I loved the Ellimist at the time of reading them, but looking back I really don't see why the whole Animorphs storyline had to be placed in the larger context of a "game" between two very powerful beings.
Isn't fighting for the survival of the human race and freedom for the galaxy high enough stakes? What was the point, really, from a storytelling perspective, to add that whole additional level to it?
I think it's appropriate from a story telling perspective, actually. The themes of free will and determinism/fate are prevalent in the Animorphs universe, and even the Ellimist and, presumably, Crayak are subject to what we would call fate or a higher power. Are the Animorphs free in their decision making when they have two quasi-omnipotent powers casually pulling the strings--no matter how small a move? From day one--the Invasion-- the Animorphs haven't REALLY made a choice in fighting the Yeerks, did they? We see in Back to Before that, even if they "chose" to not pass through the construction site, they would have been involved in the war anyway. Why? Because, like it or not, the Ellimist "stacked the deck."*
Back to the topic, though. I don't know if I have much else to add to the questions posed by Gafrash--nice ones, by the way-- so I'll keep this going by posing some more.
1) How does Andalite language work? I get that there's something about an Andalite's emotions that factors in to it all, but the Andalites DO have a language. Humans have many languages. We also have mouths. These diverse languages have dialects, and require certain pronunciations, inflections, and working your throat and such to say a certain word properly.** How does this work for a species that a) doesn't have--as far as we know-- dialects or other languages, or b) mouths to make noises at all. Body language can say a lot, but could the Andalites convey a whole lot in their body movements and still be as "advanced" as they claim?
Let's take the word Hirac Delest. I always imagined that it sounded like the "rac" would come from the throat. But could they make that noise without having the mouth parts to do it? I don't know. I have a limited--non-existent-- knowledge on mouths and languages; other than the fact that I have one and use the other...or both...
2) Why are the Taxxons so darn hungry? This is what I got from the wiki page for Taxxons:***
"Taxxon hunger comes from a built-in eating disorder; when morphing a Taxxon, Tobias notes that its hunger instinct is exaggerated by its sentience. The Taxxons are literally mad with hunger, out of an irrational fear of starvation. This may be because their planet, while apparently host to very large bodies of water (hence their mobility in aquatic environments - see below) is largely devoid of life; this may have resulted in the Taxxon hunger developing as an evolutionary advantage, taking the opportunity of any and all food the moment it becomes available." I read a fic--most likely called Taxxon Chronicles-- where the author states that the Taxxon planet was once lush with life, but a comet drove it to its present state. I can buy that--or something like it. But as I'm not well versed enough in biology and evolution, I can't really speculate.
3) Do the Gedds have names? They're said to be "barely" sentient, and their mobility and capability of speech is limited. So maybe they don't.
4) Where are the other species the Yeerks apparently have infested/conquered? Yea, there's already a thread talking about this, but I'd really like to hear everyone's thoughts on that. I have a few theory as to where the Mak, Sstram, and Nahara are:
Their bodies are not able to leave their home planets for what ever reason (maybe they can't breath the stuff other atmospheres are made of; that sounds pretty logical to me) or are only capable of carrying on the most basic of tasks (like Gedds and Taxxons); essentially they're a class two species.
Or, their bodies are decent enough, but would be better suited on the other worlds they're supposedly invading?
Or, when Temrash said "conquered" he meant, wiped out?
Or, as some believe, Temrash either lied or exaggerated when he bragged to Jake?****
5) What was done with the now morph capable former hosts? 6) Was the morphing technology offered to the sick and disabled? 7) What do you think happened to Esplin 9466 lesser? What effects would the nothlit Yeerks on Earth have on the ecosystem? Especially the ones that morphed animals? I mean, there were a lot of Yeerks on earth--in California alone. Throw in the Taxxons in the Amazon and you have a significantly larger number of Animals that may have been endangered at one point--or even Animals that were in no danger of extinction at all!
* Except for poor Rachel, and maybe David.
** Look at me, pretending like I know what the hell I'm talking about
*** Yea, I know--not the greatest source. But it's speculative, so no harm, no foul.
**** The Capture