Marvel Action: Spider-Man #5 – Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Kraven The Hunter comes to New York seeking to hunt Spider-Man in the latest issue of Marvel Action: Spider-Man, bringing one of Spider-Man‘s greatest foes face to face with two members of the spider team.

Having been brought to New York by J Jonah Jameson, Kraven and his kids have been tracking Spider-Man, figuring out his routines and mapping sightings in order to figure out where they are most likely to come across him. It’s nice that Erik Burnham has taken the time to show that Kraven is doing his research like this, that he’s utilising both his talents as a tracker and technology, rather than just suddenly turning up to challenge the hero like so many comic villains do.

One of the biggest surprises in this issue, however, is the inclusion of LMDs – Life Model Decoys. This not only adds more to the world building of the Marvel Action universe, but gives our spider-themed heroes an opportunity to fight three members of the Avengers. Not only is it great to see our heroes get to test out their new webshooter tech, courtesy of Peter, but it makes for some fun action as the three of them begin to form a more cohesive team. They may not be perfectly trained, and they still have a long way to go, but they’ve clearly progressed over the few issues that they’ve been together.

When Kraven finally feels like he’s gathered enough intel he decides to take on both Miles and Gwen individually first, removing them from action before he challenges Peter in single combat. It’s a smart move from his point of view, as it means he only has to have three one on one fights rather than taking on a whole team, but it helps to establish how much of a threat he is. Kraven gets to fight the two heroes and dispatches them both fairly easily, thanks to both his physical prowess and some smart technology. By the end of the issue Kraven has managed to beat two of the three heroes and captured them with little effort, leaving just Peter to stand alone against the new villain.

Marvel Action: Spider-Man issue five is a brilliant middle issue, one that showcases the threat that the villain poses, his strength and intelligence. It ups the stakes by placing two of the heroes in captivity, whilst separating the other, forcing them to face this new threat alone.

Erik Burnham and Christopher Jones continue to produce brilliant work on what is to date my favourite of the Marvel Action line. The writing is spot on, the characters are interesting and fresh, even if they are ones that we’re familiar with, and the art is beautiful. I can’t wait until issue six.


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The Record Keeper – Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Set within a distant future where the world has been devastated by the effects of a third world war, The Record Keeper crafts a world that is far removed from our own, yet bears shocking similarity to our own past. Following the horrors of World War Three the remains of America have become home to three distinct classes of people, split by ethnicity. The English who hold the majority of power and have access to the best medicine and technology, the Clayskin who are treated like secondary citizens, and the Kongo, who are little more than slaves.

In this new world we follow the life of Arika Cobane, a Kongo woman who has been classed as a First Brother by the English. The English help to maintain their rule of their slaves by separating them into two categories, First Brothers and Second Brothers, who are divided by their physical appearance such as more Caucasian characteristics.

This separation of the Kongo people is used to find Record Keepers: those who get to inhabit the upper echelons, who are taken as children and taught by the English. Well educated and intelligent, the Record Keepers are used to keep a false history of their people; a system that is designed to keep the workers in check. This goes hand in hand with Rebirth, a medication administered to workers that erases pieces of their memory, keeping them docile and subservient.

Over the course of her training as a Record Keeper, Arika begins to learn of a secret plot that could threaten the future of the Kongo people. As she tries to maintain her standing as the best student in her class, and fights to become a senator, she becomes drawn into a plot to spy upon one of her fellow students who may have a connection with a group of dangerous rebels.

What surprised me most about The Record Keeper was how much I actually disliked Arika for the majority of the story. She only cares about herself, her future, her aims, her advancement. Over the course of the book Arika begins to learn more about the plight of her fellow Kongo people and realises that she must care about other people, and that she will need to put her future at risk to do the right thing.

Unfortunately, Arika seems to make a number of mistakes and keeps falling back into her old pattern of putting herself first, betraying those that have shown her trust, or running away from people that need her help. Despite these failings there’s something about her that draws you in, her desire to do better, to be a better person keeps you hooked, and it isn’t until close to the end that you realise why she keeps failing: because she’s a victim.

Despite her position of privilege, despite her education, Arika is little more than a slave herself, trained to be a certain way, beaten and abused to crush her spirit. This is what the book is about, how people are broken down and made into slaves to the white English, whether it’s through abuse, manipulation, or medical experimentation. All things that have been true in our own history.

I found The Record Keeper to be not just a story that reflects upon the racism that people have endured, historically and today, but a tale of rising up and overcoming the abuse that becomes ingrained within a person.

Sadly, it wasn’t until the very end of the book that Arika is able to overcome her own demons, to rise up herself, and this left me feeling somewhat deflated. I wanted more. I wanted to see her fight for herself and her people, to smash the system that had kept them down. Whilst Arika’s small moment of triumph of coming to find her own strength would have been a perfectly fine place to end this story, my desire to want more led me to ask Agnes Gomillion if this was indeed the end. Thankfully, the answer is that it is not, and that a second book, The Seed of Cain, will be coming in 2020.

As a standalone book, I would have rated The Record Keeper well, but as the first part in a story that has not yet been finished it becomes even better; a foundation for a story that is sure to grow in amazing ways; a story of survival, strength, and human spirit in the face of hatred and oppression.

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Goosebumps: Horrors of the Witch House #2 – Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

The mystery of Witch House and the frightening things that lie within continue in the second issue of Goosebumps: Horrors of Witch House.

Following the events of the first issue our three young heroes, Rosie, Becca, and Carlos, struggle to make sense of what they saw inside the old Whaley House. However, it’s easier said than done when Carlos is reluctant to even believe that they saw anything unnatural, but also Becca and Carlos don’t want to be seen with a ‘geek’ like Rosie. Thankfully, the villain has ways of drawing the three of them back together. Revealing to Rosie that she knows the kids were spying on her, Veruca uses her magical abilities to bring their personal possessions to life to attack them.

Carlos is attacked by a toy monkey, Sock Monkey, that was made for him by his grandmother. It’s surprisingly scary when the cute little monkey toy suddenly starts hissing at him and trying to bite him with fangs, yet also adds a new layer to Carlos’ character to see the macho jock type character fussing over the plush toy made for him by his gran.

Becca, ever the sporty girl, finds that her sports trophies come to life, their tiny plastic forms charging her in her home, throwing tiny discuses and basketballs. This has to be my favourite scene in the issue, as it’s just slightly ridiculous and hits the right level of silly. Rosie also falls foul of the evil spell, with her favourite anime character coming out of her laptop to attack her with a huge sword. Whilst each of the kids are able to defeat their individual threats, thanks to some creative thinking on Rosie and Carlos’ part, and some extreme destruction from Becca, they come across a much more frightening enemy, a giant gargoyle.

The second issue of Goosebumps: The Horrors of Witch House really ups the ante as far as the threat of Veruca Curry goes, and puts the three heroes in some very real danger. It’s also nice to see some more personality added to each of the teens, especially Carlos.

The story only has one issue left, and it’ll be interesting to see how the three of them find a way to defeat such a powerful enemy, as it seems that they are quite out of their depth. However it plays out, Denton J. Tipton and Matthew Dow Smith have managed to craft an interesting and engaging story, one that is able to balance the horror, humour, and characterisation that make Goosebumps an all time classic childrens’ series.


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Animorphs: The Message - Book Review

'It started with the dreams. Dreams that Cassie and Tobias are both having. Dreams about someone calling for help - from beneath the ocean. Cassie, Tobias and their friends must use their morphing powers to travel deep beneath the seas and answer the desperate calls. But they have to be more careful than ever. Because they can't be sure if the drea,s are really a message from a friend - or a deadly trap...'

The Message is easily the most enjoyable of the Animorphs series that I have read so far, introducing some exciting new elements to the franchise.

Shifting the focus of the narration to Cassie, the Animorph most in tough with animals, the book introduces a mystery in the form of a strange dream that keeps plaguing her and Tobias. For the longest time the book presents this as something that Cassie is unsure of, teasing the possibility that it may just be a simple dream.

Over the course of the book the Animorphs try to find the source of this message, using dolphin morphs to travel out into the ocean, trying to discover if it's real or not. These scenes are some of best that the series has given so far, as it's such a different environment for the heroes to find themselves in. It's a place that they have no familiarity with, with no support from Tobias in the sky, and danger lurking in every direction. The scene where they find sharks attacking a whale is a particular stand out.

Despite some initial difficulty in tracking down the origin of the message the team eventually come across a crashed Andalite ship deep beneath the ocean. Inside the ship the five of them come across a new friend and ally, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, an Andalite prince, and younger brother of Elfangor, the Andalite that gave the Animorphs their powers.

We don't get much of Ax in this particular book, but the small time that we do get with him is very good, and it proves to be a good introduction for the character. Initially distrustful of the
animorphs, the discovery of their connection to his brother brings him around to seeing them as potential allies in the fight against the Yeerks. Ax is a small part of the book, but a brilliant addition to the series as a whole. He's a character that will be able to bring some answers to the team, able to fill them in on the war against the Yeerks, to explain their technology, and their tactics.

Ax does this to a small extent in this book, when he informs the team that the Yeerks aren't just going to take control of the human race, but will use up all of the Earth's resources and kill all life on the planet before moving on to another world. Not only does this news help to fill in some of the information gaps we have on the Yeerks, but also galvanises the team in their mission, knowing that it's imperative that they stop the alien threat.

Animorphs: The Message is a big leap forward in the Animorphs story, one that provides up with a lot of new information, a new character, and some excellent action sequences. The start of a new era for the series, it sets up exciting things to come.

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Green Valley by Louis Greenberg – Book Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Green Valley is a book that will appeal to fans of detective stories, and to those who enjoy the chilling tales of Black Mirror, as it takes readers into a dark and depressing near-future in the hunt for a child murderer.

Set in a world where technology has moved backwards thanks to public outcry, with police surveillance and computer espionage a thing of the past, special police investigator Lucie Sterling is assigned to a series of cases where children are being discovered dead; children whose bodies are filled with advanced virtual reality enhancements. This leads Lucie to the one place that they could be coming from, Green Valley.

A private town hidden inside a corporate bunker, Green Valley is a place where a few thousand people closed themselves off after the push back against technology, where they can live in their own virtual world away from everyone else. But with the dead children only possibly coming from there, and Lucie’s niece Kira being a resident, Green Valley becomes the focus of her investigation.

The world of Green Valley is one of the more interesting aspects of the book, and is unfortunately not explored quite enough. Over the course of the novel we discover a little about the technology ban, how society changed because of it, and how new methods of communication had to be introduced. We also hear some of the stories about how Green Valley split itself off from the rest of the world, and how this divided both public opinion and families. But through all of this it only feels like we’ve been given surface level details, the pieces that we need to know for the story to work.

We discover a little about the people who fought against the progress of technology because Lucie is married to one of them. We learn that there are still some secret surveillance systems in place because it’s used in the investigation. And we learn about the Green Valley separation because it comes up in Lucie’s quest for answers. All of this is useful information, and interesting, but it would be great to see more of the world, to see how people lived their lives, how technology and society had altered, and if these changes were a good thing.

This information seems to be a secondary concern for Louis Greenberg, who instead wants to tell a much more personal story, as Lucie must walk a fine line between the law and saving her last living relative. Thankfully, this personal story is very engaging, and keeps you hooked throughout.

Lucie’s journey through Green Valley isn’t just a story about a police officer trying to solve a crime, or a woman trying to save her family: it pushes her to her psychological limits. There are times where you question what Lucie is experiencing, left wondering what her reality really is. Is something really happening to her, or is she being manipulated thanks to some incredibly frightening technology?

Green Valley is a journey through the horror of technology; one that takes both Lucie and the reader to some incredibly dark places, and will produce images that will chill you and stay with after the book is done. An interesting mystery that might not completely satisfy techy people who want to know more about the world, but will draw you in for the deep, personal journey.

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Marvel Action: Avengers #5 – Comic Review

Originally published on Set The Tape

Issue five of Marvel Action: Avengers straight away manages to address some of the criticisms that I had with the previous issue: that the story seemed to be missing some parts and felt confusing. Here, within the first few pages we get a flashback to an event that wasn’t shown: Count Nefaria transporting Doctor Strange, Thor, and Captain Marvel to the strange world that we saw in the previous issue.

I’m sure that this will read a lot better in graphic novel form, where you can go straight from one issue to the next, but when you have to wait a number of weeks for information that’s vital to the previous issue it can be fairly frustrating.

Thankfully, with this information now in hand, and having been told the end goal of Nefaria and what that could mean for the world, it picks the story up quite a bit as our heroes in both dimensions must fight to stop him from achieving his goals.

Whilst the action is entertaining throughout, and certainly manages to showcase most of the team in interesting ways, there’s very little in the issue that progresses or serves the characters. This is a big shame, but I feel it’s not any fault of Matthew K. Manning, but rather a behind the scenes choice to have each story arc only be three issues long. Manning has done a good job in the series so far at making the characters pop here and there, and I think that if he was given more time to play with the characters and story the issues would feel more satisfying from a story and character point of view.

But, please don’t take this as a complaint against the writer, as despite the brevity of the stories they have been very entertaining so far, and have showcased some of the characters that I’ve had very little knowledge of, such as Count Nefaria. It’s this use of more obscure characters and different storytelling sensibilities that makes the Marvel Action titles stand out.

The art is also another highlight, as Jon Sommariva makes even the simplest panel look dynamic and interesting, and the world of the Ruby Egress is filled with so many interesting and varied creatures, some familiar and some new, that it really stands out.

A much better middle part of the story than the first, one that gives a lot of information and packs in some good action, before setting up for what is sure to be an explosive finale.


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Wastelands: The New Apocalypse – Review Book

Originally published on Set The Tape

'Wastelands: The New Apocalypse' is the latest anthology from Titan Books, and the third book in the Wastelands series. Edited by John Joseph Adams, it collects together an impressive thirty-four short stories that take readers through a host of post-apocalyptic fiction.

One of the most impressive things about this collection is the sheer variety in the stories that it provides. The apocalypse is a wide and fertile environment, a place where writers can tell almost any kind of story, in as different or as recognisable a world as they like. Wastelands: The New Apocalypse cashes in on this.

Some of the stories have a very recognisable world to our own, one where the apocalypse is only recent, or wasn’t catastrophic enough to change things too much. In others, the end was years, sometimes even decades ago, and the environments are much more what you would expect to find in universes like Fallout or Metro. Some stories are set in such distant times that they become almost magical. Wherever the location, whatever the reasons for the apocalypse that created these worlds, the stories all have a very human story at their hearts.

‘Bullet Point’ by Elizabeth Bear tells the story of a young woman left in Las Vegas, the only person left in the city. Everyone else disappeared through some unexplained reason. When she finds one other person, a man, she must figure out if being alone is safer than being with someone else, and we get to see the effects this has on her psyche.

‘Not This War, Not This World’ by Jonathan Maberry, is set within the same universe as Night of the Living Dead and connects the author’s previous books with that world. It follows a military sniper as he tries to survive against the dead. Instead of focusing on fighting against the dead, as many zombie stories do, it shows the deep psychological damage that such an experience would have on someone, and how deeply it can break a spirit.

As well as examining the mental effects of the apocalypse, the book also tells stories about human love and companionship, and how important these connections are, even if the world around you is not the one that you remember.

‘Cannibal Acts’ by Maureen F. McHugh examines the relationship between two people stuck out in the end of the world, struggling to stay alive in Alaska, and how their love keeps them together, even when they are faced with one of the hardest choices in order to stay alive, and fall on opposite sides. ‘Otherwise’ by Nisis Shawl is about two young women in love, their journey to find another that means a great deal to one of them, and how that changes their love and their connection.

Some of the stories in 'Wastelands: The New Apocalypse' aren’t as deep, or even particularly long, yet manage to be just as enthralling and entertaining, such as the world where rabies has turned the majority of the population into raging maniacs, or the world where giant parrots have learnt to prey upon humans for survival, or the game show host who is still putting on his show for the survivors, to try and keep morale up.

'Wastelands: The New Apocalypse' can frighten, inspire, and shock. The stories within tell tales of survival, love, and the strength to overcome the impossible. The apocalypse can be grim and dangerous, yet also contain beauty and wonder, and this book provides all of those and more. With interesting and unique worlds, characters that pull you in, and stories that can be surprisingly complex, there’s something for everyone inside this new entry in the series.

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Trans Teen Loses Life To Suicide

16-year-old transgender teen José Matías De la Fuente Guevara has lost his life to suicide following a series of alleged abuse and bullying at his school.

José lost his life on May 23rd when he fell from the 11th floor of the building where he lived in the northern Chile town of Copiapó.

His mother, Marcella, told local press that José had begun to socially transition from the age of 13, taking on the name José and wearing masculine clothing, with the intention of living his life as his true gender. Sadly for José he was met with a great deal of bullying from his fellow students at Sacred Heart High School.

Reports indicate that José left a letter detailing his reasons for taking his own life, and that the bullying he had suffered from fellow students is one of the main reasons. When his mother was asked why he had not shared this information with his parents before she replied 'I think there was a feeling of wanting to protect us'.

After José's death his parents also became aware of videos that the teen had made on WhatsApp where he said that the bullying had left him wanting to take his own life, and that in one video that he had received a fellow student had told him to throw himself off his building.

Marcella also told the press that José had been made to leave a local dance group due to having transitioned, and that a school inspector had insulted his appearance, an incident that the school had refused to meet with her about.

‘The last conversation I had with him, he told me “change my school”,’ Marcela said. ‘I did not understand that the school was going to punish the boy for being different.’

‘My son always felt marginalized… he spent many hours exposed to strange looks, comments and teasing. As a mom I can say that I do not want to go to that school anymore, I want them to be stained with my son’s blood’.


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Wonder Woman 1984 Poster Reveals New Costume

A new poster for the upcoming DC film Wonder Woman 1984 has revealed a tantalising glimpse at a new costume for the titular hero.

Released by writer/director Patty Jenkins, the image shows off a startling gold armoured look for the Amazon warrior princess. Possibly taking some inspiration from golden outfits work by her fellow Amazon's in early Wonder Woman comics, the look is certainly different from other costumes that we've seen in the films, and looks amazing amid the bright technicolor of the new poster.

The poster was accompanied by an announcement that Warner Bros. would not be attending Comic Con  International this year.

Wonder Woman 1984 is set for release on June 5th 2020, and will star Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, Chris Pine as Steve Trevor, Connie Nielson as Hippolyta, Kristen Wig as Cheetah, and Pedro Pascal in an as yet unannounced role.


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Gareth Roberts Dropped From Doctor Who Book Following Transphobia

Author and screen writer Gareth Roberts, who has contributed to Doctor Who several times in the past, has been dropped from an upcoming Doctor Who anthology book, 'Doctor Who: The Target Storybook', following complaints regarding his transphobic views.

Roberts, who has previously written a number of Doctor Who books, as well as the television episodes 'The Shakespeare Code', 'The Unicorn and the Wasp', 'The Lodger', and 'Closing Time', was invited to contribute to the new anthology book being published by BBC Books, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House. However, when information about the book, and Roberts' contribution was leaked other writers on the project protested against his involvement, threatening to withdraw their work if he remained on the project.

With the prospect of losing several of the contributors BBC Books made the decision not to feature Roberts' work, though they would pay him for his contribution. BBC Books made it clear that the decision to remove Roberts was to avoid the book becoming 'economically unviable'.

Having been removed from the project Roberts' went online to complain about the situation, blaming tweets that he made in 2017 as the rain reason for the protest against him.

The tweets read, 'I love how trannies choose names like Munroe, Paris and Chelsea. It's never Julie or Bev is it? It's almost like a clueless gayboy's idea of a glamorous lady. But of course it's definitely not that.'

Roberts claimed that these tweets were 'cheerful vulgarity', and attempted to excuse away his use of a transphobic slur as being okay because he was gay man in the 1980's. He then went on to double down on his transphobia.

'Some have urged me to make a full, obeisant apology. Even if I was inclined to, I don’t think it would have any effect at all – for example, Helen Lewis of The New Statesman is currently being monstered for the most careful, respectful piece on this issue. I’m not bothered very much by words though I’m bothered when they distress my friends and family. But then, that’s how intimidation works. That’s why intimidators intimidate. (And I know for a fact it would be much worse for a woman in this position.)

'For the record this is my opinion on transgenderism and its ideology, with no humour or irony attached.

'I’ve rejected restrictive cultural gender stereotypes for as long as I can remember. I consider them to be very often harmful and constricting, especially for girls and women. The culture I enjoy most and the artists I like most are people who laugh at, bend and play with these roles.

'I don’t believe in gender identity. It is impossible for a person to change their biological sex. I don’t believe anybody is born in the wrong body.

'I think it’s wrong to – write a falsehood into law; compel people by law to speak words they do not believe; rewrite the law to remove women’s biological sex-based rights and protections; reinforce gender stereotypes; medicalise children who don’t conform to gender stereotypes. That’s it.

'I don’t believe my view should be protected either. People must be protected, ideas must never be. I would ask the writers who objected to my inclusion in the same book as them to reflect on that.

'My opinions on transgenderism are neither extreme nor unusual. It would be interesting to know if BBC Books/Random House would be prepared to pull from publication writing by Sharron Davies, Graham Linehan, Linda Bellos, Robert Webb, Germaine Greer, Lionel Shriver, Julie Burchill or Martina Navratilova.'

Despite only highlighting two of his past transphobic tweets in his statement Roberts has made many in the past that have used the word 'trannies', and have often insulted trans people as 'jokes'.

A spokesperson from the published has said that 'Ebury Publishing will no longer feature Gareth Roberts' work in the soon to be published Doctor Who: The Target Storybook. Comments made by the author on social media using offensive language about the transgender community have caused upset to Doctor Who fans and conflicted with our values as a publisher.'

Children's author Susie Day, one of the writers making a contribution to the anthology, complained about Roberts' involvement. She said that 'being involved felt like a tacit endorsement of his views'.

'I raised my concerns, and said if he was in, I was out. I don’t share a platform with bigots (including ones who say it’s all just bants, before restating their bigotry). I fully expected to be ditched. He’s a name in this world. I’m not. BBC Books made their decision. I'm grateful they took the opportunity to demonstrate that transphobic views have no place in the Whoniverse, both in and out of stories.' Day commented.

Many members of the Doctor Who fandom have taken to social media to support the decision to remove Roberts from the project, echoing similar sentiments to Susie Day, that transphobia has no place within the community. Unfortunately, a core group of fans of Roberts have been vocal in their siding with him, claiming that his removal is a violation of free speech.


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Animorphs: The Encounter - Book Review

'Jake, Rachel, Marco, Cassie, and Tobias were just ordinary kids until they were given the power to morph. Now the first four are extraordinary kids - and Tobias will never be a kid again. The five friends know they are the only ones who can save the human race from the evil Yeerks who plan to destroy it. But can Tobias still help now he's a hawk? Or should he just forget he was ever a boy - and fly away forever?'

Volume three of the Animorphs series is possibly one of the most interesting yet, as it not only expands upon the Yeerk threat, but also takes a look at the psychological effect that the battle has taken upon the five heroes, especially Tobias.

Flying above the city, Tobias senses a strange disturbance, yet is unable to see anything. It's only when a flock of geese hit an invisible barrier mid-flight that he discovers that the Yeerks have the ability to cloak their ships. Following this invisible threat, the Animorphs find out that the Yeerks are collecting water from a lake in one of the local forests to resupply their ships.

The teens make a plan to travel up into the mountains in wolf form, then transform into fish to enter the ship via it's water collection tubes so that they can destroy it from within.

The introduction of the Yeerk supply ships is a nice addition to the mythology, it shows that the Yeerks aren't able to produce everything that they need in order to survive, and that they will need to resupply from time to time. This opens a lot more options to our heroes to try and interfere in their plans. Whilst in this case it's water that the Yeerks are after, who's to know if there will be other times that the Animorphs will find supplies that their enemies need, and be able to disrupt that.

Thanks to some clever thinking, the team are able to destroy the Yeerk ship, though this is almost down to dumb luck. It gives our heroes a much needed win, a victory over their enemies that they've not really had yet, though doesn't make it easy enough that this will be something that they will be able to do every book. It's a hard fought win, and one that they almost didn't have.

Despite dealing with this new Yeerk threat the heart of the book is the struggle that Tobias has been going through since becoming trapped as a hawk. Whilst this had been explored briefly during the previous book, it was only done so in passing, and never from his point of view. Now that the story has shifted to his narration K.A. Applegate is able to really delve into this, and show just how devastating it has been for him.

It's not just the fact that Tobias has lost his body, and is suffering because he can't do the things he loved anymore, it's also the internal fight he has against the hawk's natural instincts. Whenever the Animorphs first morph we get to see them struggle against the animals instincts, but this is something that fades away after a little while, so the fact that it comes back for Tobias is something of a surprise. His fight to maintain his humanity, to try and retain a semblance of himself and not give in to living like an animal is possibly the hardest fight that he has had so far.

The Encounter is where Animorphs starts to feel more like a war, with the heroes planning a mission to disrupt their enemies supply chains, and where we get to see the physical and psychological effects that the battle has had upon them. The first indication that this won't just be a simple children's story where the heroes come out unscathed, this proves to be a more important chapter in the series that it first appears to be.

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