The Animorphs Cookbook

We got boys turning into skinwalker dogs to listen to the Offspring while robot dogs manipulate mankind to look after actual dogs! It's topsy-turvy in Book 10 as we are introduced to the Chee and a major expansion to Animorph cosmology.

In , Caleb talks about verisimilitude, the acceleration of the series away from it, and how Applegate and Grant avoid one of the biggest traps in modern fiction.

Max (he/him)
Thaddeus (she/her)
Caleb (he/him)

We're back with the next Cassie book, so you know this tree-hugging has claws...and smells! The gang joins our heroes as they agonize over the ethics of carnivores and the logistics of practical ecoterrorism, and we try not to get too hung up on that time the body-snatching alien army got beaten by a skunk. 

In , Max walks us through some of the history of US environmentalism informing the Animorphs and ways the evolution of those issues affect our reading today. 

Max (he/him)
Thaddeus (she/her)
Caleb (he/him)

Ax book! Ax book! Ax book! It's time for the first foray of our fan-favorite narrator. The gang talks about delicious globules, the charm of stupid plans, and Animorphs as high farce.

Then it's Caleb's turn to reply-all some < thoughtspeak > as he refamilizarizes our audience with "defamiliarization," the Russian formalists, and alienated perspective as an essential sci-fi tool. 

Max (he/him)
Thaddeus (she/her)
Caleb (he/him)

With the series on the way to moon, it's time for the first Megamorphs! We break down the first super-sized helping of Animorphs like a swarm of nanomachines eating a birthday party.

In thoughspeak, Thaddeus provides us the shortest title for a critical examination of Animorphs thus far :"All Novels Are Megamorphs, or The Novel is the Genre of Chaos (Complimentary)" Mikhail Bakhtin shows up for the first time as a guest, and it won't be the last time.

Max (he/him)
Thaddeus (she/her)
Caleb (he/him)

It's Elimist time! The ultimate race of deus ex machina-loving John de Lancie analogs shows up to stop our heroes from non-consensual vore and ask "Dr. Who, who?" We reintroduce the series' #1 bullshit wizard and prep for the ensuing time shenanigans.

Fittingly, all this time-travel has Max Thoughtspeaking about contingency and lost futures.

Max (he/him)
Thaddeus (she/her)
Caleb (he/him)

As if the cosmic and body horrors weren't enough! It's time for some full-blown existential dread in Book 6 as Jake gets a front-row seat to Yeerk infestation. We discuss alien jacuzzi genocides, extraordinary Animorph rendition, and how well Ax can actually throw hands [tail].

In , Thaddeus locks us inside our own minds for the deconstruction of the Self in literary theory, and what that has to say about a book series where child soldiers fight the enslavement of all human subjectivity.

Max (he/him)
Thaddeus (she/her)
Caleb (he/him)

Marco takes his first stab at narration when he's not busy refusing the call to action. Our shorms provide a recap and discuss the DNA-deep treat-lust of human teens, the genre of Animorph-ian farce, and the incompetence of Yeerk expeditionary forces.

It's time to get aquatic and rescue some Andalites! Our hosts dream-SOS a summary of the first Cassie book and discuss the addition of the sixth Animorph: Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill

It's the first Tobias book! Our underground podcasting cell talks about hawk-4-hawk, light ecoterrorism, and nepo Yeerks, delighting as KA Applegate follows Chandler's immortal writing advice: "When in doubt, have a hawk fly through the window with a dracon beam."

HOSTS
Max (he/him)
Thaddeus (she/her)
Caleb (he/him)

We delve into Book 2 - The Visitor this week, our first foray into the mind of the most militant of Animorphs. Rachel takes control as Fluffer the feline spy, and we get our first look into the interior workings of the Yeerk conspiracy (and also learn Visser Three is a cat guy).