Thought-Speak: The Original Animorphs Podcast

This speak: We sit down with author and comic artist Chris Grine to discuss in more detail his adaptation of the Animorphs series and what's coming next for his indomitable talents. We gain insights into his process and how he sees the series overall, as well as some exclusive scoops on the next two books! It's like we're real journalists! All that and more on this latest episode of Thought-Speak!

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This speak: I hope you didn't think we'd be off the air for another year. We're hitting you with back to back weeks of Thought-Speak goodness. Here we talk about what's coming next and how close we are to the end of the series. Ax starts his last book off with a bang and it doesn't let up. Holocaust inferences, subway gang fights, Cassie's outing as a traitor (and maybe their savior), Rachel's mom isn't worthless, and hands down, one of the best missions of the entire series. All that and a ton of stuff I forgot on this latest Thought-Speak!

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Gmail – Thoughtspeakcast@gmail.com  
Reddit – www.reddit.com/r/animorphs
Follow Coleman on Twitter – @ColemanMcClung
Follow Michelle on Instagram: @more.than.mimi

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This speak: We're back! Again, and again, and again. Sorry folks, you're not rid of us yet. Like a parasitic alien species, we are here to climb into your auditory orifice and break down book number fifty-one in the Animorphs series: The Absolute. We also bring you some updates to the franchise and its movie/comic adaptations and lay out what's coming for your favorite series podcast. Let us know what you want us to dive into with the last few books or just email us about your memories of reading these books for the first time!

Patreon: www.patreon.com/thoughtspeakcast  
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Gmail – Thoughtspeakcast@gmail.com  
Reddit – www.reddit.com/r/animorphs
Follow Coleman on Twitter – @ColemanMcClung
Follow Michelle on Instagram: @more.than.mimi

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This speak: You're not ready for our reaction of not being ready for this episode about the Animorphs not being ready for the end of this war! That's right dear listeners, we are counting down to the end of the war and you are not prepared for what our favorite mean, lean, and sometimes green teenagers are willing to do to win it. Don't let your friends and family know that you missed this brand new episode of Thought-Speak: The Original Animorphs Podcast!

Patreon: www.patreon.com/thoughtspeakcast  
Facebook – www.facebook.com/thoughtspeakcast  
Twitter – @Morphcast
Gmail – Thoughtspeakcast@gmail.com  
Reddit – www.reddit.com/r/animorphs  
Follow Michelle on Instagram: @more.than.mimi

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This speak: We're back! Again! At the start, we update the listeners on life events, other podcasts, and reasons why we've been away but come crawling back every time. After that, we jump straight into the book with a breakdown of Tobias's sad, sad home life, the adrenaline-fueled reveal of the Animorph's greatest secret to the Yeerks, and of course, more wacky grocery store antics. You don't want to miss this amazing, brand new episode of Thought-Speak: The Original Animorphs Podcast!

Patreon: www.patreon.com/thoughtspeakcast  
Facebook – www.facebook.com/thoughtspeakcast  
Twitter – @Morphcast
Gmail – Thoughtspeakcast@gmail.com  
Reddit – www.reddit.com/r/animorphs  
Follow Michelle on Instagram: @more.than.mimi

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This speak: WHOA! We get an exclusive copy of Chris Grine's latest comic adaptation of the Animorphs with THE VISITOR. Breaking down the plot, art, new depictions of fan-favorite aliens, ships, morphs, and so much more, you don't want to miss this EARLY REVIEW. We also discuss where the future of these adaptations may go and our excitement of the upcoming books and the end of the series. Join us and strap yourselves in for an incredible episode of Thought-Speak: The Original Animorphs Podcast!

Patreon: www.patreon.com/thoughtspeakcast  
Facebook – www.facebook.com/thoughtspeakcast  
Twitter – @Morphcast
Gmail – Thoughtspeakcast@gmail.com  
Reddit – www.reddit.com/r/animorphs  
Follow Michelle on Instagram: @more.than.mimi

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This speak: Everyone's favorite snot-nosed little Benedict Arnold is back; of course we're talking about David! From trilogy to saga, David comes back with a vengeance, literally. See Rachel like never before; super, super tall for some reason? Also, Crayak is there with his buddy the Drode. They're hanging out and up to no good as always. I kind of wish we would have gotten some Chee in this book now that I'm thinking about it. They really never expanded their story in terms of Crayak's involvement with their masters. Weird tangent! Anyway, enjoy the episode! 

Patreon: www.patreon.com/thoughtspeakcast
Facebook – www.facebook.com/thoughtspeakcast
Twitter – @Morphcast
Gmail – Thoughtspeakcast@gmail.com
Reddit – www.reddit.com/r/animorphs
Follow Michelle on Instagram: @more.than.mimi    

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This speak: Back to the basics! We dive into Animorphs book #47 and try to make sense of these dueling storylines. Civil War-era middle-grade antics dealing with abject racism and earning your place in society? Check. Giant tree-hugging space lizards fighting for their home alongside Trekkie alien diplomat wannabes? Double-check. Join us as we fumble our way through recording normal episodes again and try to bring this podcast back from the dead! Spooky!

Patreon: www.patreon.com/thoughtspeakcast
Facebook – www.facebook.com/thoughtspeakcast
Twitter – @Morphcast
Gmail – Thoughtspeakcast@gmail.com
Reddit – www.reddit.com/r/animorphs
Follow Michelle on Instagram: @more.than.mimi    

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This speak: We're back! We talk about the show's return and what it means to us and all the changes in our lives. Diving deep into the first official Animorphs graphic (Graphix?) novel, we break down the original plot that started it all and how it holds up in this new format. Amazingly after that, we sit down with the man who made it happen: Chris Grine! The writer and illustrator of the adaptation talks with us about everything from Visser Three's thicc bod, to future adaptations and what they might have in store. All this and more as we review Animorphs The Graphic Novel #1: The Invasion.

Patreon: www.patreon.com/thoughtspeakcast  
Facebook – www.facebook.com/thoughtspeakcast  
Twitter – @Morphcast
Gmail – Thoughtspeakcast@gmail.com  
Reddit – www.reddit.com/r/animorphs  
Follow Michelle on Instagram: @more.than.mimi      

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This speak: Aximili (and those "teenage human-animal morphers" he's aligned with) discover the existence of the new Visser One's next evil plot! And it involves Visser Two! And some mysterious coordinates at sea! The Animorphs are no strangers to dangerous missions, but this time things are getting BONKERS real fast. After stealing an F-16 fighter jet, crashing it at sea, and then boarding the USS George Washington warship, the Animorphs discover a Yeerk plot that will change the future of the planet.... and maybe even initiate World War III.... Can Ax avert total war and the beginning of the end of the invasion?? All that and more as we review Animorphs book 46: The Deception.

This speak: Marco's dad has a big new project at work. He's apparently developing humanity's first instance of Z-Space travel. Marco realizes the dangers involved, and of course, his father is soon made a target for Yeerk infestation. After losing his mother to the Yeerks, Marco isn't going to let his father go without a fight! But now Marco has to make a choice. Because this time, his actions have dire consequences, and his father's life hangs in the balance. Can Marco, the Animorphs, and their alien friend ol' what's-his-name, Tax? Or Brax? Can they save Marco's dad? Will they have time to jam in some Visser One side plot? And does anyone still have their copy of the demo of the Animorphs PC game that came with this book??  All that and more as we review Animorphs book 45: The Revelation.

This Speak: What if the Animorphs series had done a Christmas special? Would the Animorphs meet Santa Clause? What do the Yeerks do on Christmas? Will the kids get to enjoy their Christmas break? It's questions like these that keep us up at night.... but not anymore! Hosts Michelle and Coleman have created, in their minds, the perfect Animorphs Christmas-themed stories. Reindeer morphing? Santa-like aliens? Tender moments between Jake and Cassie? We've got it all! Pull up a chair by the fire and crack open the egg-nog, because when the episode is over you'll be wishing these books were real! All that and more on Thought-Speak's: A Very Animorphs Christmas!

This speak: Cassie just boarded the wrong plane.... During a scuffle with the Yeerks at the airport, Cassie is separated from the others and pursued by scores of controllers. She manages to elude them, temporarily, by hiding out on a departing plane. But things rarely go as planned for our team of teenage heroes, and Cassie winds up in the Australian outback! Totally cut off from her friends! Miles from the nearest trace of civilization! And still being pursued by Yeerks! How will she escape her enemies? How will she get back to her homeland? And most importantly; how did the writer manage to screw up such an interesting premise?? All that and more as we review Animorphs book 44: The Unexpected.

This speak: Tobias is in over his head - again! After helping to locate a missing child in the woods, Tobias ends up in a vet's office with no way out! And it's the Yeerks that get to him first, headed up by his old nemesis Taylor. The one-time Sub-Visser claims to be helping the Yeerk Peace Movement progress, but she needs something from Tobias and the rest of the Andalite bandits (also Ax) to make her plan work. The team decides to play along and help her tunnel underneath the Yeerk pool in order to make it all go BOOM! but something doesn't feel quite right. Tobias can't shake the feeling that Taylor can't be trusted, on account of that whole torture episode, and the fact that she's pretty noticeably cray-cray. Can the team handle Taxxon morph? Can Taylor be trusted? All that and more as we review Animorphs book 43: The Test.

This speak: Marco's got all sorts of problems! First, there's this camera he's got to snatch from some dude's apartment that just might have some pics of the team in mid-morph.... The only thing standing in his way is one. Tough. Dog. That, and he can't morph. Why not? Because of all the shrunken-down Helmacrons and Animorphs (and Ax's!) inside his body! Huh-whaaa? That's right, the Helmacrons are back, and the rules don't matter anymore! Will Marco ever get the little people out of his head and find a way to delete those potentially disastrous pix?? Find out when we review Animorphs book 42: The Journey.

This speak: Jake is having a tough time being the leader of the Animorphs (and the leader of Ax). After yet another gut-wrenching battle with the Yeerks, the team is fragmented and tormented and looking to Jake for guidance, but ol' Jakey's not in the mood. Lucky for him, when he goes to bed that night he wakes up in a world where he's not the leader of the Animorphs anymore! BUT the world is ruled by the Yeerks and the Animorphs have long since been defeated. Ruh-roh! Join Jake, alone and confused, as he navigates a hellish future-Earth that's been dominated by the Yeerks, discovers which of his friends are still alive.... and which ones have become controllers... All in an effort to return to the past and abort this nightmare reality. But is there a way for Jake to return to the life he knows and continue the fight? Well, there are more than ten books left in the series, so I sure hope so! All that and more when we review Animorphs book 41: The Familiar.

This speak: Jake's had enough. Enough of the bloody battles. Enough feeling powerless to help. Enough of being an Animorph. So naturally, Crayak is all over him ready to pounce, sending in the Drode to offer Jake a way out. But of course, a deal with the devil is no deal at all, and Jake awakes to find the timelines reset and everyone's memories wiped. And this time, on their way home from the mall one night, FIVE kids don't meet a dying alien. They don't get the power to morph. And they don't know they're being invaded by Yeerks. Relive the beginning of the invasion, and really the beginning of the series, with a dangerous twist that leaves all our teens clueless to what's going on around them. See how their lives might have played out if things had happened differently. See what happens when they go back.... to before! All that and more in our review of MEGAMORPHS #4: Back to Before!

This speak: Marco witnesses what appears to be footage of an Andalite on television, sending him flying from the coop over to Ax's scoop. With Ax's technological advancements they're able to replay the footage and find out exactly what they're dealing with here.....an after-school special about the treatment of the differently-abled! But Marco, Ax, and Tobias find way more than they expected roaming the woods when they run into *A BRAND NEW ANDALITE* that wants nothing to do with them. Ol' Gaffy the Buff Andalite is a man on a mission, struck by disaster now he's wishin' to find his friend Mertil in the kitchen eatin' chicken finger-lickin'. Can the Animorphs (and their own pet Andalite Ax) work together with Gafinalin to find his crippled friend Mertil? How exactly will the Yeerks clock-block them this time? And are we all really going to just forget exactly how scummy of a person Ax is revealed to be in this book? It's like each book that expands on Andalite culture is making them out to be worse and worse. And these are supposed to be the good guys! What the hell is going on here?! All that and more in our review of Animorphs #40: The Other!

This speak: The hunt is on.... for Animorphs, that is! Cassie is enjoying normality one day when Erek busts in and gives her a new mission: Run! It seems the Yeerks have found and repaired some downed Helmacron technology, and now they are able to track the morphing energy the Animorphs emit when they use their powers. Also, the blue cube emits this energy constantly, and now it's up to Cassie to keep it moving to evade the sudden rush of oncoming Yeerks! Her escape leads her to the Gardens where an encounter with a Cape Buffalo throws a wrench in the mission... and the poor animal gains the ability to morph! Now Cassie and the team have two problems to deal with, and it's only a matter of time before the Yeerks close in on them and everyone's too tired to run. Will they get away? And how will they deal with the morph-capable "buffa-human?" The answers lie in our review of Animorphs #39: The Hidden!

This speak: During a botched mission, Andalite Aristh Aximili (and the Animorphs!) are unexpectedly aided by extra Andalites! Aximili is enthralled with the alluring Estrid, but his Animorph allies are only certainly skeptical. Aximili of course entertains his Andalite allies and adds his aid to their conspicuous cause. When the arguing Animorphs find themselves falling apart, it's up to Aximili to crack the code on his brave brethren's bold cold assassination attempt: their terrible target, the dreadly (amiright?) and deadly Andalite V-3! Is it Aximili's hour of power and glory? Or will it be downfalls and death and the end of the Animorph's story? Find out! In our review of Animorphs #38: The Arrival!

This speak: Jake's outta town or something, so naturally Rachel turns into a power-hungry dictator that takes over the Animorphs (she gets Ax too!) and convinces everyone to go out and just start attacking all the controllers they know about to make Visser Three look bad in front of the bad guy-of-the-week that's Inspectoring him. So the Rachel-lead Animorphs (she's still got Ax, too!) hit the town bullying Yeerks and spreading the word that Visser Three and the Yeerks need to leave! Things seem to be going well for the new terrorist group until Rachel sucks and is stupid and the mission goes off the rails, and we're left to wonder: where the heck are they going with this book? I won't spoil it here!

This Speak: Something-something Visser Three, yadda-yadda the ocean, let's just get to Atlantis already! When the Animorphs go to Atlantis(!), they discover the undiscovered truth about the lost city of Atlantis.... which is that it's not called Atlantis. Actually, it's "Nartec". Or at least that's what the people are called. We never get the name of their "city", it's just the land of the Nartec. The lost city of Nartec? That just doesn't have the same grandiose vibe as Atlantis. Well, whatever, the Animorphs find Atlantis, they get outta there, you know how these types of adventures go. Uhh... Ax was there.... And uh, yeah, all that and more! In Book 36, The Animorphs Do Atlantis!

Thought-Speak is delighted to invite you to our recap and review of a very special Animorphs offshoot, Visser. Joining the typical lineup of hosts, Michelle and Coleman, is a brave Animorphs fan and Andalite-tier Patreon subscriber, Richard! After all, such a special book requires a very special extra host! And over the next two hours, we'll try our damndest to convince you to read this book with our constant adoration and highly-sung praise. We're not kidding around here folks, this is one of the best Animorphs books and if you haven't read it yet, you're doing yourself a disservice. If that's the case, go read Visser for crying out loud! Then come back and listen to this episode of Thought-Speak! Those are your orders!!

This speak: Marco's dad has a new girlfriend! And Marco's not too happy about it... And now it seems that stress is causing Marco to mix up morphs! Marco tries to hide this all from his friends, The Animorphs (and Ax I guess?), but they've got a new mission to deal with and a controller's career to ruin. Some guy on TV is telling people to join The Sharing, and the team won't be having it! To stop him, they'll pull out all the stops and turn into bugs to try and gross him out. And when that fails, they'll stalk him as a poodle. War has turned these children into animals.... in more ways than one. All that and more when we review Animorphs book #35, The Proposal.

This speak: Cassie's hearing voices in her head! The voice of Aldrea, the Andalite-turned-Hork-Bajir that died in the Hork-Bajir Chronicles, specifically. Remember her?! Well, she's inside Cassie now. And it may have something to do with the Arn that showed up at the free Hork-Bajir colony. This Arn, the last of his kind, seeks to collect the DNA of the free Hork-Bajir and help to take back their homeworld. He offers up the ghost of Aldrea to the Animorphs (and that rascally Ax) to help them find a hidden weapons cache on the Hork-Bajir homeworld. The team is all over that shit and jumps on the nearest spaceship, installing Aldrea's ghost in Cassie in the process. Can the team find the hidden weapons and stick it to the Yeerks? Will Aldrea decide to willingly leave Cassie's body?? Exactly how many times are we gonna say the words "Hork-Bajir?!" All that and more when we review Animorphs book #34, The Prophecy.

Heya folks, we’re proud to present our review of a fan-favorite book in the series, The Illusion. This is a highly praised Tobias book that… 

This speak: Rachel splits in two. Shut up, don't ask questions, it just happens, okay?! Now the Animorphs (Featuring Ax the Andalite & Erek the Chee!) have to deal with two completely different Rachels. One of them is a weakling that cries a lot, the other one is seriously a psychopath. Both are useless to the team, and just in time for their critical mission to attack the Yeerks, who are of course working on their latest weapon: an "anti-morph ray" that can supposedly interfere with their morphing powers. How will the Animorphs deal with this whacky new situation? What the heck can they do to get both halves of Rachel back in one body? Why did the Applegates write this book?? We'll figure it out! All that and more when we review Animorphs book #32, The Separation.

This speak: Jake's great-grandpa dies, meaning an out-of-town funeral for both Jake and his brother. And as we all know, Tom is a controller. A four-day excursion away from the Yeerk pool is not something he can do. Now Tom will do anything to get out of going to the funeral. Including straight-up murder by a drive-by shooting. Jake's on edge guarding his dad, knowing that Tom could strike again at any moment. The Animorphs (and a feisty Ax!) are desperate to protect Jake's dad while keeping their identities a secret. And they're not so sure they can trust Jake's judgment lately... They'll trash random parked cars, morph recklessly, shadow Jake's dad relentlessly, and kidnap and terrorize the Chapman family all in their quest to save Jake's dad. And possibly murder Tom. Also the Chee were there! #TomRefusesGo All that and more when we review Animorphs book #31, The Conspiracy.

This speak: The Visser formerly known as One returns! And when Marco runs smack-dab into her while skipping school, he gets it in his head that he should shadow her. What could go wrong? Marco quickly finds himself breaking all the Animorphs (and Ax!) codes of conduct in his relentless pursuit of his former mother-turned-Visser. Eventually, he hijacks the entire mission, taking Ex-V1 hostage and walking her to her eventual doom, leaving the reader wondering: "Dang... is Marco really going to kill his own mom??" All that and more when we review Animorphs book #30, The Reunion.

This speak: Our story begins on an alternate, time-tinkered Earth with an entirely different set of Animorphs. Jake is an authoritarian leader. Cassie is a slave owner. Marco is excited by Pong. Ax is the same. And Tobias is in love with the last Animorph, Melissa. This new, more interesting set of characters are swiftly replaced by the standard Animorphs we all know and love, thanks to a convenient truce between Crayak and Ellimist. Now the Animorphs (and Aximili!) are thrust through time on their latest mission to stop one of the second-string villains from messing around with the Earth's continuity. During their trip, the Animorphs (and Mr. Isthill!) will encounter ancient knights, swashbuckling seafaring ship battles, and absolutely all the worst of human-on-human murder that history has to offer! Will our heroes conquer the evil Yeerk empire and restore balance to the Force? Find out, when we review Animorphs MEGAMORPHS book #3, Elfangor's Secret.

This speak: Ax comes down with a deadly and contagious case of SPACE AIDS! And just in time for the next dangerous mission to the Yeerk Pool! When Cassie is confronted by a controller claiming to be with the Yeerk Peace Movement, she learns that her old buddy Aftran (from The Departure) isn't doing so well after the last time we saw her... as in, she's about to be interrogated by Visser 3 and reveal all the Animorphs deepest darkest secrets to him! So now Cassie and the rest of the Animorphs (and not Ax!) have to figure out a way to rescue Aftran, all while quelling the flames of Ax's raging SPACE AIDS... Which has started to spread to the rest of the team! Giving Cassie some much-needed time to work on her alien brain surgery skills. What a head case! *Insert sound of crickets* ... All that and more when we review Animorphs book #29, The Sickness.

This speak: The plot is hologram-delivered to the team once again from their paranoid android friend, Erek the Chee. This time the Yeerks are up to something beefy, and it's the Animorphs (and Ax!) job to investigate a few locales and get to the bottom of the Yeerk's sneaky new plan. All the team knows is that it involves chimps and cows, a laboratory, and a slaughterhouse. But first, Ax must somehow manage to pull himself away from his newly acquired television set! In an adventure that feels in part like it was sponsored by PETA, will the Animorphs (and Ax?) be able to crack the Yeerk code and save all the animals? Is the beef industry trying to control us all with juicy burgers? Will Taxxon's ever have access to equal voting rights and a fair dental plan? Find out! All that and more when we review Animorphs book #28, The Experiment.

This speak: After some quick subplot melodrama, Rachel and Cassie end up at the mall (surprise surprise) where they quite conveniently encounter a malfunctioning Erek. Oh no! After helping to bail out the Chee, the Animorphs (and Ax!) are off on another wildly inconvenient mission. This time, it's another ocean adventure, as the team takes forever to acquire the perfect morph to reach the bottom of the ocean. That's where the big doggy spaceship is. What lies below, inside the Chee's hidden spacecraft? Nothing. Nothing at all. How will the Animorphs (and Ax!) get outta this jim-jam?! *Shrug* All that and more when we review Animorphs book, #27, The Exposed.

This speak: We've got a lot of catching up to do! Michelle, Coleman, and Nate discuss everything from Animorphs to Power Rangers to Game of Thrones! We also bring Nate up to speed on what's been happening in the series thus far, we have a mini-discussion about Animorphs #1 The Invasion, we'll talk Howlers and Pemalites, Ellimists and Crayaks, Iskoorts, and alien worlds. The Animorphs are on another mission to save an obnoxious alien race on a faraway planet and defeat the Ellimist's arch-nemesis, Crayak. There are many "firsts" for the series in this book, and we'll discuss them all! All that and more when we review Animorphs book, #26, The Attack.

This Speak, the hosts discuss the ghostwriting process now that we're entering that territory, revisiting the "listener emails" section of the show and reading some, an argument about Visser 3's feeding grounds, Coleman's bizarre feelings on this book, Ax impersonates Visser 3 again, we discuss how the team handles arctic conditions, everyone almost freezes to death, another quickly wrapped-up plot, and comparisons to The Forgotten. All that and more, when we review the first ghostwritten Animorphs book, #25, The Extreme.

This Speak, it's the amazing shrinking Animorphs! Michelle and Coleman discuss; the future of the Thought-Speak podcast, all the spoilers contained within the cover images, everything wrong with the Helmacrons, plenty of action filler scenes, Coleman's outspoken opinions on the fandom, the story of the stupid r/Animorphs karma-stealing sweatshirt, Coleman points out a print error that went uncaught by the authors and publishers, the similarities between this book and Michael Grant's BZRK, the stupid idea to include the Yeerks in this whole shrinking plot, the return of Chapman and a meeting of the Sharing, and the usefulness of the anteater morph! All that and more, when we review Animorphs book #24, The Suspicion.

On this unfeasibly special episode of Thought-Speak, Michelle and Coleman somehow managed to snag an interview with the man, the myth, the legend, and one-half of the K.A. Applegate duo that gave us Animorphs, Michael Grant! We were lucky to have an hour of his time where we spoke with him (quite candidly at times) about all of his works, including Front Lines, Gone, BZRK, Messenger of Fear, Eve & Adam, and of course our beloved Animorphs. This is not an episode to be missed, folks!

This speak: the subtle differences between the hard & soft covers, Coleman's beef with the Hork-Bajir design, how with equal parts science and Ellimist anything is possible, how the Yeerks are like ISIS, how the Hork-Bajir homeworld doesn't have a proper name, but even if it did it would probably be something stupid, Aldrea's unlikely morphing ability, Tribe Trees and Father Deep, a Rick & Morty reference, several Star Wars references, Aldrea's poor brother Barafin and his bunk habits, why you should not be like the Arn, why the Arn are unbelievable dicks, an unlikely army of mind-controlled monsters, the Andalites continue to disappoint and suck at war, yet another interracial relationship in sci-fi, and the new Hork-Bajir seer means shits about to go down! All that and more in our review of Animorphs: The Hork-Bajir Chronicles.

This speak: More cover critiques, Tobias gets hawk-blocked, weird unexplained flash-visions plaguing Tobias, the classic soap opera cliche of long-lost relatives showing up, the case of Tobias's missing clothes, a lovely visit to the Lost Valley of Hork-Bajir for a side mission, the introduction of Toby, a long and drawn-out spying mission, the evolution of conservatism, the coincidences start to get to Coleman, another pre-mission homework cram session, Visser Aria's awesome acting, Rachel and Tobias finally have that relationship conversation we've all been waiting for and the review that's sure to upset some fans! All that and more in our review of Animorphs #23, The Pretender.

This speak: As usual, we discuss in deep detail, like way too much detail, the cover illustration and the blurb on the back of the book, in-depth character discussions on Rachel and David, how David takes the 'Michael Meyers' approach to stalking the team, everyone getting "CHAOS MORPHS", Visser Tony's brief cameo this book, our suggestions and ideas for how they could have made David work as an Animorph, the fate of poor cousin Saddler, and of course the poor fate of David, and Coleman's proposal for a more humane way to end the David situation that would have had David in a much better place. All that and more in our review of Animorphs #22, The Solution.

This speak: Another in-depth discussion of the book cover, more talk about how big of a D-bag David is, more character development for Cassie, poor cousin Saddler, Visser Tony’s hologram-ception plot, another mission gone awry, the many deaths of Tobias, and one of our favorite morph-on-morph showdowns in the entire series! All that and more in our review of Animorphs #21, The Threat.

This speak: We start our review by praising the hell out of this much-loved book and by dissecting our new character David, Coleman makes a bold statement right off the gate about David, why getting the Escafil device back matters so much and why the Animorphs need to do whatever it takes to get it back, another visit from Eric is always a nice surprise, how we're going to lose our Russian listeners, we discuss birds breaking into bedrooms, why the Animorphs waste a bunch of time blundering around trying to steal the blue box back from David, the whole stupid side plot where they try to stop an email from going out, how stupid Visser Three is, David, being a coward, and about a million ways the Animorphs could have done everything in this book better! All that and more in our review of Animorphs #20, The Discovery.

This speak: another spoilerific book cover, Cassie drops out of the war again, a fresh look at the classic "hero and villain must work together" cliche, conveniently placed leopard attacks, random tangents about long-forgotten movies, a much-needed Yeerk biology lesson covering reproduction, a lot of talk about two girls hanging out in the woods, the Yeerk's possible fake-Andalite propaganda, conveniently placed caterpillars, someone finally calls Cassie a fool, and the worst deal any Animorph ever made! All that and more in our review of Animorphs #19, The Departure.

This week on Thought-Speak: Making fun of the terrible covers, Liz reads the back of the book, the sudden abundance of Sario Rips, we discuss what actors the characters voices might sound like, milking T-rexes, faulty morph technology, Ax adding a T-Rex kill to his list of accomplishments, obvious ominous comets, crafting items from their downed enemies, Craaaaab peeeeoople, prehistoric ant aliens, broccoli's alien origins, the team's worst best plan involving Sario Rips, we discuss a much better cover design, dinosaurs fighting alien ants, and a whole bunch of other weird crap you'll only ever hear about in an Animorphs discussion! All that and more in our epic review of Megamorphs #2, In The Time Of Dinosaurs!

This week on Thought-Speak: Making fun of the inside cover flap, Chapman's road rage, mosquitos! Ax's Matrix moves, a convenient POP! Is the Ellimist involved? Are there still any 'coincidences in this world? Captain Sam the Andalite traitor, differences between Andalite and Leeran cultures, the hammerhead shark finally makes it into Leeran waters, the Leeran-controller's only weakness: it's dangly-brain bits, Marco makes a weird Vietnam reference, and we share some of our own Z-space mass theories! All that and more in our review of Animorphs book 18, "The Decision."

Today on Thought-Speak: Remember Private Thought-Speak? It's back! Also: another in-depth discussion of the cover! Does this book deserve to be more than just "the oatmeal" book? Planet Hollywood! Coincidences! Continuity! More coincidences! Nuthouses! Building a better tarantula scene! The story of poor, poor George Edelmen! Oatmeal! Rachel's absence from her own plot! Mole morph! The Underground! All that and more in our review of Animorphs book 17, "The Underground."

Today on Thought-Speak: An explanation about the most recent hiatus, a revelation about Michelle and Coleman's other projects, 90's internet lingo, more poop humor, infiltrating the WAA! HQ, the best scene with Jake's family yet, another Animorphs mission gone wrong, lovely Yeerk cannibalism... All that and more in our review of Animorphs book 16, "The Warning."

In this episode we're talking about when the Animorphs lose their innocence, building a better Animorphs video game, offensive parrots, Erek's under-utilized hologram powers, Coming next fall from the makers of Thought-Speak... Dolphin Rodeo!, Ocean World, #sharkpetting, why the Yeerks need to stop shouting "Andalite!", SPOILERS for Jaws 3, why this series should have been a little more like Spider-Man, Jake's magical bully detector, how Tobias started riding Rachel, Marco's power obsession, Animorphs VS. Predator, Visser 3's opaque obsession, how another one of Cassie's plans almost gets everybody killed, convenient brain implants, Visser 3's giant yellow water snake, and how Jake became Marco's rageaholic sponsor! All that and more in our review of Animorphs book 15, "The Escape."

In this episode we're talking about how much we miss Nate, how awesome our new opening and segue-ways are getting tweeted at by Applegate + Grant, more making fun of the Scholastic marketing team, how ugly and wrong the cover is, another crazy theory about the Animorphs journals, Crazy Helen's "Loco Weed?", an uncharacteristic sci-fi reference overload, more arguing about how to split the series into "seasons", how Marco gets away with being a dick all the time, Yeerks in horses, poop jokes!, toilet humor, and weird Animorphs fan fiction! All that and more in our review of Animorphs book 14, "The Unknown."

In this super-ultra-mega-special episode, we're starting right out by introducing our super-ultra-mega-special guest co-host, Nate! We'll let him introduce himself and play a little trivia game to get him warmed up on the series. That's not all, we also discuss in excruciating detail the book's cover art, the Andalite re-design, the science of morphing technology, Z-Space mass, the two-hour time limit, the Skrit Na alien race, the Chapman Chronicles, the various alien languages, the Andalite home-world economy, the spooooky Ellimist, Doctor Who references galore, alternate timelines and why we shouldn't discuss them, Futurama references galore, the Taxxon homeworld, Star Wars references galore, genocide and xenocide, the Time Matrix, why you shouldn't summon Hellraiser, Ender's Game references galore, K.A. Applegate's centaur fetish, pocket universes and why we shouldn't discuss them, His Dark Materials references galore, how the Ellimist screwed over Loren, Dragon Ball Z references galore, and the first-ever review from a non-fan of the series! All that and more, when we recruit our first-ever guest co-host to help us review "The Andalite Chronicles"!