I think it's because the middle books tend to deal with the day-to-day missions of the Animorphs, after they've become relatively capable. But the serialized nature of the books meant that it was unlikely for any given mission to make much of a difference on the plot, so it was tougher to care about them.

The last 10 books or so are mostly excellent, though. That's when the game starts changing, when the bad guys get more aggressive, when things start changing rapidly, and when a bit more darkness comes out that wasn't there in books about, say, midget aliens.


The Andalite and Hork Bajir (sp?) Chronicles were pretty excellent, I agree. I never got around to reading Visser; I really should.