WOOT another re-read!! must catch up.....
1. Any thoughts to share on the major characters, Animorphs and aliens, as they appeared in this book? Does anyone stand out as a good development into or contrast from how they appear in later books?
Their eventual development makes sense. we see glimpses of their future selves all over the place.
Rachel screams <Puny little nothing! You attack ME?>
Marco is constantly distrustful, resourceful and catches the little things. He is the first to realized Tom is a Controller. I love when he threw the bedspread over Jake after Jake hit him. Marco could never take Jake in a fair fight, so he made the fight unfair. Classic Marco style. It foreshadowed how useful his tactical skills could be.
We'll get to Jake in question #5
Tobias is really interesting as well. I always saw him as on the more compassionate side, shown when he did not want to kill to eat. So the fact that he was the most gung-ho about fighting this war shows how deeply Elfangor's sacrifice affected him.
I must admit, I rather enjoyed Cassie's little speech about calling on the spirits of the animals like the American Indians did/do. Cassie's role does not seem out of place yet, because they are all in favor of "a clean war." In fact, they don't see how it is going to become anything else.
2. In general, what do you think of the premise of the series: Kids fighting body stealing aliens by turning into animals? If you weren't already a fan do you think you'd be drawn to a story set on this notion? How do you explain the books to those who haven't read them?
Explaining the stories without sounding weird is hard. I do not describe it as morphing teenagers protecting the world from brain-stealing aliens. I usually describe it more along the lines of a story that was written for pre-teens, but can easily be enjoyed by adults because of how the story was presented. It is not a comic book hero story, where the good guy defeats the bad and saves his girlfriend and everyone loves him. It is a
truthful war story, where morals are compromised and sometimes forgotten and people betray and die.
If I was not a fan, I would not be drawn to these books immediately. I love tigers, and I vividly remember the cover of "The Attack" drawing my eye. But, as a twenty-year-old, I would pass by in search for something longer and more "adult-esque." If I read the summary, it might depend. Some (of the summaries) read like a comic book with no complexities. Others clearly communicate the depth and then, I might read it.
3. What do you think of Jake's reaction to the mere suggestion that his brother is a controller, in addition to the fact? Is it important that Jake has a personal investment in the fight from book 1?
His reaction makes perfect sense. He was essentially told that his big brother, his idol, is not himself anymore. I think that Jake is angry at first because he is scared, and the idea that he didn't notice this change horrifies him. It is clear in those first chapters that Jake would not have continued fighting if it wasn't for the simple drive of saving Tom. Much like how Marco's drive later becomes saving his mother.
4. What are your thoughts on Tobias being trapped as a hawk? Do you think it was intentional, a horrible accident, or a convenient mistake?
Convenient mistake that he put little effort into rectifying. Maybe he found excuses for hiding places (for demorphing) not being good enough. Maybe he convinced himself that the limit had already passed before it actually had, and thus did not try to demorph when it was possible.
The line that stands out to me most about this is when Tobias says "It's just total, absolute freedom." And Jake knew. He didn't know what he knew. Tobias had never been as happy as he was when he was in that hawk morph the first few times. He talks about going back to human is like a prison. Of course, that's because he had a choice. Take the choice away, and suddenly even a winged body can be a prison.
I don't think he knew how bad it would be. He thought that with wings, he could never be as miserable as he was in his crap life. He was caught up in the high (no pun intended).
5. Each of the Animorphs assumes a certain role in the group, and Jake is clearly defined as the leader. What do you think of Jake as a leader in this book? Has he done anything in this book that merits or tests this position for him in your mind?
Jake was one lucky bastard. They all were. By all accounts, they should have been dead. They certainly would have been if they had attempted this stunt later, when the Yeerks had wised up a bit.
But he shows signs of being a good leader, if an untrained one already. He feels something wrong about Tobias' tendency to spend too long in the hawk morph. He gives instructions without bossing, appropriate of a 13 year old ringleader, not the "30" year old general he becomes. Most important, he is the only common factor all of the others have. He is, literally, the center.
6. Piggybacking on the last two questions: what do you think of the decision of storming the enemy stronghold armed with a few combat morphs, a horse and a bird? Particularly, is it acceptable to let Tobias be "happy with just [his] hawk morph" by either him or Jake?
Again, they are VERY lucky. The Yeerks were unprepared, having thought they had eradicated every threat in the area. There was absolutely zero strategy, and I'll say it again, if they had attempted a stunt like this much later, they would have been dead so fast.
Tobias should have gotten a better morph. BUT, as it happens many times in the series, those eyes came in useful. Without his eyes, they may have not saved Cassie in time. And getting a better morph was his responsibility, not Jake's. He was the one most in favor of the fight, after all.
7. In this book Jake acquires and uses his signature Siberian Tiger. What do you think of the portrayal of this animal in this book and throughout the series? Do you think Applegate's descriptions of its abilities and attitudes were accurate or does she exaggerate? What do you envision the experience of being a tiger to be like?
Jake describes the tiger as "confident" when he's acquiring it. Applegate put a lot of effort into choosing their combat morphs, and it shows. As for the portrayal of its instincts, I have thought about that. I don't think the tiger would have those overwhelming predator instincts that some other creatures have. it is too efficient a killer to constantly need to be trying.
8. Would you have done it? When you were thirteen, or even now, would you agree to get involved in a war, to be carried on in secret against impossible odds with the fate of the world in sway, to possess the powers of anything you touch, at the urging of a dying alien. Would you personally have been willing to become an Animorph?
See, that's a tough question. I don't think anyone knows the answer to something like that until they are faced with it. Would you kill one to save a thousand? Would you kill a thousand to save someone you love? Would you kill in self defense? But people have always told me I'm a "mama bear." Mess with my friends or family and you may find yourself in very hot water. BUT, If I did decide to not do it, you can bet that I would constantly second-guess that decision.
9. Have you recently read the original, the reprint, or did you do this from memory?
Read the original!!
10. Anything else?
I agree with Teach. The Visser was a bad comic book villian for the first few books.
