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Remnants #7
Isolation
The best-selling author of ANIMORPHS and EVERWORLD presents a fresh, exciting, and gritty new science-fiction series that combines a little 2001, a little Armageddon, and a whole lot of action!
Three groups race to gain control of the ship and Mother--the ship’s power source and the Remnants’ only chance to create a new Earth. It’s a race against the clock, each other, and forces beyond human comprehension...it’s a race the humans may not be capable of winning. And it all leads to the ultimate face-off between Billy and the Baby’s true form. Will the Baby prove indestructible? Will Billy be able to tap hidden powers? Their conflict rushes toward an end so finite, so unbelievable, weapons will be dropped in awe, fighting will cease for a time...and new enemies will emerge.
Three groups race to gain control of the ship and Mother--the ship’s power source and the Remnants’ only chance to create a new Earth. It’s a race against the clock, each other, and forces beyond human comprehension...it’s a race the humans may not be capable of winning. And it all leads to the ultimate face-off between Billy and the Baby’s true form. Will the Baby prove indestructible? Will Billy be able to tap hidden powers? Their conflict rushes toward an end so finite, so unbelievable, weapons will be dropped in awe, fighting will cease for a time...and new enemies will emerge.
158 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2002
3 people are currently reading
289 people want to read
About the author
K.A. Applegate
251 books496 followersalso published under the name Katherine Applegate
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 9, 2017
We've officially reached the midpoint of the series. This book has a lot going on--shifting alliances between the Remnants (once more split into two factions), Blue Meanies, and Riders, minor characters suddenly acquiring depth (Tate!), and the long-awaited reveal of the Baby's true form--but it manages to feel more focused as all these disparate factions are now shown to have a single goal: control over Mother and the environment they've been forced to call home. Though there is an epic three-way battle between Riders, Meanies, and Squids, the real climax is a mental battle between Billy and the Shipwright fighting in a dream arena created by the power of their minds. This was easily my favorite part, and reminds of just how creative and strange the series has been so far.
This isn't a five-star book though, for a few reasons:
1) Okay, so the Baby is really a Shipwright sent to gain control of Mother--wut? How did it merge with/transform into Tamara's baby? Do Shipwrights naturally shapeshift or do they have some kind of morphing technology (paging Animorphs)? Who sent it/why is it just this one Shipwright? None of these loose ends is ever satisfactorily explained.
2) What the hell is Billy? The Shipwright calls him the ancient enemy... oookay? That's not exactly a clear answer.
3) Tate's character. Don't get me wrong, she gets a lot of development and is great; this isn't a criticism of how she was written, but of what got left out. According to some other reviews, she was supposed to be a lesbian but Scholastic canned it. For SHAME, Scholastic. You could've been the vanguard of LGBTQ-positive fiction in 2002, but because of the possibility a few bigots would've complained, you, as Mo might say, bunnied out. These books may be old now, but this decision still deserves all the criticism.
Sidenote: I'm now completely at a loss as to who it is on the cover. I was positive for years that it's supposed to be Jobs, but everyone on GR is saying it's either D-Caf or Anamull, and it doesn't look like my mental image of either of them. Gorgeous cover though--the first time I read this series I used to spend a few seconds admiring it before getting down to reading.
This isn't a five-star book though, for a few reasons:
1) Okay, so the Baby is really a Shipwright sent to gain control of Mother--wut? How did it merge with/transform into Tamara's baby? Do Shipwrights naturally shapeshift or do they have some kind of morphing technology (paging Animorphs)? Who sent it/why is it just this one Shipwright? None of these loose ends is ever satisfactorily explained.
2) What the hell is Billy? The Shipwright calls him the ancient enemy... oookay? That's not exactly a clear answer.
3) Tate's character. Don't get me wrong, she gets a lot of development and is great; this isn't a criticism of how she was written, but of what got left out. According to some other reviews, she was supposed to be a lesbian but Scholastic canned it. For SHAME, Scholastic. You could've been the vanguard of LGBTQ-positive fiction in 2002, but because of the possibility a few bigots would've complained, you, as Mo might say, bunnied out. These books may be old now, but this decision still deserves all the criticism.
Sidenote: I'm now completely at a loss as to who it is on the cover. I was positive for years that it's supposed to be Jobs, but everyone on GR is saying it's either D-Caf or Anamull, and it doesn't look like my mental image of either of them. Gorgeous cover though--the first time I read this series I used to spend a few seconds admiring it before getting down to reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 6, 2014
Mike is Very Very Angry: A Review in Two (and a half) Parts
Part .5: Fuck You, TVTropes...
...if you lied to me about what I'm about to describe. Because that would be embarrassing.
Part 1: Fuck You, Scholastic
Fuck you. FUCK YOU.
Alright, so I should explain why I'm so angry, even though this review has two parts. See, here's what happened: Tate, one of the minor characters in this series, was written by Applegrant to be a lesbian. But then Scholastic removed it. They censored it.
There is no gif to describe my anger. There are no words to describe my anger. I am angry. I want to give into my primal urges and attack someone.
But I won't do that. I am going to talk intelligently to the people who decided to do this. Because I believe that anger will get me nowhere. So, Scholastic, sit back. I'm going to be kind to you. I'm going to give you a chance. See? I'm not as crazy as I seemed!
Okay, but in all seriousness, this is to the person or the committee that made this decision. I'm going to go in with the assumption that you made this for business reasons, not ethical ones - that tends to be how businesses work, in my experience. There are two potential outcomes that might have happened if you had allowed Tate's lesbianism to be explicit:
1.) People freak out
A large group of conservatives get their hands on the book and find it offensive. Their path will probably be to try to get it banned from every library that they can. This kind of thing gets attention. This kind of thing makes books famous. I mean, imagine how big a deal it would be if people freaked out. The book would get on the news! It would get tons and tons of attention! Suddenly, it would be nationally famous. And for everybody who tries to get it banned, there would be someone else who buys the book to see what all the fuss is about. And there would be people from the LGBTQ community who would celebrate it - lots of people. The entire series - which had been, I understand, struggling to attract sales - would suddenly skyrocket into the bestseller lists. Yes, people would boycott Scholastic, but it wouldn't be very many people, and most boycotts only last for about a month, anyway.
This sounds like a pretty good outcome, no?
2.) Nobody cares
This outcome is a lot more likely. The book gets quietly banned from a couple of small bookstores and libraries. A few people are angry. But for the most part, its audience won't care. The series will sell at approximately the same level it did before. Maybe one person will decide to boycott Scholastic. But it won't be a big deal. This might seem like an impossible outcome, but the exact same thing happened to Empress of the World, released a full year before this book was. Granted, that was a teen book, and this is middle grade, but it still stands.
The truth is, even twelve years ago, the vast majority of sci-fi readers did not give a fuck about gay people. Orson Scott Card notwithstanding, most sci-fi readers are actually fine with it. There will always be a couple of people who aren't, but it doesn't matter. Applegrant's work has always had somewhat of a Liberal bias anyway - if any parents were going to care, they probably would've already stopped the kid from reading the series by now.
The truth is, there's no reason to censor this book. As a publishing company, Scholastic, you have a lot of control over the ideas that kids are exposed to. In some ways, you even have control over what they think about and how they think about it. And because you're in that position of power, it's your job to show kids a wide and diverse range of ideas. What do you gain by limiting them, by cutting them off? By doing that, you close their minds. For every new idea that you shoot down, you slowly chip away at their ability to think for themselves. You take away the value of reading. And you can't do that. It's just not acceptable.
God damnit, I hate that this decision was made. Have you gotten that impression yet? I really hated that the decision was made. I really am angry. It's worth noting, though, that things got better. When Michael Grant wrote the Gone series, he wrote Dekka, who's an almost identical character, and her lesbianism was explicit. (Although she had nothing on Tate's superpower. I mean, gravity canceling? Come on, Grant. You can do better than that.) More importantly, Scholastic did eventually let an author write a gay character, in the graphic novel Drama, and just as I predicted, exactly three people gave a fuck.
Part 2: Fuck You, Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant
Fuck you for making this book so good.
Why couldn't this have happened to some bad book that no one cares about? Why did it have to be this series, that I care about so much? Why did it have to be such an excellent book, full of suspenseful and unpredictable action scenes, full of phenomenal characterization, full of good writing? It's not fair. I know it's selfish, but I want this to have happened to some typical kids book. Something cliched and boring, something that I could martyr. I want to be able to say, "This was a bad book, but no book deserves this."
But I can't say that here, because this book was so damn good.
You know why I admire Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant? Because when they write kids books, they push the boundaries of what a kids book can do. They don't just tell a story filled with action, they make kids think. They write complex moral situations. They write human, imperfect characters. And particularly in this series, they write with diversity. Tate was part of their attempt to do that, and Scholastic shot them down. Their intentions were noble as hell, and Scholastic got in their way. No author deserves what Scholastic did, but especially not authors who write books that are genuinely challenging and interesting. They deserve better than this. They deserve editors and publishers that make their books better, that take out the flaws and enhance what's good. Scholastic didn't do that. Scholastic broke them down.
Fuck you, Scholastic. And Applegrant? Fuck you, too. Fuck you for making me care about a series the way I do Remnants only for me to watch it be torn down like this.
But, of course, the fact that this review was a tremendous downer won't stop me from writing my statistics! This is still a review of Remnants, after all.
Body count: 1 ()
Horror count: 1 (The baby. This is all we need to say.)
Plot hole count: 1 (So... How does that even work? It was an awesome twist, but it still made no sense.)
'Marry me and live on a hosueboat' character of the day: Tate, because she deserves a hug right now. And 2Face, because no matter what happens, she's always 2Face.
Part .5: Fuck You, TVTropes...
...if you lied to me about what I'm about to describe. Because that would be embarrassing.
Part 1: Fuck You, Scholastic
Fuck you. FUCK YOU.
Alright, so I should explain why I'm so angry, even though this review has two parts. See, here's what happened: Tate, one of the minor characters in this series, was written by Applegrant to be a lesbian. But then Scholastic removed it. They censored it.
There is no gif to describe my anger. There are no words to describe my anger. I am angry. I want to give into my primal urges and attack someone.
But I won't do that. I am going to talk intelligently to the people who decided to do this. Because I believe that anger will get me nowhere. So, Scholastic, sit back. I'm going to be kind to you. I'm going to give you a chance. See? I'm not as crazy as I seemed!
Okay, but in all seriousness, this is to the person or the committee that made this decision. I'm going to go in with the assumption that you made this for business reasons, not ethical ones - that tends to be how businesses work, in my experience. There are two potential outcomes that might have happened if you had allowed Tate's lesbianism to be explicit:
1.) People freak out
A large group of conservatives get their hands on the book and find it offensive. Their path will probably be to try to get it banned from every library that they can. This kind of thing gets attention. This kind of thing makes books famous. I mean, imagine how big a deal it would be if people freaked out. The book would get on the news! It would get tons and tons of attention! Suddenly, it would be nationally famous. And for everybody who tries to get it banned, there would be someone else who buys the book to see what all the fuss is about. And there would be people from the LGBTQ community who would celebrate it - lots of people. The entire series - which had been, I understand, struggling to attract sales - would suddenly skyrocket into the bestseller lists. Yes, people would boycott Scholastic, but it wouldn't be very many people, and most boycotts only last for about a month, anyway.
This sounds like a pretty good outcome, no?
2.) Nobody cares
This outcome is a lot more likely. The book gets quietly banned from a couple of small bookstores and libraries. A few people are angry. But for the most part, its audience won't care. The series will sell at approximately the same level it did before. Maybe one person will decide to boycott Scholastic. But it won't be a big deal. This might seem like an impossible outcome, but the exact same thing happened to Empress of the World, released a full year before this book was. Granted, that was a teen book, and this is middle grade, but it still stands.
The truth is, even twelve years ago, the vast majority of sci-fi readers did not give a fuck about gay people. Orson Scott Card notwithstanding, most sci-fi readers are actually fine with it. There will always be a couple of people who aren't, but it doesn't matter. Applegrant's work has always had somewhat of a Liberal bias anyway - if any parents were going to care, they probably would've already stopped the kid from reading the series by now.
The truth is, there's no reason to censor this book. As a publishing company, Scholastic, you have a lot of control over the ideas that kids are exposed to. In some ways, you even have control over what they think about and how they think about it. And because you're in that position of power, it's your job to show kids a wide and diverse range of ideas. What do you gain by limiting them, by cutting them off? By doing that, you close their minds. For every new idea that you shoot down, you slowly chip away at their ability to think for themselves. You take away the value of reading. And you can't do that. It's just not acceptable.
God damnit, I hate that this decision was made. Have you gotten that impression yet? I really hated that the decision was made. I really am angry. It's worth noting, though, that things got better. When Michael Grant wrote the Gone series, he wrote Dekka, who's an almost identical character, and her lesbianism was explicit. (Although she had nothing on Tate's superpower. I mean, gravity canceling? Come on, Grant. You can do better than that.) More importantly, Scholastic did eventually let an author write a gay character, in the graphic novel Drama, and just as I predicted, exactly three people gave a fuck.
Part 2: Fuck You, Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant
Fuck you for making this book so good.
Why couldn't this have happened to some bad book that no one cares about? Why did it have to be this series, that I care about so much? Why did it have to be such an excellent book, full of suspenseful and unpredictable action scenes, full of phenomenal characterization, full of good writing? It's not fair. I know it's selfish, but I want this to have happened to some typical kids book. Something cliched and boring, something that I could martyr. I want to be able to say, "This was a bad book, but no book deserves this."
But I can't say that here, because this book was so damn good.
You know why I admire Katherine Applegate and Michael Grant? Because when they write kids books, they push the boundaries of what a kids book can do. They don't just tell a story filled with action, they make kids think. They write complex moral situations. They write human, imperfect characters. And particularly in this series, they write with diversity. Tate was part of their attempt to do that, and Scholastic shot them down. Their intentions were noble as hell, and Scholastic got in their way. No author deserves what Scholastic did, but especially not authors who write books that are genuinely challenging and interesting. They deserve better than this. They deserve editors and publishers that make their books better, that take out the flaws and enhance what's good. Scholastic didn't do that. Scholastic broke them down.
Fuck you, Scholastic. And Applegrant? Fuck you, too. Fuck you for making me care about a series the way I do Remnants only for me to watch it be torn down like this.
But, of course, the fact that this review was a tremendous downer won't stop me from writing my statistics! This is still a review of Remnants, after all.
Body count: 1 ()
Horror count: 1 (The baby. This is all we need to say.)
Plot hole count: 1 (So... How does that even work? It was an awesome twist, but it still made no sense.)
'Marry me and live on a hosueboat' character of the day: Tate, because she deserves a hug right now. And 2Face, because no matter what happens, she's always 2Face.
July 2, 2019
Selviytyjät joutuvat valitsemaan, seuratako Tamaraa ja Vauvaa vai 2Facea. Vauvan motiivit ovat epäselvät, mutta kun Tamara onnistuu pääsemään Ratsastajien johtajaksi, ei asiasta ole epäselvyyttä. Häntä seuraavat ihmiset pakotetaan mukaan taisteluun Häijyjä sinisiä vastaan, jotta Vauva eli aluksentekijä voi vallata aluksen takaisin itselleen. Ehtivätkö 2Face ja Billy väliin, ennen kuin aluksentekijä ehtii toteuttaa suunnitelmansa?
April 24, 2025
ISOLATION marks the official halfway point of the ‘Remnants’ series. I bought the entirety of the series sight unseen because of my fanaticism for K.A. Applegate’s ‘Animorphs’ series and my generally positive feelings about her/their ‘Everworld’ series. There have been moments in the first six books which impressed me: for instance, when the fifth book opened with Kubrick being literally flayed alive. However, my overall feeling about the series so far is that it is running in place. The overall plot about the humans’ desire to understand and control Mother, the enormous spaceship they’re trapped on, is losing my interest. Additionally, there are now multiple alien races which have come to play a major part in the story (Riders, “Blue Meanies”, and Shipwrights), but they’re mostly undifferentiated to me. Because of my increasingly apathetic response to the series as a whole, I have been slightly reluctant to continue on. Nevertheless, I do feel obligated to see this thing through, so here we are on Book #7.
A lot of Goodreads reviewers awarded this entry in the series 4 or 5 stars, calling it one of the better entries. Well, you can see, I gave it 2 stars. I understand why others rated it more highly. There’s some significant events occurring here: Tamara and her eyeless baby position themselves as leaders of the Riders, directing them to attack the Children/"Blue Meanies", leading to a huge war scene; the baby increases its power, transforming more and more into a Shipwright and losing its grip on Tamara, who is starting to regain a small bit of her humanity; and, most importantly, the whole thing comes down to a showdown between Billy Weir and the Baby/Shipwright, who have a mind-battle in which they fight in a cavernous white space inventing imaginary weapons with which to attack one another. The Shipwright loses, seemingly destroyed, meaning that at book’s end Tamara is officially free (although what that means for her character is yet to be seen) and Billy is more god-like than he’s ever been. He may be now in control of Mother as well? That’s not entirely clear.
So yes, there are a number of events here which signify significance, but none of it excited me. The war between the Riders and Blue Meanies was essentially background noise. The strengthening of the Baby/Shipwright wasn’t exactly a source of tension. The mind-battle between Billy and the Shipwright is kind of neat, I guess, but the setting of their battle invites the most outrageous inventiveness, yet in practice they both throw a bomb at one another and then Billy has to get over a large stone wall and that’s about it. The promise of the moment is mostly squandered.
Then there’s Yago, who in this book has suddenly become a religious fanatic (where the Savior of his religion is himself, of course). I am not eager to read more about this, yet the final moments of ISOLATION set up Yago as directly opposed to Billy, so apparently this is going to take a more central role in at least the next book if not more. And aside from Billy and Tamara, so much of the activity of the other Remnants is exactly the same as in earlier books: running around aimlessly trying to stay out of harm’s way, but not really doing anything. I’m not particularly fond of any of the characters anyway, and I think part of that is because none of them have been developed much beyond their log-lines. Jobs is the analytical one. Mo’Steel is adventurous. Violet is motherly. Yago is self-centered. To the extent that the books have tried to humanize or let the audience in on the characters’ internal struggles, those moments exist for the duration of the scene but do not deepen the characters as a whole. In my review of book #5, MUTATION, I expressed a feeling that Kubrick could turn into an interesting character but here he shows up only momentarily and is mostly lovestruck over 2Face for some reason. I don’t recall that from the previous book.
I’m less willing to give the series the benefit of the doubt at this point. I’m sure it’s possible—likely, even—that Applegate will pull off another shocking/stunning moment in future books, some matter-of-fact bit of narrative that gives a real gut-punch. But I suspect that even if/when that does occur, it will remain just a momentary rallying and not a sign of improvement for the series as a whole. I would love to be proven wrong, but the events of this book seem like they were meant to be momentous and they did not connect with me at all. I can’t really envision 'Remnants' winning me over at this point.
A lot of Goodreads reviewers awarded this entry in the series 4 or 5 stars, calling it one of the better entries. Well, you can see, I gave it 2 stars. I understand why others rated it more highly. There’s some significant events occurring here: Tamara and her eyeless baby position themselves as leaders of the Riders, directing them to attack the Children/"Blue Meanies", leading to a huge war scene; the baby increases its power, transforming more and more into a Shipwright and losing its grip on Tamara, who is starting to regain a small bit of her humanity; and, most importantly, the whole thing comes down to a showdown between Billy Weir and the Baby/Shipwright, who have a mind-battle in which they fight in a cavernous white space inventing imaginary weapons with which to attack one another. The Shipwright loses, seemingly destroyed, meaning that at book’s end Tamara is officially free (although what that means for her character is yet to be seen) and Billy is more god-like than he’s ever been. He may be now in control of Mother as well? That’s not entirely clear.
So yes, there are a number of events here which signify significance, but none of it excited me. The war between the Riders and Blue Meanies was essentially background noise. The strengthening of the Baby/Shipwright wasn’t exactly a source of tension. The mind-battle between Billy and the Shipwright is kind of neat, I guess, but the setting of their battle invites the most outrageous inventiveness, yet in practice they both throw a bomb at one another and then Billy has to get over a large stone wall and that’s about it. The promise of the moment is mostly squandered.
Then there’s Yago, who in this book has suddenly become a religious fanatic (where the Savior of his religion is himself, of course). I am not eager to read more about this, yet the final moments of ISOLATION set up Yago as directly opposed to Billy, so apparently this is going to take a more central role in at least the next book if not more. And aside from Billy and Tamara, so much of the activity of the other Remnants is exactly the same as in earlier books: running around aimlessly trying to stay out of harm’s way, but not really doing anything. I’m not particularly fond of any of the characters anyway, and I think part of that is because none of them have been developed much beyond their log-lines. Jobs is the analytical one. Mo’Steel is adventurous. Violet is motherly. Yago is self-centered. To the extent that the books have tried to humanize or let the audience in on the characters’ internal struggles, those moments exist for the duration of the scene but do not deepen the characters as a whole. In my review of book #5, MUTATION, I expressed a feeling that Kubrick could turn into an interesting character but here he shows up only momentarily and is mostly lovestruck over 2Face for some reason. I don’t recall that from the previous book.
I’m less willing to give the series the benefit of the doubt at this point. I’m sure it’s possible—likely, even—that Applegate will pull off another shocking/stunning moment in future books, some matter-of-fact bit of narrative that gives a real gut-punch. But I suspect that even if/when that does occur, it will remain just a momentary rallying and not a sign of improvement for the series as a whole. I would love to be proven wrong, but the events of this book seem like they were meant to be momentous and they did not connect with me at all. I can’t really envision 'Remnants' winning me over at this point.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2016
I had thought the guy on the cover might be Anamull, as he has the sort of almost fierce expression I associate with Anamull’s tough comportment. It’s sure not Billy, Yago, or Jobs, or even Mo’Steel. And he’s too fierce looking (and young) to be T.R. or Burroway. But I guess it must be D-Caf instead, stalking in the trees as he spies on someone. Even though he looks pretty much nothing like I imagine D-Caf…
You know all of those alliance shifts and divisions and build up we’ve been having the past couple of volumes? And how it has essentially been a battle over who will own Mother? Well, here’s the climax of it. Yago’s gone off the deep(er) end, we finally get more of Tate (Woohoo!!), the Baby is seriously Trouble Exemplified, not to mention there’s an all-out battle between Riders and Blue Meanies/Children and Squids which the Remnants may or may not get caught in the middle of. Oh, and let’s not forget the epic face-off between the two most powerful players in this game (that we know of). By the end of this match, all the rules of the game will be changed.
I am so glad we finally really got some of Tate’s POV, and even some more of D-Caf’s. Tate up until now was basically an enigma with some serious intuition, while D-Caf was … basically a twitchy toady despite how he sees pretty much everything. Apparently Applegate/Grant had originally written Tate to be a lesbian, but Scholastic nixed that out? (Thanks Mike for pointing it out, I never would have known otherwise!) Which is really unfortunate, because we have so much diversity in this book, having a lesbian character would just make it that more complete in its diversity. Not to mention it really gives Tate more depth. I can also see that Scholastic was not quite able to get all the innuendos out, though, because it is clear Tate has a (more than a) vested interest in well-being. As for D-Caf, I’m glad he made the decision he did, and I just hope that he means it completely honestly, and that there won’t be some surprise later where he reneges on this decision. Because really, there’s no good reason for him – or anyone else in his place for that matter -- to go back on his decision.
I think it’s kind of … cute that Kubrick He’s like a lovesick puppy, just wanting someone to love him despite his feelings of inferiority. Maybe he also .
Something I have been noticing is that most of the female Remnants are very motherly in one way or another– Olga is Mo’Steel’s mom and worries about him; Dr. Cohen looks out for Noyze; 2Face and Violet each in turn watch over Edward when Jobs can’t. Tamara has her baby (okay, not a great example, as she’s essentially brain-washed), and Tate . About the only exception was Wylson Lefkowitz-Blake… and we all know what happened to her by now.
Side note: I love random alien jargon!!
By the end of this book, everything has changed, and I am really wondering where is going to take it from here.
Quotes:
Word of the book: friable, adj.: easily crumbled or reduced to powder; crumbly (page 16)
Typo:
…for the one who followed his like a lovesick mnok … -- page 124 – should be “followed him like”.
You know all of those alliance shifts and divisions and build up we’ve been having the past couple of volumes? And how it has essentially been a battle over who will own Mother? Well, here’s the climax of it. Yago’s gone off the deep(er) end, we finally get more of Tate (Woohoo!!), the Baby is seriously Trouble Exemplified, not to mention there’s an all-out battle between Riders and Blue Meanies/Children and Squids which the Remnants may or may not get caught in the middle of. Oh, and let’s not forget the epic face-off between the two most powerful players in this game (that we know of). By the end of this match, all the rules of the game will be changed.
I am so glad we finally really got some of Tate’s POV, and even some more of D-Caf’s. Tate up until now was basically an enigma with some serious intuition, while D-Caf was … basically a twitchy toady despite how he sees pretty much everything. Apparently Applegate/Grant had originally written Tate to be a lesbian, but Scholastic nixed that out? (Thanks Mike for pointing it out, I never would have known otherwise!) Which is really unfortunate, because we have so much diversity in this book, having a lesbian character would just make it that more complete in its diversity. Not to mention it really gives Tate more depth. I can also see that Scholastic was not quite able to get all the innuendos out, though, because it is clear Tate has a (more than a) vested interest in well-being. As for D-Caf, I’m glad he made the decision he did, and I just hope that he means it completely honestly, and that there won’t be some surprise later where he reneges on this decision. Because really, there’s no good reason for him – or anyone else in his place for that matter -- to go back on his decision.
I think it’s kind of … cute that Kubrick He’s like a lovesick puppy, just wanting someone to love him despite his feelings of inferiority. Maybe he also .
Something I have been noticing is that most of the female Remnants are very motherly in one way or another– Olga is Mo’Steel’s mom and worries about him; Dr. Cohen looks out for Noyze; 2Face and Violet each in turn watch over Edward when Jobs can’t. Tamara has her baby (okay, not a great example, as she’s essentially brain-washed), and Tate . About the only exception was Wylson Lefkowitz-Blake… and we all know what happened to her by now.
Side note: I love random alien jargon!!
By the end of this book, everything has changed, and I am really wondering where is going to take it from here.
Quotes:
Word of the book: friable, adj.: easily crumbled or reduced to powder; crumbly (page 16)
Typo:
…for the one who followed his like a lovesick mnok … -- page 124 – should be “followed him like”.
April 30, 2024
Love revisiting this series with my 9yo! Hard to put the books down.
May 17, 2023
Okay, but how are we only halfway through the series? This book felt like it could’ve been a wrap up to the adventure with everything that happened and all the mysteries of that were solved. How are they gonna make things messy again? Time to find out.
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December 30, 2021I guess this marks the official divide of the series in two.
February 27, 2022
One of a very few good parts in my opinion.
July 21, 2016
This one was actually very very good -- 4.5 stars, and the closest I've wanted to give 5 stars to a Remnants book (I may still backtrack to up my rating, depending on how the rest go). The scale of the action at the end made it almost feel like a series finale; although being the seventh book in a fourteen book series, I suppose it's more fitting to say that it's the mid-season climax.
The race to the bridge of the ship continues, as multiple forces all converge in an attempt to reach Mother: our two factions of Remnants, an army of Blue Meanies/Children, a force of Squids, and an even larger army of Riders. The stakes are really really high, and the action is, well, Hollywood movie-level!
I rank this book so high because it propels the main plot forward with a concrete goal, and some gamechanging developments at the end. Plus it keeps up my favourite trend of featuring a couple alien POV chapters, so we learn a bit more about the Shipwrights/Makers, too. And thank christ, thank christ, finally, by the end of this, (SPOILER)
Although, Yago :( He's gone even further off the deep end, and not even in a way that's especially interesting to me, because it is just TOO bonkers? It reminds me of the way Terry Pratchett pokes fun at insane cultists in Discworld: their eyes gleaming too much, as they stare fixedly at your left ear. As a counter-example, it reminds me a bit of Locke in LOST, who through his harrowing experiences became transcendent and convinced that he was The One, complete with placid acceptance of fate and trusting in destiny etc... except that Locke's arc is one of the best, most heartbreaking, wrenching ones I've ever encountered in fiction. I'm hoping Yago's storyline will be more interesting than it was in this book, because right now, it doesn't look promising.
Also worth noting, if what I hear is true: apparently Tate was meant to be written as a lesbian, but it didn't make it past Scholastic. (I fully believe it, because it would completely explain her crush on Tamara -- which currently could be handwaved as hero-worship and looking up to Tamara as a role model, but there's also such resemblances between Tate in Remnants and Dekka in Michael Grant's Gone that I think the latter character really is an attempt to fix what Applegrant weren't allowed to do in this series.)
Two questions for the masses (i.e. Stephanie & Mike):
1) If anyone can explain to me why the previous book was called Breakdown and this one is called Isolation, I will give them a cookie. Like, the book titles fit the Remnants series as a whole, but part of what makes it hard for me to remember what happens in each book individually is that the titles are so vague, and don't directly apply to the events within?
2) Also, who is the character on the cover?? It's been bugging me and I simply cannot figure it out.
The race to the bridge of the ship continues, as multiple forces all converge in an attempt to reach Mother: our two factions of Remnants, an army of Blue Meanies/Children, a force of Squids, and an even larger army of Riders. The stakes are really really high, and the action is, well, Hollywood movie-level!
I rank this book so high because it propels the main plot forward with a concrete goal, and some gamechanging developments at the end. Plus it keeps up my favourite trend of featuring a couple alien POV chapters, so we learn a bit more about the Shipwrights/Makers, too. And thank christ, thank christ, finally, by the end of this, (SPOILER)
Although, Yago :( He's gone even further off the deep end, and not even in a way that's especially interesting to me, because it is just TOO bonkers? It reminds me of the way Terry Pratchett pokes fun at insane cultists in Discworld: their eyes gleaming too much, as they stare fixedly at your left ear. As a counter-example, it reminds me a bit of Locke in LOST, who through his harrowing experiences became transcendent and convinced that he was The One, complete with placid acceptance of fate and trusting in destiny etc... except that Locke's arc is one of the best, most heartbreaking, wrenching ones I've ever encountered in fiction. I'm hoping Yago's storyline will be more interesting than it was in this book, because right now, it doesn't look promising.
Also worth noting, if what I hear is true: apparently Tate was meant to be written as a lesbian, but it didn't make it past Scholastic. (I fully believe it, because it would completely explain her crush on Tamara -- which currently could be handwaved as hero-worship and looking up to Tamara as a role model, but there's also such resemblances between Tate in Remnants and Dekka in Michael Grant's Gone that I think the latter character really is an attempt to fix what Applegrant weren't allowed to do in this series.)
Two questions for the masses (i.e. Stephanie & Mike):
1) If anyone can explain to me why the previous book was called Breakdown and this one is called Isolation, I will give them a cookie. Like, the book titles fit the Remnants series as a whole, but part of what makes it hard for me to remember what happens in each book individually is that the titles are so vague, and don't directly apply to the events within?
2) Also, who is the character on the cover?? It's been bugging me and I simply cannot figure it out.
January 9, 2017
I don't even know anymore. These books are so short, I can't keep track what happens in one as opposed to the next.
There are three different alien species along with the last of the humans, all fighting for control of Mother (the ship). These two books were about a war, a "final battle" between the aliens, the humans just trying to stay alive.
In addition to the editing, one of the characters is really reducing my enjoyment of the series. He's the US president's son, spoiled rotten. As the book is set in the near future, people can get genetic work done to themselves, so he used it to look perfect and used the DNA of cats to get golden, glowing cat eyes. He won the "hottest teen in the world" award many years running. He's just such an unpleasant person, I hate spending any time reading about him. And now, due to plot happenings, he thinks he's a god, which only makes him even more unpleasant to read about. He's just the type of bad guy I hate: black/white. He's nothing but 100% bad, nothing to balance him or make him interesting. In these last two books, he wasn't featured much, but I worry where this whole god plot is going.
This series has been pretty good thus far about making the survivors' skills reasonable, until this last book. One of the kids, who is a computer wiz, is confronted with a "keyboard" (a panel of symbols) to an alien computer in an alien language. In minutes, he realizes a firewall is blocking their task. Moments later, he's successfully hacked through it. All in a language he does not know, using something he hadn't even realized was a keyboard/computer moments earlier. Blah.
The series is 14 books long, so I just hit the midpoint of it. I'm quickly losing interest in it though, I don't know if I'll make it to the end.
There are three different alien species along with the last of the humans, all fighting for control of Mother (the ship). These two books were about a war, a "final battle" between the aliens, the humans just trying to stay alive.
In addition to the editing, one of the characters is really reducing my enjoyment of the series. He's the US president's son, spoiled rotten. As the book is set in the near future, people can get genetic work done to themselves, so he used it to look perfect and used the DNA of cats to get golden, glowing cat eyes. He won the "hottest teen in the world" award many years running. He's just such an unpleasant person, I hate spending any time reading about him. And now, due to plot happenings, he thinks he's a god, which only makes him even more unpleasant to read about. He's just the type of bad guy I hate: black/white. He's nothing but 100% bad, nothing to balance him or make him interesting. In these last two books, he wasn't featured much, but I worry where this whole god plot is going.
This series has been pretty good thus far about making the survivors' skills reasonable, until this last book. One of the kids, who is a computer wiz, is confronted with a "keyboard" (a panel of symbols) to an alien computer in an alien language. In minutes, he realizes a firewall is blocking their task. Moments later, he's successfully hacked through it. All in a language he does not know, using something he hadn't even realized was a keyboard/computer moments earlier. Blah.
The series is 14 books long, so I just hit the midpoint of it. I'm quickly losing interest in it though, I don't know if I'll make it to the end.
August 12, 2014
The humans who are still alive from their destroyed planet are unable to find common ground, and they are split up into three groups at the start of this book. There is a showdown between the true entity behind the Baby and Billy, and Yago is devolving into a completely out of touch self-aggrandizing zombie. (Well, not that that's that much different from how he was before.) The fight between Riders and Meanies continues, and what finally happens to the future of humanity will be decided by the outcome of the fight for Mother.
This book was so scattered because of the multiple battles and incredible weirdness and instability in just about everyone, so sometimes it was hard to follow, though that also emphasized the confusion the characters themselves must be going through. 2Face continued to be interesting in this book. I kept waiting for her to turn into something really amazing. Tate is also a really cool character. It's tough to absorb and ruminate on anything the characters are experiencing because the pace is incredibly fast throughout. Some of the battle scenes are very graphic. What's really amazing about these books up to this point is that even among aliens and battles, humans can really be the scariest thing around.
This book was so scattered because of the multiple battles and incredible weirdness and instability in just about everyone, so sometimes it was hard to follow, though that also emphasized the confusion the characters themselves must be going through. 2Face continued to be interesting in this book. I kept waiting for her to turn into something really amazing. Tate is also a really cool character. It's tough to absorb and ruminate on anything the characters are experiencing because the pace is incredibly fast throughout. Some of the battle scenes are very graphic. What's really amazing about these books up to this point is that even among aliens and battles, humans can really be the scariest thing around.
May 10, 2013
Remnants- by: KA Applegate
This book is pretty good. It has lots of adventure in it, so that’s why I wanted to read this book. It turns out that I really liked this book. It has lots of fun stuff. It is also interesting. But It is probably not in my top 10 list of books.
Billy and Yogo are friends and they fight enemies from another planet to save the earth and everyone on it that is left. There are three groups that try to save the world. They want to save and take control of the ship. Getting where they are going is the only way to save the Earth. There conflict between each other is so vast it is hard to do what is needed for all of them. They need to get along and work together.
This book is good. I may consider reading KA Applegate’s books but there are a lot, so I may not be able to. Her next book looks good but I don’t know. Her books are adventures. I don’t care for adventure. But some people do so I will recommend this book to them.
Landon Lundquist
This book is pretty good. It has lots of adventure in it, so that’s why I wanted to read this book. It turns out that I really liked this book. It has lots of fun stuff. It is also interesting. But It is probably not in my top 10 list of books.
Billy and Yogo are friends and they fight enemies from another planet to save the earth and everyone on it that is left. There are three groups that try to save the world. They want to save and take control of the ship. Getting where they are going is the only way to save the Earth. There conflict between each other is so vast it is hard to do what is needed for all of them. They need to get along and work together.
This book is good. I may consider reading KA Applegate’s books but there are a lot, so I may not be able to. Her next book looks good but I don’t know. Her books are adventures. I don’t care for adventure. But some people do so I will recommend this book to them.
Landon Lundquist
April 1, 2008
A lot more action in this book than in the last.
All of the aliens; the blue meanies, the riders, the squid, launch into all out war over control of the bridge and ultimately Mother. The Baby, who has been a bit of a mystery until now, shows himself for what he really is and Billy gets pulled into the final battle for Mother.
I think this book is the turning point for this series. We learn a lot in this book about the different alien species and Mother. The battle for control is over and now we get to see how that power is used.
All of the aliens; the blue meanies, the riders, the squid, launch into all out war over control of the bridge and ultimately Mother. The Baby, who has been a bit of a mystery until now, shows himself for what he really is and Billy gets pulled into the final battle for Mother.
I think this book is the turning point for this series. We learn a lot in this book about the different alien species and Mother. The battle for control is over and now we get to see how that power is used.
April 29, 2009
Perhaps I read this with too many gaps in between sessions, because I am now mainly just confused. I really liked the fight between Billy and the Baby and Jobs's part in all that, and I understood that part. But a lot of the shifting alliances has started to confuse me. I also am having a hard time keeping the characters straight, which I remember being a problem the first time I tried to read the series, but at least it's kicking in later, this time.
August 20, 2008
I was always looking forward to each release for the Remnants books. As always, this one combined scariness of "other" and scariness of "ourselves" in one volume.
June 29, 2016
Not the best of the Remnants, but had its redeeming qualities.
September 29, 2015
Thank goodness, baby.
January 19, 2014
It was good, I liked it.
January 13, 2013
I was OBSESSED with this series in middle school.
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