Reviews

Visser by K.A. Applegate

tiepilot_dandy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

starstrikers200's review

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1.0

The part that got me off the hook was why the Animorphs would agree to let Visser One continue to keep Eva as the host. And the fact that Eva AGREED to be controlled was baffling. Many would argue that it was for the long cause. Keeping Visser One alive when they were so close to killing her would create an easier invasion on earth without someone holding back V3. Or that Eva being a host gave Marco more reason to fight a long battle. Despite all that, wasn't it so that Marco believed his mother would rather 'Live Free or Die'? And why the hell would she agree to continue letting V1 control her. It was such a major plothole.

It was major disappointment towards the end when to see Eva regretted when V1 was to be kept alive and moved to other planet for other purpose that she had to scream < KILL ME!>. So the whole 'sacrifice' for bigger cause was a plain, futile effort? How would Marco feel when his plan to allow a Yeerk to continue to control her mother was all for nothing when he was so damn close to killing it?
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Somehow I felt that the reason V1 was alive and Eva was not back to Marco was simple. To keep this long series book going. With Eva back to the son meant there was no strong reason for backstory of Marco's fight. Hence why the continuous long series of 62 books? Wanted to love this book but I hated how simple-minded the characters were made in such an ambitious and matured standalone book that would have stood out over any other Animorphs stories i've read.

khargaotte's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

readingwithstardust's review

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3.0

Not my favorite of the Chronicles.

spacepandita2022's review

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

zieguy's review

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5.0

Potentially the best book in the entire Animorphs series.

mothiver's review

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dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

truly peak animorphs - that classic balance of bizarre nonsense, soulcrushing tragedy, and genuinely creepy horror elements, now told by an even MORE unreliable narrator with significantly worse morals! 
it is also peak marco characterisation. good god this kid. 
this books works great as a stand-also, and is also the only chronicles book I consider genuinely necessary if you want to to Understand Animorphs (andalite chronicles adds a lot too, but it’s not quite as fundamental) 

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dreadandsolace's review

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Solace: This is how you write an antagonist! OMG! Visser One is brutal and cruel but is also well-rounded in their motives and emotions. I love that the story was told from the trial perspective - similar to the film 'The Exorcism of Emily Rose,' we're watching the trial play out but also seeing events from the past as we learn the outcome. This book is also filled with so many interesting facets of Human and Yeerk interactions that I didn't even think about previously - love, relationships, and progeny. On top of all that, layer in some serious emotions between Marco and Visser One's host, his mom. 

The Dread: I didn't like the very end. It was conveniently inconvenient for our Animorphs and didn't really make sense for our Yeerks. It left me feeling flat at the end of a really good story.  

Overall, this was an amazing backstory for Visser One, giving us insight into their motives, goals, and even some emotional strings. I'm excited to see how this all ends!

rachelwrites007's review

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4.0

What a book to read during the election of 2020. If there was anybody who would be Visser Three, it would be Donald Trump.

My 100th book of 2020!

I never read this book as a kid because the cover has Visser Three on it, and I didn't want to read about him. I had NO idea it was really about Visser One (who started the Yeerk take over of California/Earth). I am glad I finally read it, but wow...this book is dark and maybe not even for children? It looks at motherhood, victimization, alien takeover, murder, and well, the dark takeover of planets. The writing is simplistic as it *is* written for upper elementary school age kids, but the themes are...hella dark.

izmadi's review

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5.0

Found this book by accident and I was very pleasantly surprised by the way it was built. I love everything including the ending, the world and character building, but especially the discourse on today's western society and its downsides. If someone told me to read a book on this topic, I'd probably never open it, but telling this through the eyes of an alien with little to no knowledge of humanity was a great "show" to put on. I'm now curious to read more books from the series (although it works perfectly as a standalone story).