The Animorphs have an opportunity to help equip a Hork-Bajir insurgence. Cassie tests her control over morphing. Many of these books deal with loss, but this one has a lot of sudden shock & a very unique circumstance for mourning.

I really liked the opportunity to revisit the Hork-Bajir Planet. It's a really cool space, and even the description of it after the occupation is complete was moving. Because of the one-book nature of a particular character a lot had to be processed very quickly, but I think enough time is given for the emotional processing to feel realistic.

LOW Volume 3: Shore of the Dying Light is a story of disillusionment, both clinging to & fleeing from hope. I started this series last year and it’s not for everyone, but if you like dark and frequently depressing sci-fi set underwater, check these out.‬

CWs for the series so far:
Death, mass death/massacre, murder, gaslighting/general mindfuckery, parental death.

I like this series, but “enjoy” doesn’t feel like the right word. Glad I read them, but they aren’t fun, exactly.

The Animorphs deal with morphed Controllers when trying to reach/rescue the governor. We see signs of the rift between Cassie and Jake after The Ultimate. This feels closer to the high-tension missions of the early books, but escalated.

I like the layers at play in the first scene with the governor, it's short but really well done. The way they nickname people until they get a name for them (if they ever do) is funny to me. It's really effective and it's a subtle way of adding more description to the scene without having them catalog everyone's looks.

This story is a combination of a holding action with an escalation, or more of a transition from just fighting holding actions to getting other levels (or any level) of normal people involved.

I, also, can't believe it took them this long to morph ducks for long-distance flying, that seems like a great idea.

Damn. Jake's trying his best but a lot of beings are going to die, and he's responsible for it. He does everything he can, and it's both too much and not enough. No one is going to be okay when this is over, even if they live.

It's damn hard not to hate Jake in this one. It really is. Maybe that's because I identified with Tobias when I was a kid, maybe it's that this read-through now has me loving Rachel as a character. But I have enough Marco enough to see the bright line.

I see how he got there, but Erek didn't deserve this. None of them deserved this. This one really affirms for me the central thesis of our podcast: The authors are the only ones with agency. Jake is doing his best, and no matter what he does, a lot of beings are going to die, and the author is the one who put him there.

This series is really great, it's amazing, you either love them or you didn't read them. I've yet to meet anyone who read the series and was ambivalent.

I've only read this one once before because I read The Ellimist Chronicles first and knew the end would have things I didn't like, but this one still hurts.

Some random thoughts: Arbron was great, I like the Taxxon endgame and I hope it works out. Tom's Yeerk is terrible (great character, terrible person). I like seeing Toby grow up since the start of the series. We found out how much time has passed and how young the Animorphs are, and it's a good answer, but it's heartbreaking that they were so young.

The Animorphs battle Visser Two and Ax risks his relationship with them in order to stop WWIII. This book is especially tense because it starts where 45 ended, and we don’t get a resolution on an inter-personal scale within this one.‬

I understand why Ax, why everyone, made the decisions they did, but I’m not sure how I feel about it. It was expedient, brutal, and ruthless, and maybe it’ll be okay, but I don’t think I could have done it, and I don’t think I wish I could.

The Yeerks suspect the Animorphs are human, Tobias has another chance at family. This book changes a lot of the previous status quo, continuing the shift from hiding and secrets to full out battle with the Yeerks.

I like this one, it's a good mix of cautious and sweet, and I'm really happy for Tobias. The updates on the status of the Hork-Bajir colony with regards to Rachel's mom are pretty great. It's also very frantic and scary, especially at the very beginning and very end of the book.

The Animorphs discover that the Yeerks are performing animal testing, and go to investigate. Ax has a brush with death that leaves him trembling. This book puts some important ideas in place but doesn't move a lot forward in the series arc.

This is one of the shortest Animorphs books, possibly the shortest one. I'll be looking for changes in Ax's behavior or personality after his most shocking brush with death yet, but he maintains his stoicism so completely that I don't know how quickly (or whether) any effects will appear in the series.

A force interferes with the Chee and the Animorphs must race the clock to find the Pemalite ship. Meeting Drode, we learn how much Crayak hates Jake & is fascinated by Rachel. Rachel's claustrophobia is more pronounced, Tobias braves the water.

I'm appreciating how much more complex Rachel is, much earlier than I appreciated previously. If you had asked me when Rachel's character became more complex I would have named a book we haven't reached yet. I'm excited, because I liked the later parts of her storyline from previous readings, so it's nice that I'm appreciating the earlier sections this time through. Tobias and Rachel's friendship/relationship moves along a little, but they haven't reached an equilibrium yet and it's still uncertain where things will end up.

The Journey is lighter in tone than the previous few installments, but with very high stakes. The Helmacrons are back, and they have had character development in a funny but good(?) way. Weirdly, this is not the Animorphs’ first trip into a stomach.‬

I like the Helmacrons as antagonists, and their nature as a fungible species means they have all the ambition of the Yeerks, without as many factions (but somehow still not just one). I appreciate how they have grown as characters without losing what makes them interesting.

Marco’s involvement in this story is nerve-wracking, and the wrap-up feels true coming from Rachel.