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Animorphs #52
The Sacrifice
The war between the Yeerks and the Animorphs is still raging. There are no more secrets—but there are plenty of lies. The kids are fighting harder than they ever thought they could. And they’re about to make the biggest decision they’ve ever had to face. A decision that may eventually break them all.
Ax and the Animorphs have known that the ultimate destruction of the Yeerk pool will give them a huge chance to take back Earth. And they've figured out a way to do it. But there’s no way to destroy the pool without destroying everyone else that may be there. And there’s no more time to think about it. There’s only yes or no. . . .
Ax and the Animorphs have known that the ultimate destruction of the Yeerk pool will give them a huge chance to take back Earth. And they've figured out a way to do it. But there’s no way to destroy the pool without destroying everyone else that may be there. And there’s no more time to think about it. There’s only yes or no. . . .
176 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2001
34 people are currently reading
952 people want to read
About the author
K.A. Applegate
251 books486 followersalso published under the name Katherine Applegate
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
October 6, 2024
The secret is out. The Yeerks are taking people in plain sight, herding them towards to the big Yeerk pool to infect them and take control over their bodies. Meanwhile the people aren’t exactly ready to immediately strike back hard at the Yeerks. So the advantage seems to be in the court of the parasitic Yeerks. But this also gives the Animorphs a new opportunity to strike at the heart of the invasive troops by targeting the big Yeerk pool, which a lot of Yeerks depend on to survive, and destroy it.
Another fast-paced and rather action-packed installment as we race towards the finish of the series. Though what stands out most are the characters. Which is fitting as this has at heart been a mostly character-driven series. The decisions they make as individuals have consequences for everyone. Even for their friendship bonds, as the cracks are definitely showing between the Animorphs. This is most clearly shown by Ax who is the protagonist here. Because he feels betrayed. It also helps that he’s always been a bit of an outsider as he’s an alien among humans. Plus, there’s a big revelation here that gives us an idea of what might happen in the finale.
Another fast-paced and rather action-packed installment as we race towards the finish of the series. Though what stands out most are the characters. Which is fitting as this has at heart been a mostly character-driven series. The decisions they make as individuals have consequences for everyone. Even for their friendship bonds, as the cracks are definitely showing between the Animorphs. This is most clearly shown by Ax who is the protagonist here. Because he feels betrayed. It also helps that he’s always been a bit of an outsider as he’s an alien among humans. Plus, there’s a big revelation here that gives us an idea of what might happen in the finale.
January 22, 2022
Come check out my 4 hour 35 minute deep dive into reading every single Animorphs book for the first time on YouTube. I recap and review all of the books from the main series: https://youtu.be/H8kUM2q3CIU
December 4, 2015
Ghostwriter: Kimberly Morris.
I don't often read the blurbs on the backs of these books, because I like going in blind, but this one is chilling:
So. After their close calls and near-misses (especially in #43 The Test), we're now back here again, at this same crossroads once more. There was no avoiding it.
A few thoughts in no apparent order --
This is the last ghostwritten book, before they turn the reins over to Applegate for the last two. And wow but they are going to be a lot.
Favourite quotes below, ridiculously long as always:
Continued in comments!
I don't often read the blurbs on the backs of these books, because I like going in blind, but this one is chilling:
The war between the Yeerks and the Animorphs is still raging. There are no more secrets -- but there are plenty of lies. The kids are fighting harder than they ever thought they could. And they're about to make the biggest decision they've ever had to face. A decision that may eventually break them all.
Ax and the Animorphs have known that the ultimate destruction of the Yeerk pool will give them a huge chance to take back Earth. And they've figured out a way to do it. But there's no way to destroy the pool without destroying everyone else that may be there. And there's no more time to think about it. There's only yes or no...
So. After their close calls and near-misses (especially in #43 The Test), we're now back here again, at this same crossroads once more. There was no avoiding it.
A few thoughts in no apparent order --
This is the last ghostwritten book, before they turn the reins over to Applegate for the last two. And wow but they are going to be a lot.
Favourite quotes below, ridiculously long as always:
Continued in comments!
December 23, 2018
So, um, owing to a clerical error on my part, I read this before reading #51: The Absolute. Oops! I will definitely go back and read that before going on, but just keep this fact in mind while reading this otherwise perfect review of #52: The Sacrifice.
Ax has kind of had it with humans in this book, at least at first. Cassie gave up the morphing cube on purpose, and now it looks like the Yeerks are expanding their numbers without any real opposition. In secret communication with the Andalite command, Ax learns the Andalites plan to “quarantine” Earth—that is, try to concentrate as much of the Yeerk population on Earth as possible, then, uh, cleanse the planet. Once again, K.A. Applegate doesn’t shy away from the incredible horrors that get twisted into “making sense” in the name of winning a war.
If you take a step back, though, there’s something even more interesting happening in this part of the series: this is really us learning how the Animorphs deal with losing.
At the very beginning of the series, in contrast, the Animorphs were so fresh and new at this that the reality of their predicament hadn’t really sunk in. Sure, they knew that five kids and an alien probably couldn’t do much about the entire Yeerk presence on Earth—yet that knowledge never stopped them from blithely blundering into Yeerk pools and high-security facilities. They had all the confidence of a mediocre white man and they used it. Yet as the series progresses, as the Animorphs grow up faster than they should, they become far more aware of the potential for loss. Now, with the Yeerks aware of their true identities and the invasion of Earth accelerating and moving into the open, the Animorphs have to confront every bit of the reality of the war and the fact that, try as they might, they probably aren’t strong enough to win it.
Hence the bitterness and recriminations. The Animorphs find themselves thrust into this weird role of quasi-leadership of a much larger resistance. Because it isn’t just the six of them now, I think Ax feels a little more distant from the human Animorphs. It’s no longer small, intimate operations but larger, more complicated, step-by-step missions. Ax gets to see the cracks in the various Animorphs, the way that Rachel is increasingly reckless and violent, or Cassie seems to be obsessing over compassion when she should be thinking strategy. Predictably, for those of us who have gotten to know him over the series, Ax is most hard on himself. He feels his loyalties, to the Animorphs and humans and to his own people, torn. There’s really no good answer here, either. At some point he’s going to have to make some tough decisions.
Still, the internecine arguments here are uncomfortable to say the least!
Returning to the wider plot, we see there’s no good answer here too. Either the Animorphs commit an act of massive destruction at the risk of killing a large number of humans, all to strike a blow against the Yeerks, or they sit by, powerless, as the Yeerks transform more and more people into human-Controllers. There is some good discussion here not just of the morality of this particular issue (which, let’s be fair, is a pretty obvious conundrum) but of the overall approach of fighting the Yeerks: is it permissible to fight back by slaughtering “defenseless” Yeerks while they are in a pool? Or is this a form of genocide, or at the very least, a war crime because these Yeerks are “non-combatants”?
In this way, Applegate and ghostwriter Kim Morris highlight the absurdity of having rules of engagement around war. This is a form of cognitive dissonance possible only because humans, unlike animals, like to pretend we’re civilized. Oh, sure, we’ll fight you: but we have “rules” about who and what and how and when we can fight. Except, as this book and countless others explore, those rules tend to be flexible to the point of tearing, when they aren’t so rigid they just snap.
The book ends, quite literally, with a bang. And it leaves a lot up in the air. The main question, though, really, remains a longstanding one: how far will the Animorphs go?
Next up (after I read the previous book), we’ll see the Animorphs take on the Yeerks even more boldly as they start to shape the answer to that question. I don’t have any more jokes for these outros. This is the dark time.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← #51: The Absolute
Ax has kind of had it with humans in this book, at least at first. Cassie gave up the morphing cube on purpose, and now it looks like the Yeerks are expanding their numbers without any real opposition. In secret communication with the Andalite command, Ax learns the Andalites plan to “quarantine” Earth—that is, try to concentrate as much of the Yeerk population on Earth as possible, then, uh, cleanse the planet. Once again, K.A. Applegate doesn’t shy away from the incredible horrors that get twisted into “making sense” in the name of winning a war.
If you take a step back, though, there’s something even more interesting happening in this part of the series: this is really us learning how the Animorphs deal with losing.
At the very beginning of the series, in contrast, the Animorphs were so fresh and new at this that the reality of their predicament hadn’t really sunk in. Sure, they knew that five kids and an alien probably couldn’t do much about the entire Yeerk presence on Earth—yet that knowledge never stopped them from blithely blundering into Yeerk pools and high-security facilities. They had all the confidence of a mediocre white man and they used it. Yet as the series progresses, as the Animorphs grow up faster than they should, they become far more aware of the potential for loss. Now, with the Yeerks aware of their true identities and the invasion of Earth accelerating and moving into the open, the Animorphs have to confront every bit of the reality of the war and the fact that, try as they might, they probably aren’t strong enough to win it.
Hence the bitterness and recriminations. The Animorphs find themselves thrust into this weird role of quasi-leadership of a much larger resistance. Because it isn’t just the six of them now, I think Ax feels a little more distant from the human Animorphs. It’s no longer small, intimate operations but larger, more complicated, step-by-step missions. Ax gets to see the cracks in the various Animorphs, the way that Rachel is increasingly reckless and violent, or Cassie seems to be obsessing over compassion when she should be thinking strategy. Predictably, for those of us who have gotten to know him over the series, Ax is most hard on himself. He feels his loyalties, to the Animorphs and humans and to his own people, torn. There’s really no good answer here, either. At some point he’s going to have to make some tough decisions.
Still, the internecine arguments here are uncomfortable to say the least!
Returning to the wider plot, we see there’s no good answer here too. Either the Animorphs commit an act of massive destruction at the risk of killing a large number of humans, all to strike a blow against the Yeerks, or they sit by, powerless, as the Yeerks transform more and more people into human-Controllers. There is some good discussion here not just of the morality of this particular issue (which, let’s be fair, is a pretty obvious conundrum) but of the overall approach of fighting the Yeerks: is it permissible to fight back by slaughtering “defenseless” Yeerks while they are in a pool? Or is this a form of genocide, or at the very least, a war crime because these Yeerks are “non-combatants”?
In this way, Applegate and ghostwriter Kim Morris highlight the absurdity of having rules of engagement around war. This is a form of cognitive dissonance possible only because humans, unlike animals, like to pretend we’re civilized. Oh, sure, we’ll fight you: but we have “rules” about who and what and how and when we can fight. Except, as this book and countless others explore, those rules tend to be flexible to the point of tearing, when they aren’t so rigid they just snap.
The book ends, quite literally, with a bang. And it leaves a lot up in the air. The main question, though, really, remains a longstanding one: how far will the Animorphs go?
Next up (after I read the previous book), we’ll see the Animorphs take on the Yeerks even more boldly as they start to shape the answer to that question. I don’t have any more jokes for these outros. This is the dark time.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← #51: The Absolute
August 13, 2016
After the Governor’s televised warning in the previous book, the Yeerks decided to drop al pretences and start herding civillians via trains to the Yeerk pool to be infested. Ax and the Animorphs know the pool is a major weakness they’ve tried to exploit in the past, but now it’s time for them to pull out the big guns – literally – and blow it up, crippling the Yeerks once and for all.
It was hard for me to remember, in this book, that the Animorphs themselves don’t know how limited their time is. They’re not aware that the series and war is almost over, and have no idea how close the Andalite fleet is. They’re exhausted from fighting for three years, on the run, and utterly desperate. All-out war is something they can’t fight: not without weapons and armies of their own. So they improvise, and borrow both an army and weapons.
See the full review on The Moonlight Library!
August 14, 2018
Oh... Oh my god... did they... oh my god... I cannot believe...
June 11, 2024
We all know my feelings on Cassie, but she earned MVP for giving away the morphing cube. Not only did she ultimately save Jake from having to kill his brother, but the only reason yeerks want host bodies is because they are blind, deaf, and basically oblivious to the world. Giving them morphing technology, that is the only real option for peace.
Also the animorphs stole 10 1,000 pound bombs (roughly equivalent to a nuclear blast that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki) and blew up the yeerk pool.
Also the animorphs stole 10 1,000 pound bombs (roughly equivalent to a nuclear blast that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki) and blew up the yeerk pool.
December 20, 2020
Original Review at Jaunts & Haunts
4.5/5
I gave this book four and a half stars!
This is Ax's final POV book, and things couldn't be more dire. The Yeerks have come out of the closet so to speak, and are herding hundreds of people below ground to their Yeerk pool for mass infestation. The Animorphs want to put a permanent end to that, but hundreds, even thousands of innocent lives are at stake. Can they the Animorphs pull this off, and how far will they go to stop the Yeerks?
Like the past few books in the series, this was a great one.
Ax was portrayed quite well I think. He's always been something of an outsider, and when he gets in contact with the Andalite home world, they advise of a different course of action than what the Animorphs have planned. To make matters worse, Cassie reveals that she is responsible for an advantage the Yeerks now have. Ax is torn between duty from his home world and the world he now protects. He was a bit cold in the beginning in my opinion, but he pulls it together and does what he considers right. Not the best character progression since it's similar to what he's gone through in prior novels, but I understand his dilemma and enjoyed reading his perspective.
As far as the other characters, I really enjoyed Jake and Cassie's interactions and slight resolution of what was wrong between them. I also fear for Rachel pretty badly at this point. She's so gung ho about the war and saving the world that she's acting out irrationally and potentially threatening the mission. She's always been my favorite because she is constantly fighting this internal darkness and it's both scary and exciting at the same time.
The plot and stakes involved continue to climb to impossible heights. Given their mission, the action was nonstop and so easy to blaze through. I do like the fact that the author isn't sugar-coating the situation anymore, especially with fights. Some of the Controllers they fight are killed, and while that may be a tough thing to digest for younger audiences, by this point they shouldn't be too surprised. Besides that, there's really not a lot I can say without giving things away, but just know that like the other past few novels, this one is quite the roller coaster!
One quip for me. There's a scene where the Animorphs are about to fight some Controllers and could clearly have an advantage to mow them down, but Jake insists on a 'fair fight.' I completely disagree with his decision making, especially given the end results of the fight. I mean, why not ensure safety for your team against the enemy? Didn't make sense to me. Other than that, no complaints!
This was a great continuation of the series, and I can't wait to read what happens next! Definitely worth a read!
4.5/5
I gave this book four and a half stars!
This is Ax's final POV book, and things couldn't be more dire. The Yeerks have come out of the closet so to speak, and are herding hundreds of people below ground to their Yeerk pool for mass infestation. The Animorphs want to put a permanent end to that, but hundreds, even thousands of innocent lives are at stake. Can they the Animorphs pull this off, and how far will they go to stop the Yeerks?
Like the past few books in the series, this was a great one.
Ax was portrayed quite well I think. He's always been something of an outsider, and when he gets in contact with the Andalite home world, they advise of a different course of action than what the Animorphs have planned. To make matters worse, Cassie reveals that she is responsible for an advantage the Yeerks now have. Ax is torn between duty from his home world and the world he now protects. He was a bit cold in the beginning in my opinion, but he pulls it together and does what he considers right. Not the best character progression since it's similar to what he's gone through in prior novels, but I understand his dilemma and enjoyed reading his perspective.
As far as the other characters, I really enjoyed Jake and Cassie's interactions and slight resolution of what was wrong between them. I also fear for Rachel pretty badly at this point. She's so gung ho about the war and saving the world that she's acting out irrationally and potentially threatening the mission. She's always been my favorite because she is constantly fighting this internal darkness and it's both scary and exciting at the same time.
The plot and stakes involved continue to climb to impossible heights. Given their mission, the action was nonstop and so easy to blaze through. I do like the fact that the author isn't sugar-coating the situation anymore, especially with fights. Some of the Controllers they fight are killed, and while that may be a tough thing to digest for younger audiences, by this point they shouldn't be too surprised. Besides that, there's really not a lot I can say without giving things away, but just know that like the other past few novels, this one is quite the roller coaster!
One quip for me. There's a scene where the Animorphs are about to fight some Controllers and could clearly have an advantage to mow them down, but Jake insists on a 'fair fight.' I completely disagree with his decision making, especially given the end results of the fight. I mean, why not ensure safety for your team against the enemy? Didn't make sense to me. Other than that, no complaints!
This was a great continuation of the series, and I can't wait to read what happens next! Definitely worth a read!
August 18, 2017
I feel like I missed so much by not having book 51 man... So, this is the last Ax book, and we get to see him going back to being a snobbish Andalite somewhat. As well as see him so worried about Rachel. Gosh, this series just has so much to say about war and warriors and killing and morals...
James asked.
I could hear the eagerness in his voice. The eagerness of a new soldier. One not yet exhausted and sickened by war.
I did not like it. I am a soldier. But there was something unseemly about dying in a dark and filthy tunnel in midmorph.
I heard a sound that was even worse. Cries of victory and satisfaction from Rachel as she downed another of the falcons.
The other Animorphs and I truly worry about Rachel.
On the Andalite home planet, when a warrior becomes too fond of war he is shunned. A warrior should love only the cause, not the killing.
Rachel's voice, on the other hand, was firm and unhesitating. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm thinking it's time to explode a big 'ole bomb."
"And you couldn't be happier," Cassie said bitterly to Rachel. "Could you?"
Relationships were changing. Loyaltie were shifting. There were unspoken animosities and hidden agendas. The decisions were becoming more about emotions than tactics. The resistance was jeopardizing its ability to be effective.
Quarantine was the first step toward genocide.
"Why do you have to be so horrible?" Cassie exploded. "You are, you know. And you get worse every day. Your own mother can't even stand you."
James asked.
I could hear the eagerness in his voice. The eagerness of a new soldier. One not yet exhausted and sickened by war.
I did not like it. I am a soldier. But there was something unseemly about dying in a dark and filthy tunnel in midmorph.
I heard a sound that was even worse. Cries of victory and satisfaction from Rachel as she downed another of the falcons.
The other Animorphs and I truly worry about Rachel.
On the Andalite home planet, when a warrior becomes too fond of war he is shunned. A warrior should love only the cause, not the killing.
Rachel's voice, on the other hand, was firm and unhesitating. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm thinking it's time to explode a big 'ole bomb."
"And you couldn't be happier," Cassie said bitterly to Rachel. "Could you?"
Relationships were changing. Loyaltie were shifting. There were unspoken animosities and hidden agendas. The decisions were becoming more about emotions than tactics. The resistance was jeopardizing its ability to be effective.
Quarantine was the first step toward genocide.
"Why do you have to be so horrible?" Cassie exploded. "You are, you know. And you get worse every day. Your own mother can't even stand you."
August 1, 2022
Ax’s Andalite hypocrisy and arrogance is on full display and a genocide is fast approaching.
With conflicting extremes, we watch Ax at his worst as he quickly shifts in the opposite direction which is, surprisingly, human.
Its a book that makes me feel proud to say Cassie and Tobias have been my favs since day one.
CW: war, violence, death, grief, slavery, murder, mass murder, mentions of genocide
With conflicting extremes, we watch Ax at his worst as he quickly shifts in the opposite direction which is, surprisingly, human.
Its a book that makes me feel proud to say Cassie and Tobias have been my favs since day one.
CW: war, violence, death, grief, slavery, murder, mass murder, mentions of genocide
August 7, 2014
The gritty sacrifices of A REAL WAR are thrown in your face in this book. The Yeerks aren't hiding who they are anymore and they're ready to take over by force. What can the Animorphs do to stop them? Well, they could blow up the Yeerks' pool, but that would sure kill a lot of innocent people.
They might have to do it anyway.
But it's still hard to consider yourself a good guy if you end up having to murder hundreds in the hopes that it'll help save millions.
This kind of decision shouldn't be in the hands of children, but there's no fighting it now.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
This book is ghostwritten by Kim Morris.
The ages of the Animorphs are pretty vague throughout the series, but Ax's narration in this one says the original human Animorphs are "now of the age to be attending what humans call 'high school.'" This shows they're definitely somewhere in their early teens, though when Marco created the term "Animorphs" in the beginning of the series he joked that it was another word for "idiot teenagers with a death wish."
At one point Rachel uses the phrase "big 'ole bomb." What is the apostrophe representing as missing? If you're going to abbreviate "old," it'd make more sense to write "ol'," or if you're going to do it phonetically "ole" will work, but there's no reason for an apostrophe before the O.
Chapter 8 has multiple glitches with thought-speak versus mouth-speak. People who are not morphed talk in thought-speak several times with regular quoted passages being used the next time they speak. Also, Ax narrates that he shifts his weight from one leg "to the other," suggesting there are only two, and possibly suggesting he is in morph but probably isn't since he has no reason to be.
Ax refers to the Yeerks being a plague on "the galaxy," which contradicts Marco's joke about the Yeerks being from a different galaxy in a previous book.
They might have to do it anyway.
But it's still hard to consider yourself a good guy if you end up having to murder hundreds in the hopes that it'll help save millions.
This kind of decision shouldn't be in the hands of children, but there's no fighting it now.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
This book is ghostwritten by Kim Morris.
The ages of the Animorphs are pretty vague throughout the series, but Ax's narration in this one says the original human Animorphs are "now of the age to be attending what humans call 'high school.'" This shows they're definitely somewhere in their early teens, though when Marco created the term "Animorphs" in the beginning of the series he joked that it was another word for "idiot teenagers with a death wish."
At one point Rachel uses the phrase "big 'ole bomb." What is the apostrophe representing as missing? If you're going to abbreviate "old," it'd make more sense to write "ol'," or if you're going to do it phonetically "ole" will work, but there's no reason for an apostrophe before the O.
Chapter 8 has multiple glitches with thought-speak versus mouth-speak. People who are not morphed talk in thought-speak several times with regular quoted passages being used the next time they speak. Also, Ax narrates that he shifts his weight from one leg "to the other," suggesting there are only two, and possibly suggesting he is in morph but probably isn't since he has no reason to be.
Ax refers to the Yeerks being a plague on "the galaxy," which contradicts Marco's joke about the Yeerks being from a different galaxy in a previous book.
July 5, 2016
Andalites are dicks. That is a well known fact. And Ax was extra jerk this time. First half of the book I wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him hard. I'm glad he came around. This is his last book after all. I was happy we were given the reason behind Cassie's actions. She is amazing. And I'm worried about Rachel. (Did she kill David? Do we ever find out?) And the team seems to come back to their easy interactions in the end. And they get their biggest (and most horrible) win. They might have just turned this war around. At great cost.
"Perhaps Rachel, like me, suddenly realized that the gulf between the present and her childhood was an abyss of loss."
That is true for all of them, isn't it? They all made huge personal sacrifices and moral compromises for the greater good. They are still children, but at the same they aren't anymore. They were forced to grow up fast, in the most horrible way. I feel battle-worn by just reading this. Honestly, if I were one of these kids I'd just lay down and stay there for couple of years.
"Perhaps Rachel, like me, suddenly realized that the gulf between the present and her childhood was an abyss of loss."
That is true for all of them, isn't it? They all made huge personal sacrifices and moral compromises for the greater good. They are still children, but at the same they aren't anymore. They were forced to grow up fast, in the most horrible way. I feel battle-worn by just reading this. Honestly, if I were one of these kids I'd just lay down and stay there for couple of years.
July 1, 2017
As the finale nears, the action intensifies. Can't wait to see how it all ends!
January 1, 2023
This is the everyone is a traitor book. :p The Andalites are exposed for their lack of empathy for the humans and this was more of gearing up for the final battle. Nothing super distinctive that I remember in this one other than this is where all the Animorphs secret decisions come to light and they have consequences.
December 15, 2020
It feels right that Ax narrates The Sacrifice. In his last installment, Ax decides to play chicken with the Yeerks and threaten to bomb the Yeerk pool unless the Yeerks call off their troops. Afterwards, Ax wonders if he could have ever gone through with the bombing. In The Sacrifice, the team decides, after seeing large amounts humans being forced on subway cars and brought directly to the Yeerk pool... they have to destroy it.
Rachel is all for it (and she's rather frightening in this book- see the quotes below). Cassie is disgusted by her bloodthirstiness and disgusted by the plan. Jake snaps at Cassie again, and Cassie finally admits to the team that she stopped Jake from killing his brother, who got away with the morphing cube.
The team is all dismayed and angry, especially Ax- after all, it was Ax's brother, Elfangor, who had entrusted the morphing cube to their ragtag group. Ax says of Cassie and the group, "my hatred of Cassie began to extend to them all. They were fools. They would never prevail. They were too soft. Too sentimental. Too childish. Too stupid and ignorant. Stupidity and ignorance within one's own ranks are more dangerous opponents than an outside enemy could ever be."
Jake forgives Cassie when she breaks down, surprisingly, which is a relief. Ax confronts Cassie later on, and asks why she felt the need to let them have the morphing cube. She confides in Ax that she believes there are many Yeerks uncomfortable with the idea of infesting hosts, and the morphing cube could solve their problems- they could simply morph the creature of their choice and live in peace. Of course, there's a lot to digest here- what human would want to give up their DNA to the Yeerks?- but Cassie is starting to realize that humans may need to find a way to peaceably coexist with the Yeerks. This is a lot for Ax to ponder.
So the Animorphs, with the help of EVERYONE, including their parents (which was decidedly fun- Rachel's mom has been a PITA in recent books, but she saves their asses here), obtain a lot of explosives, with help from the National Guard, and they load them all on a subway car. They decide they will set a 5 minute timer for the bomb, which will hopefully give some humans time to escape. Their new motto is "Defeat the Yeerks. Don't become them."
Now, is this an ethical thing to do? It's definitely questionable. It's clear that they're going to do mass damage, kill a ton of people, and it's likely that the three Animorphs who go down into the Yeerk Pool will die.
Who ends up going down? Ax, Cassie, and Marco. Jake wants to go, but Marco won't let him, as he's their leader. Rachel definitely wants to go, but as she's been almost uncontrollable (only Jake seems to have sway over her at this point), but Jake wisely keeps her by his side.
The explosives land in the pool, they set the timer, and they request for everyone to get out. Visser One tries to start a fight, but since his biggest concern is always himself, he quickly gets the fuck outta the pool. Ax, Cassie, and Marco quickly help the caged humans escape, and they just barely escape. Phew.
A few random notes:
-Ax is worried about Rachel. At one point during battle, he says that he hears "cries of victory and satisfaction from Rachel as she downed another of the falcons" and "a warrior should love only the cause, not the killing." Rachel is definitely broken.
-However, at one point in the book, he's spooked more by Cassie. He's horrified by the idea of "an entire human race of Rachels- angry, merciless, aggressive, and equipped with Yeerk and Andalite technology. It was a terrifying specter." But he then muses, "perhaps the real menace lay at the other end of the continuum- represented by Cassie. Humans who were softer. Kinder. Well-meaning. And, ironically, infintely more dangerous." We've known this all along- how many of the most crafty decisions have been thought up by Cassie?
-Ax laments "I felt not sadness. I felt pity. For myself. For us all. We were children no longer. And we never would be again." And when the Animorphs achieve a huge triumph in blowing up the pool, Marco says, ""
Ax has become a wonderful read of humans. I kind of hope he doesn't continue forward with military pursuits and lives out the rest of his life giving food tours to Andalites visiting Earth. I would enjoy nothing more :).
-I'm pretty certain Ax will make an incredible leader after the war.. should he pursue a leadership role. His ability to make good decisions toward the end of the series is pretty fantastic.
Rachel is all for it (and she's rather frightening in this book- see the quotes below). Cassie is disgusted by her bloodthirstiness and disgusted by the plan. Jake snaps at Cassie again, and Cassie finally admits to the team that she stopped Jake from killing his brother, who got away with the morphing cube.
The team is all dismayed and angry, especially Ax- after all, it was Ax's brother, Elfangor, who had entrusted the morphing cube to their ragtag group. Ax says of Cassie and the group, "my hatred of Cassie began to extend to them all. They were fools. They would never prevail. They were too soft. Too sentimental. Too childish. Too stupid and ignorant. Stupidity and ignorance within one's own ranks are more dangerous opponents than an outside enemy could ever be."
Jake forgives Cassie when she breaks down, surprisingly, which is a relief. Ax confronts Cassie later on, and asks why she felt the need to let them have the morphing cube. She confides in Ax that she believes there are many Yeerks uncomfortable with the idea of infesting hosts, and the morphing cube could solve their problems- they could simply morph the creature of their choice and live in peace. Of course, there's a lot to digest here- what human would want to give up their DNA to the Yeerks?- but Cassie is starting to realize that humans may need to find a way to peaceably coexist with the Yeerks. This is a lot for Ax to ponder.
So the Animorphs, with the help of EVERYONE, including their parents (which was decidedly fun- Rachel's mom has been a PITA in recent books, but she saves their asses here), obtain a lot of explosives, with help from the National Guard, and they load them all on a subway car. They decide they will set a 5 minute timer for the bomb, which will hopefully give some humans time to escape. Their new motto is "Defeat the Yeerks. Don't become them."
Now, is this an ethical thing to do? It's definitely questionable. It's clear that they're going to do mass damage, kill a ton of people, and it's likely that the three Animorphs who go down into the Yeerk Pool will die.
Who ends up going down? Ax, Cassie, and Marco. Jake wants to go, but Marco won't let him, as he's their leader. Rachel definitely wants to go, but as she's been almost uncontrollable (only Jake seems to have sway over her at this point), but Jake wisely keeps her by his side.
The explosives land in the pool, they set the timer, and they request for everyone to get out. Visser One tries to start a fight, but since his biggest concern is always himself, he quickly gets the fuck outta the pool. Ax, Cassie, and Marco quickly help the caged humans escape, and they just barely escape. Phew.
A few random notes:
-Ax is worried about Rachel. At one point during battle, he says that he hears "cries of victory and satisfaction from Rachel as she downed another of the falcons" and "a warrior should love only the cause, not the killing." Rachel is definitely broken.
-However, at one point in the book, he's spooked more by Cassie. He's horrified by the idea of "an entire human race of Rachels- angry, merciless, aggressive, and equipped with Yeerk and Andalite technology. It was a terrifying specter." But he then muses, "perhaps the real menace lay at the other end of the continuum- represented by Cassie. Humans who were softer. Kinder. Well-meaning. And, ironically, infintely more dangerous." We've known this all along- how many of the most crafty decisions have been thought up by Cassie?
-Ax laments "I felt not sadness. I felt pity. For myself. For us all. We were children no longer. And we never would be again." And when the Animorphs achieve a huge triumph in blowing up the pool, Marco says, ""
Ax has become a wonderful read of humans. I kind of hope he doesn't continue forward with military pursuits and lives out the rest of his life giving food tours to Andalites visiting Earth. I would enjoy nothing more :).
-I'm pretty certain Ax will make an incredible leader after the war.. should he pursue a leadership role. His ability to make good decisions toward the end of the series is pretty fantastic.
September 14, 2015
If this series is for kids, then why is it that I...
Hahaha.
This had too much pain, why, Applegate? Why are you this cruel. Hahaha jkily.
---
I understand Ax. No, I really do. There are really many ways on how to solve this whole yeerk business. And Ax's way is not so bad. Go quarantine. So what if people will die, then it's just mercy killing for humans. I don't blame him for having this mindset. He grew up with Andalites anyway, and they're warriors. I don't really expect Ax to grow so soft.
Ah but what a twist it was. Ax was able to see from so many angles and I am glad waiting is one of his talents.
But you know, I agree with him when he said that Cassie is even more dangerous than Rachel. Maybe it's just cause from where I stand, Rachel's just really dangerous for herself, but Cassie with all her cassieness can really hit you even if she doesn't mean to. Bla bla something like that.
Sorry shitty review. Again. XD
Hahaha.
This had too much pain, why, Applegate? Why are you this cruel. Hahaha jkily.
---
I understand Ax. No, I really do. There are really many ways on how to solve this whole yeerk business. And Ax's way is not so bad. Go quarantine. So what if people will die, then it's just mercy killing for humans. I don't blame him for having this mindset. He grew up with Andalites anyway, and they're warriors. I don't really expect Ax to grow so soft.
Ah but what a twist it was. Ax was able to see from so many angles and I am glad waiting is one of his talents.
But you know, I agree with him when he said that Cassie is even more dangerous than Rachel. Maybe it's just cause from where I stand, Rachel's just really dangerous for herself, but Cassie with all her cassieness can really hit you even if she doesn't mean to. Bla bla something like that.
Sorry shitty review. Again. XD
October 5, 2023
This book is all about hope.
I love Cassie, if you don't love Cassie I'm not sure what you're getting out of the series. You are of course free to enjoy it anyway, but I see a lot of people complaining about her and I really don't understand.
I love Cassie, if you don't love Cassie I'm not sure what you're getting out of the series. You are of course free to enjoy it anyway, but I see a lot of people complaining about her and I really don't understand.
August 22, 2025
April 14, 2020:
I might write a longer review later. For now, I’ll just say I teared up multiple times reading this one. Great exploration of shifting emotions of the characters. A “getting the team back together” moment which rivals ‘Back to Before’. Just all-around excellent.
August 20, 2025:
I have 4 reviews to write: a fact which is starting to make me anxious. This is the third book of the four, actually. I started writing a review for the first but felt I had little to say and I wasn’t having fun writing it. I supposed it would be the same for the second of the set because it was an audiobook I listened to and, of course, I did not take down any notes. I’m more interested in writing about this book. I’m skipping ahead to write this review because I actually have things I want to say. The first thing I want to say is… I love ANIMORPHS.
With that out of the way, here’s my second thought: I keep using “audiobook” as an excuse for not taking notes, but I listened to this as an audiobook and I did take notes. It’s not the first time I’ve done it, either. I took extensive notes about INHERITANCE when I listened to it, taking great pains to rewind repeatedly so I could get down exact quotes. I did it for RED AT THE BONE, too, to get lengthy excerpts of heartbreaking speeches. I gave both five stars. I think, then, that it’s not so much that I cannot take notes when listening to audiobooks as that I only do so when I feel motivated to. I guess that’s the case when reading from the page as well, now that I think about it. It just takes more to motivate me to pause an audiobook to dictate a note into my phone while I’m driving. But “The Sacrifice”, Book #52 of 54 (or rather 60 of 62, if you include the side books, which you should because they are not optional), is a book that encouraged me to do that.
If you’re reading this review unfamiliar with ANIMORPHS, you might not be aware that at this point the teen characters are at their lowest. They’ve been immersed in an extraordinarily violent, heartbreaking, mind-shattering, life-altering war for over sixty books now, and they are worn down. Part of what wearies them is the scale of the moral decisions they must make on a regular basis—where there is no good choice, where every option leads to some type of physical or psychic pain. As the series is in the home stretch now, it’s reached a point where the villains, the slug-like Yeerks, have learned of the Animorphs identities, acquired the morphing power themselves, and are now openly herding humans onto train cars to be taken for infestation at a gigantic Yeerk pool in a scene which the characters overtly compare to Nazi Germany. The point is this—to pick up at book #52, just bopping around in the series the way I am right now, is to enter it at a severe moment in the Animorphs’ story.
Early on in the book, the Animorphs, thinking that all is basically lost, hit upon the idea of detonating the Yeerk Pool. If they’re going to win, they have to show unreasonable force. This immediately leads into the greatest thing about the ANIMORPHS series: a scene where the characters sit around debating the ethics of their choices. Cassie in particular is starkly opposed to the plan on the basis that bombing the Yeerk pool will mean the deaths of thousands of humans being held as Controllers, not to mention Hork-Bajir and pacifist Yeerks. The pragmatism of the act, the fact that without taking this step the Earth will almost certainly be lost, does not sway her. She cannot abide the intentional killing of innocents—the treatment of these people as unfortunate collateral damage. Is she right? Or is knowingly, willingly, killing thousands of people justified if it conceivably saves billions? It’s the trolley problem on a massive scale. This is a kid’s book. That’s what most believe, anyway—although you and I know it’s anything but.
That’s part of why I wanted to read this book, honestly. I asked Siri to remind me which book it was in which—SPOILER—Cassie gives the Yeerks the Escafil device, commonly referred to as “the morphing cube” or “the blue box”. I will never understand why despite knowing the proper name of the cube each of the characters, including Ax the Andalite, persist in referring to it as “the blue box”. I follow enough Animorphs fan groups on social media to know that there is a sizable contingent of fans who strongly dislike Cassie, though she is my favorite of the Animorphs. Those who dislike Cassie often point to her granting Yeerks the power to morph as evidence that she is dangerously and immaturely naïve. I wanted to see how the decision is explained in-book, to see if I felt it met those objections and quashed them. I was surprised on this re-“read” to hear how frantic and uncertain Cassie sounds. I don’t think it was purely the performance of Adam Verner, although he certainly overemphasized it, making Cassie sound nearly unhinged. The book itself, though, has Cassie say that she wasn’t thinking when she let Jake’s brother Tom, a human-Controller, abscond with the device. She asserts that she acted on instinct alone. I’m disappointed to hear that because honestly when the book began and I realized it was an Ax-narrated book, I questioned why it wasn’t narrated by Cassie instead. Wouldn’t it be more compelling to be inside her head right now, to understand her thoughts? I understand now that the point was for Ax to begin appalled by her choice to the point of feeling that he hates her for it, but by book’s end to have his heart(s) changed. Still, though, the fact that her motivation gets reduced to just a feeling does make it seem… well, immature.
I’m frankly not sure that the inevitably changed heart is completely earned. I apparently felt differently last time I read this book, so maybe reading while driving or Verner’s performance lessened some of the impact. I didn’t feel the book really did make the case that Cassie’s view was correct, though the Animorphs including Ax soften toward her later. When Ax confronts her directly about it, she says that there are undoubtedly many Yeerks who would not kill and infest humans, given the choice. Ax agrees in principle but doubts there are so many that it would make a difference; he argues that Visser One would limit the morphing power to his most loyal Yeerks and that giving up the Escafil device unilaterally sacrifices (we have a title!) the one advantage they have in the war. Later, when the group does decide to bomb the Yeerk Pool (albeit with a five-minute warning so innocents can evacuate), Ax sees Hork-Bajir Controllers rushing to free those held in cages. This proves to him that there are a number of Yeerks who don’t wish to be involved in the war, and that makes him more sympathetic to Cassie’s perspective. Because, you see, the other advantage that humans have in this war is their humanity, y’know? Their empathy.
I do think there is a lot of powerful discussion here as Ax wrestles with these ideas. He thinks about his own brother’s granting of the morphing power to a group of humans despite his culture’s insistence that it should never be shared with non-Andalites. He thinks about Seerow’s Kindness, an event in which a too-idealistic Andalite helped the Yeerks find willing hosts in the hopes of improving their wellbeing, only for the Yeerks to turn to enslaving species against their will in hopes of ruling the universe. His culture ingrained in him that working with the enemy is bad, foolish, dangerous. But he can’t square that with Elfangor’s giving the morphing power to the Animorphs, or his residual respect for Cassie. Ax eventually realizes that love and faith in the power of treating people humanely may be enough to change hearts. I generally agree with this philosophy! This is part of the reason that Cassie is my favorite character. But that still leaves the problem of giving a gun to the person who has expressed their intention to use it to kill you. I’m not totally sure the power of love answers that concern.
Tobias, voicing agreement with Cassie, tells Ax, “It’s a whole new world. We’re having to make this up as we go along. There aren’t any rules falling out of the sky telling us what and what not to do . . . We can’t afford to get so locked into one idea that we defend it to the death without really knowing if that idea works—in the real world.” This is another philosophy I’m generally on-board with. Because he’s voicing support for Cassie, Tobias’ statement reads as a criticism of the stubborn Andalite view that the Yeerks cannot be reasoned with. But again, Cassie’s choice could well lead to all of humanity becoming enslaved. Does her idea work “in the real world”? Or, alternatively, is there an argument being made that the world is not worth saving if you have to give up on certain foundational principles to do it? Jake and Cassie later come up with the motto “Defeat the Yeerks, don’t become them”. Is the idea that it is preferable not to defeat the Yeerks if it to defeat them meant to “become” them?
This is a challenging philosophical conversation to have! And, again, if you’re still reading this review and are coming into ANIMORPHS cold, I have to reiterate that this is why I’m so passionate about this series. But I’m worried the book introduces these questions without giving them the full space they needed to develop. I felt like Ax does a lot of back and forth, seeing support for his traditional perspective and for Cassie’s perspective, but then leans hard toward Cassie’s side without really justifying why beyond his desire for her idealism to win out. I’m not saying he’s wrong to make this choice, but I am saying that the book doesn’t do a great job of explaining to me why he made that choice. He shares some affectionate words about humans’ complex, paradoxical tendencies and that’s sweet and all, but how does that help him come to terms with the possibility of losing the war? Maybe a third read from the page again will help me out on this. Right now, though I absolutely thrilled at the whole conversation the book was trying to have, I feel slightly that it didn’t nail the landing.
But gosh, there’s so much amazing stuff here, that issue doesn’t prevent me from maintaining the 5-star rating I gave “The Sacrifice” on my first read through. I loved when Ax cautions against intervening with the herding of humans onto a subway train near the start of the book. James, one of the 17 new Animorphs who only recently joined the war, urges, “Those are innocent people down there. Don’t you care?” Despite knowing that James is new to war, eager and not yet worn down by the death and mayhem, Ax hears James’s plea as criticism: that Ax is not a part of the team because he is “foreign” (an alien) and needs to be instructed how to feel. This look inside Ax’s head as he takes this comment so personally is a gut punch. Ax, Rachel, and James do make a foolhardy attempt to stop the train but unsuccessfully. Ax realizes they had accomplished nothing except putting themselves in danger and putting the enemy on high alert; they had not even stopped one train car, and there were undoubtedly many, many more on their way.
Then there’s a scene where Ax communicates surreptitiously with the Andalite High Command, whose plan is to allow the Yeerks to congregate on Earth and then “quarantine” the planet; they tell Ax to oppose the humans’ plan to destroy the Yeerk Pool. The moment actually does come the closest to explaining why Ax might choose Cassie’s perspective. Ax understands that a quarantine would be ineffective. Humans are an especially clever species unwilling to sit still; the Yeerks would not happily remain all on Earth, and it would be impossible for the Andalites to monitor the planet to ensure no further expansion of the Yeerk empire. He understands that “quarantine” is a euphemism. That might be the order, but in actuality once the Yeerks were all on Earth the planet would have to be destroyed. Ax has the choice to go along with the Andalites, to allow all life on Earth to be decimated in order to protect the galaxy as a whole—potentially trillions upon trillions of lives—or to stand with the humans, protect the Earth, even if it means allowing the Yeerks to get away. It’s strangely easier to see the dilemma when it gets scaled to this level. It’s still hard to say that jeopardizing the whole of the universe is a justifiable tradeoff for protecting one planet’s creatures, but as an inhabitant of the Earth I can understand why it would be hard to agree to sacrifice the planet.
Oh my god, then there’s a quote near the end when Ax sees Rachel embrace her mother in tears. Rachel is the strongest of them, the most eager to fight, so to see her crying is a shock. Ax thinks that “perhaps Rachel, like me, suddenly realized that the gulf between the present and her childhood was an abyss of loss”. JE-sus Christ. What can I say that I didn’t already start this review by staying? I love Animorphs.
P.S. The performers of these audiobooks continue to pronounce “Yeerk” with a long ‘E’ sound, which grates on me endlessly. That’s not how the word is pronounced! It should instead rhyme with “lurk”. I actually caught Verner accidentally pronouncing the word correctly about 10 minutes in when James references going after “these Yeerk jerks”. For a little bit of time afterward Verner continues to pronounce the word in that way. Later, though, he returned to using that cursed long ‘E’. That’s one aspect of these audiobooks I will never accept.
I might write a longer review later. For now, I’ll just say I teared up multiple times reading this one. Great exploration of shifting emotions of the characters. A “getting the team back together” moment which rivals ‘Back to Before’. Just all-around excellent.
August 20, 2025:
I have 4 reviews to write: a fact which is starting to make me anxious. This is the third book of the four, actually. I started writing a review for the first but felt I had little to say and I wasn’t having fun writing it. I supposed it would be the same for the second of the set because it was an audiobook I listened to and, of course, I did not take down any notes. I’m more interested in writing about this book. I’m skipping ahead to write this review because I actually have things I want to say. The first thing I want to say is… I love ANIMORPHS.
With that out of the way, here’s my second thought: I keep using “audiobook” as an excuse for not taking notes, but I listened to this as an audiobook and I did take notes. It’s not the first time I’ve done it, either. I took extensive notes about INHERITANCE when I listened to it, taking great pains to rewind repeatedly so I could get down exact quotes. I did it for RED AT THE BONE, too, to get lengthy excerpts of heartbreaking speeches. I gave both five stars. I think, then, that it’s not so much that I cannot take notes when listening to audiobooks as that I only do so when I feel motivated to. I guess that’s the case when reading from the page as well, now that I think about it. It just takes more to motivate me to pause an audiobook to dictate a note into my phone while I’m driving. But “The Sacrifice”, Book #52 of 54 (or rather 60 of 62, if you include the side books, which you should because they are not optional), is a book that encouraged me to do that.
If you’re reading this review unfamiliar with ANIMORPHS, you might not be aware that at this point the teen characters are at their lowest. They’ve been immersed in an extraordinarily violent, heartbreaking, mind-shattering, life-altering war for over sixty books now, and they are worn down. Part of what wearies them is the scale of the moral decisions they must make on a regular basis—where there is no good choice, where every option leads to some type of physical or psychic pain. As the series is in the home stretch now, it’s reached a point where the villains, the slug-like Yeerks, have learned of the Animorphs identities, acquired the morphing power themselves, and are now openly herding humans onto train cars to be taken for infestation at a gigantic Yeerk pool in a scene which the characters overtly compare to Nazi Germany. The point is this—to pick up at book #52, just bopping around in the series the way I am right now, is to enter it at a severe moment in the Animorphs’ story.
Early on in the book, the Animorphs, thinking that all is basically lost, hit upon the idea of detonating the Yeerk Pool. If they’re going to win, they have to show unreasonable force. This immediately leads into the greatest thing about the ANIMORPHS series: a scene where the characters sit around debating the ethics of their choices. Cassie in particular is starkly opposed to the plan on the basis that bombing the Yeerk pool will mean the deaths of thousands of humans being held as Controllers, not to mention Hork-Bajir and pacifist Yeerks. The pragmatism of the act, the fact that without taking this step the Earth will almost certainly be lost, does not sway her. She cannot abide the intentional killing of innocents—the treatment of these people as unfortunate collateral damage. Is she right? Or is knowingly, willingly, killing thousands of people justified if it conceivably saves billions? It’s the trolley problem on a massive scale. This is a kid’s book. That’s what most believe, anyway—although you and I know it’s anything but.
That’s part of why I wanted to read this book, honestly. I asked Siri to remind me which book it was in which—SPOILER—Cassie gives the Yeerks the Escafil device, commonly referred to as “the morphing cube” or “the blue box”. I will never understand why despite knowing the proper name of the cube each of the characters, including Ax the Andalite, persist in referring to it as “the blue box”. I follow enough Animorphs fan groups on social media to know that there is a sizable contingent of fans who strongly dislike Cassie, though she is my favorite of the Animorphs. Those who dislike Cassie often point to her granting Yeerks the power to morph as evidence that she is dangerously and immaturely naïve. I wanted to see how the decision is explained in-book, to see if I felt it met those objections and quashed them. I was surprised on this re-“read” to hear how frantic and uncertain Cassie sounds. I don’t think it was purely the performance of Adam Verner, although he certainly overemphasized it, making Cassie sound nearly unhinged. The book itself, though, has Cassie say that she wasn’t thinking when she let Jake’s brother Tom, a human-Controller, abscond with the device. She asserts that she acted on instinct alone. I’m disappointed to hear that because honestly when the book began and I realized it was an Ax-narrated book, I questioned why it wasn’t narrated by Cassie instead. Wouldn’t it be more compelling to be inside her head right now, to understand her thoughts? I understand now that the point was for Ax to begin appalled by her choice to the point of feeling that he hates her for it, but by book’s end to have his heart(s) changed. Still, though, the fact that her motivation gets reduced to just a feeling does make it seem… well, immature.
I’m frankly not sure that the inevitably changed heart is completely earned. I apparently felt differently last time I read this book, so maybe reading while driving or Verner’s performance lessened some of the impact. I didn’t feel the book really did make the case that Cassie’s view was correct, though the Animorphs including Ax soften toward her later. When Ax confronts her directly about it, she says that there are undoubtedly many Yeerks who would not kill and infest humans, given the choice. Ax agrees in principle but doubts there are so many that it would make a difference; he argues that Visser One would limit the morphing power to his most loyal Yeerks and that giving up the Escafil device unilaterally sacrifices (we have a title!) the one advantage they have in the war. Later, when the group does decide to bomb the Yeerk Pool (albeit with a five-minute warning so innocents can evacuate), Ax sees Hork-Bajir Controllers rushing to free those held in cages. This proves to him that there are a number of Yeerks who don’t wish to be involved in the war, and that makes him more sympathetic to Cassie’s perspective. Because, you see, the other advantage that humans have in this war is their humanity, y’know? Their empathy.
I do think there is a lot of powerful discussion here as Ax wrestles with these ideas. He thinks about his own brother’s granting of the morphing power to a group of humans despite his culture’s insistence that it should never be shared with non-Andalites. He thinks about Seerow’s Kindness, an event in which a too-idealistic Andalite helped the Yeerks find willing hosts in the hopes of improving their wellbeing, only for the Yeerks to turn to enslaving species against their will in hopes of ruling the universe. His culture ingrained in him that working with the enemy is bad, foolish, dangerous. But he can’t square that with Elfangor’s giving the morphing power to the Animorphs, or his residual respect for Cassie. Ax eventually realizes that love and faith in the power of treating people humanely may be enough to change hearts. I generally agree with this philosophy! This is part of the reason that Cassie is my favorite character. But that still leaves the problem of giving a gun to the person who has expressed their intention to use it to kill you. I’m not totally sure the power of love answers that concern.
Tobias, voicing agreement with Cassie, tells Ax, “It’s a whole new world. We’re having to make this up as we go along. There aren’t any rules falling out of the sky telling us what and what not to do . . . We can’t afford to get so locked into one idea that we defend it to the death without really knowing if that idea works—in the real world.” This is another philosophy I’m generally on-board with. Because he’s voicing support for Cassie, Tobias’ statement reads as a criticism of the stubborn Andalite view that the Yeerks cannot be reasoned with. But again, Cassie’s choice could well lead to all of humanity becoming enslaved. Does her idea work “in the real world”? Or, alternatively, is there an argument being made that the world is not worth saving if you have to give up on certain foundational principles to do it? Jake and Cassie later come up with the motto “Defeat the Yeerks, don’t become them”. Is the idea that it is preferable not to defeat the Yeerks if it to defeat them meant to “become” them?
This is a challenging philosophical conversation to have! And, again, if you’re still reading this review and are coming into ANIMORPHS cold, I have to reiterate that this is why I’m so passionate about this series. But I’m worried the book introduces these questions without giving them the full space they needed to develop. I felt like Ax does a lot of back and forth, seeing support for his traditional perspective and for Cassie’s perspective, but then leans hard toward Cassie’s side without really justifying why beyond his desire for her idealism to win out. I’m not saying he’s wrong to make this choice, but I am saying that the book doesn’t do a great job of explaining to me why he made that choice. He shares some affectionate words about humans’ complex, paradoxical tendencies and that’s sweet and all, but how does that help him come to terms with the possibility of losing the war? Maybe a third read from the page again will help me out on this. Right now, though I absolutely thrilled at the whole conversation the book was trying to have, I feel slightly that it didn’t nail the landing.
But gosh, there’s so much amazing stuff here, that issue doesn’t prevent me from maintaining the 5-star rating I gave “The Sacrifice” on my first read through. I loved when Ax cautions against intervening with the herding of humans onto a subway train near the start of the book. James, one of the 17 new Animorphs who only recently joined the war, urges, “Those are innocent people down there. Don’t you care?” Despite knowing that James is new to war, eager and not yet worn down by the death and mayhem, Ax hears James’s plea as criticism: that Ax is not a part of the team because he is “foreign” (an alien) and needs to be instructed how to feel. This look inside Ax’s head as he takes this comment so personally is a gut punch. Ax, Rachel, and James do make a foolhardy attempt to stop the train but unsuccessfully. Ax realizes they had accomplished nothing except putting themselves in danger and putting the enemy on high alert; they had not even stopped one train car, and there were undoubtedly many, many more on their way.
Then there’s a scene where Ax communicates surreptitiously with the Andalite High Command, whose plan is to allow the Yeerks to congregate on Earth and then “quarantine” the planet; they tell Ax to oppose the humans’ plan to destroy the Yeerk Pool. The moment actually does come the closest to explaining why Ax might choose Cassie’s perspective. Ax understands that a quarantine would be ineffective. Humans are an especially clever species unwilling to sit still; the Yeerks would not happily remain all on Earth, and it would be impossible for the Andalites to monitor the planet to ensure no further expansion of the Yeerk empire. He understands that “quarantine” is a euphemism. That might be the order, but in actuality once the Yeerks were all on Earth the planet would have to be destroyed. Ax has the choice to go along with the Andalites, to allow all life on Earth to be decimated in order to protect the galaxy as a whole—potentially trillions upon trillions of lives—or to stand with the humans, protect the Earth, even if it means allowing the Yeerks to get away. It’s strangely easier to see the dilemma when it gets scaled to this level. It’s still hard to say that jeopardizing the whole of the universe is a justifiable tradeoff for protecting one planet’s creatures, but as an inhabitant of the Earth I can understand why it would be hard to agree to sacrifice the planet.
Oh my god, then there’s a quote near the end when Ax sees Rachel embrace her mother in tears. Rachel is the strongest of them, the most eager to fight, so to see her crying is a shock. Ax thinks that “perhaps Rachel, like me, suddenly realized that the gulf between the present and her childhood was an abyss of loss”. JE-sus Christ. What can I say that I didn’t already start this review by staying? I love Animorphs.
P.S. The performers of these audiobooks continue to pronounce “Yeerk” with a long ‘E’ sound, which grates on me endlessly. That’s not how the word is pronounced! It should instead rhyme with “lurk”. I actually caught Verner accidentally pronouncing the word correctly about 10 minutes in when James references going after “these Yeerk jerks”. For a little bit of time afterward Verner continues to pronounce the word in that way. Later, though, he returned to using that cursed long ‘E’. That’s one aspect of these audiobooks I will never accept.
December 15, 2019
I got this in a stack of books from a colleague, who said it was a decent series. I knew I’d be able to burn through it quickly and subsequently donate it, so what the hell.
It actually was pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised.
The battle scene towards the end was a bit abrupt. In fact, the entire end felt a little rushed, but that was forgivable.
What I really enjoyed about this was the arguments between characters. Not sure why, but I really felt the fight between Cassie and Jack earlier in the book. Shit got tense, and that was something I haven’t seen a lot in books. Give me those petty squabbles!
Seeing the different perspectives of the animals was cool as well. The author seems to fall back on birds, but I guess that taps into our fantasy of flying, and I liked it.
There was a lot of deliberation and struggle in this book, but it was still fast-paced. The protagonist has some serious shit to contemplate, and he does it in small bytes between or during the action. It is great to see that the deep struggles don’t interfere with the narrative (I think about Chadwick’s Concrete where Concrete would run into the woods and cover himself with mud or walk through a lake in order to deliberate about his choices. Usually it was meandering and longer than needed).
I also appreciated how efficiently the book caught me up and got me invested in the characters. I have read first books in a series that left me disoriented or apathetic about characters. This is 52 books in the series and it was a smooth introduction.
Good book. I’ll probably read the first and the last three . . . next year.
It actually was pretty good. I was pleasantly surprised.
The battle scene towards the end was a bit abrupt. In fact, the entire end felt a little rushed, but that was forgivable.
What I really enjoyed about this was the arguments between characters. Not sure why, but I really felt the fight between Cassie and Jack earlier in the book. Shit got tense, and that was something I haven’t seen a lot in books. Give me those petty squabbles!
Seeing the different perspectives of the animals was cool as well. The author seems to fall back on birds, but I guess that taps into our fantasy of flying, and I liked it.
There was a lot of deliberation and struggle in this book, but it was still fast-paced. The protagonist has some serious shit to contemplate, and he does it in small bytes between or during the action. It is great to see that the deep struggles don’t interfere with the narrative (I think about Chadwick’s Concrete where Concrete would run into the woods and cover himself with mud or walk through a lake in order to deliberate about his choices. Usually it was meandering and longer than needed).
I also appreciated how efficiently the book caught me up and got me invested in the characters. I have read first books in a series that left me disoriented or apathetic about characters. This is 52 books in the series and it was a smooth introduction.
Good book. I’ll probably read the first and the last three . . . next year.
May 3, 2019
I don't buy all of Ax's extreme emotional reactions here--his surprise at humans feels too new, as if he hasn't struggled with that before, as if human ethical compromise differs more from his own (as recently as The Deception (Book 46)) and what he's learned about his own people over the course of the series. At the same time, this is one of the better written Ax books, on par with The Arrival (Book 38), which has the same ghostwriter: he's not an awkward alien, not comic relief, not oddly distant, but still distinguished by a profound and innate otherness. And the plot, as this already surprisingly dark MG series makes a slide into YA, as the scale escalates, as the Animorphs heal their internal rifts in a feel-good sequence of events which contrasts profoundly against the violence of their actions, is phenomenal. The overlap between end of the series and the books that are still ghostwritten is occasionally uneasy, and here makes me wish that the character arcs were a smidge tighter. But there's a lot it still does well.
May 15, 2023
As far as conflict resolution goes, the plan these fighters have come up with is pretty brilliant and fair, in my opinion. I do appreciate that the gravity of the decision is never taken lightly, though. I can't even put into words the complexities of emotion present in this volume as we near the end of the series. But I suppose that's why there are 54 books.
June 8, 2018
I miss the days when these were cute-ish kids book about a rag tag group of kids fighting against the powers. The books always had a dark edge to them, but at the end of the day the kids were successful and friends. These last few books have been harder to read because of the all out war. The progression has happened naturally over the last 50 novels but it is unsettling as I read. I am still excited that I am finally, from over 10 years ago finishing this series. I’m excited/scared to get to the end.
July 3, 2022
This is a good final Ax book, with his finally deciding between Andalites and humans, as well as shows Rachel's relationship with her mom develop a bit and shows everyone's reactions to Cassie's decision to let Tom and the morphing cube escape a couple books ago.
April 19, 2023
Ax struggles to not betray everyone for the 100th time. Good thing he's the 2nd best character. Becomes racoon. RESIST EATING TRASH.
March 14, 2024
I love Ax.
Read
April 9, 2024holy shit, this is the darkest book I've read all year
October 31, 2023
(originally reviewed at
thelibraryladies.com
)
Narrator: Ax
Plot: This really start to heat up in this one, and unlike the previous book, we get a lot more of the emotional fall-out of Cassie’s decision. There’s a good balance of character work with some significant (and important!) action. Unfortunately, for all of that good work, we also have a huge retread and out-of-character thinking for our main character, Ax.
Really? We’re doing the “Ax questions his loyalties” thing again?
The Yeerks have taken the war more and more public. Now they’ve started rounding up people by the hundreds and herding them onto subway trains that the Animorphs can only assume run directly to the Yeerk pool. Ax, Rachel, and James see the horrors for themselves when out on a scouting mission: people dragged out of their cars and herded down to the station. In a rash plan (lead of course by Rachel), the three head off into the subway system to try and save people. Instead, they end up on a wild ride, chased by falcon!Yeerks. Most of the Yeerks are taken out, inexperienced as they are in their animal morphs. Ax catches up with one that pleads with him to let him go, that he only has a few minutes left before he is trapped in his falcon form, which he sees as a vast improvement on his original Yeerk form as a slug. Ax lets him go.
Back in the camp, the team discusses what they’ve seen. They know that something must be done, and slowly come to the realization that only an extreme action can be the next step: bombing the Yeerk pool. Cassie is opposed, but Jake snaps at her that given the morphing abilities of the Yeerks now, they’re left with fewer options. Ax and the team are surprised by this. They decide that a nuclear weapon would be too hard to get and do too much damage, but that there might be some large bombs at a nearby National Guard station. But it would also take them all, original Animrophs, parents, and auxiliary Animorphs, to get in and find the bombs before they are detected.
Later that night, Ax sneaks away into the forest and makes contact with the Andalites. It is clear that this isn’t the first time, and they ask for a report. Ax dutifully gives details of the situation, noting that the human resistance seems to be fraying under the increased pressure of the more open war. He does hold back the information about the Yeerks now having morphing abilities, however. For their part, the Andalite leaders inform him that the plan of action is to quarantine Earth and try to hold the Yeerks there. Ax knows this terminology for what it is: they have decided to surrender the humans to the Yeerks, and, to enforce the quarantine, they will eventually take out the planet and wipe out humans and Yeerks alike.
The next day as they continue to put their plan in place, Cassie informs them that she won’t be participating. This leads to another fight between her and Jake and during it she confesses to having let Tom escape with the blue box. Everyone is horrified, especially Ax who immediately labels her a traitor. Cassie cries and apologizes for her actions, saying that she doesn’t know what made her do it, and she’s sorry to see where it has taken them all. Jake forgives her, hugs her, and informs the team that they now have to work in the reality they have, that there’s no point wishing for what was. Ax, however, is not really listening, too angry at Cassie to hear.
They continue to plan and decide to give a 5 minute warning before the bomb explodes to allow as many people to escape the Yeerk pool as possible. Cassie agrees to this, and Jake reflects that their new motto will be to defeat the Yeerks, but not to become them. Ax, however, is more focused on the fact that while before he had thought Rachel’s reckless pursuit of battle was the most dangerous, maybe the opposite extreme is the more deadly: Cassie’s kindness, so like Seerow’s.
Later he makes time to speak to Cassie about why she did what she did. He calls her out for betraying her friends, humanity, and even Elfangor who entrusted them with the awesome power. While she says that in the moment she didn’t know why she make the decision she did, now, later, she’s begun to think that the morphing ability could provide a wedge in the Yeerk forces. That those who are less interested in war may see the morphing ability as a legitimate alternative. Ax mentions the falcon!Yeerk he ran into earlier and Cassie sees this as proof that there may be Yeerks out there who just want a way out. Ax isn’t sure, but thinks he won’t ever feel the same about Cassie or (bizarrely) humans in general.
Even later that night, Tobias approaches Ax and asks him what he’s going to do, having followed him the other night and seeing him communicate with the other Andalites. Ax admits that he doesn’t know and the two of them continue the discussion about how morphing now changes the situation with the Yeerks.
They finally put the plan in action. Ax leads adults from the group through the woods where they run into a National Guard station and the parents pretend to have been lost in the woods. Cassie’s dad fakes heart problems, and they’re all loaded up on trucks and headed towards the base. Several Animorphs and auxiliary Animorphs hitch a ride in various morphs and the Hork Bajir follow in the trees. Once at the base, they all split into groups and begin searching the many, many buildings for the bombs. They manage to locate them eventually and load as many as they can on a few trucks. On the way out, however, they’re stopped by a head operative of the National Guard. With no other choice, they reveal themselves and explain that what the Governor said on TV a while ago is true: aliens are really invading Earth. Ax plays his usual role, demonstrating that he is, in fact, an alien. Luckily the head guy is not a Controller, though they do have to capture a few Controllers in the mix of witnesses. He also happens to know Rachel’s mother, and this connection further helps them convince him to let them pass.
They make their way with the bombs to a subway station and prepare for a confrontation. Many of the Yeerks morph as well, including several to wolf form. Just as things are beginning to look bleak, the National Guard guys show up and help them win the fight. All of the wolf!Yeerks are dead and Ax has a brief moment of panic thinking that Cassie died, too, since how could anyone tell the difference in the midst of the fighting. She’s ok, however, and he realizes that he doesn’t hate her.
When it comes to the next stage, a smaller group is needed. It is agreed that Jake is too valuable to send on such a risky venture (the timing of the bomb going off while also giving enough of a warning to get people out will be pretty tight.) In his stead, Jake insists that Cassie go, that he trusts her to make the right decision. Marco and Ax will go along with. Ax notes that it feels like the team is beginning to come together again.
The bombs are loaded on to a cleared out subway train and the three get on. As the train barrels towards the Yeerk pool, they all morph cockroach to survive the impact. The train crashes into the Yeerk pool, killing many Yeerks in the process. Cassie, Marco, and Ax demorph and Cassie climbs on top of the train yelling a warning to everyone around. Marco and Ax work to free humans from the cages and Ax is amazed to see human Controllers help with this effort as well.
Visser One morphs some huge octapus-like beast in the Yeerk pool but quickly realizes that with a bomb ticking it’s in his best interests to just get out of there. By the time Cassie, Ax, and Marco head out, the Yeerk pool is mostly empty, except for the pool itself that is still full of Yeerks.
The next day, the Animorphs all come to survey the damage. Almost the entire downtown area has been collapsed in on itself and the devastation is extreme. They know they’ve inflicted a massive strike against the Yeerks, but none of them can feel happy about it. Ax thinks about the human Controllers who stayed behind to help others and realizes that Cassie is right; Aftran wasn’t the only Yeerk who wanted a different life. They see Visser One’s Blade ship flying in and are resigned to the fact that, yet again, he escaped. But they console themselves that he will have a lot of explaining to do to the Council about this disaster. Ax ends the story with a very familiar couple of paragraphs about how he’s chosen to throw his lot in with the humans.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: So this was a really strange and frustrating book for Ax. There were some really good moments in there, but most of it was a direct re-tread of emotional conflicts that he had already solved before, therefore making many of his decisions and thoughts read as very out of character for the Ax we have now.
The good stuff mostly came with his reflections on Rachel’s warmongering and Cassie’s decision with the blue box. With Rachel, as I’ll note later, there was a good discussion about what it means to lose one’s childhood. Ax reflects on this for himself, that by Andalite standards, he’d still be a soldier in training and a young kid. But now, he’s a battle-weary soldier in the body of a young kid. This conflict is not only hard on Ax (and the others), but a challenge for those around them. Part of Rachel’s mother’s struggle seems to be accepting that her daughter has been operating as an adult for some time and can’t just slip back into being her kid and listening to her parent as a point of authority in a war situation that frankly Rachel knows way more about than her mother. Ax, too, has this same conflict when he interacts with the adult Andalites. They see him as a kid who is in need of direction by the adults in the room and that he should just follow orders as dictated to him (though some of this also seems to be a cultural aspects of the Andalites).
Ax’s thoughts on Cassie are also good. His rage at her decision are almost cathartic for those of us readers who were also incredibly frustrated with her thought process. But Ax and Cassie also have the most useful conversation in really digging into what that decision means, and, after the fact, Cassie’s own reflections on it. It’s pretty excellent stuff.
But other than that, man, it’s hard to like Ax in this book. We never really get at what motivated Ax to contact the Andalites in the first place and end up in this situation. For one thing, it directly contradicts his own vows to follow his Prince, Jake. He’s clearly been doing this in secret for quite a while.
What’s more, he’s somehow fallen completely back into the “I’m an Andalite soldier. I must follow Andalite commanders before anything.” Which, like I said, is a conflict we’ve already seen before and resolved. It’s not only boring but it makes the book read as if it’s completely detached from any character growth Ax has gone through in the series as a whole. Did the author even read Ax’s other books?? It sure as heck doesn’t read like they did. (Yes, yes she did. She even wrote one, ugh.) The Ax we see here is almost identical to the one in the very beginning when he had zero understanding of humans and no knowledge of the wrongs the Andalites routinely commit against other species. Now, after years of fighting with humans, and having seen the Andalites behave pretty poorly in the past, Ax has grown into a different character. For him to suddenly regress reads as really terrible writing and makes Ax into a pretty unlikeable character, if we’re meant to believe that he simply changed his mind again and needed to learn this lesson for like the 4th time. You could literally copy and past his last couple of pages and stick them in the end of at least three other Ax books that came before. Yada yada, humans are broken but they’re also great. I’ll side with them. Blah blah blah.
Our Fearless Leader: We definitely see Jake coming back to himself in this book. In many ways, the blow up with Cassie where he finally reveals what she did with the blue box seems to serve as a turning point. Once she admits to the folly of it and apologizes, he’s the first one to forgive her. And from there on out, he’s pretty much back to his old ways,leadership-wise. Even going so far as to reprimand Ax for calling him Prince once again. He also seems to finally realize just how important he is to the war effort, as he is successfully talked out of going on the last mission as it would be detrimental to lose him.
Xena, Warrior Princess: This is one of the better books for examples of Rachel’s war issues coming out in realistic ways. In the very beginning, she’s the one to lead the charge into the subway system with Ax, even though there is obviously nothing to be gained from this action. And then she takes off after the Yeerk that Ax released. As it seems that Ax was speaking to the Yeerk privately, Rachel could see it as the Yeerk escaping rather than Ax letting it go. But either way, chasing down fleeing enemies is another step in Rachel’s hard path. Ax makes a few snide comments about how Andalite warriors who grow to love war too much are “put out to pasture” essentially. Though, as I’ll discuss later, nothing we’ve seen from the Andalite as a whole (disregarding the ones we’ve had in book like Ax and Elfangor) really proves that they have the same sense of morality about warfare as Ax is thinking. It’s a bit rich to rag on Rachel’s ruthlessness when you know your own people are planning to just sacrifice an entire species as just another chess move in their war with the Yeerks.
A Hawk’s Life: Tobias doesn’t have a lot in this book other than his confrontation with Ax about Ax’s communications with the Andalite leaders. Tobias has always been one of the more cool-headed members of the group, handling big revelations with a much more reserved manner than the others. So it makes sense that he handles this conversation as he does, not coming down on Ax too hard for doing this all behind their backs. The conversation is pretty short, however, and I do think that it leaves something to be desired. For one thing, it isn’t acknowledging that this is like the millionth time that Ax has seemingly wavered back and forth between Andalites and humans, even though he’s repeatedly in the past come out vocally for the side of the Animorphs. For all of his talk about Cassie’s traitorous ways…
Peace, Love, and Animals: This is a really good book for Cassie and gets at a lot of what was missing from her own book with the nonsensical decision to just end it where it does and then go an entire book more without addressing it further. We finally get the reveal to the entire group about what happened, and Cassie’s apologies and explanations read as much more believable and sympathetic (if still wrong-headed). She apologizes repeatedly and even takes ownership for the way that decision is impacting the huge things they’re doing now. She pretty much admits that she put them in the position to having to go to this level, so she’s on board to help, even if it’s the kind of action that she’s largely against.
In her discussion with Ax we also get her thoughts into the effect that morphing could have on the Yeerks. Even in this conversation, however, she admits that this was an after-thought, so we can’t give her credit for this line of reasoning when she made the initial action; she said then and repeats now that she didn’t have a reason for doing what she did other than it feeling right. But, as we see in this book, the domino effect on the Yeerks is happening and her quick understanding that that may occur is definitely spot on.
The Comic Relief: Marco’s kind of been a different character since the return of his mother. It seems like in many ways this is an intentional shift, with other characters noting that he is much happier now. And it makes sense that his attitude would change somewhat with the driving factor behind his choice to fight being resolved with the saving of this mom. But from a reading perspective, it’s a pretty big loss. Marco’s last book was a huge let-down, feeling as if he had lost much of his spunk. And here, we also see a very different character on the page. Most notably in his reaction to Cassie’s giving away the blue box. Rachel reacts with the anger we’d expect, but in the past, she was always joined by Marco who has almost zero tolerance for poor strategic decision making in the service of “feelings.” His perspective was an important aspect of the careful balance maintained by all members of the team, and losing a large part of what made Marco Marco is pretty unfortunate.
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: Not a lot that I can really think of. The falcon!Yeerk who is desperate to get trapped in a falcon’s body does highlight just how miserable the natural state of being a Yeerk is. Beyond anything else, Yeerks who do this are essentially forfeiting huge chunks of their lives. Visser Three has been around and kicking for quite some time and doesn’t seem to be classified as an elderly Yeerk. But a falcon has a pretty short life span, around 13 years average and maxing out at about 20. Given this level of sacrifice to escape existing as a slug, it’s really a shame that the idea of using morphing to bypass the hosting thing wasn’t thought of sooner.
Couples Watch!: Again, really nothing. Tobias holds Rachel back when she’s getting mad at Cassie about the blue box. And Jake forgives Cassie for the blue box fiasco, but even that is fairly straightforward and devoid of much romance. Ax sees Cassie and Jake’s strained relationship as yet another sign that the group is falling apart. So, too, when they make-up, it’s almost the first steps towards the team coming together again.
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: Visser One makes a token appearance at the end of this book, showing off a new morph before ultimately (and predictably) choosing to save himself and get the heck out of there rather than fight.
But, again, I think we have to admit that by and large the Andalites are pretty villainous. I mean, at this point both the humans and the Hork Bajir could agree that being “saved” by the Andalites is just as disastrous as being attacked by the enemy Yeerks. Probably worse, really, since the Andalites are so completely focused on conquering the Yeerks that they actually hinder the efforts of other species to defend themselves. They took out the Hork Bajir with disease, and here, we have Andalite commanders telling Ax to actively prevent the humans from fighting back so that the planet can be “quarantined.”
...
(Full review on blog)
Narrator: Ax
Plot: This really start to heat up in this one, and unlike the previous book, we get a lot more of the emotional fall-out of Cassie’s decision. There’s a good balance of character work with some significant (and important!) action. Unfortunately, for all of that good work, we also have a huge retread and out-of-character thinking for our main character, Ax.
Really? We’re doing the “Ax questions his loyalties” thing again?
The Yeerks have taken the war more and more public. Now they’ve started rounding up people by the hundreds and herding them onto subway trains that the Animorphs can only assume run directly to the Yeerk pool. Ax, Rachel, and James see the horrors for themselves when out on a scouting mission: people dragged out of their cars and herded down to the station. In a rash plan (lead of course by Rachel), the three head off into the subway system to try and save people. Instead, they end up on a wild ride, chased by falcon!Yeerks. Most of the Yeerks are taken out, inexperienced as they are in their animal morphs. Ax catches up with one that pleads with him to let him go, that he only has a few minutes left before he is trapped in his falcon form, which he sees as a vast improvement on his original Yeerk form as a slug. Ax lets him go.
Back in the camp, the team discusses what they’ve seen. They know that something must be done, and slowly come to the realization that only an extreme action can be the next step: bombing the Yeerk pool. Cassie is opposed, but Jake snaps at her that given the morphing abilities of the Yeerks now, they’re left with fewer options. Ax and the team are surprised by this. They decide that a nuclear weapon would be too hard to get and do too much damage, but that there might be some large bombs at a nearby National Guard station. But it would also take them all, original Animrophs, parents, and auxiliary Animorphs, to get in and find the bombs before they are detected.
Later that night, Ax sneaks away into the forest and makes contact with the Andalites. It is clear that this isn’t the first time, and they ask for a report. Ax dutifully gives details of the situation, noting that the human resistance seems to be fraying under the increased pressure of the more open war. He does hold back the information about the Yeerks now having morphing abilities, however. For their part, the Andalite leaders inform him that the plan of action is to quarantine Earth and try to hold the Yeerks there. Ax knows this terminology for what it is: they have decided to surrender the humans to the Yeerks, and, to enforce the quarantine, they will eventually take out the planet and wipe out humans and Yeerks alike.
The next day as they continue to put their plan in place, Cassie informs them that she won’t be participating. This leads to another fight between her and Jake and during it she confesses to having let Tom escape with the blue box. Everyone is horrified, especially Ax who immediately labels her a traitor. Cassie cries and apologizes for her actions, saying that she doesn’t know what made her do it, and she’s sorry to see where it has taken them all. Jake forgives her, hugs her, and informs the team that they now have to work in the reality they have, that there’s no point wishing for what was. Ax, however, is not really listening, too angry at Cassie to hear.
They continue to plan and decide to give a 5 minute warning before the bomb explodes to allow as many people to escape the Yeerk pool as possible. Cassie agrees to this, and Jake reflects that their new motto will be to defeat the Yeerks, but not to become them. Ax, however, is more focused on the fact that while before he had thought Rachel’s reckless pursuit of battle was the most dangerous, maybe the opposite extreme is the more deadly: Cassie’s kindness, so like Seerow’s.
Later he makes time to speak to Cassie about why she did what she did. He calls her out for betraying her friends, humanity, and even Elfangor who entrusted them with the awesome power. While she says that in the moment she didn’t know why she make the decision she did, now, later, she’s begun to think that the morphing ability could provide a wedge in the Yeerk forces. That those who are less interested in war may see the morphing ability as a legitimate alternative. Ax mentions the falcon!Yeerk he ran into earlier and Cassie sees this as proof that there may be Yeerks out there who just want a way out. Ax isn’t sure, but thinks he won’t ever feel the same about Cassie or (bizarrely) humans in general.
Even later that night, Tobias approaches Ax and asks him what he’s going to do, having followed him the other night and seeing him communicate with the other Andalites. Ax admits that he doesn’t know and the two of them continue the discussion about how morphing now changes the situation with the Yeerks.
They finally put the plan in action. Ax leads adults from the group through the woods where they run into a National Guard station and the parents pretend to have been lost in the woods. Cassie’s dad fakes heart problems, and they’re all loaded up on trucks and headed towards the base. Several Animorphs and auxiliary Animorphs hitch a ride in various morphs and the Hork Bajir follow in the trees. Once at the base, they all split into groups and begin searching the many, many buildings for the bombs. They manage to locate them eventually and load as many as they can on a few trucks. On the way out, however, they’re stopped by a head operative of the National Guard. With no other choice, they reveal themselves and explain that what the Governor said on TV a while ago is true: aliens are really invading Earth. Ax plays his usual role, demonstrating that he is, in fact, an alien. Luckily the head guy is not a Controller, though they do have to capture a few Controllers in the mix of witnesses. He also happens to know Rachel’s mother, and this connection further helps them convince him to let them pass.
They make their way with the bombs to a subway station and prepare for a confrontation. Many of the Yeerks morph as well, including several to wolf form. Just as things are beginning to look bleak, the National Guard guys show up and help them win the fight. All of the wolf!Yeerks are dead and Ax has a brief moment of panic thinking that Cassie died, too, since how could anyone tell the difference in the midst of the fighting. She’s ok, however, and he realizes that he doesn’t hate her.
When it comes to the next stage, a smaller group is needed. It is agreed that Jake is too valuable to send on such a risky venture (the timing of the bomb going off while also giving enough of a warning to get people out will be pretty tight.) In his stead, Jake insists that Cassie go, that he trusts her to make the right decision. Marco and Ax will go along with. Ax notes that it feels like the team is beginning to come together again.
The bombs are loaded on to a cleared out subway train and the three get on. As the train barrels towards the Yeerk pool, they all morph cockroach to survive the impact. The train crashes into the Yeerk pool, killing many Yeerks in the process. Cassie, Marco, and Ax demorph and Cassie climbs on top of the train yelling a warning to everyone around. Marco and Ax work to free humans from the cages and Ax is amazed to see human Controllers help with this effort as well.
Visser One morphs some huge octapus-like beast in the Yeerk pool but quickly realizes that with a bomb ticking it’s in his best interests to just get out of there. By the time Cassie, Ax, and Marco head out, the Yeerk pool is mostly empty, except for the pool itself that is still full of Yeerks.
The next day, the Animorphs all come to survey the damage. Almost the entire downtown area has been collapsed in on itself and the devastation is extreme. They know they’ve inflicted a massive strike against the Yeerks, but none of them can feel happy about it. Ax thinks about the human Controllers who stayed behind to help others and realizes that Cassie is right; Aftran wasn’t the only Yeerk who wanted a different life. They see Visser One’s Blade ship flying in and are resigned to the fact that, yet again, he escaped. But they console themselves that he will have a lot of explaining to do to the Council about this disaster. Ax ends the story with a very familiar couple of paragraphs about how he’s chosen to throw his lot in with the humans.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: So this was a really strange and frustrating book for Ax. There were some really good moments in there, but most of it was a direct re-tread of emotional conflicts that he had already solved before, therefore making many of his decisions and thoughts read as very out of character for the Ax we have now.
The good stuff mostly came with his reflections on Rachel’s warmongering and Cassie’s decision with the blue box. With Rachel, as I’ll note later, there was a good discussion about what it means to lose one’s childhood. Ax reflects on this for himself, that by Andalite standards, he’d still be a soldier in training and a young kid. But now, he’s a battle-weary soldier in the body of a young kid. This conflict is not only hard on Ax (and the others), but a challenge for those around them. Part of Rachel’s mother’s struggle seems to be accepting that her daughter has been operating as an adult for some time and can’t just slip back into being her kid and listening to her parent as a point of authority in a war situation that frankly Rachel knows way more about than her mother. Ax, too, has this same conflict when he interacts with the adult Andalites. They see him as a kid who is in need of direction by the adults in the room and that he should just follow orders as dictated to him (though some of this also seems to be a cultural aspects of the Andalites).
Ax’s thoughts on Cassie are also good. His rage at her decision are almost cathartic for those of us readers who were also incredibly frustrated with her thought process. But Ax and Cassie also have the most useful conversation in really digging into what that decision means, and, after the fact, Cassie’s own reflections on it. It’s pretty excellent stuff.
But other than that, man, it’s hard to like Ax in this book. We never really get at what motivated Ax to contact the Andalites in the first place and end up in this situation. For one thing, it directly contradicts his own vows to follow his Prince, Jake. He’s clearly been doing this in secret for quite a while.
What’s more, he’s somehow fallen completely back into the “I’m an Andalite soldier. I must follow Andalite commanders before anything.” Which, like I said, is a conflict we’ve already seen before and resolved. It’s not only boring but it makes the book read as if it’s completely detached from any character growth Ax has gone through in the series as a whole. Did the author even read Ax’s other books?? It sure as heck doesn’t read like they did. (Yes, yes she did. She even wrote one, ugh.) The Ax we see here is almost identical to the one in the very beginning when he had zero understanding of humans and no knowledge of the wrongs the Andalites routinely commit against other species. Now, after years of fighting with humans, and having seen the Andalites behave pretty poorly in the past, Ax has grown into a different character. For him to suddenly regress reads as really terrible writing and makes Ax into a pretty unlikeable character, if we’re meant to believe that he simply changed his mind again and needed to learn this lesson for like the 4th time. You could literally copy and past his last couple of pages and stick them in the end of at least three other Ax books that came before. Yada yada, humans are broken but they’re also great. I’ll side with them. Blah blah blah.
Our Fearless Leader: We definitely see Jake coming back to himself in this book. In many ways, the blow up with Cassie where he finally reveals what she did with the blue box seems to serve as a turning point. Once she admits to the folly of it and apologizes, he’s the first one to forgive her. And from there on out, he’s pretty much back to his old ways,leadership-wise. Even going so far as to reprimand Ax for calling him Prince once again. He also seems to finally realize just how important he is to the war effort, as he is successfully talked out of going on the last mission as it would be detrimental to lose him.
Xena, Warrior Princess: This is one of the better books for examples of Rachel’s war issues coming out in realistic ways. In the very beginning, she’s the one to lead the charge into the subway system with Ax, even though there is obviously nothing to be gained from this action. And then she takes off after the Yeerk that Ax released. As it seems that Ax was speaking to the Yeerk privately, Rachel could see it as the Yeerk escaping rather than Ax letting it go. But either way, chasing down fleeing enemies is another step in Rachel’s hard path. Ax makes a few snide comments about how Andalite warriors who grow to love war too much are “put out to pasture” essentially. Though, as I’ll discuss later, nothing we’ve seen from the Andalite as a whole (disregarding the ones we’ve had in book like Ax and Elfangor) really proves that they have the same sense of morality about warfare as Ax is thinking. It’s a bit rich to rag on Rachel’s ruthlessness when you know your own people are planning to just sacrifice an entire species as just another chess move in their war with the Yeerks.
A Hawk’s Life: Tobias doesn’t have a lot in this book other than his confrontation with Ax about Ax’s communications with the Andalite leaders. Tobias has always been one of the more cool-headed members of the group, handling big revelations with a much more reserved manner than the others. So it makes sense that he handles this conversation as he does, not coming down on Ax too hard for doing this all behind their backs. The conversation is pretty short, however, and I do think that it leaves something to be desired. For one thing, it isn’t acknowledging that this is like the millionth time that Ax has seemingly wavered back and forth between Andalites and humans, even though he’s repeatedly in the past come out vocally for the side of the Animorphs. For all of his talk about Cassie’s traitorous ways…
Peace, Love, and Animals: This is a really good book for Cassie and gets at a lot of what was missing from her own book with the nonsensical decision to just end it where it does and then go an entire book more without addressing it further. We finally get the reveal to the entire group about what happened, and Cassie’s apologies and explanations read as much more believable and sympathetic (if still wrong-headed). She apologizes repeatedly and even takes ownership for the way that decision is impacting the huge things they’re doing now. She pretty much admits that she put them in the position to having to go to this level, so she’s on board to help, even if it’s the kind of action that she’s largely against.
In her discussion with Ax we also get her thoughts into the effect that morphing could have on the Yeerks. Even in this conversation, however, she admits that this was an after-thought, so we can’t give her credit for this line of reasoning when she made the initial action; she said then and repeats now that she didn’t have a reason for doing what she did other than it feeling right. But, as we see in this book, the domino effect on the Yeerks is happening and her quick understanding that that may occur is definitely spot on.
The Comic Relief: Marco’s kind of been a different character since the return of his mother. It seems like in many ways this is an intentional shift, with other characters noting that he is much happier now. And it makes sense that his attitude would change somewhat with the driving factor behind his choice to fight being resolved with the saving of this mom. But from a reading perspective, it’s a pretty big loss. Marco’s last book was a huge let-down, feeling as if he had lost much of his spunk. And here, we also see a very different character on the page. Most notably in his reaction to Cassie’s giving away the blue box. Rachel reacts with the anger we’d expect, but in the past, she was always joined by Marco who has almost zero tolerance for poor strategic decision making in the service of “feelings.” His perspective was an important aspect of the careful balance maintained by all members of the team, and losing a large part of what made Marco Marco is pretty unfortunate.
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: Not a lot that I can really think of. The falcon!Yeerk who is desperate to get trapped in a falcon’s body does highlight just how miserable the natural state of being a Yeerk is. Beyond anything else, Yeerks who do this are essentially forfeiting huge chunks of their lives. Visser Three has been around and kicking for quite some time and doesn’t seem to be classified as an elderly Yeerk. But a falcon has a pretty short life span, around 13 years average and maxing out at about 20. Given this level of sacrifice to escape existing as a slug, it’s really a shame that the idea of using morphing to bypass the hosting thing wasn’t thought of sooner.
Couples Watch!: Again, really nothing. Tobias holds Rachel back when she’s getting mad at Cassie about the blue box. And Jake forgives Cassie for the blue box fiasco, but even that is fairly straightforward and devoid of much romance. Ax sees Cassie and Jake’s strained relationship as yet another sign that the group is falling apart. So, too, when they make-up, it’s almost the first steps towards the team coming together again.
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: Visser One makes a token appearance at the end of this book, showing off a new morph before ultimately (and predictably) choosing to save himself and get the heck out of there rather than fight.
But, again, I think we have to admit that by and large the Andalites are pretty villainous. I mean, at this point both the humans and the Hork Bajir could agree that being “saved” by the Andalites is just as disastrous as being attacked by the enemy Yeerks. Probably worse, really, since the Andalites are so completely focused on conquering the Yeerks that they actually hinder the efforts of other species to defend themselves. They took out the Hork Bajir with disease, and here, we have Andalite commanders telling Ax to actively prevent the humans from fighting back so that the planet can be “quarantined.”
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(Full review on blog)
May 29, 2023
Ax's last book as the main narrator.
We see Ax's final struggle between his dedication to his own people, and his dedication to his found family and friends. We see Cassie's actions come to light, and how these actions affect Ax, and how he has to re-consider his military programming, and recognize how complex people can be.
The crew decide to destroy the major Yerk pool, and despite expecting Cassie to not go along with it, due to being the pacifist, you can see how torn she is. She feels she has to agree with everyone after giving the morphing ability out, when it wasn't her call.
They come to the conclusion that they'll set the bombs off, but will give a warning to let those who want to escape, or being held prisoner, enough time to run out before the bombs all go out.
The stakes are escalating, and we're approaching the end.
We see Ax's final struggle between his dedication to his own people, and his dedication to his found family and friends. We see Cassie's actions come to light, and how these actions affect Ax, and how he has to re-consider his military programming, and recognize how complex people can be.
The crew decide to destroy the major Yerk pool, and despite expecting Cassie to not go along with it, due to being the pacifist, you can see how torn she is. She feels she has to agree with everyone after giving the morphing ability out, when it wasn't her call.
They come to the conclusion that they'll set the bombs off, but will give a warning to let those who want to escape, or being held prisoner, enough time to run out before the bombs all go out.
The stakes are escalating, and we're approaching the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 29, 2023
i sobbed throughout this entire book because i thought it was the book where rachel dies but YAYYYY murph was wrong and i’ve got two more books with her. regardless this book was so sad and sometimes it’s so hard to like andalite characters because their arrogance and black and white thinking can be So annoying but i do love seeing ax’s growth throughout this series and how he learns to understand humankind and feel like he can be one of them. he knows that he’ll never be a human, but he’s also not Just an andalite anymore, just as his friends aren’t Just humans. they’re all fucked up and kind of their own separate things and the only things they have is each other which is sad and lonely but at least they have one another. it literally broke my heart when rachel jake and cassie were all screaming at each other like ouggghh it hurts so bad when they fight because they’re all they have and it’s So hard. i’m so sad Time for next book
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