrons, although he still reverted back to "On second thought, I'd rather kill you" that time... Still, I think it shows that no matter how evil you are, survival comes first.
6. At the end of the book, Rachel comments that the Nartec are evil, but Ax reminds her that all of the weapons they used were human weapons. This begs the question: is humanity, as a whole, evil?
I think humanity, as a whole, is more chaotic than evil. Like any sentient race, you find the best and the worst among us, and I think that had they spent more time with the Nartec, they would have found that the same was true for them. But as with anything, the "evil" and "crazy" among them were a lot louder than any "good" or "sane" ones.
7. Anything else? Questions, comments, quotes?
I know this is one of the books that a lot of people disliked. Though I thought it was pretty pointless in the long run, I found it was at least interesting.
