#ani 18

So, what does point seven standard Andalite years translate to human time? I can gather that it is a different time measurement from previous comments by Ax about 2 of your hours and his comment here about several Earth weeks. But what is the translation between them?

- I’ve realised, getting closer to the end of the book, that I haven’t read it much. Ax and Tobias books being few and far between means even though they’re all incredibly distinct, they blend together a bit because they always cover a lot of the same ground character wise. So, here are the things I’d forgotten and enjoyed

- Ax’s diversion. How could I forget Ax’s diversion. If he was Marco or Rachel he’d have managed to keep the bluff going long enough to just acquire Hammersmith Apollo in the room full of controllers before jumping out the window, rendering the whole mosquito plot that little bit more pointless than it already is. But he isn’t, and he handles the situation in a way that is deeply funny

- This is the only genuine approximation we’re given on how long the Animorphs have been fighting the war so far - approximately 0.7 andalite years, which according to Hork-Bajir Chronicles is potentially pretty similar to an earth year. So roughly nine months, which fits with the books feeling like they usually have individual timelines of two weeks at this point.

- Thought speak displays that can apparently function as personal computers. Your mobile phone is in your mind, but it’s only broadcasting news. Interesting

- I actually really love the Z-space nonsense. Always have, always will. I just wish there was a rule to the snapback beyond character development. Tobias goes because Ax needs to feel more alone, because there’s no reason to make things easier. Rachel serves her purpose in being mad at Ax, and her loss is most damaging to group morale short of Jake, who needs to stay so they can work through Ax choosing a commanding officer. Marco is in a similar position to Rachel here, possibly only outlasting us so we can be reminded of his mother. Cassie stays because her usual steadiness is tempered by being the most visibly distressed at using people. She’s a good support character and she isn’t afraid of being scared. And as I said, Jake needs to stick around for Ax to resolve his internal conflict. Ax goes last because he’s the narrator, of course.

- RIP Jake jokes. You will always be funny to me.

I'm a bit late with this one, but I didn't want to miss putting my thoughts out there!

This book reminds me a lot of book #6, in which there's a really long and elaborate set-up just to get to the part that's the actual story. I get that AppleGrant was trying to justify the characters being in the smallest new morph possible, and I don't mind the setup too much, but the conclusion of it DID feel rushed and unsatisfying. The Yeerks put a LOT of trouble into trying to infest Aldershot III, do we really believe that he's safe just because he woke from his coma unexpectedly? (Especially since that's what Visser Three was demanding anyway.) He probably got infested off-page later, whoops. But at least the Animorphs saved Leera!

Another thing that I never thought about at all until this last reread was how perfectly customized the Leeran rescue was to the Animorphs' capabilities. The Andalites just happen to have a secret device hidden in a cave that they can't reach, but that just happens to match a variety of morphs that our characters already have. On the one hand, it's EPIC to see our characters really getting to use their morph collection, shuffling through morphs like a deck of cards, picking the ones that they need. One the other hand, it felt a bit contrived. (Though admittedly, not at all contrived when I read it as a kid, or in the intervening years since - previous reads I was just absorbed in the epic! So this may be me just being an adult applying too much critical thinking to a Middle Grade book.)

I did love that we got to see Ax's loyalties really tested. We got a hint of that back in book #8, but it was really expanded on here. (I grow less fond of this plot as it's repeated in the future, but I still like its use here.)

Now for my personal theories about this book!

Theory 1: The Mosquito Acquisition would not actually have worked.

It's not explicitly stated until the next book, but I think still hinted before (maybe back in #3?) that the Animorphs cannot acquire dead animals. If blood drawn from a subject can still be acquirable, why not a very newly-dead creature right in front of you (Megamorphs 2)? Its blood could still flow! A suggestion that I first encountered on thejakeformerlyknownasprince's Tumblr that I really like is that morphing requires a living subject because it records not just the DNA pattern, but a snapshot of the neural network, which is how the Animorphs are able to get the current instincts along with the creature. A dead animal does not have an active enough neural network to give that snapshot, which is why that can't acquire it. So I think that even if the Animorphs had successfully managed to draw Aldershot's blood AND get it out of their mosquito bodies uncontaminated (doubtful on multiple levels), they would have found that they couldn't acquire him anyway.

Theory 2: The Animorphs snap back to Earth in order of smallest mass to greatest.

This is my favorite theory for this book! And I think it makes a lot of sense if you look at the order they disappear: Tobias, Rachel, Marco, Cassie, Jake, Ax. Tobias is very definitely the smallest, no argument there. There's some wiggle room with Rachel and Marco and Cassie, but given Rachel's consistently referenced model-like appearance, it would make sense that she could be very skinny despite her height and would weigh less than a shorter Marco. Cassie is often described as solid, and she probably has a lot more muscle than either Rachel or Marco and would weigh more. Jake is always described as the biggest of the group, there's no way he's not also the heaviest. Ax, being an Andalite (even if a young-ish one), certainly has the greatest surface area of the six; we don't know for sure that this would correspond to his weight being heavier than Jake, but since I really like this theory, that's the story I'm going with!

Anyway, if this is correct, then a smaller mass would have less to anchor it on the other side of Z-space, so it would let go sooner.

i guess we'll just skim over the time skip, hope Tobias was keeping watch, rely on plot for necessary contrivancy and wonder how Cassie collected those mosquitoes so easily. And why they all need to be mosquitoes at once--this is a two person job to grab DNA you don't all need to do it! Oh and also wonder why the Animorphs aren't more concerned about this hospital being infiltrated with Yeerks the way they had been worried about it the first time they set up a yeerk jacuzzi when Jake got infested. they're probably churning out controllers from there left and right!

this image is very funny to me. just his one eye sticking out into he hallway. man this shouldve been a weekly monster of the week animated show for real. it seems like the nurses in this wing aren't controllers tho so i guess the hospital itself isnt that infiltrated? idk it seems like since this is a kids series, the yeerks don't ever try the same schemes twice and generally infiltrate earth rather ineptly.

Tobias gets the closest but he drops the topic when Ax wants it dropped.