K.A's response to the final book criticsm.

[Starsword]

Everyone is hating on Tobias, and frankly, he sickens me too. But he never complained, and was usually second to agree to action.

[Aleron]

I know.  The sad part is I see so many ways I'd probably be similar to him.  Nerdy kid, check.  Attaches himself to people who are nice to him, check.  Addicted to brooding, check.

The list goes on and on...

[Toby Hamee]

I think she should have stuck to the demographic, instead of changing it to an older style just because the first fans undoubtably grew older with time. I think that any author that sells their work should always keep the fans in mind during a series, especially if she hopes those same fans will read her new book series.

I agree with you 100%.
And I actually did not have a problem with the ending of Animorphs. I thought it was pretty appropriate, fitting, and definitely an enjoyable read as always. I didn't, however, think that it was very dignified to talk down to readers who were simply expressing their difference in opinion.  Besides, I think most Animorphs readers understood why it had to end like that so why should she have to give an explanation? She should have been confident in her ending enough to just leave it alone and let the readers who understood it feel special, Lol.

[ChimichangaChupacabra]

A dude got bitten into little pieces in the first book!  A schoolteacher issued an order to behead the main characters!  Rachel screams obscenities!

How did the demographic change in the final arc?  It was always a pretty disturbing series.  Always always always.  There's probably a vein popping out on my forehead right now.

[Starsword]

Wait, I've been up wayy to long so forgive me. I dont remember those instances. Who issued the order to behead people. My mind stopped working an hour ago.

[morfowt]

I guess Rachel thought the same thing. She slowed down just a little and began yelling and
waving her arms. "Come on, come on, you - " And then she said some words I didn't realize
Rachel even knew.

"No. No need to capture them. Whoever you find, kill."
The first voice had been Hork-Bajir. The second voice was human. And the weird thing was,
that voice sounded familiar. I tried to think. I knew I'd heard that voice somewhere. Where?
Where?
"Just save the head," the human told the Hork-Bajir. "Bring that to me and we can identify it."

and I'm guessing the bitten dude was reffering to the homeless guy who the hork-bajir ran into, although we never know what did happen to him...

[Chad32]

A dude got bitten into little pieces in the first book!  A schoolteacher issued an order to behead the main characters!  Rachel screams obscenities!

How did the demographic change in the final arc?  It was always a pretty disturbing series.  Always always always.  There's probably a vein popping out on my forehead right now.

Because there was always other stuff going on besides the fighting. Other normal stuff that balanced the dark parts so the story wasn't all about the war. If the series had been like the final arc all the way through, I most likely would have stopped reading it. A shocking number of fans likely wouldn't have emailed Applegate with negative letters. The last books were tenser, at least to me. The characters were more bland. There were fewer and fewer things that happened unrelated to the war, like Ax going crazy in the foodcourt.

I would be surprised if anyone read the first 10 books without any prior knowledge of the series, then tell me the stuff in the last ten were totally expected. The series changed over time, and I regret that.

Edit: The dude is Elfangor, I assume. You remember how Visser Three ate him?

[Aleron]

I also note, that the Animorphs didn't come in fighting.  They came in RUNNING FOR THEIR LIVES!

 

[Liz]

Because there was always other stuff going on besides the fighting. Other normal stuff that balanced the dark parts so the story wasn't all about the war. If the series had been like the final arc all the way through, I most likely would have stopped reading it. A shocking number of fans likely wouldn't have emailed Applegate with negative letters. The last books were tenser, at least to me. The characters were more bland. There were fewer and fewer things that happened unrelated to the war, like Ax going crazy in the foodcourt.

Well, in the last few books a full-scale war had broken out, so they had to stop going to school and doing "normal" things.  I think it makes sense.

[Wyndam]

First time I have ever seen this, but I am glad that K.A. addressed the reader criticism. I always felt like the series ended brilliantly. As a series aimed at young adults, it is pretty rare for a series in this age group to transcend age old customs of ending happily, with everything worked out in the end. I am glad that K.A. "went there" and I couldn't be more happy with what happened in the end. The series, and the way that it is structured always reminded me of great shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, because those shows, originally targeting a teen audience deal with dark themes, plots, complex characters, and don't always end happily. Especially Angel which saw 3 major characters die in the final season. Animorphs dealt with some serious themes, despite being a series geared for young people, which is why I love it so much. It still holds up, after all these years, when I am far from the target audience that the books first drew in.

[Starsword]

I guess Rachel thought the same thing. She slowed down just a little and began yelling and
waving her arms. "Come on, come on, you - " And then she said some words I didn't realize
Rachel even knew.

"No. No need to capture them. Whoever you find, kill."
The first voice had been Hork-Bajir. The second voice was human. And the weird thing was,
that voice sounded familiar. I tried to think. I knew I'd heard that voice somewhere. Where?
Where?
"Just save the head," the human told the Hork-Bajir. "Bring that to me and we can identify it."

and I'm guessing the bitten dude was reffering to the homeless guy who the hork-bajir ran into, although we never know what did happen to him...

Oh dear me, how could I forget those. They were pretty sweet. Just save the head, for the files of other beheaded people in visser 3's closet

[ChimichangaChupacabra]

Wait, I've been up wayy to long so forgive me. I dont remember those instances. Who issued the order to behead people. My mind stopped working an hour ago.

Elfangor's described as being not only eaten, but bitten into little pieces, some of which fall to the ground and are munched on by giant sentient worms.  Chapman authorizes the Hork-Bajir to kill Jake when he chases him into the abandoned store/gas station/whatever, telling him to only save the head for identification.  Leading one to a pretty good assumption that homeless guy was sliced up pretty good around the neck.  Rachel screams words at the pursuing Hork-Bajir "that I didn't even think Rachel knew", according to Jake.  Pretty fair assumption she's not calling them "silly-heads".

Like, really, she wasn't allowed to specifically detail some of this stuff, but how can you not pick up on it?

The very first book was intense as hell.  Saying "Animorphs wasn't always a war story, not 'til the very end anyway!  They changed!" is so ridiculous.

[Starsword]

Hahaha, I agree, I mentioned it to someone who knew of the animorphs and we were talking about violence in some movie. I forgot about Elfangor being bitten into tiny pieces, though I hope thats what happened when he was swallowed. I like to think Visser 3 chewed his food. Thanks for the memory jog.

[Chad32]

Well, the first book was more tense than the slightly later books. Besides, I didn't even start reading the series at the first book anyway.

[ChimichangaChupacabra]

Well then isn't it a little unfounded to be on the side of the argument she changed demographic?

The second book took a smaller more intimate scale, focusing on a few characters and the effect of the invasion on family, and I suppose three was somewhat Tobias-centric too, but most of those early books (say #1-#20) definitely had their fair share of too dark for what you'd expect of kid's books.  I mean, these made Goosebumps look like Yo Gabba Gabba, and Animorphs wasn't even trying to be kids-horror the way that series was.