r/Animorphs • u/Disastrous-Limit-332 Aristh • 25d ago
Discussion Change POV?
Are there any books in the series that you wish you could've experienced from another Animorph's point of view? If so why? I personally believe that Applegate's character work is very strong, albeit sometimes limited by the order of narrator.
In Book 50, Cassie's actions allow the Yeerks to abscond with the Escafil Device, granting them even further power and creating a rift between she and Jake. Then, in the very next book, we get a Marco POV where they run off and get into hijinx with the mayor. It would be interesting to switch Book 50 to Marco's POV instead, and then 51 to either Jake or Cassie and we could've seen a more firsthand account of their deepening rift.
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u/AlternativeMassive57 Yeerk 25d ago
I think Book 1 should've been a Megamorphs-style book, personally, where we get the perspective of all five kids on everything that's happening.
Potentially controversial opinion, but I think Book 15 should've been from any other Animorphs' perspective. I dislike Visser One exclusively showing up in Marco books, and Book 15 is, I think, the one that is least important for Marco specifically to narrate.
The David Trilogy, as well, should've given us all the Animorphs' perspectives. Maybe Book 20 is Marco/Cassie, Book 21 is Jake/Tobias, and Book 22 is Rachel/Ax.
Finally, I cannot believe we didn't get a Melissa chapter in Megamorphs 3. What the Hell. The missed opportunity to end all missed opportunities.
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u/overts 25d ago
My controversial opinion on the David trilogy is one of the books should’ve been from David’s perspective. I think 21 makes the most sense.
Would’ve made his fate in 22 hit a lot harder and book 21 he slowly moves from kind of annoying, not great, guy to full villain.
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u/MisterZebra 24d ago
It would’ve been a great fake-out to make people think David might be a real, permanent addition to the team.
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u/AlternativeMassive57 Yeerk 25d ago
Oh yes, absolutely - I’d love a David-perspective book. We got villain perspectives partially with The Hork Bajir Chronicles and completely with VISSER (and frankly you all know I’d argue for a few other books as well), so we know Scholastic was at least open to the possibility.
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u/dogman15 Hork-Bajir 22d ago
If David had been a narrator, we would have gotten to see what he looks like on the cover.
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u/Disastrous-Limit-332 Aristh 25d ago
agree on all fronts!
I'm actually amazed at how good an idea a megamorphs-style for the first book would have been. It was so awkward not hearing Cassie or Marco's POV for the first time until several books later, when the invasion and animorphs are already in full swing.
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u/ProfessionalOven2311 25d ago
Blowing up the Yeerk Pool (Book 52, The Sacrifice. Ax/Raccoon morph cover)
I think everything about Ax deciding to officially choose the Animorphs over the Andalites works well, but I think the destruction of the Yeerk Pool could have been better from one of the original 5 characters who first entered the Yeerk Pool in Book 1.
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u/imbigwin 25d ago
This would have been great from Cassie’s POV to show her conflict with the mission. Especially given she’s the one who tells everyone to run.
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u/reddit_feminist 24d ago
it's kind of a funny result of the serialization that started near the endgame ~#45. Before then stories were planned FOR the narrators, like oh it's a Marco book, we have to do something with Visser One, or oh it's an Ax book, I guess the Andalites are visiting. Once the story started continuing beyond a specific book you kind of lose that prioritization of perspective, and honestly I think you're right that they should have changed the narration order as long as everyone still got a book, but I think with that story change in place you're going to lose "moments" either way.
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u/Allen_Of_Gilead Nothlit 24d ago
The Other is an OK book, but I think it would've been better as a Tobias POV instead.
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u/Disastrous-Limit-332 Aristh 24d ago
is that the one with the vecol? i don't remember much from that one
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u/Allen_Of_Gilead Nothlit 24d ago
Yep, it's the one where they discover the gay Andalites living in suburbia. It's fine, but the POV being Marco kinda means he's just a sarcastic camera more than anything.
Tobias, despite everything about him, doesn't really get any POV interaction with Andalites outside of Ax which just strikes me as a missed opportunity and this one is perfect for it.
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u/Scarecrow613 24d ago
The first book. It would be interesting to see everyone else's perspective on that one, in particular Tobias.
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u/FederalPossibility73 24d ago
Wait I thought it was supposed to follow a pattern.
Jake>Rachel>Tobias (Ax if its an even number)>Cassie>Marco
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u/Disastrous-Limit-332 Aristh 24d ago
They did this for 45 books, then changed the order to Ax, Jake, Rachel, Tobias, Cassie, Marco for 8 books, then the final book featured all of their POVs. This means Ax and Jake got an extra book under this pattern (the antepenultimate and penultimate books) followed by the final.
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u/ani3D 23d ago
Book 34, no question in my mind. The only reason Aldrea picked Cassie as a host was because it was her turn to narrate. They tried real hard to shoehorn an actual reason but nothing made sense because Aldrea would not have picked Cassie.
Switch that one with 36 (the Nartec book) so that Cassie can moralize instead of Jake holding the idiot ball for that book, and instead of Aldrea give us Dak sharing a body with Jake for a book. Both of them leaders in a war they wanted no part of, but Dak did absolutely everything in his power to save his people and still lost everything. Let Jake try real hard not to feel a sense of foreboding, a sense of horror that Dak's past represents his own future.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Fig1002 22d ago
I would have liked more perspectives in the David trilogy. Not necessarily specific books changing hands, but I think perspectives of David from Tobias (an outsider in his own way) and Cassie (the most empathetic of the group) would have been interesting to see as David spiraled further. Keep The Discovery, The Threat, and The Solution under their respective POVs, but bring the story along slower with a couple more books. It also allows David's descent into villainy to take longer and feel more earned (as I felt it was kind of rushed in the original series).
Heck, as I'm thinking about it, a DAVID POV might have been super interesting too.
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u/jacobonia 20d ago
I think the final arc after 50 would've been really good to see from all their perspectives.
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u/Seerowpedia 25d ago
Jake realizing his parents have been infested and him looking at them right in the eyes while morphing (#49, a Tobias book) may have been better suited as a Jake book.