Animorphs 41 "The Familiar "-Jake

[jamy]

I'm not sure if this is a stupid question but in this book what had happen to Jake? Had he been in a alternate universe created bye the Ellimist or Crayak? But i am perplexed because when Jake heard the voice at the end of the book he said it wasn't the Ellimist or Crayak. Can anyone clarify this or explain what actually took place?

[Stephquiem]

Just a note that moving this to Animorphs forum so you can more easily get answers. (Also trying to think about it hurts my brain or I'd answer. <.< XD)

[jamy]

I was on a site which K.A Applegate answers questions and someone asked a similar question, and she replied that she doesn't remember what actually happened in this book.

[redtailedsaffa]

If that's the case, perhaps a Controller knocked her out.

[jamy]

Lol, nice theory.

[VisserZer0]

I believe the alternate universe was created by the unknown entity at the end of the book. Too bad we don't know who or why. I would have liked to have a bit more insight into that whole ordeal, as I thought it was very interesting. Maybe another David Trilogy thing.

We can safely say that the entity was not The One, as KA has said so herself.

[MoppingBear]

honestly? i view it as just a random nightmare. no weird alternate universe, no test by crayak, elimmist, or similar being, just a regular old dream that was interesting enough to be worth writing about.

[VisserZer0]

I think it's far too vivid and comprehensible to just be written off as a dream. As a "normal" dream, anyway.

[DinosaurNothlit]

Well, I've always liked the explanation that it was a dream.  Whereas, most of the time, when the author pulls the 'it was all a dream' card it feels like a cop-out, in this case I think it's still an incredibly interesting story.

It gives you a glimpse into Jake's psyche, and shows you just how incredibly messed-up he is at this point in the war.  How much he desperately wants there to be an easy way out, but in the end, he knows there isn't one.

One of my favorite parts is when he's trying to explain to Tobias/Elfangor that he could win the war without making sacrifices, if only he just had the chance to do it all over again.  And Tobias says, <You know better than that.>

I think, interpreting that as Jake saying it to himself, it basically sums up his entire psyche in a nutshell.  He wants to fight a war without bloodshed, but, well, he knows better than that.

[jamy]

Thanks for all the theories. But its still unclear. Because jake said he heard a voice.

[Azguard]

The Ascendant!

[TobiasMasonPark]

     I remember reading a theory somewhere (but I can't remember where) that had the Skirt Na behind the incident; since random is kind of their thing.

     I just figured it was someone on the next plane above Ellimist, Crayak, and the Drode--I called them the Observers in this rewrite of Animorphs 48: the Return that I started a while ago.

[jamy]

This is the best theory so far. (No offense to anyone)

[esplin]

I was on a site which K.A Applegate answers questions and someone asked a similar question, and she replied that she doesn't remember what actually happened in this book.

I find this funny because I was just arguing in another thread about this type of thing...


#41 The Familiar is my favorite regular series Animorphs book after #26.  It is a wonderful 'what if' fan service piece that shows us what would happen if the Yeerks won the war.  The main purpose of the book is just that, to show us 'what if.'  The voice at the end was made up on a whim by Grant/Applegate.  They never decided who or what that voice was because they didn't care.  To them it was less cheap then 'and then he woke up' but.... the ending was still on sale. 

Therefore, any theory or imagined thing is good enough to explain it.  Maybe it was The Five.  Maybe it was the being that exiled Crayak from whence he came.  Maybe it was the alien god from Everworld... Who knows.  The point it that there is no factual information out there defining what it is.  This gives us a lot of room to imagine whatever we want.

That is good and bad.  Good because of infinite possibilities, bad because it is painfully obvious the authors didn't plan the series well.  Personally I like imagining that it was The Five.  Although my theory that they merged into The One contradicts this because Applegate said it was not The One. 

Of course it cant be The One, she hadn't invented that crap yet.  XD

[TobiasMasonPark]

I was on a site which K.A Applegate answers questions and someone asked a similar question, and she replied that she doesn't remember what actually happened in this book.

I find this funny because I was just arguing in another thread about this type of thing...


#41 The Familiar is my favorite regular series Animorphs book after #26.  It is a wonderful 'what if' fan service piece that shows us what would happen if the Yeerks won the war.  The main purpose of the book is just that, to show us 'what if.'  The voice at the end was made up on a whim by Grant/Applegate.  They never decided who or what that voice was because they didn't care.  To them it was less cheap then 'and then he woke up' but.... the ending was still on sale. 

Therefore, any theory or imagined thing is good enough to explain it.  Maybe it was The Five.  Maybe it was the being that exiled Crayak from whence he came.  Maybe it was the alien god from Everworld... Who knows.  The point it that there is no factual information out there defining what it is.  This gives us a lot of room to imagine whatever we want.

That is good and bad.  Good because of infinite possibilities, bad because it is painfully obvious the authors didn't plan the series well.  Personally I like imagining that it was The Five.  Although my theory that they merged into The One contradicts this because Applegate said it was not The One. 

Of course it cant be The One, she hadn't invented that crap yet.  XD

     Weren't the Five wiped out by the Andalites or something?

     Also, this reminds me of something that has been on my mind for the last few days. I was watching Firefly and it got me thinking: Nathan Fillion would make a really good future Jake for the episode based on the Familiar--in the hypothetical TV series I've been imagining.