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Animorphs #22.5
The Hork-Bajir Chronicles
Chronicling the lives and fortunes of Dak, a Hork-Bajir Seer, born to save his people from a Yeerk invasion and Aldrea, a female Andalite, sent to the Hork-Bajir planet after her father's misguided kindness gave the Yeerks their power.
214 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1998
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965 people want to read
About the author
K.A. Applegate
251 books486 followersalso published under the name Katherine Applegate
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March 12, 2016
Dear nine-year old Mike,
Hi, me from when I was nine. How ya doing? Actually, don't tell me - I can probably guess. You're probably relatively fine. You'd be in fourth grade, and not much happened this year. So you're fine.
Anyway, right now, you're into a series called Animorphs. It's pretty awesome, isn't it? Right now, you hold the belief that anyone around you could be a controller. Well, I'm here to reassure you that... this belief will never go away. You'll always have it. But anyway, it's a very cool war story, full of action. And whether you realize it or not, you're making meaningful connections to the characters.
Well, I'm writing this from my fifteenth birthday. And today, I just finished reading The Hork-Bajir Chronicles for the first time. You've probably heard of it. You might be disappointed that you won't get to read it as a nine year-old. But don't be. The wait will be long, but when you do get to read it, you're going to appreciate it on a much deeper level than nine year-old you ever could. You'd enjoy it now, but you wouldn't see it for everything it is. So I'm going to try to give you as good of an explanation as possible as to why it's so good.
See, one of the difficult things about writing aliens is that their lack of humanity is used as an excuse to not treat them as people. By that I mean, the author writes them in an unrealistic way because they're aliens, not humans. They're all evil, or they're all good, or they're all stupid. No shades of grey to it. But K.A. Applegate has so much more skill than that. She writes aliens that are treated as people, but they aren't humans, if that makes any sense. When she writes about aliens, she does it with lots and lots of complexity in a whole host of ways.
First off, the culture. People often forget how different aliens would be from humans when writing about them. People forget how astoundingly different the culture would be. But not Applegate, as I'm sure you've guessed. There are all sorts of things that the Andalites and the Hork-Bajir and the Yeerks say and assume that show that they're fundamentally not human, both on a small level and on a big level. For example, Dak Hamee (the Hork-Bajir) says that he feels 'like he'd eaten yellow bark' at one point, because the Hork-Bajir cultivate bark. Or how Aldrea is bad at being self-conscious about how the things she does as an Andalite aren't universal. Like, she says that no one would be surrounded by walls unless they had to be, not, "No Andalite would be surrounded by walls." That makes sense for her, as a character and as an Andalite. You'd think Applegate would be at her weakest when writing about Yeerks, but it's just the opposite - she's stronger than ever. She does an amazing job of showing how the Yeerks would feel when gaining senses for the first time, and why they'd want to take over galaxies.
And yet even though Applegate paints them as not-human, they're still people, if that makes any sense. All of the characters - even Visser frickin' Three - are very well-developed. All of the characters are understandable - from Seerow, who accidentally gave aliens extremely advanced technologies, to the aliens that betrayed the Andalites to get hosts. None of the species are entirely good - the Andalites are shown to be very misogynistic and incompetent, which is a far cry from how we've seen them before now. Nor are any of the species entirely evil - in fact, Applegate does a great job of showing why the Yeerks have to infest other species. It's easy to think, "How could they not?" My point is that everything is done with complexity. There are no shortcuts taken here.
But you, nine year-old Mike, won't understand that. You'll have to wait six years before you'll appreciate it in the way I do. Which brings me to the point of this letter.
Don't be afraid to grow up. I know it's scary, but trust me, it's already worth it. Middle school is going to suck, but high school is going to be, like, ten times better. That's how life will be - there'll be ups and downs, but overall, I think it'll get better, not worse. And you won't lose who you are now. I mean, I'm still talking about how amazing Animorphs is, even though I started reading the series when I was you. And now, I have a much deeper understanding of why it's so amazing and worth loving. And ultimately, I wouldn't trade that for being back in elementary school. God no. So don't be afraid of time. It's going to pass whether you want it to or not, so the only way you'll be happy is if you decide you want it to.
Yours,
Fifteen year-old Mike
Hi, me from when I was nine. How ya doing? Actually, don't tell me - I can probably guess. You're probably relatively fine. You'd be in fourth grade, and not much happened this year. So you're fine.
Anyway, right now, you're into a series called Animorphs. It's pretty awesome, isn't it? Right now, you hold the belief that anyone around you could be a controller. Well, I'm here to reassure you that... this belief will never go away. You'll always have it. But anyway, it's a very cool war story, full of action. And whether you realize it or not, you're making meaningful connections to the characters.
Well, I'm writing this from my fifteenth birthday. And today, I just finished reading The Hork-Bajir Chronicles for the first time. You've probably heard of it. You might be disappointed that you won't get to read it as a nine year-old. But don't be. The wait will be long, but when you do get to read it, you're going to appreciate it on a much deeper level than nine year-old you ever could. You'd enjoy it now, but you wouldn't see it for everything it is. So I'm going to try to give you as good of an explanation as possible as to why it's so good.
See, one of the difficult things about writing aliens is that their lack of humanity is used as an excuse to not treat them as people. By that I mean, the author writes them in an unrealistic way because they're aliens, not humans. They're all evil, or they're all good, or they're all stupid. No shades of grey to it. But K.A. Applegate has so much more skill than that. She writes aliens that are treated as people, but they aren't humans, if that makes any sense. When she writes about aliens, she does it with lots and lots of complexity in a whole host of ways.
First off, the culture. People often forget how different aliens would be from humans when writing about them. People forget how astoundingly different the culture would be. But not Applegate, as I'm sure you've guessed. There are all sorts of things that the Andalites and the Hork-Bajir and the Yeerks say and assume that show that they're fundamentally not human, both on a small level and on a big level. For example, Dak Hamee (the Hork-Bajir) says that he feels 'like he'd eaten yellow bark' at one point, because the Hork-Bajir cultivate bark. Or how Aldrea is bad at being self-conscious about how the things she does as an Andalite aren't universal. Like, she says that no one would be surrounded by walls unless they had to be, not, "No Andalite would be surrounded by walls." That makes sense for her, as a character and as an Andalite. You'd think Applegate would be at her weakest when writing about Yeerks, but it's just the opposite - she's stronger than ever. She does an amazing job of showing how the Yeerks would feel when gaining senses for the first time, and why they'd want to take over galaxies.
And yet even though Applegate paints them as not-human, they're still people, if that makes any sense. All of the characters - even Visser frickin' Three - are very well-developed. All of the characters are understandable - from Seerow, who accidentally gave aliens extremely advanced technologies, to the aliens that betrayed the Andalites to get hosts. None of the species are entirely good - the Andalites are shown to be very misogynistic and incompetent, which is a far cry from how we've seen them before now. Nor are any of the species entirely evil - in fact, Applegate does a great job of showing why the Yeerks have to infest other species. It's easy to think, "How could they not?" My point is that everything is done with complexity. There are no shortcuts taken here.
But you, nine year-old Mike, won't understand that. You'll have to wait six years before you'll appreciate it in the way I do. Which brings me to the point of this letter.
Don't be afraid to grow up. I know it's scary, but trust me, it's already worth it. Middle school is going to suck, but high school is going to be, like, ten times better. That's how life will be - there'll be ups and downs, but overall, I think it'll get better, not worse. And you won't lose who you are now. I mean, I'm still talking about how amazing Animorphs is, even though I started reading the series when I was you. And now, I have a much deeper understanding of why it's so amazing and worth loving. And ultimately, I wouldn't trade that for being back in elementary school. God no. So don't be afraid of time. It's going to pass whether you want it to or not, so the only way you'll be happy is if you decide you want it to.
Yours,
Fifteen year-old Mike
December 26, 2015
Instalments like this one make me sad that regular Animorphs novels were sandwiched into bite-sized morsels that …
… wait, let me restart this with a metaphor less likely to make me hungry.
Instalments like The Hork-Bajir Chronicles demonstrate what K.A. Applegate can do when she can write longer-form stories. The shorter Animorphs novels have their advantages—they are easy to read, almost episodic, and obviously we wouldn’t have as many of them if they were longer. Nevertheless, the Chronicles specials are always a welcome change of pace. Applegate always delves deeper into the mythology behind the Animorphs universe, and she also exposes readers to different perspectives that are otherwise impossible to consider. In The Andalite Chronicles we got to hear Elfangor tell his story in his own words. Now we get three unique perspectives: Aldrea, the daughter of the Andalite who “allowed” the Yeerks to become a galactic threat; Dak Hamee, a Hork-Bajir “seer” who quickly realizes that trying to save his people will still destroy them; and Esplin 9466—aka our friend, Visser Three, before he was Visser Three.
I guess if you want to understand The Hork-Bajir Chronicles, we could look at it through the lens of dystopian YA.
Aldrea is a teenage Andalite who is upset that male Andalites get to fight while she’s expected to learn physics and do art like a good little female. After watching her entire family get slaughtered by evil parasitic aliens, Aldrea has to join forces with a Hot Boy she likes in order to fight back against these jerks. I mean Yeerks. The Hot Boy is Hot but not that bright, at least not at first—Aldrea has to tutor him, but as she educates him, he gets suspicious that she’s manipulating him and using him for his body. Which she totally is.
Dak Hamee is a hot Hork-Bajir teenager who wonders why all the adults around him are much dumber than he is. He is the only one in this small society who can figure things out, and he soon decides it’s up to him to help his people when the aliens come.
Esplin 9466 is the bad guy. We get his perspective so we can see how twisted he is. He’s gross and grey and inside brains! And he captures Aldrea and Dak, but he spends too long gloating, so naturally they have the opportunity to escape. Then they get to plot a rebellion and lead guerilla units against the Yeerks in an attempt to overthrow their new overlords.
See? Totally dystopian YA.
Except for the part where everyone dies.
Set almost forty years prior to the Animorphs novels, this book explains how the Yeerks spread from their homeworld through the galaxy, and in particular how they acquired Hork-Bajir as shock troops. Because it’s set in the past, however, the outcome is foregone and well known to your average reader of the series: the Hork-Bajir are goners. Applegate simply explains how it happens here … and it’s really depressing. Unlike your typical dystopian YA novel where the plucky teenage protagonist finds a way to nearly–single-handedly defeat the system that is both older and smarter than them, this book does not sugarcoat things. War is ugly; there is no such thing as “good guys” versus “bad guys,” and everyone gets confused and has major denial.
I want to talk a bit more about this last idea. Everyone in this novel suffers from some kind of denial at some point. Aldrea allows cognitive dissonance to creep into how she deals with Dak: she wants his help because she needs it to survive, and she knows that if the Yeerks take the Hork-Bajir as hosts, the war is going to go much worse for the Andalites. She tries to tell herself she is doing this to save the Hork-Bajir, but Dak calls her on it time and again. He rightly accuses her of doing things because she wants to kill Yeerks, not save his people—something she claims is “the same.”
In many ways Dak has the fewest illusions. Clear-headed for a Hork-Bajir, he recognizes immediately how turning his people into fighters will damage their simple culture, probably beyond repair. Nevertheless, he clings to the illusion that somehow he and Aldrea together can hang on long enough for the Andalites to show up and wipe out the Yeerks.
The Arn are probably the best, albeit least subtle, example of this phenomenon. Aldrea and Dak try to persuade them to fight against the Yeerks, and the Arn just shrug and go, “We’ve modified ourselves so we self-destruct if the Yeerks try to infest us. NBD.” Yeah, you can guess how well that works out for them. Unfortunately, this kind of “stick your head in the sand” mentality is prevalent in situations like this. Sometimes it’s easier to pretend there is no problem when acknowledging the problem is so uncomfortable and depressing.
This discomfort is so important to acknowledge and deal with. Stories like this can be depressing because they are so bleak—we are talking genocide here, of a society if not the physical bodies of the species. But as Applegate demonstrates with the epilogue, there is a reason that these stories are important. They are a part of our history, of our cultures, and need to be told so we know what we’re fighting for now. It reminds me of the stories of residential schools and other colonial atrocities perpetrated against Indigenous peoples in Canada, both in the past and currently. It’s hard to talk about these things, but they are important because they are part of the fabric of our society. But ignoring these stories does not make their effects go away.
The Andalites have long been a symbol of power in this series. Their technology is impressive. Nevertheless, Applegate always portrays them as vulnerable too. They have not learned this lesson. They are not just arrogant: they are still unable to acknowledge their shame. As Elfangor reveals in The Andalite Chronicles, the Andalite High Command covers up Alloran’s actions on the Hork-Bajir world. For all their technological supremacy, the Andalites have much to learn.
At its core, Animorphs is a very moralistic series. This isn’t surprising considering Applegate’s audience; she’s trying to make points. Fundamentally, then, this book serves as a contrast to the books of the main series. It’s as if she’s saying that a single individual, even a child, can make a decision to be more moral, more upstanding, than a being with so much more experience or technology. The Animorphs continually face decisions like the ones in this book, and they always struggle—but they almost always do the right thing. And that’s kind of amazing.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← #22: The Solution | #23: The Pretender →
… wait, let me restart this with a metaphor less likely to make me hungry.
Instalments like The Hork-Bajir Chronicles demonstrate what K.A. Applegate can do when she can write longer-form stories. The shorter Animorphs novels have their advantages—they are easy to read, almost episodic, and obviously we wouldn’t have as many of them if they were longer. Nevertheless, the Chronicles specials are always a welcome change of pace. Applegate always delves deeper into the mythology behind the Animorphs universe, and she also exposes readers to different perspectives that are otherwise impossible to consider. In The Andalite Chronicles we got to hear Elfangor tell his story in his own words. Now we get three unique perspectives: Aldrea, the daughter of the Andalite who “allowed” the Yeerks to become a galactic threat; Dak Hamee, a Hork-Bajir “seer” who quickly realizes that trying to save his people will still destroy them; and Esplin 9466—aka our friend, Visser Three, before he was Visser Three.
I guess if you want to understand The Hork-Bajir Chronicles, we could look at it through the lens of dystopian YA.
Aldrea is a teenage Andalite who is upset that male Andalites get to fight while she’s expected to learn physics and do art like a good little female. After watching her entire family get slaughtered by evil parasitic aliens, Aldrea has to join forces with a Hot Boy she likes in order to fight back against these jerks. I mean Yeerks. The Hot Boy is Hot but not that bright, at least not at first—Aldrea has to tutor him, but as she educates him, he gets suspicious that she’s manipulating him and using him for his body. Which she totally is.
Dak Hamee is a hot Hork-Bajir teenager who wonders why all the adults around him are much dumber than he is. He is the only one in this small society who can figure things out, and he soon decides it’s up to him to help his people when the aliens come.
Esplin 9466 is the bad guy. We get his perspective so we can see how twisted he is. He’s gross and grey and inside brains! And he captures Aldrea and Dak, but he spends too long gloating, so naturally they have the opportunity to escape. Then they get to plot a rebellion and lead guerilla units against the Yeerks in an attempt to overthrow their new overlords.
See? Totally dystopian YA.
Except for the part where everyone dies.
Set almost forty years prior to the Animorphs novels, this book explains how the Yeerks spread from their homeworld through the galaxy, and in particular how they acquired Hork-Bajir as shock troops. Because it’s set in the past, however, the outcome is foregone and well known to your average reader of the series: the Hork-Bajir are goners. Applegate simply explains how it happens here … and it’s really depressing. Unlike your typical dystopian YA novel where the plucky teenage protagonist finds a way to nearly–single-handedly defeat the system that is both older and smarter than them, this book does not sugarcoat things. War is ugly; there is no such thing as “good guys” versus “bad guys,” and everyone gets confused and has major denial.
I want to talk a bit more about this last idea. Everyone in this novel suffers from some kind of denial at some point. Aldrea allows cognitive dissonance to creep into how she deals with Dak: she wants his help because she needs it to survive, and she knows that if the Yeerks take the Hork-Bajir as hosts, the war is going to go much worse for the Andalites. She tries to tell herself she is doing this to save the Hork-Bajir, but Dak calls her on it time and again. He rightly accuses her of doing things because she wants to kill Yeerks, not save his people—something she claims is “the same.”
In many ways Dak has the fewest illusions. Clear-headed for a Hork-Bajir, he recognizes immediately how turning his people into fighters will damage their simple culture, probably beyond repair. Nevertheless, he clings to the illusion that somehow he and Aldrea together can hang on long enough for the Andalites to show up and wipe out the Yeerks.
The Arn are probably the best, albeit least subtle, example of this phenomenon. Aldrea and Dak try to persuade them to fight against the Yeerks, and the Arn just shrug and go, “We’ve modified ourselves so we self-destruct if the Yeerks try to infest us. NBD.” Yeah, you can guess how well that works out for them. Unfortunately, this kind of “stick your head in the sand” mentality is prevalent in situations like this. Sometimes it’s easier to pretend there is no problem when acknowledging the problem is so uncomfortable and depressing.
This discomfort is so important to acknowledge and deal with. Stories like this can be depressing because they are so bleak—we are talking genocide here, of a society if not the physical bodies of the species. But as Applegate demonstrates with the epilogue, there is a reason that these stories are important. They are a part of our history, of our cultures, and need to be told so we know what we’re fighting for now. It reminds me of the stories of residential schools and other colonial atrocities perpetrated against Indigenous peoples in Canada, both in the past and currently. It’s hard to talk about these things, but they are important because they are part of the fabric of our society. But ignoring these stories does not make their effects go away.
The Andalites have long been a symbol of power in this series. Their technology is impressive. Nevertheless, Applegate always portrays them as vulnerable too. They have not learned this lesson. They are not just arrogant: they are still unable to acknowledge their shame. As Elfangor reveals in The Andalite Chronicles, the Andalite High Command covers up Alloran’s actions on the Hork-Bajir world. For all their technological supremacy, the Andalites have much to learn.
At its core, Animorphs is a very moralistic series. This isn’t surprising considering Applegate’s audience; she’s trying to make points. Fundamentally, then, this book serves as a contrast to the books of the main series. It’s as if she’s saying that a single individual, even a child, can make a decision to be more moral, more upstanding, than a being with so much more experience or technology. The Animorphs continually face decisions like the ones in this book, and they always struggle—but they almost always do the right thing. And that’s kind of amazing.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← #22: The Solution | #23: The Pretender →
January 2, 2018
I still need to go back and write my review of the David trilogy, which didn't get posted in 2017 alas and alack, but I wanted to make sure and get this review out before I start my next book of 2018. Once again, it seems, I'm starting out the year with an Animorphs Chronicles book, which are hands down my favorite books of the series. These books are honestly one of the reasons I love sci-fi so much. K.A. Applegate does so much with these 200 pages, it's kind of amazing. And aside from some aliens using American slang (how did they learn it!?!), this book more than holds up, even though I haven't read it in at least fifteen years, but probably more. It gets to keep that coveted fifth star.
So this book is told in a frame story. Tobias is feeling down so he decides to visit the secret valley where the free Hork-Bajir are in hiding, and he joins them to hear a story after dinner (the Hork-Bajir have an oral storytelling culture). This turns out to be the story of how the Hork-Bajir planet fell to the Yeerks. (Also stealthily stuck in there is the story of Prince Seerow and his family, he of Seerow's Kindness, the Andalite who gave the Yeerks the proverbial Promethean fire and unleashed them on the galaxy.)
Seerow's family is essentially exiled to the Hork-Bajir planet under the auspices of keeping watch if the Yeerks show up to claim the Hork-Bajir as hosts, but really, no one expects anything to happen, and the posting is entirely a punishment. Seerow's young daughter, Aldrea, makes friends with a young Hork-Bajir male named Dak Hamee (Jara Hamee's grandfather, who passed this story along). Dak is a seer, one of the one in 10,000 Hork-Bajir born with above average intelligence. The Hork-Bajir believe that these seers are born in times of trouble, and that Dak is there for a reason. They soon come to believe this is because the Yeerks have indeed come to conquer the Hork-Bajir. Their bladed bodies (for stripping bark off trees) would make for perfect shock troops, and hosts for the 250,000 Yeerks that made it off the Yeerk homeworld.
This is the very beginning of the Yeerk expansion into the galaxy. Applegate does a great job showing how Andalite hubris and Yeerk greed and violence (along with a yearning to have what other non-parasitical alien species all have) combine to bring about the galaxy-wide war that the rest of the Animorphs series details. But she does this through personalizing it. We get Dak Hamee and Aldrea's POVs throughout, along with Esplin 9466's (the future Visser Three). Nothing is as black and white as it seems. Even as Visser Three does despicable things, we also get glimpses of his genuine yearning to exceed his biology, to have eyes and hands and a mouth, to run free under an open sky like the Andalites, to have power and strength like the Hork-Bajir. But my favorite thing about this book is the way that Applegate uses Dak Hamee to condemn the actions of the Andalites, who as we know from the other books in the series, see themselves as heroes and untouchable. Even Aldrea can't stop herself from taking advantage of her friendship with Dak Hamee, using him and his people for her own purposes.
There were still some moments in this book that made me stop and think as 32 year old. Moments of blurred lines and altered perspectives, and lost innocence. I had expected these moments to lose some of their weight reading this as an adult, but they seemed just as powerful to me now as they did when they were blowing my mind as an adolescent.
Next up, a book I've been looking forward to since I started this re-read. Tobias learns some surprising information.
So this book is told in a frame story. Tobias is feeling down so he decides to visit the secret valley where the free Hork-Bajir are in hiding, and he joins them to hear a story after dinner (the Hork-Bajir have an oral storytelling culture). This turns out to be the story of how the Hork-Bajir planet fell to the Yeerks. (Also stealthily stuck in there is the story of Prince Seerow and his family, he of Seerow's Kindness, the Andalite who gave the Yeerks the proverbial Promethean fire and unleashed them on the galaxy.)
Seerow's family is essentially exiled to the Hork-Bajir planet under the auspices of keeping watch if the Yeerks show up to claim the Hork-Bajir as hosts, but really, no one expects anything to happen, and the posting is entirely a punishment. Seerow's young daughter, Aldrea, makes friends with a young Hork-Bajir male named Dak Hamee (Jara Hamee's grandfather, who passed this story along). Dak is a seer, one of the one in 10,000 Hork-Bajir born with above average intelligence. The Hork-Bajir believe that these seers are born in times of trouble, and that Dak is there for a reason. They soon come to believe this is because the Yeerks have indeed come to conquer the Hork-Bajir. Their bladed bodies (for stripping bark off trees) would make for perfect shock troops, and hosts for the 250,000 Yeerks that made it off the Yeerk homeworld.
This is the very beginning of the Yeerk expansion into the galaxy. Applegate does a great job showing how Andalite hubris and Yeerk greed and violence (along with a yearning to have what other non-parasitical alien species all have) combine to bring about the galaxy-wide war that the rest of the Animorphs series details. But she does this through personalizing it. We get Dak Hamee and Aldrea's POVs throughout, along with Esplin 9466's (the future Visser Three). Nothing is as black and white as it seems. Even as Visser Three does despicable things, we also get glimpses of his genuine yearning to exceed his biology, to have eyes and hands and a mouth, to run free under an open sky like the Andalites, to have power and strength like the Hork-Bajir. But my favorite thing about this book is the way that Applegate uses Dak Hamee to condemn the actions of the Andalites, who as we know from the other books in the series, see themselves as heroes and untouchable. Even Aldrea can't stop herself from taking advantage of her friendship with Dak Hamee, using him and his people for her own purposes.
There were still some moments in this book that made me stop and think as 32 year old. Moments of blurred lines and altered perspectives, and lost innocence. I had expected these moments to lose some of their weight reading this as an adult, but they seemed just as powerful to me now as they did when they were blowing my mind as an adolescent.
Next up, a book I've been looking forward to since I started this re-read. Tobias learns some surprising information.
July 25, 2022
This shows the notorious Yeerk invasion of the Hork-Bajir planet and the Andalites’ failure in trying to protect the Hork-Bajir. While this is a standalone side story, this also gives us a lot of important background information for the main series.
June 15, 2020
FIRST REVIEW / MAY 6, 2015
God, the Chronicles are so consistently heart-wrenching. This one features a cast of all-alien characters (apart from the tiny frame narrative, it isn't even set anywhere near Earth), rotating narrators cycling between the Andalites/Hork-Bajir/Yeerks, a war-torn planet, children growing up far too quickly in the midst of that battle, gruesome war crimes conducted by well-intentioned people, and hope for the future.
The plot: After his cataclysmic mistake leading to the Yeerk uplifting & uprising, the infamous Prince Seerow and his family are sent to a bywater world to monitor the local flora & fauna. Little do they know that this is the perfect world for the Yeerks to obtain their shock troops, and so the invasion begins -- the novel charts the downfall of the Hork-Bajir people, as seen through the eyes of Seerow's wannabe-warrior daughter; a seer of the Hork-Bajir; and the Yeerk who will eventually become Visser Three. (And it's so fantastic to see part of the tale through his eyes, to get some insight into that brain, considering what an important role he plays in the series proper. His longing and envy for the Andalites is understandable; in this book, even the Yeerks' uprising is configured as something understandable, as being the Andalites' mistake because honestly what did you expect them to do. And the book even features an origin story for Esplin's personal Blade ship!)
The Andalites (& especially their military) are, as always, some of my favourites: arrogant, meddling, pompous, sincerely thinking they know what's best for other species, which is what leads to such destruction. Despite being a minor character, Alloran is still one of my favourite characters in the entire series: brutal, harsh, a weapon forged by terrible circumstances and driven to extremes, resorting to a monstrous decision when at the end of his rope. "This is going to be a tough little war," he says grimly as he hears the planet briefing, and lo, he's right. Back in The Andalite Chronicles, there was some beautiful comparison of the Hork-Bajir war and the Vietnam war -- PTSD and war trauma, and the soldiers never really come back, do they.
There's more star-crossed love in this one, too, just like in the previous Chronicles, and long before James Cameron's Avatar was a thing. And this one doesn't repeat my one quibble with the previous one, either; the teenagers here didn't sound too Earth-like for me.
In short: this book is wonderful. This entire series is interested in war, and the effect it has on innocence, and how both sides are driven to harsh actions, and KAA illustrates it beautifully here.
One of the most gutting endings, honestly:
---------------------------------
SECOND REVIEW / JUNE 7, 2020
I still really appreciate how this book cracks open the broader context of the galaxy, expanding the world and the lives of the aliens and the poor doomed Hork-Bajir war; and this star-crossed romance between Aldrea and Dak, even as she cares for him but also manipulates him for her own ends. As in #19 with Aftran, we also see life from a Yeerk's eyes and understand better how and why they do what they do. As in #18 with the Leeran war, we see the frontlines of an Andalite war; we see the terrible decisions that the Andalites make, which continues to complicate our impressions of these supposed heroic saviours.
Aldrea is naive, wants to believe the best of her own people — We are not going to let this happen. We are Andalites. We do not destroy sentient species. — but the cold, hard reality hits her soon enough. All of these traits will also be... significant for the humans later, for how Animorphs are also crossing their fingers and waiting for the Andalite fleet to come and save them. As always in this series, war is complicated; it's not drawn along simple lines.
Anyway it's great!!
Favourite quotes moved to Google Docs.
God, the Chronicles are so consistently heart-wrenching. This one features a cast of all-alien characters (apart from the tiny frame narrative, it isn't even set anywhere near Earth), rotating narrators cycling between the Andalites/Hork-Bajir/Yeerks, a war-torn planet, children growing up far too quickly in the midst of that battle, gruesome war crimes conducted by well-intentioned people, and hope for the future.
The plot: After his cataclysmic mistake leading to the Yeerk uplifting & uprising, the infamous Prince Seerow and his family are sent to a bywater world to monitor the local flora & fauna. Little do they know that this is the perfect world for the Yeerks to obtain their shock troops, and so the invasion begins -- the novel charts the downfall of the Hork-Bajir people, as seen through the eyes of Seerow's wannabe-warrior daughter; a seer of the Hork-Bajir; and the Yeerk who will eventually become Visser Three. (And it's so fantastic to see part of the tale through his eyes, to get some insight into that brain, considering what an important role he plays in the series proper. His longing and envy for the Andalites is understandable; in this book, even the Yeerks' uprising is configured as something understandable, as being the Andalites' mistake because honestly what did you expect them to do. And the book even features an origin story for Esplin's personal Blade ship!)
The Andalites (& especially their military) are, as always, some of my favourites: arrogant, meddling, pompous, sincerely thinking they know what's best for other species, which is what leads to such destruction. Despite being a minor character, Alloran is still one of my favourite characters in the entire series: brutal, harsh, a weapon forged by terrible circumstances and driven to extremes, resorting to a monstrous decision when at the end of his rope. "This is going to be a tough little war," he says grimly as he hears the planet briefing, and lo, he's right. Back in The Andalite Chronicles, there was some beautiful comparison of the Hork-Bajir war and the Vietnam war -- PTSD and war trauma, and the soldiers never really come back, do they.
There's more star-crossed love in this one, too, just like in the previous Chronicles, and long before James Cameron's Avatar was a thing. And this one doesn't repeat my one quibble with the previous one, either; the teenagers here didn't sound too Earth-like for me.
In short: this book is wonderful. This entire series is interested in war, and the effect it has on innocence, and how both sides are driven to harsh actions, and KAA illustrates it beautifully here.
One of the most gutting endings, honestly:
---------------------------------
SECOND REVIEW / JUNE 7, 2020
I still really appreciate how this book cracks open the broader context of the galaxy, expanding the world and the lives of the aliens and the poor doomed Hork-Bajir war; and this star-crossed romance between Aldrea and Dak, even as she cares for him but also manipulates him for her own ends. As in #19 with Aftran, we also see life from a Yeerk's eyes and understand better how and why they do what they do. As in #18 with the Leeran war, we see the frontlines of an Andalite war; we see the terrible decisions that the Andalites make, which continues to complicate our impressions of these supposed heroic saviours.
Aldrea is naive, wants to believe the best of her own people — We are not going to let this happen. We are Andalites. We do not destroy sentient species. — but the cold, hard reality hits her soon enough. All of these traits will also be... significant for the humans later, for how Animorphs are also crossing their fingers and waiting for the Andalite fleet to come and save them. As always in this series, war is complicated; it's not drawn along simple lines.
Anyway it's great!!
Favourite quotes moved to Google Docs.
November 25, 2012
I always feel moved when I remember this tragic story that rightfully belongs on the Young Nerd Fiction shelf of the middle school library.
It's not skillfully written, and the confusing array of elements from it sci fi universe is esoteric at best, but its a very bittersweet and dark story for its age group.
It includes themes such as the beauty of nature, the horror and moral ambiguity of war, the loss of innocence, and tragic love. These themes make it feel similar to "Speaker for the Dead" and "Ender's Game".
Also, my inner stubborn hipster says I liked this book way before "Avatar" portrayed a very similar story.
It's not skillfully written, and the confusing array of elements from it sci fi universe is esoteric at best, but its a very bittersweet and dark story for its age group.
It includes themes such as the beauty of nature, the horror and moral ambiguity of war, the loss of innocence, and tragic love. These themes make it feel similar to "Speaker for the Dead" and "Ender's Game".
Also, my inner stubborn hipster says I liked this book way before "Avatar" portrayed a very similar story.
June 17, 2021
Hard to sleep on that many knives. 10/10
March 18, 2020
Original Review at Jaunts & Haunts
5/5
I gave this book five Hork-Bajir stars!
After finishing the last book in the David trilogy, I didn’t know what to expect. The last three books were so great, so surely there must be a not-so-great one on the horizon, right? Not the case with The Hork-Bajir Chronicles!
This book is essentially a backstory to the Hork-Bajir’s plight as a race and their interaction with the Yeerks.
Young Andalite Aldrea, daughter of Seerow (ring a bell?), and her family have been exiled to an unknown planet after Seerow’s misjudgment of how violent and evil the Yeerks are. There, they find the Hork-Bajir, a peaceful race of bark-eating aliens.
Soon, disaster strikes and the Yeerks make their presence known. Can Aldrea team up with the odd Hork-Bajir Dak Hamee and figure out a way to survive this evil, or will they die trying?
I have to say, there are so many great elements to this book. This doesn’t feel like your typical Animorphs book based on the surroundings, the plethora of alien culture, etc. I thought it was very refreshing.
The characters were interesting and unique. Aldrea isn’t your typical Andalite. She’s female and untrained in military combat, yet she rises to the occasion when she needs to. She’s brave, yet overly authoritative and selfish at times. I also really like Dak Hamee. He’s been born into a species that typically has very little intelligence, but has been blessed with intelligence to match Aldrea. I really liked his journey of self-discovery. And Alloran? Pft! Don’t get me started on that meanie of an Andalite!
The plot and scenery was great and kept my interest the entire time. They’re on this distant planet with odd terrain and this creepy blue fog-infested area that no one goes to, and I loved how everything was portrayed. There is a bit of romance in here, but just the right amount and I actually really loved it.
I will say, this book delves into darker concepts, such as the Andalites and how they tend to use other species in their war against the Yeerks. Also, how the Hork-Bajir evolve under this threat.
I honestly can’t think of anything negative to say about this book. It adds so much more texture to an already vivid universe, and through the romance, heartache, and space battles, I was living for this book!
Can’t wait to read the next book!
5/5
I gave this book five Hork-Bajir stars!
After finishing the last book in the David trilogy, I didn’t know what to expect. The last three books were so great, so surely there must be a not-so-great one on the horizon, right? Not the case with The Hork-Bajir Chronicles!
This book is essentially a backstory to the Hork-Bajir’s plight as a race and their interaction with the Yeerks.
Young Andalite Aldrea, daughter of Seerow (ring a bell?), and her family have been exiled to an unknown planet after Seerow’s misjudgment of how violent and evil the Yeerks are. There, they find the Hork-Bajir, a peaceful race of bark-eating aliens.
Soon, disaster strikes and the Yeerks make their presence known. Can Aldrea team up with the odd Hork-Bajir Dak Hamee and figure out a way to survive this evil, or will they die trying?
I have to say, there are so many great elements to this book. This doesn’t feel like your typical Animorphs book based on the surroundings, the plethora of alien culture, etc. I thought it was very refreshing.
The characters were interesting and unique. Aldrea isn’t your typical Andalite. She’s female and untrained in military combat, yet she rises to the occasion when she needs to. She’s brave, yet overly authoritative and selfish at times. I also really like Dak Hamee. He’s been born into a species that typically has very little intelligence, but has been blessed with intelligence to match Aldrea. I really liked his journey of self-discovery. And Alloran? Pft! Don’t get me started on that meanie of an Andalite!
The plot and scenery was great and kept my interest the entire time. They’re on this distant planet with odd terrain and this creepy blue fog-infested area that no one goes to, and I loved how everything was portrayed. There is a bit of romance in here, but just the right amount and I actually really loved it.
I will say, this book delves into darker concepts, such as the Andalites and how they tend to use other species in their war against the Yeerks. Also, how the Hork-Bajir evolve under this threat.
I honestly can’t think of anything negative to say about this book. It adds so much more texture to an already vivid universe, and through the romance, heartache, and space battles, I was living for this book!
Can’t wait to read the next book!
July 30, 2017
At first I was hesitant about this book. But I grew to love it fast! This had a lot more science fiction elements to it than is presented in a typical Animorphs book. i really grew to enjoy the characters i liked and to hate the ones worth hating. And i even felt sympathy where i hadn't expected to feel it, as well as anger against those i never thought i'd feel it.
Some of the plot can at times be predictable, but there is also several bits that are very unexpected and enjoyable. We learn about the Hork Bajir, the Yeerks, other alien species. We even get galactic battles. World conquering. We get scenes of heroism and scenes of sadness. We see a peace loving race forced to learn of war and death.
This book was thoroughly enjoyable and I recommend it to anyone who has read the necessary books previous to it. Follow the recommended reading order online. This comes after book 24. It's really necessary to read those and other side books before this.
ISSUES RANT
Before I continue, also. I do realize the book has some issues. Some stuff may seem a bit of a stretch, but with these things, I'm mostly rating for level of enjoyment. I 5 star enjoyed this. Sure the Party of Five reference at the beginning was stupid. Sure it might seem a stretch that people are able to contravene security so simply ...then again it WAS planned, and security WAS weak, and in real life security is a huge joke... it's all fiction... security in real life is so lax, when you've worked in the industry, that really that's not a plot hole at all. People regularly leave unlocked vehicles places with keys in the ignition, and expect the "idea" of cameras and weak fences to "deter" people. I'm not even kidding. One place had an 18 wheeler stolen for this exact reason. They shrugged it off, and put it through insurance, and kept being lax
SPOILERS:
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
Dak hamee and Aldrea are the main focus of this story, along with the Yeerk we know as:
Visser Three. I place this below more to avoid spoiling it because while I guessed it eventually I was nevertheless taken by surprise.
Dak and Aldrea fall in love, and Aldrea traps herself in morph as a Hork Bajir. Kinda weird, but hey, it's fiction. It's science fiction at that.
I was surprised many times with the plot of this story in fact. I hadn't expected the Arn to come into the story. An advanced alien race which controlled the genetic monsters of their creation in the father deep. It was an interesting plot twist that kept me on edge. But I had hoped there would develop more story with the Arn. A vastly advanced alien race. They were too arrogant to realize the error of their ways. Who knows if they were wiped out, we are never told. Nor are we told how the story ends. But i will say, it was interesting. Right to the last page i was intently reading!!
I highly recommend this book. It's a change of pace, and possesses excellent story telling. The glorious Andalites aren't as glorious as we think them. And the advanced Arn make mistakes all too similar to that of the Andalites in their arrogance. Intelligence almost seems a curse as well as a blessing, so to speak. With great intellect often comes a great superiority complex. Or perhaps its more, with great advantage over others comes great arrogance?
Some of the plot can at times be predictable, but there is also several bits that are very unexpected and enjoyable. We learn about the Hork Bajir, the Yeerks, other alien species. We even get galactic battles. World conquering. We get scenes of heroism and scenes of sadness. We see a peace loving race forced to learn of war and death.
This book was thoroughly enjoyable and I recommend it to anyone who has read the necessary books previous to it. Follow the recommended reading order online. This comes after book 24. It's really necessary to read those and other side books before this.
ISSUES RANT
Before I continue, also. I do realize the book has some issues. Some stuff may seem a bit of a stretch, but with these things, I'm mostly rating for level of enjoyment. I 5 star enjoyed this. Sure the Party of Five reference at the beginning was stupid. Sure it might seem a stretch that people are able to contravene security so simply ...then again it WAS planned, and security WAS weak, and in real life security is a huge joke... it's all fiction... security in real life is so lax, when you've worked in the industry, that really that's not a plot hole at all. People regularly leave unlocked vehicles places with keys in the ignition, and expect the "idea" of cameras and weak fences to "deter" people. I'm not even kidding. One place had an 18 wheeler stolen for this exact reason. They shrugged it off, and put it through insurance, and kept being lax
SPOILERS:
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
Dak hamee and Aldrea are the main focus of this story, along with the Yeerk we know as:
Visser Three. I place this below more to avoid spoiling it because while I guessed it eventually I was nevertheless taken by surprise.
Dak and Aldrea fall in love, and Aldrea traps herself in morph as a Hork Bajir. Kinda weird, but hey, it's fiction. It's science fiction at that.
I was surprised many times with the plot of this story in fact. I hadn't expected the Arn to come into the story. An advanced alien race which controlled the genetic monsters of their creation in the father deep. It was an interesting plot twist that kept me on edge. But I had hoped there would develop more story with the Arn. A vastly advanced alien race. They were too arrogant to realize the error of their ways. Who knows if they were wiped out, we are never told. Nor are we told how the story ends. But i will say, it was interesting. Right to the last page i was intently reading!!
I highly recommend this book. It's a change of pace, and possesses excellent story telling. The glorious Andalites aren't as glorious as we think them. And the advanced Arn make mistakes all too similar to that of the Andalites in their arrogance. Intelligence almost seems a curse as well as a blessing, so to speak. With great intellect often comes a great superiority complex. Or perhaps its more, with great advantage over others comes great arrogance?
March 15, 2024
Just your average alien guerilla warfare Romeo and Juliet
September 14, 2015
This was another favorite from childhood. It's sort of an emotional story for me. I think Katherine was trying to be symbolic here actually, by using aliens instead of humans :D
--
Re-read
“With all her lies, all her inbred Andalite arrogance, all her manipulations, I loved her.” - Dak Hamee
Prince Seerow
Because of him, the term Seerow's Kindness was coined. Seerow believed in Yeerks, and thought they were his friend. He pitied them and was convinced the universe should give them a chance. From this one simple kindness, the Yeerks realized they could be more than a parasite.
Aldrea
Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan is Seerow's daughter. When their family was thrown to the Hork-Bajir World due to her father's 'kindness', she became aware of how the Andalites view her father now and how they take him for a fool.
Dak Hamee
Dak is a Hork-Bajir seer, or as the old Hork-Bajirs say, 'different'. The Hork-Bajirs are not intelligent, they weren't supposed to be, but once in a while, someone like Dak would come along, intelligent with intelligent questions and reasoning.
The Arn
This is the race who created the Hork-Bajirs. They designed them to be inferior to their intelligence but strong enough for harvesting bark. They explained that seers like Dak are their mistakes that they couldn't correct. They live down below the Father Deep and wouldn't choose to participate in anything that happens above them.
Esplin 9466
In the current time, he is known to be the ruthless Visser Three. He is the yeerk who had grown obsessed with the Andalites. He studied them to find out their weak points and all his thoughts are bent on having an Andalite for a host body. If the Jews have Hitler for a foe, this universe has Esplin 9466. He totally destroys that first name for me.
A Friendship Between Two Races
When Aldrea and Dak first met, they did not understand each other through language. But the Andalites having this advanced technology, were able to adjust minutes later. Aldrea and Dak became friends. Aldrea taught Dak about many things including Maths and Sciences. Even so, it was evident that Aldrea hadn't told Dak everything, and Dak was aware that Aldrea was holding back something from him.
The Morphing Technology
During that time, it was new. But Aldrea being Aldrea decided she could try it. She acquired a chadoo DNA and explored the Hork-Bajir World with Dak while in this morph.
The War
The Yeerks arrived on Hork-Bajir World with an army. When they spotted the Andalites (Prince Seerow, his wife and son), they killed them. Aldrea was too late to let them know the Yeerks were there. And thus it was war. But too late for the Hork-Bajir race because most of them had been turned into controllers already. They were easily outnumbered. All because they couldn't understand what it meant to be captured. Aldrea then told Dak to lead his people. Dak instructed them to do as he does. And his people did so. The Hork-Bajirs who before this didn't even know how to punch someone in the face, had turned into soldiers who murder.
The Andalites Arrived
War-Prince Alloran arrived with his army after receiving word from Aldrea. He was surprised about how bad the situation is, that if he could've known, he would've brought a real army not a task force. Seeing this situation, Dak feared they would be used as pawns in this battle, and will end up as slaves by the Yeerks should they lose. Aldrea insists the Andalites are not like that, but Dak could see through the situation.
Choices
The War-prince was convinced there was only one way out of this: to annihilate everyone with the use of the Quantum Virus. Aldrea strongly disagreed with this when she found out. She then chose Dak's side. She chose it and stood by it.
The Quantum Virus
Aldrea and Dak successfully got the virus but Esplin once again showed up. Aldrea decided she would morph into Hork-Bajir, for the first and the last time. She would die with the Hork-Bajirs should the virus spread as it was specifically designed to affect only that race. Esplin then tried to take Aldrea's body for a host. He was able to enter her mind. But he made a single mistake: he left his Hork-Bajir body and because of that he was forced out of Aldrea's head again. When other controllers came, they fought and Aldrea and Dak was knocked out of consciousness. When they woke, Aldrea was officially a nothlit. They saw Dak's friend holding the virus container. They tried to tell Gah to put it away but it was too late. The virus was released and no Hork-Bajir on its way would survive.
Dak and Aldrea
They ran and ran until there was a safe place for them. They were fortunate to survive. They had a son and they named him Seerow. And their line continued to exist. Toby, who was named after Tobias, was from Aldrea and Dak's line, and she's a seer like her grandfather. :] Also I want to point out that they did not trust each other since Day 1 but they were able to work on it, okay. It's just beautiful.
Feels
It was just plain wrong, this whole 'bully the Hork-Bajirs because they're stupid' thing. It was so sad and it was sad when Dak had to say it as it is. Also I feel sad for Alloran. He might've created the virus, planned to use it, but who knows what he could've done in the end, right? It's just... I don't know anymore. Life sucks. It's so unfair. Some people just want to do their jobs, some just want to exist peacefully but then some are Esplin fucking 9466.
--
Re-read
“With all her lies, all her inbred Andalite arrogance, all her manipulations, I loved her.” - Dak Hamee
Prince Seerow
Because of him, the term Seerow's Kindness was coined. Seerow believed in Yeerks, and thought they were his friend. He pitied them and was convinced the universe should give them a chance. From this one simple kindness, the Yeerks realized they could be more than a parasite.
Aldrea
Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan is Seerow's daughter. When their family was thrown to the Hork-Bajir World due to her father's 'kindness', she became aware of how the Andalites view her father now and how they take him for a fool.
Dak Hamee
Dak is a Hork-Bajir seer, or as the old Hork-Bajirs say, 'different'. The Hork-Bajirs are not intelligent, they weren't supposed to be, but once in a while, someone like Dak would come along, intelligent with intelligent questions and reasoning.
The Arn
This is the race who created the Hork-Bajirs. They designed them to be inferior to their intelligence but strong enough for harvesting bark. They explained that seers like Dak are their mistakes that they couldn't correct. They live down below the Father Deep and wouldn't choose to participate in anything that happens above them.
Esplin 9466
In the current time, he is known to be the ruthless Visser Three. He is the yeerk who had grown obsessed with the Andalites. He studied them to find out their weak points and all his thoughts are bent on having an Andalite for a host body. If the Jews have Hitler for a foe, this universe has Esplin 9466. He totally destroys that first name for me.
A Friendship Between Two Races
When Aldrea and Dak first met, they did not understand each other through language. But the Andalites having this advanced technology, were able to adjust minutes later. Aldrea and Dak became friends. Aldrea taught Dak about many things including Maths and Sciences. Even so, it was evident that Aldrea hadn't told Dak everything, and Dak was aware that Aldrea was holding back something from him.
The Morphing Technology
During that time, it was new. But Aldrea being Aldrea decided she could try it. She acquired a chadoo DNA and explored the Hork-Bajir World with Dak while in this morph.
The War
The Yeerks arrived on Hork-Bajir World with an army. When they spotted the Andalites (Prince Seerow, his wife and son), they killed them. Aldrea was too late to let them know the Yeerks were there. And thus it was war. But too late for the Hork-Bajir race because most of them had been turned into controllers already. They were easily outnumbered. All because they couldn't understand what it meant to be captured. Aldrea then told Dak to lead his people. Dak instructed them to do as he does. And his people did so. The Hork-Bajirs who before this didn't even know how to punch someone in the face, had turned into soldiers who murder.
The Andalites Arrived
War-Prince Alloran arrived with his army after receiving word from Aldrea. He was surprised about how bad the situation is, that if he could've known, he would've brought a real army not a task force. Seeing this situation, Dak feared they would be used as pawns in this battle, and will end up as slaves by the Yeerks should they lose. Aldrea insists the Andalites are not like that, but Dak could see through the situation.
Choices
The War-prince was convinced there was only one way out of this: to annihilate everyone with the use of the Quantum Virus. Aldrea strongly disagreed with this when she found out. She then chose Dak's side. She chose it and stood by it.
The Quantum Virus
Aldrea and Dak successfully got the virus but Esplin once again showed up. Aldrea decided she would morph into Hork-Bajir, for the first and the last time. She would die with the Hork-Bajirs should the virus spread as it was specifically designed to affect only that race. Esplin then tried to take Aldrea's body for a host. He was able to enter her mind. But he made a single mistake: he left his Hork-Bajir body and because of that he was forced out of Aldrea's head again. When other controllers came, they fought and Aldrea and Dak was knocked out of consciousness. When they woke, Aldrea was officially a nothlit. They saw Dak's friend holding the virus container. They tried to tell Gah to put it away but it was too late. The virus was released and no Hork-Bajir on its way would survive.
Dak and Aldrea
They ran and ran until there was a safe place for them. They were fortunate to survive. They had a son and they named him Seerow. And their line continued to exist. Toby, who was named after Tobias, was from Aldrea and Dak's line, and she's a seer like her grandfather. :] Also I want to point out that they did not trust each other since Day 1 but they were able to work on it, okay. It's just beautiful.
Feels
It was just plain wrong, this whole 'bully the Hork-Bajirs because they're stupid' thing. It was so sad and it was sad when Dak had to say it as it is. Also I feel sad for Alloran. He might've created the virus, planned to use it, but who knows what he could've done in the end, right? It's just... I don't know anymore. Life sucks. It's so unfair. Some people just want to do their jobs, some just want to exist peacefully but then some are Esplin fucking 9466.
June 2, 2015
I know I loved the Animorphs hardcore when I was a kid and I don't remember any specific reaction to this book in particular, but man. As an adult, this cements what is already a stellar series as genius and heartbreaking pain at the same time.
This book, for one thing, has no humans in it. None. Even the frame narrative has only Tobias, who is now really a hawk, talking to Hork-Bajir. And every alien species, while being subtle and shaded and human-like, is totally not human. (There are lapses like Aldrea talking about things in "feet" and "minutes" and such, however.) Each race is distinct and believable, which is incredible.
The things this story gets into are crazy deep for kids, which is why I love this series so much. Applegate had no patience for the idea that kids can't handle complicated stuff--on the book jacket itself she talks about how she wants her readers to realize the greyness of war. And she manages it; you can see the way that each race has a stake in the war that develops on the Hork-Bajir world, how intelligence is often tied to value, how revenge clouds the awareness of others, how greed can sprout from even the most innocuous of desires, how arrogance can trap. I also really liked getting some of the early days of the morphing technology--it's easy to forget, since the main series is dealing with humans, that it's not a thing Andalites are born with but a thing they are given as a tool and a weapon. Aldrea's commentary on how new the tech was and what people did and didn't know about it was very interesting. Also, YAY GIRL ANDALITE. I'm super excited we get to see the female side of that race, which we really haven't up to this volume. I like that Applegate uses the opportunity to take jabs at the way females are viewed in this race by underscoring the differences in the Andalites; yay for early pokes into sexism and institutional patriarchy.
One small complaint would be that I think Applegate crunched the timeline of her universe pretty tightly; the whole of the Yeerk Empire seems to have started within a generation or two rather than the hundreds that the Andalites' hatred for them would seem to suggest. Seriously, I'm pretty sure Alloran just happens to be at every major event ever--which, I realize he kind of has to be, but it seems like the galaxy would be bigger than that.
That said, holy crow Dak Hamee. His incisiveness and honesty just broke my heart over and over again. It is a hell of a thing when an author can get you mad, really truly brokenly horrified, at the fate of fictional characters. This achieves that, and mightily impacts the way I think about slavery and imperialism via freaking aliens. That is why this series is so damned awesome. It challenges you, always, daring to push you past "it's so short and easy to read, it can't be that heavy."
Just like the Hork-Bajir--simple-minded is not the same as uncomplicated, and definitely not the same as not worthwhile.
This book, for one thing, has no humans in it. None. Even the frame narrative has only Tobias, who is now really a hawk, talking to Hork-Bajir. And every alien species, while being subtle and shaded and human-like, is totally not human. (There are lapses like Aldrea talking about things in "feet" and "minutes" and such, however.) Each race is distinct and believable, which is incredible.
The things this story gets into are crazy deep for kids, which is why I love this series so much. Applegate had no patience for the idea that kids can't handle complicated stuff--on the book jacket itself she talks about how she wants her readers to realize the greyness of war. And she manages it; you can see the way that each race has a stake in the war that develops on the Hork-Bajir world, how intelligence is often tied to value, how revenge clouds the awareness of others, how greed can sprout from even the most innocuous of desires, how arrogance can trap. I also really liked getting some of the early days of the morphing technology--it's easy to forget, since the main series is dealing with humans, that it's not a thing Andalites are born with but a thing they are given as a tool and a weapon. Aldrea's commentary on how new the tech was and what people did and didn't know about it was very interesting. Also, YAY GIRL ANDALITE. I'm super excited we get to see the female side of that race, which we really haven't up to this volume. I like that Applegate uses the opportunity to take jabs at the way females are viewed in this race by underscoring the differences in the Andalites; yay for early pokes into sexism and institutional patriarchy.
One small complaint would be that I think Applegate crunched the timeline of her universe pretty tightly; the whole of the Yeerk Empire seems to have started within a generation or two rather than the hundreds that the Andalites' hatred for them would seem to suggest. Seriously, I'm pretty sure Alloran just happens to be at every major event ever--which, I realize he kind of has to be, but it seems like the galaxy would be bigger than that.
That said, holy crow Dak Hamee. His incisiveness and honesty just broke my heart over and over again. It is a hell of a thing when an author can get you mad, really truly brokenly horrified, at the fate of fictional characters. This achieves that, and mightily impacts the way I think about slavery and imperialism via freaking aliens. That is why this series is so damned awesome. It challenges you, always, daring to push you past "it's so short and easy to read, it can't be that heavy."
Just like the Hork-Bajir--simple-minded is not the same as uncomplicated, and definitely not the same as not worthwhile.
April 7, 2022
We get very insightful background information on hey historical figures from the Yeerks, Andalites, and Hork-Bajir and what led to all three of their groups’ involvement in this war.
We get a new perspective on Seerow’s Kindness as well as see the Andalites in a new light. This is a race of aliens who like to play God. They have designated themselves as the peacekeepers and ultimate authority in the universe, establishing the final say on how all living things should exist. Something fascinating, though, comes in how breaking the Andalite’s general rules did lead to the Yeerks gaining power to enslave entire other races.
We also see a fully fleshed out depiction of the Hork-Bajir, how they communicate, and how they played a role in this bloody history as an initially, naturally non-violent community.
Something I could definitely do without was the brief but blatant misogyny laced into Aldrea’s story of becoming a warrior. We begin chapter two with her stating that she’s not like other Andalite females because she isn’t interested in the arts, and she instead wants to be a warrior like the men. I understand I’m going to have to deal and get used to the dated language and themes scattered throughout this series, but this was so in-your-face I had to roll my eyes.
CW: war, slavery, violence, death, grief, use of dated ableist language
We get a new perspective on Seerow’s Kindness as well as see the Andalites in a new light. This is a race of aliens who like to play God. They have designated themselves as the peacekeepers and ultimate authority in the universe, establishing the final say on how all living things should exist. Something fascinating, though, comes in how breaking the Andalite’s general rules did lead to the Yeerks gaining power to enslave entire other races.
We also see a fully fleshed out depiction of the Hork-Bajir, how they communicate, and how they played a role in this bloody history as an initially, naturally non-violent community.
Something I could definitely do without was the brief but blatant misogyny laced into Aldrea’s story of becoming a warrior. We begin chapter two with her stating that she’s not like other Andalite females because she isn’t interested in the arts, and she instead wants to be a warrior like the men. I understand I’m going to have to deal and get used to the dated language and themes scattered throughout this series, but this was so in-your-face I had to roll my eyes.
CW: war, slavery, violence, death, grief, use of dated ableist language
June 3, 2011
This is honestly one of my favourite books revolving around the Animorphs. I Love the Hork-Bajir, and this inter-species love story was really nice for me to read, despite the outcome. It was really well-written and I got so involved in the story it was almost laughable. Really the best piece in the series, in my opinion.
January 6, 2024
Sure, this is a kid’s series
August 6, 2014
This was great, gave wonderful revelations as to what the Andalites did to the Hork-Bajir in the famous Animorphs universe.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
Female Andalites are said to have smaller tail blades in this book, which is why they are not usually allowed to be involved in military operations.
Strange that the beginning of the war with the Yeerks is suggested to have begun in the Earth year 1966. These books were written in the very late 1990s, which suggests the wars started only thirty years ago. The narration usually makes it seem like the Andalites and the Yeerks have been fighting each other for generations, especially since the Andalites and Yeerks are described to have a nearly instinctive disgust reaction to each other. This space war that's spanned many planets sure didn't waste any time developing.
Aldrea is suggested to be at somewhat empathic, unlike most of the rest of her species. She has no context to explain it, but she describes feeling and understanding what's going on in other people's emotions even when she's very young. Her narration doesn't read like other characters' narration; she explains that other people are angry instead of just "seeming" angry, etc. It's a subtle difference, but it's interesting.
In this book it's revealed that Hork-Bajir have "seers," which seem to be Hork-Bajir with human-level intelligence. They can philosophize, make symbolic markings, and strategize.
Aliens are mentioned in the course of this book in the context of Yeerk invasions. We've already encountered the Skrit Na, but in this book we hear about the Hawjabrans and the Ongachic.
Aldrea describes the height of a tree in feet. Human measurements.
A Yeerk named Akdor 1154 is credited with leading the Yeerks' uprising against the Andalites.
A species called the Arn also live on the Hork-Bajir world. They are small creatures with wings and they are very intelligent.
The Lerdethak is mentioned in this book, which is a morph Visser Three used in a previous book.
Sofor, an Andalite mentioned in a previous book, shows up in this book welcoming Aldrea back to the Andalites after having received her communication. He is later a tail-fighting instructor for Elfangor. Alloran is also mentioned here when he was introduced in a previous book, and he is later the host for Visser Three.
Aldrea's narration explains that Andalite males don't have as good a sense of balance as females.
If the quantum virus mentioned in this book could be calibrated to kill all of a certain species, why was it not leveled at the Yeerks rather than the Hork-Bajir?
This book reveals that Hork-Bajir kiss by putting their horns against each other, while Andalites kiss by stroking each other's faces with their hands.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
Female Andalites are said to have smaller tail blades in this book, which is why they are not usually allowed to be involved in military operations.
Strange that the beginning of the war with the Yeerks is suggested to have begun in the Earth year 1966. These books were written in the very late 1990s, which suggests the wars started only thirty years ago. The narration usually makes it seem like the Andalites and the Yeerks have been fighting each other for generations, especially since the Andalites and Yeerks are described to have a nearly instinctive disgust reaction to each other. This space war that's spanned many planets sure didn't waste any time developing.
Aldrea is suggested to be at somewhat empathic, unlike most of the rest of her species. She has no context to explain it, but she describes feeling and understanding what's going on in other people's emotions even when she's very young. Her narration doesn't read like other characters' narration; she explains that other people are angry instead of just "seeming" angry, etc. It's a subtle difference, but it's interesting.
In this book it's revealed that Hork-Bajir have "seers," which seem to be Hork-Bajir with human-level intelligence. They can philosophize, make symbolic markings, and strategize.
Aliens are mentioned in the course of this book in the context of Yeerk invasions. We've already encountered the Skrit Na, but in this book we hear about the Hawjabrans and the Ongachic.
Aldrea describes the height of a tree in feet. Human measurements.
A Yeerk named Akdor 1154 is credited with leading the Yeerks' uprising against the Andalites.
A species called the Arn also live on the Hork-Bajir world. They are small creatures with wings and they are very intelligent.
The Lerdethak is mentioned in this book, which is a morph Visser Three used in a previous book.
Sofor, an Andalite mentioned in a previous book, shows up in this book welcoming Aldrea back to the Andalites after having received her communication. He is later a tail-fighting instructor for Elfangor. Alloran is also mentioned here when he was introduced in a previous book, and he is later the host for Visser Three.
Aldrea's narration explains that Andalite males don't have as good a sense of balance as females.
If the quantum virus mentioned in this book could be calibrated to kill all of a certain species, why was it not leveled at the Yeerks rather than the Hork-Bajir?
This book reveals that Hork-Bajir kiss by putting their horns against each other, while Andalites kiss by stroking each other's faces with their hands.
May 13, 2017
I loved the Animorphs books when I was a kid. And I'm always glad to be reminded by how well they hold up as an adult - and always a bit disturbed when I remember just how brutal they are, for books I read when I was ten.
It's a rare middle-grade novel that makes its teenage protagonists suffer a year-and-a-half-long guerrilla war. An even rarer one that actually makes you feel like they did. The Hork-Bajir war against the Yeerks is brutal and the ethics of it aren't pretty, which is the book's main point. Aldrea is ruthless and hurt and is fighting with the Hork-Bajir for revenge on the Yeerks first, out of concern for them second. Dak knows he and his people are being used, mere tools in a war that was never meant to concern them. And as bitter as that makes him, he wants more than anything to save his people, and to do so he has no other choice but to fight, and he knows that. They're both angry and bitter and grieving. It's a relationship dynamic you don't see much - two people who care deeply for each other, but also need each other, and resent each other quite a lot for that. They want to help each other but also have desires and goals at cross purposes, and there is a war on that's very personal for them both. Their relationship is a roiling mix of complicated, powerful, awful emotions, and I love them, for that.
And it's the rarest novel of all that the struggling, beleaguered freedom fighters lose. It was a foregone conclusion, of course. Doesn't make it hurt any less. They all die, the planet falls, the whole species is enslaved, and even the ostensible "good guys"' last-ditch effort to prevent it is an unrepentant war crime. Heavy stuff for a book aimed at twelve-year-olds. (Powerful, thoughtful, painful stuff in deceptively simple prose.)
It's full of exclamation points and sometimes-goofy all-caps onomatopoeias, but it does all the typical dystopian YA points better than 90% of dystopian YA, and is easily one of the strongest books in the Animorphs series.
It's a rare middle-grade novel that makes its teenage protagonists suffer a year-and-a-half-long guerrilla war. An even rarer one that actually makes you feel like they did. The Hork-Bajir war against the Yeerks is brutal and the ethics of it aren't pretty, which is the book's main point. Aldrea is ruthless and hurt and is fighting with the Hork-Bajir for revenge on the Yeerks first, out of concern for them second. Dak knows he and his people are being used, mere tools in a war that was never meant to concern them. And as bitter as that makes him, he wants more than anything to save his people, and to do so he has no other choice but to fight, and he knows that. They're both angry and bitter and grieving. It's a relationship dynamic you don't see much - two people who care deeply for each other, but also need each other, and resent each other quite a lot for that. They want to help each other but also have desires and goals at cross purposes, and there is a war on that's very personal for them both. Their relationship is a roiling mix of complicated, powerful, awful emotions, and I love them, for that.
And it's the rarest novel of all that the struggling, beleaguered freedom fighters lose. It was a foregone conclusion, of course. Doesn't make it hurt any less. They all die, the planet falls, the whole species is enslaved, and even the ostensible "good guys"' last-ditch effort to prevent it is an unrepentant war crime. Heavy stuff for a book aimed at twelve-year-olds. (Powerful, thoughtful, painful stuff in deceptively simple prose.)
It's full of exclamation points and sometimes-goofy all-caps onomatopoeias, but it does all the typical dystopian YA points better than 90% of dystopian YA, and is easily one of the strongest books in the Animorphs series.
November 15, 2019
God, as a kid I don't think I realized this so strongly, but this book does not pull its punches, and it hurts that the things portrayed here - xenophobia, racism, misogyny, just as a start - are still so relevant now. Don't even get me started on the biological warfare - and issue that was going strong during the time period this story is so cleverly set. For a story that never sees a single human, human issues are so very present here, demanding your attention very, very loudly.
The Chronicles books were always among my most favorites of the Animorphs saga, and that really hasn't changed.
The Chronicles books were always among my most favorites of the Animorphs saga, and that really hasn't changed.
November 14, 2021
This was one of the books in the Animorphs series that really displayed Applegate's writing chops.
Worldbuilding, story building, character building and in all of that the intense sense of relating to all sides in a war.
For a book about aliens, this is written in what most people would consider a very human way.
Worldbuilding, story building, character building and in all of that the intense sense of relating to all sides in a war.
For a book about aliens, this is written in what most people would consider a very human way.
April 30, 2011
This was one of my favorite books of all times. I read it when I was back in probably fifth grade but I adored the books so much. I'm looking forward to re-reading the entire Animorphs series but from what I can remember, the Hork-Bajir Chronicles was my absolute favorite.
May 26, 2021
May 25, 2021 Re-read
I take back much of my opinions on my 2015 review – everything after “But, the second half flew by…” – with this latest re-read, when I actually read the book with the rest of the series based on publication order. I don’t know why I thought it was so rushed and Aldrea’s reactions so unbelievable. But let’s not get too far ahead of myself.
I started reading #23 The Pretender, only to realize that The Hork-Bajir Chronicles comes just before it in publication order. So I stopped and back-tracked to read this, naturally. I remembered the broad strokes of the story, of Seerow’s Kindness and getting sent to a back-of-the-universe planet with his family, the Hork-Bajir planet, where his daughter Aldrea befriends the Hork-Bajir seer Dak Hamee. The two youths end up being the leaders of a resistance to try to save the Hork-Bajir from the Yeerks, a losing battle which will also result in War-Prince Alloran and the Andalite’s greatest shame (if, that is, they weren’t so arrogant and haughty to realize it).
What that summary doesn’t portray is how complexly Aldrea, Dak Hamee, and Esplin 9466 are rendered. They are alien, not human, but they are not simple, either. They have wants and desires, dreams and fears, ambitions and misconceptions. They make mistakes, they learn from their own mistakes and the mistakes of others, they realize that what they thought was true was a lie, and that it is they don’t ever want to be so far lost as to sacrifice thousands of innocents (a theme which, ironically, repeats itself in both Elfangor’s story and the story of the Animorphs) – well, some of them, at least. Each of them frames their narration in view of their own cultural biases, from Dak’s allusion to someone looking like they had eaten yellow bark or references to tales of Father Deep and Mother Sky, to Aldrea’s opinion of open and closed spaces, to Esplin 9466’s experience with sight for the first time and his use of his knowledge about Andalites to effectively handle the situation on the Hork-Bajir planet.
We don’t get detailed descriptions of every new tree or creature Dak or Aldrea names, but we get enough of an idea, and in this book, just knowing the general idea of a thing is enough to create vivid mental images for those of us who picture stories as we read. And I’m pretty sure that these crazy images of thousand-foot-tall trees, a planet’s visible molten core, walkways and caves carved into the rockfaces, and how Hork-Bajir and chadoo navigate the trees and Andalites the sloping land were what drew my imagination as a child reading this. This is a world so completely different from our own, that one of the only ways it could be less like our own world is if trees grew upside down, with their roots in the air pulling moisture from clouds and its leaves and branches tying it to the planet.
The first half is more of a getting to know Aldrea and Dak and Esplin, giving us an important understanding of how they each operate, what they’re like, and how, in the case of Aldrea and Dak, they interact together. This is very important for building up how they act and react in the second half, as their stories collide with the Yeerk’s arrival on the Hork-Bajir planet, Aldrea’s loss, and Dak learning what role he will be forced to play as seer to his people. We see how Aldrea feels the shame of knowing her father helped unleash the Yeerks on the galaxy, and how she is willing to stand up and fight and do whatever is necessary to fix things – rather a fight for redeeming their lost honor. This shame prompts her to turn quickly to violence when provoked, and not only for herself, but to demand the recruitment of the rest of the Hork-Bajir. She seems bloodthirsty, and just this side of reckless in her single-minded quest for revenge and to save the Hork-Bajir. Dak, on the other hand, always wanted to learn more than the elders could ever teach him, and is hungry for the knowledge Aldrea can share with him. But he soon realizes she only shares what she wants to share, and that in so doing, she is also manipulating him and the Hork-Bajir to her own ends. Even though he knows this, he also knows that there is precious little he can do to stop it from happening if he hopes to save his people. The betrayal in that, and how things play out for Aldrea and Dak in the fallout, leaves much unsaid, but it is still there, and as a reader, we can feel it and fill in the gaps. There is almost an apology in what Aldrea does at the end, an admittance that the Andalites were not so great as she thought they were, that she and they were wrong, as well as a rejection of what it means to be an Andalite. It was a rude awakening for her, but she admitted it and chose to change. It’s an excellent – and I can’t even say extreme – acknowledgement of how we can be blind to the faults in our own society, and when (if) we do realize them, how much we can—must—change to end the cycle and do and be better.
Esplin 9466 is amazed by the power of sight, and the access to knowledge that sight and Andalite technology can give him. He sees knowledge as power to climb the ranks, to take an important place in this young Yeerk Empire. And when the time comes, he uses this knowledge to great advantage. The funny thing is then to see him in the main Animorphs series, as we have to wonder where this focus went, where this careful study of the enemy disappeared to that he can’t even see that the Animorphs aren’t his most despised and coveted Andalites. He poured all of himself into learning about Andalites, and he just stopped. He thought that was all the knowledge he would need in any takeover, and that is why he seems so incompetent in the main series versus so competent here. If he applied himself to humanity even half as much as he applied himself to learning about Andalites, the Animorphs would have never stood a chance.
As a bonus, in this we get more timestamps! We learn that the Hork-Bajir Chronicles takes place in the mid to late 1960s Earth time, compared to the 80s for the Andalite Chronicles, and the 90s for the main Animorphs series. So when you think of how long it took Yeerks to go from being blind and limited to their Yeerk pools, to Seerow’s Kindness showing them the universe, to taking over the Hork-Bajir and full-blown war with the Andalites…it is impressive how quickly events move, and how significant these events are, and the complexity of the Yeerk Empire that they were able to not only fend off but keep on making progress against the Andalites for all their “superiority”.
Favorite quotes:
[Dak said,] “I hoped I had been chosen to show my people all the things your father tried to show the Yeerks. I wanted to teach them music. Writing. Art. I wanted to teach them to keep track of time, the passing of years. To make tools, to build. But your father gave those things to the Yeerks, and now we see the results. Maybe I was a fool to think that knowledge would make my people happy.” – page 83
The monsters in our valley were destroyed that day. Only a very few survived. But that was all right, because we didn’t need monsters anymore. We had become them. – page 147
Inconsistency:
After Esplin 9466’s host body was injured during Aldrea and Dak’s flight into the blue mist, he narrates “At last, days later, when enough Hork-Bajir had been taken, I was given a new host body.” (page 102) But then the next time he narrates, he narrates “But had she somehow survived the trip into the mist? No one had seen [Aldrea] these last two days.” (page 123)
Original Review: April 2, 2015
It has been over 10 years since I last read The Hork-Bajir Chronicles, and even though I am reading it now as an adult instead of as a child, I still really enjoyed it. Aldrea and Dak Hamee are great characters, even though we know from the start that their story is, in a way, doomed.
The pacing of the first half of the book was very well done, which allowed the reader to become familiar with Aldrea, Dak Hamee, and Esplin 9466. Seeing them each grow as characters who though they seem to have small roles, but in reality will have considerably large roles, is rewarding. But, the second half flew by in the sense that the pacing was faster at the expense of details, and I would have liked to see it fleshed out a little more, to better see how Aldrea and Dak Hamee especially evolved in those crucial times.
There were two things that seemed somewhat contrived to me. First off, that Aldrea had managed access to the Escafil Device, since her friend's mother was one of its designers, and also used it. I want to know how she managed to use it if the mother was just showing it to Aldrea and her friend (presumably). And why would Aldrea have gone ahead and used it like that? It was too convenient for the story.
I take back much of my opinions on my 2015 review – everything after “But, the second half flew by…” – with this latest re-read, when I actually read the book with the rest of the series based on publication order. I don’t know why I thought it was so rushed and Aldrea’s reactions so unbelievable. But let’s not get too far ahead of myself.
I started reading #23 The Pretender, only to realize that The Hork-Bajir Chronicles comes just before it in publication order. So I stopped and back-tracked to read this, naturally. I remembered the broad strokes of the story, of Seerow’s Kindness and getting sent to a back-of-the-universe planet with his family, the Hork-Bajir planet, where his daughter Aldrea befriends the Hork-Bajir seer Dak Hamee. The two youths end up being the leaders of a resistance to try to save the Hork-Bajir from the Yeerks, a losing battle which will also result in War-Prince Alloran and the Andalite’s greatest shame (if, that is, they weren’t so arrogant and haughty to realize it).
What that summary doesn’t portray is how complexly Aldrea, Dak Hamee, and Esplin 9466 are rendered. They are alien, not human, but they are not simple, either. They have wants and desires, dreams and fears, ambitions and misconceptions. They make mistakes, they learn from their own mistakes and the mistakes of others, they realize that what they thought was true was a lie, and that it is they don’t ever want to be so far lost as to sacrifice thousands of innocents (a theme which, ironically, repeats itself in both Elfangor’s story and the story of the Animorphs) – well, some of them, at least. Each of them frames their narration in view of their own cultural biases, from Dak’s allusion to someone looking like they had eaten yellow bark or references to tales of Father Deep and Mother Sky, to Aldrea’s opinion of open and closed spaces, to Esplin 9466’s experience with sight for the first time and his use of his knowledge about Andalites to effectively handle the situation on the Hork-Bajir planet.
We don’t get detailed descriptions of every new tree or creature Dak or Aldrea names, but we get enough of an idea, and in this book, just knowing the general idea of a thing is enough to create vivid mental images for those of us who picture stories as we read. And I’m pretty sure that these crazy images of thousand-foot-tall trees, a planet’s visible molten core, walkways and caves carved into the rockfaces, and how Hork-Bajir and chadoo navigate the trees and Andalites the sloping land were what drew my imagination as a child reading this. This is a world so completely different from our own, that one of the only ways it could be less like our own world is if trees grew upside down, with their roots in the air pulling moisture from clouds and its leaves and branches tying it to the planet.
The first half is more of a getting to know Aldrea and Dak and Esplin, giving us an important understanding of how they each operate, what they’re like, and how, in the case of Aldrea and Dak, they interact together. This is very important for building up how they act and react in the second half, as their stories collide with the Yeerk’s arrival on the Hork-Bajir planet, Aldrea’s loss, and Dak learning what role he will be forced to play as seer to his people. We see how Aldrea feels the shame of knowing her father helped unleash the Yeerks on the galaxy, and how she is willing to stand up and fight and do whatever is necessary to fix things – rather a fight for redeeming their lost honor. This shame prompts her to turn quickly to violence when provoked, and not only for herself, but to demand the recruitment of the rest of the Hork-Bajir. She seems bloodthirsty, and just this side of reckless in her single-minded quest for revenge and to save the Hork-Bajir. Dak, on the other hand, always wanted to learn more than the elders could ever teach him, and is hungry for the knowledge Aldrea can share with him. But he soon realizes she only shares what she wants to share, and that in so doing, she is also manipulating him and the Hork-Bajir to her own ends. Even though he knows this, he also knows that there is precious little he can do to stop it from happening if he hopes to save his people. The betrayal in that, and how things play out for Aldrea and Dak in the fallout, leaves much unsaid, but it is still there, and as a reader, we can feel it and fill in the gaps. There is almost an apology in what Aldrea does at the end, an admittance that the Andalites were not so great as she thought they were, that she and they were wrong, as well as a rejection of what it means to be an Andalite. It was a rude awakening for her, but she admitted it and chose to change. It’s an excellent – and I can’t even say extreme – acknowledgement of how we can be blind to the faults in our own society, and when (if) we do realize them, how much we can—must—change to end the cycle and do and be better.
Esplin 9466 is amazed by the power of sight, and the access to knowledge that sight and Andalite technology can give him. He sees knowledge as power to climb the ranks, to take an important place in this young Yeerk Empire. And when the time comes, he uses this knowledge to great advantage. The funny thing is then to see him in the main Animorphs series, as we have to wonder where this focus went, where this careful study of the enemy disappeared to that he can’t even see that the Animorphs aren’t his most despised and coveted Andalites. He poured all of himself into learning about Andalites, and he just stopped. He thought that was all the knowledge he would need in any takeover, and that is why he seems so incompetent in the main series versus so competent here. If he applied himself to humanity even half as much as he applied himself to learning about Andalites, the Animorphs would have never stood a chance.
As a bonus, in this we get more timestamps! We learn that the Hork-Bajir Chronicles takes place in the mid to late 1960s Earth time, compared to the 80s for the Andalite Chronicles, and the 90s for the main Animorphs series. So when you think of how long it took Yeerks to go from being blind and limited to their Yeerk pools, to Seerow’s Kindness showing them the universe, to taking over the Hork-Bajir and full-blown war with the Andalites…it is impressive how quickly events move, and how significant these events are, and the complexity of the Yeerk Empire that they were able to not only fend off but keep on making progress against the Andalites for all their “superiority”.
Favorite quotes:
[Dak said,] “I hoped I had been chosen to show my people all the things your father tried to show the Yeerks. I wanted to teach them music. Writing. Art. I wanted to teach them to keep track of time, the passing of years. To make tools, to build. But your father gave those things to the Yeerks, and now we see the results. Maybe I was a fool to think that knowledge would make my people happy.” – page 83
The monsters in our valley were destroyed that day. Only a very few survived. But that was all right, because we didn’t need monsters anymore. We had become them. – page 147
Inconsistency:
After Esplin 9466’s host body was injured during Aldrea and Dak’s flight into the blue mist, he narrates “At last, days later, when enough Hork-Bajir had been taken, I was given a new host body.” (page 102) But then the next time he narrates, he narrates “But had she somehow survived the trip into the mist? No one had seen [Aldrea] these last two days.” (page 123)
Original Review: April 2, 2015
It has been over 10 years since I last read The Hork-Bajir Chronicles, and even though I am reading it now as an adult instead of as a child, I still really enjoyed it. Aldrea and Dak Hamee are great characters, even though we know from the start that their story is, in a way, doomed.
The pacing of the first half of the book was very well done, which allowed the reader to become familiar with Aldrea, Dak Hamee, and Esplin 9466. Seeing them each grow as characters who though they seem to have small roles, but in reality will have considerably large roles, is rewarding. But, the second half flew by in the sense that the pacing was faster at the expense of details, and I would have liked to see it fleshed out a little more, to better see how Aldrea and Dak Hamee especially evolved in those crucial times.
There were two things that seemed somewhat contrived to me. First off, that Aldrea had managed access to the Escafil Device, since her friend's mother was one of its designers, and also used it. I want to know how she managed to use it if the mother was just showing it to Aldrea and her friend (presumably). And why would Aldrea have gone ahead and used it like that? It was too convenient for the story.
October 27, 2024
SO this book has a few POVs. We get a bit with Tobias, but much of the story actually takes place as a story. From an andalite, Hork-Bajir and a yeerk. Here is the thing, where did the yeerk perspective come from as this is a tale? I liked it but I want to know how it was added to the story for Tobias. SO we learn a bit about how the yeerks first took over the Hork-Bajir and what the race was like before them which I found fascinating. The light romance we get I found to be so weird. Much like the Andalite Chronicles, we have to get some inter-species relations. It would be like a bird wanting a relationship with a bear. Some things are just bizarre.
August 1, 2024
*** 3.75 ***
The story of how the Hork-Bajir got involved in the war... Made me very sad for them... ☹️
The story of how the Hork-Bajir got involved in the war... Made me very sad for them... ☹️
December 7, 2024
That hurt in so many ways.
I really came to resent the Andalites, with their patriarchic system.
I really came to resent the Andalites, with their patriarchic system.
October 15, 2021
This prequel is the richest and most complex entry in the Animorphs franchise yet, even more so than The Andalite Chronicles, which I believe was the last time in this series reread that I ventured that claim. It's also the earliest installment we've gotten so far -- not counting time-travel to the Cretaceous period! -- transporting readers back to the Yeerks' original escape from their homeworld and subsequent invasion of the Hork-Bajir planet.
One of the biggest surprises to (re)discover as an adult is that this encounter is nevertheless set in our year 1968, a mere three decades prior to the events of the main novels. Either I didn't pick up on that detail as a kid or it just didn't strike me as remarkable, but the fact that the Yeerk Empire and its enslavement of multiple species has all been forged within living memory seems like a vital piece of context for their campaign against the earth and occasional strategic missteps here, not to mention their failure to contain the resistance band of our regular heroes. Although they appear to carry the advantage of superior power and technology, the alien warmongers are still somewhat figuring all this out as they go along. The Andalite morphing capability is likewise a fairly new invention at this point, not yet in widespread use and unknown to the Yeerks, and the nonintervention principle of Seerow's Kindness is not as hard and firm as it will seem to Aximili as a child.
But back to the tale at hand. An initial framing device finds the Animorph Tobias visiting the colony of free Hork-Bajir that he helped liberate in #13 The Change, where he accepts their invitation to settle in for a campfire story. Despite these creatures' apparent simplicity -- the hawk-boy notes that he's expecting to hear something like, "Yeerks come. Bad. Fighting. Yeerks win. We lose." -- he is somehow caught and immersed, with the three alternating perspectives of the rest of the book representing what he learns that night. There are no humans at all in the ensuing narrative, but the different extraterrestrial cultures that emerge are fleshed-out and engaging.
Following a brief scene of the Yeerks overpowering their Andalite guards to steal ships and whisk a quarter million of their slug-like population offplanet, abusing the trust of the prince who had generously shared knowledge of such things with them, we skip forward two years to that disgraced soldier's posting in an obscure system, where he's been assigned to study the native lifeforms and nominally be on the lookout for signs of enemy activity (but mostly stay out of the way of the distant galactic war effort). With him are his wife, son, and daughter Aldrea, the latter of whom is one of our new narrators. She strikes up a friendship with another, the Hork-Bajir Dak Hamee, who has an intelligence far beyond anything else seen in his species. He is a seer, born once in a generation to help navigate an upcoming change, or so the elders say. He already displays an advanced intellect, but with his new friend to teach him further, his mind blossoms into levels of insight and reasoning that neither of them could have predicted.
The relationship of these two figures is the core of the text, an affectionate connection that's fraught with arrogant colonialist condescension regardless, as Dak is increasingly quick to point out. The widening gulf between him and his people is soon mirrored on her side, especially after the Yeerks do show up and slaughter her family. In the fierce-looking but gentle Hork-Bajir -- their claws are designed for stripping bark off trees, not fighting -- the parasites seem to have identified their perfect next host bodies. With no assistance from the Andalites expected for months, our protagonists are forced to fight back themselves and train his brethren to become guerilla warriors: a route they are happy to adopt unquestioningly but that he considers a heartbreaking yet necessary corruption.
That mixture of hope and sorrow is essential to this title, which is both bleak and suffused with a blazing spirit. It's ultimately a tragedy, as we knew it would be from the start. The pacifistic herbivores are destined to be imperial shock troops, wholly conquered and made to serve their masters. This is a losing battle, and when reinforcements finally arrive, Aldrea is disgusted by their patronizing attitude and horrified to discover they're developing a biological weapon to kill off Dak's race and keep them from being used as tools for their foes. (The Arn, a civilization of genetic manipulators dwelling in cliffs deep in the planet's interior who actually created the Hork-Bajir for environmental control, similarly opt not to commit to helping the species they see as weak children, instead simply altering their own biology to prevent infestation -- a move that results in their capture as raw slave labor for the Yeerks.) But she and Dak continue waging their hopeless struggle, growing ever closer in their commitment and despair and inadvertently inspiring future Hork-Bajir like the ones Tobias knows -- as well as forming a cautionary parallel for humanity's own invasion that he's been witnessing and attempting to resist.
The third viewpoint woven throughout this novel is that of Esplin 9466, the Yeerk who will one day be known by his military rank of Visser Three. He's not really a sympathetic character, but he offers us our first extended look at how his race sees the universe and their role in it. Like Aftran 942 in #19 The Departure, he paints a brutal picture of life outside a host and the ecstasy of mobility and senses within one. He plays an important part in the subjugation of the Hork-Bajir too, much as we previously saw him do for the Taxxons in The Andalite Chronicles, later in his personal timeline.
Overall, this is an excellent space opera with complicated heroes and villains that strengthens the worldbuilding and history of this saga yet could also stand alone as an independent read or introduction to it, given the minimal spoilers or required background information. With war crimes of allies that are rightly condemned, heroic sacrifices in a tragically doomed cause, nuanced discussions of morality and self-determination, and a G-rated interspecies romance, it may be the single best Animorphs volume of the lot.
[Content warning for sexism and gore.]
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One of the biggest surprises to (re)discover as an adult is that this encounter is nevertheless set in our year 1968, a mere three decades prior to the events of the main novels. Either I didn't pick up on that detail as a kid or it just didn't strike me as remarkable, but the fact that the Yeerk Empire and its enslavement of multiple species has all been forged within living memory seems like a vital piece of context for their campaign against the earth and occasional strategic missteps here, not to mention their failure to contain the resistance band of our regular heroes. Although they appear to carry the advantage of superior power and technology, the alien warmongers are still somewhat figuring all this out as they go along. The Andalite morphing capability is likewise a fairly new invention at this point, not yet in widespread use and unknown to the Yeerks, and the nonintervention principle of Seerow's Kindness is not as hard and firm as it will seem to Aximili as a child.
But back to the tale at hand. An initial framing device finds the Animorph Tobias visiting the colony of free Hork-Bajir that he helped liberate in #13 The Change, where he accepts their invitation to settle in for a campfire story. Despite these creatures' apparent simplicity -- the hawk-boy notes that he's expecting to hear something like, "Yeerks come. Bad. Fighting. Yeerks win. We lose." -- he is somehow caught and immersed, with the three alternating perspectives of the rest of the book representing what he learns that night. There are no humans at all in the ensuing narrative, but the different extraterrestrial cultures that emerge are fleshed-out and engaging.
Following a brief scene of the Yeerks overpowering their Andalite guards to steal ships and whisk a quarter million of their slug-like population offplanet, abusing the trust of the prince who had generously shared knowledge of such things with them, we skip forward two years to that disgraced soldier's posting in an obscure system, where he's been assigned to study the native lifeforms and nominally be on the lookout for signs of enemy activity (but mostly stay out of the way of the distant galactic war effort). With him are his wife, son, and daughter Aldrea, the latter of whom is one of our new narrators. She strikes up a friendship with another, the Hork-Bajir Dak Hamee, who has an intelligence far beyond anything else seen in his species. He is a seer, born once in a generation to help navigate an upcoming change, or so the elders say. He already displays an advanced intellect, but with his new friend to teach him further, his mind blossoms into levels of insight and reasoning that neither of them could have predicted.
The relationship of these two figures is the core of the text, an affectionate connection that's fraught with arrogant colonialist condescension regardless, as Dak is increasingly quick to point out. The widening gulf between him and his people is soon mirrored on her side, especially after the Yeerks do show up and slaughter her family. In the fierce-looking but gentle Hork-Bajir -- their claws are designed for stripping bark off trees, not fighting -- the parasites seem to have identified their perfect next host bodies. With no assistance from the Andalites expected for months, our protagonists are forced to fight back themselves and train his brethren to become guerilla warriors: a route they are happy to adopt unquestioningly but that he considers a heartbreaking yet necessary corruption.
That mixture of hope and sorrow is essential to this title, which is both bleak and suffused with a blazing spirit. It's ultimately a tragedy, as we knew it would be from the start. The pacifistic herbivores are destined to be imperial shock troops, wholly conquered and made to serve their masters. This is a losing battle, and when reinforcements finally arrive, Aldrea is disgusted by their patronizing attitude and horrified to discover they're developing a biological weapon to kill off Dak's race and keep them from being used as tools for their foes. (The Arn, a civilization of genetic manipulators dwelling in cliffs deep in the planet's interior who actually created the Hork-Bajir for environmental control, similarly opt not to commit to helping the species they see as weak children, instead simply altering their own biology to prevent infestation -- a move that results in their capture as raw slave labor for the Yeerks.) But she and Dak continue waging their hopeless struggle, growing ever closer in their commitment and despair and inadvertently inspiring future Hork-Bajir like the ones Tobias knows -- as well as forming a cautionary parallel for humanity's own invasion that he's been witnessing and attempting to resist.
The third viewpoint woven throughout this novel is that of Esplin 9466, the Yeerk who will one day be known by his military rank of Visser Three. He's not really a sympathetic character, but he offers us our first extended look at how his race sees the universe and their role in it. Like Aftran 942 in #19 The Departure, he paints a brutal picture of life outside a host and the ecstasy of mobility and senses within one. He plays an important part in the subjugation of the Hork-Bajir too, much as we previously saw him do for the Taxxons in The Andalite Chronicles, later in his personal timeline.
Overall, this is an excellent space opera with complicated heroes and villains that strengthens the worldbuilding and history of this saga yet could also stand alone as an independent read or introduction to it, given the minimal spoilers or required background information. With war crimes of allies that are rightly condemned, heroic sacrifices in a tragically doomed cause, nuanced discussions of morality and self-determination, and a G-rated interspecies romance, it may be the single best Animorphs volume of the lot.
[Content warning for sexism and gore.]
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
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--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6...
--Or click here to browse through all my previous reviews!
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October 18, 2020
I bet you thought I was done with Animorphs books! There were a few additional stories outside the main plotline, and I had skipped them at the time I was reading the series. I kept hearing such good things about this one, I picked it up.
This one was written by Michael Grant, and it shows. He said of this book: "Hork-Bajir Chronicles was neat because it was basically a Vietnam parable. We even incorporated a version of the famous line, 'We had to destroy the village in order to save it.' HBC was history and politics and philosophy snuck into a kids' book about monsters in trees."
This was one of the best books in the series, and I'm glad I came back to read it. It was a really disturbingly realistic look at war, especially hopeless ones.
The plot follows two young aliens, one Hork-Bajir and the other Andalite, as they try to drive back the first wave of Yeerks arriving on the Hork-Bajir planet. How do you fight something that takes over the body of your people and uses your people against you? How do you fight an enemy completely willing to slaughter noncombatants? Answer: You don't, not well. You do your best to hold on as long as you can and cause as much trouble as you are able.
The whole story felt so realistic and believable. I suspect I wouldn't have pinpointed it as being about the Vietnam War if I hadn't known that going in, but that's only because of my limited knowledge of that war.
A very enjoyable read! I'll probably go back and read the others I've skipped.
This one was written by Michael Grant, and it shows. He said of this book: "Hork-Bajir Chronicles was neat because it was basically a Vietnam parable. We even incorporated a version of the famous line, 'We had to destroy the village in order to save it.' HBC was history and politics and philosophy snuck into a kids' book about monsters in trees."
This was one of the best books in the series, and I'm glad I came back to read it. It was a really disturbingly realistic look at war, especially hopeless ones.
The plot follows two young aliens, one Hork-Bajir and the other Andalite, as they try to drive back the first wave of Yeerks arriving on the Hork-Bajir planet. How do you fight something that takes over the body of your people and uses your people against you? How do you fight an enemy completely willing to slaughter noncombatants? Answer: You don't, not well. You do your best to hold on as long as you can and cause as much trouble as you are able.
The whole story felt so realistic and believable. I suspect I wouldn't have pinpointed it as being about the Vietnam War if I hadn't known that going in, but that's only because of my limited knowledge of that war.
A very enjoyable read! I'll probably go back and read the others I've skipped.
April 1, 2016
I didn't go back into Goodreads to mark as read all the Animorphs books, but they were (mostly) all read. I read this one now because it's the only Animorphs book that exists at the Toronto Public Library (there may be some uncatalogued paperbacks floating around but it's highly unlikely, and I'm not going to 100 branches to search). It's interesting, because Animorphs was just the greatest series of all time to my 8-year-old self, I remember seeing the cover of #1 in my Scholastic book order form and that was the beginning of the end. Animorphs was my first introduction to real science fiction that was actually written at my level (I tried to read 1984 when I was 10 because the plot sounded interesting to me, but I just couldn't do it until I was older), and I think it helped to shape my preferences and relationship to reading and sci-fi quite a bit. I re-read #1 a few years ago, and while the writing didn't really hold up, it was a nice trip down memory lane. I'm tempted to read the entire series again, mainly because I actually outgrew it before it ended so there are a couple of books in the series that I've actually never read. Also because I could probably read each in an hour.
Anyway, The Hork-Bajir Chronicles was great. The writing was simple, but not annoying (for an adult reader) and the sci-fi/philosophical concepts were pretty solid. Dak is awesome, and the Hork-Bajir are so lovely. Fuck the Andalites, those guys are jerks.
Anyway, The Hork-Bajir Chronicles was great. The writing was simple, but not annoying (for an adult reader) and the sci-fi/philosophical concepts were pretty solid. Dak is awesome, and the Hork-Bajir are so lovely. Fuck the Andalites, those guys are jerks.
August 14, 2012
I would definitely recommend this book for older children. For one, though it is part of the larger Animorphs series, it works remarkably well as a standalone book. The benefit to this is that it introduces the reader to the basic plotline of the Animorphs series and so has the potential to get them interested in reading the rest of the series as well. In addition, this book is written using simple language, making it easy for even struggling readers to understand it, and it maintains a fast-paced, exciting storyline throughout the book. This makes it fun to read and hard to put down, which is good for any child reading it. Lastly, the characters are easy to empathize with, which helps young readers understand the impact of war and violence without the author having to be overly straightforward about it. This makes it a good book to help children make sense of war and understand how it affects all sides involved, but because it is set in a science fiction setting with a fictional threat, it is not off-putting. I may not suggest this book to children under the age of 9 because the themes it covers are more mature, but if the child is at a higher reading and development level, I would not be adverse to sharing this book with them.
June 25, 2016
The Hork-Bajir Chronicles is the first Animorphs book featuring no humans (even including the frame, since the only human is our favorite red-tailed hawk). We experience the fall of the Hork-Bajir home world firsthand through the eyes of Prince Seerow's daughter, a Hork-Bajir seer, and the Yeerk who would become Visser Three. It's a true tragedy, a perfect storm of events conspiring to make the innocent Hork-Bajir the shock troop slaves of the emerging Yeerk Empire. It's a clash of civilizations between the ambitious Yeerks and the arrogant Andalites with the poor Hork-Bajir caught tragically in between (and it's also a love story!) This is some of Applegate's best.
July 5, 2016
This was so good. It could be a stand-alone novel. It tells about the beginning of the war and the loss of the Hork-Bajir world. It's sad, devastating and hopeful at the same time. I think the Hork-Bajir are my favourite aliens (No offense, Ax, but your people are mostly jerks).
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