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Animorphs #46
The Deception
The Animorphs and Ax have managed to contact the Andalite home world. But the battle is far from over. Visser Two has arrived to Earth, and he's not happy about the state of things. He decides the best way to take over Earth is to have the humans destroy the people and the land the Yeerks don't need. He decides to start World War III.
Ax and his friends know that Visser Two means business and there will probably only be two ways to keep him from destroying everything they know: Find a way to stop the war. Or find a way to stop him. . . forever. . . .
Ax and his friends know that Visser Two means business and there will probably only be two ways to keep him from destroying everything they know: Find a way to stop the war. Or find a way to stop him. . . forever. . . .
118 pages, Paperback
First published September 6, 2000
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About the author
K.A. Applegate
251 books486 followersalso published under the name Katherine Applegate
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
December 23, 2023
The Animorphs did it. They contacted the Andalites. They warned them of the dangers ahead. They told them not to walk into the trap the Yeerks have set for them. And the Andalites didn’t believe a word they said.
Meanwhile, the former Visser Three is now firmly in control of the Yeerks. And with nothing holding earth’s new Visser back, he’s looking to change tactics. No more slow, stealthy and secretive invasion for the alien invaders. He wants to unleash a third world war.
With no way of knowing if the Andalites are coming to the rescue, what can the Animorphs do to stop the Yeerks from turning the whole world into a battlefield?
The point of view is Ax, the Andalite. In the previous novels, we’ve already noticed here and there that the Andalites aren’t as virtuous and perfect as Ax would like us and the Animorphs to believe. And it’s clear he tries to remain as blind as possible to their flaws. He idealizes and idolizes his own people. But here, Ax runs straight into a wall of his own people’s worst flaws. It makes him question everything, even himself. Which is quite interesting. And this search for his identity can have lasting consequences on the war in general.
Overall, another great installment in the Animorphs series as the war is clearly escalating here. This story makes it clear we’re firmly building towards a hopefully satisfying conclusion of the series.
Meanwhile, the former Visser Three is now firmly in control of the Yeerks. And with nothing holding earth’s new Visser back, he’s looking to change tactics. No more slow, stealthy and secretive invasion for the alien invaders. He wants to unleash a third world war.
With no way of knowing if the Andalites are coming to the rescue, what can the Animorphs do to stop the Yeerks from turning the whole world into a battlefield?
The point of view is Ax, the Andalite. In the previous novels, we’ve already noticed here and there that the Andalites aren’t as virtuous and perfect as Ax would like us and the Animorphs to believe. And it’s clear he tries to remain as blind as possible to their flaws. He idealizes and idolizes his own people. But here, Ax runs straight into a wall of his own people’s worst flaws. It makes him question everything, even himself. Which is quite interesting. And this search for his identity can have lasting consequences on the war in general.
Overall, another great installment in the Animorphs series as the war is clearly escalating here. This story makes it clear we’re firmly building towards a hopefully satisfying conclusion of the series.
November 14, 2015
Ghostwriter: Elise Donner, who crushed my heart in #30 The Reunion and is now back to continue kicking it into fine pieces. AHHHHH. afjlakglkfjglj.
So, first off: shit is getting real. The entire nature of the war is changing.
"Things are different. From now on, we take what we need. We do what we have to do. No matter what the consequences."
Once again, I find myself needing to discuss an Ax book almost entirely under spoiler cuts:
Annnnd as always, favourite quotes below:
So, first off: shit is getting real. The entire nature of the war is changing.
"Things are different. From now on, we take what we need. We do what we have to do. No matter what the consequences."
Once again, I find myself needing to discuss an Ax book almost entirely under spoiler cuts:
Annnnd as always, favourite quotes below:
March 24, 2018
Previously, on Animorphs…
The Animorphs have literally just succeeded in contacting the Andalite command. The Deception picks up with no time passing. The conversation goes about as poorly as you might expect. After the Animorphs narrowly escape with their lives, they discover that the former Visser Three is now Visser One (!!!!!) and there’s a new Visser Two in town who wants to fuck everyone up by starting a nuclear war.
So what do our plucky heroes do? That’s right: infiltrate a naval aircraft carrier out in the middle of the ocean.
This book has a lot of the hallmarks of the earliest Animorphs adventures. Notably, there is little in the way of a coherent plan here. Instead, the Animorphs fall back on their “roll with it” improv style of Yeerk-stomping. The difference between then and now is that the Animorphs have to compromise a lot more of their original tenets—like not morphing humans, at least non-consensually—in the name of fighting this war. The stakes are the highest, though, and I kind of can’t disagree with them … but emotionally, this is a tough book.
Everything is told from the point of view of Ax this time. His voice as a narrator has really matured over the series. Whereas he was once, “Lol, hey, silly humans, eating with holes on their face, cinnamon buns!” he is much more sobre, much more thoughtful and introspective. His faith in the righteousness of his own people has been shaken to its core by recent events. He is struggling to reconcile his identity as an Andalite with his allegiance to, and newfound appreciation for, humanity. That very allegiance allows him to go against the orders and initiate the eponymous deception of his prince, Jake, in order to do what he thinks is necessary. This book is all about Ax taking initiative, showing a backbone, and making tough decisions. And I am here for it.
I think it’s telling that Jake has basically given up asking Ax to lay off on addressing him as “prince”. As always, one of the joys of an Ax-narrated book is that we get to see the other Animorphs through his alien eyes. The other Animorphs, when describing each other, inevitably make excuses, editorialize—Ax doesn’t do that. He looks at each of Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Marco, and Tobias and he tells us exactly what he sees—because he doesn’t know any better. And it’s so honest, the way he looks up to Jake as a leader even as he shoulders responsibilities he thinks Jake shouldn’t have to undertake, the way he coldly appreciates Rachel’s warrior aptitude.
This book is a little brutal not just for the massive carnage and death-toll on an aircraft carrier, not just for the threat of a nuclear strike on an American city, not just for the moral dimensions, but simply for the realization that the Animorphs might not be able to win this one. They can always keep fighting, but the Yeerks have no chill, and the Yeerks will always be willing to go that one step further, stoop that one level lower. The very principles the Animorphs are fighting to preserve might be why they ultimately lose this war—and if that is not a terrifying but true commentary on war, I don’t know what is.
The Deception establishes that this war has reached a turning point. Next time, in The Resistance, the Animorphs have to decide if they need to go public with this war.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← #45: The Revelation | #47: The Resistance →
The Animorphs have literally just succeeded in contacting the Andalite command. The Deception picks up with no time passing. The conversation goes about as poorly as you might expect. After the Animorphs narrowly escape with their lives, they discover that the former Visser Three is now Visser One (!!!!!) and there’s a new Visser Two in town who wants to fuck everyone up by starting a nuclear war.
So what do our plucky heroes do? That’s right: infiltrate a naval aircraft carrier out in the middle of the ocean.
This book has a lot of the hallmarks of the earliest Animorphs adventures. Notably, there is little in the way of a coherent plan here. Instead, the Animorphs fall back on their “roll with it” improv style of Yeerk-stomping. The difference between then and now is that the Animorphs have to compromise a lot more of their original tenets—like not morphing humans, at least non-consensually—in the name of fighting this war. The stakes are the highest, though, and I kind of can’t disagree with them … but emotionally, this is a tough book.
Everything is told from the point of view of Ax this time. His voice as a narrator has really matured over the series. Whereas he was once, “Lol, hey, silly humans, eating with holes on their face, cinnamon buns!” he is much more sobre, much more thoughtful and introspective. His faith in the righteousness of his own people has been shaken to its core by recent events. He is struggling to reconcile his identity as an Andalite with his allegiance to, and newfound appreciation for, humanity. That very allegiance allows him to go against the orders and initiate the eponymous deception of his prince, Jake, in order to do what he thinks is necessary. This book is all about Ax taking initiative, showing a backbone, and making tough decisions. And I am here for it.
I think it’s telling that Jake has basically given up asking Ax to lay off on addressing him as “prince”. As always, one of the joys of an Ax-narrated book is that we get to see the other Animorphs through his alien eyes. The other Animorphs, when describing each other, inevitably make excuses, editorialize—Ax doesn’t do that. He looks at each of Jake, Rachel, Cassie, Marco, and Tobias and he tells us exactly what he sees—because he doesn’t know any better. And it’s so honest, the way he looks up to Jake as a leader even as he shoulders responsibilities he thinks Jake shouldn’t have to undertake, the way he coldly appreciates Rachel’s warrior aptitude.
This book is a little brutal not just for the massive carnage and death-toll on an aircraft carrier, not just for the threat of a nuclear strike on an American city, not just for the moral dimensions, but simply for the realization that the Animorphs might not be able to win this one. They can always keep fighting, but the Yeerks have no chill, and the Yeerks will always be willing to go that one step further, stoop that one level lower. The very principles the Animorphs are fighting to preserve might be why they ultimately lose this war—and if that is not a terrifying but true commentary on war, I don’t know what is.
The Deception establishes that this war has reached a turning point. Next time, in The Resistance, the Animorphs have to decide if they need to go public with this war.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← #45: The Revelation | #47: The Resistance →
August 7, 2014
We've all been waiting for this. Finally the war is really going to start. Out in the open. Win or lose, we're in it for keeps.
When I was reading this, the people at my work were teasing me for reading children's books. I was dead serious when I told them off. These books are so far beyond the quality of so many adult books that I just want to laugh in their faces.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
This book is ghostwritten by Elise Smith.
Ax points out how "humans are an odd species" because they can change their minds on a moral issue very quickly. It's odd he suggests this is a human quality, because he and other Andalites have done the same thing. Surely he can't be unaware that Andalites also display hypocrisy?
Ax mentions having a vague hope of returning to the Andalite home world after the war on Earth, and entertains notions of starting a family with Estrid. Problem here is that in a previous book he was pretty clear about "not liking" her after some of the things she said about humans, even if he found her attractive. This might not be completely contradictory since people do fall in love with and marry people they don't much like, but it doesn't seem like Ax would want to start a family and raise children with someone who thought it was okay to screw over another species because "they're not us."
It's odd that Rachel would be chosen to be Ax's backup pilot on account of her "nerves of steel" when both Marco and Jake have more experience with flight simulation. Rachel might be brave but she doesn't have experience.
This book mentions again that Andalites have two hearts, further establishing that an earlier book made a mistake when suggesting that Andalites have three.
Rachel uses thought-speak while in her human morph, which is something all of them should be able to do anyway, but earlier books suggest that they cannot. This retcon makes more sense.
It seems ridiculous that Chapman is able to disable Ax and render him unconscious, but then only locks him in a room. Seems much more likely that Chapman should have infested him immediately as that would have given him a morph-capable body and all the "bandits'" knowledge. Instead he leaves him in a room by himself where his natural form can easily escape. That is some poor decision-making.
When I was reading this, the people at my work were teasing me for reading children's books. I was dead serious when I told them off. These books are so far beyond the quality of so many adult books that I just want to laugh in their faces.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
This book is ghostwritten by Elise Smith.
Ax points out how "humans are an odd species" because they can change their minds on a moral issue very quickly. It's odd he suggests this is a human quality, because he and other Andalites have done the same thing. Surely he can't be unaware that Andalites also display hypocrisy?
Ax mentions having a vague hope of returning to the Andalite home world after the war on Earth, and entertains notions of starting a family with Estrid. Problem here is that in a previous book he was pretty clear about "not liking" her after some of the things she said about humans, even if he found her attractive. This might not be completely contradictory since people do fall in love with and marry people they don't much like, but it doesn't seem like Ax would want to start a family and raise children with someone who thought it was okay to screw over another species because "they're not us."
It's odd that Rachel would be chosen to be Ax's backup pilot on account of her "nerves of steel" when both Marco and Jake have more experience with flight simulation. Rachel might be brave but she doesn't have experience.
This book mentions again that Andalites have two hearts, further establishing that an earlier book made a mistake when suggesting that Andalites have three.
Rachel uses thought-speak while in her human morph, which is something all of them should be able to do anyway, but earlier books suggest that they cannot. This retcon makes more sense.
It seems ridiculous that Chapman is able to disable Ax and render him unconscious, but then only locks him in a room. Seems much more likely that Chapman should have infested him immediately as that would have given him a morph-capable body and all the "bandits'" knowledge. Instead he leaves him in a room by himself where his natural form can easily escape. That is some poor decision-making.
January 22, 2022
Come check out my 4 hour 35 minute deep dive into reading every single Animorphs book for the first time on YouTube. I recap and review all of the books from the main series: https://youtu.be/H8kUM2q3CIU
December 29, 2015
Good Lord, this series. Good Lord, the timing of this series. Good Lord, the *ethics* of this series!
So the Yeerks have decided that subtlety is yesterday's news and are kicking the war into high gear, starting with the promotion of Visser Three to Visser One (yeah, I don't get how the power shifts of the Yeerks work, either, since it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for Three to leapfrog Two, but whatever). With the Yeerks moving into the open, the Animorphs have to follow or pull them back into the shadows. But how?
Which leads me to a spoiler cut, because seriously, a lot happens that I don't want to blurt out in the open in case you haven't read this yet. Which you should, especially if you've read this far in the series. And if you haven't yet started the series, you should really do that. Run, do not walk.
So the Yeerks have decided that subtlety is yesterday's news and are kicking the war into high gear, starting with the promotion of Visser Three to Visser One (yeah, I don't get how the power shifts of the Yeerks work, either, since it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for Three to leapfrog Two, but whatever). With the Yeerks moving into the open, the Animorphs have to follow or pull them back into the shadows. But how?
Which leads me to a spoiler cut, because seriously, a lot happens that I don't want to blurt out in the open in case you haven't read this yet. Which you should, especially if you've read this far in the series. And if you haven't yet started the series, you should really do that. Run, do not walk.
October 31, 2013
Ax and the Animorphs discover the Yeerks are planning something so huge they’ve named the plan after the reigning and newly promoted Visser One. While they don’t know what it is, they know they have to stop it. So they rush off in good Animorphs style to throw punches first and ask questions later.
This book… is not a good book. It’s boring, spends way too much time on military stuff, and only really has one plot point and absolutely no denouement. The only plot point is a fight on an aircraft carrier that the Yeerks are trying to use to start World War 3. There isn’t enough detail in the scenes which leaves you to wonder if Ax is walking around in Andalite form wearing pants because he morphs and takes off his shirt but not his pants…
See the full review on The Moonlight Library!
December 7, 2020
Wheeeeee.
We’re still moving at a mile a minute! Important developments:
1. They speak to the Andalite fleet and they are very Andalite-y, in which they refuse to tell the Animorphs that they’ll provide help in the way. In fact, they act like the Animorphs are lying about the severity of the invasion in order to get them to arrive. Dang Andalites.
2. Jake finally decides they have to do whatever needs to happen to win the war, so they steal a fighter jet and morph lots of different people in this book. It all feels a little dirty.
3. A crazy fight ensues at sea, on a naval aircraft carrier. Ax realizes the only way to end the Yeerks’ plan (which is to begin World War III, no lie) it is to steal Visser Two away in a nuke-ready plane and threaten to destroy the Yeerk pool. Ax recommends this plan to Jake. Jakes obvs says hell no, so Ax knocks him out, finds Cassie, asks her to tend to him, then convinces Marco (who realizes Ax has knocked out Jake), Tobias, and Rachel that this is their only option. So they help Ax steal the plane, and luckily Visser Two calls off the Yeerks, meaning that Ax doesn’t have to destroy the Yeerk pool. However, he was ready to do so, and that alone is pretty soul crushing.
How will Jake and Cassie react to this in the next book? 😬
Various quotes time!
Marco, describing Ax: “What I'm not sure of is what this stunt is all about. Is it really about saving human lives? Or about pumping up Andalite glory?>”
And Jake, trying to convince Cassie that it’s okay if they start taking/stealing what they need, morphing humans, etc: “"I know, I know." Jake squeezed Cassie's hands. "But . . . doesn't it always
come down to each one of us, all alone, asking ourselves: Am I right in doing whatever it takes for the greater good? And, do I trust myself enough to know I won't become evil in the process? It always comes down to something that personal."
We’re still moving at a mile a minute! Important developments:
1. They speak to the Andalite fleet and they are very Andalite-y, in which they refuse to tell the Animorphs that they’ll provide help in the way. In fact, they act like the Animorphs are lying about the severity of the invasion in order to get them to arrive. Dang Andalites.
2. Jake finally decides they have to do whatever needs to happen to win the war, so they steal a fighter jet and morph lots of different people in this book. It all feels a little dirty.
3. A crazy fight ensues at sea, on a naval aircraft carrier. Ax realizes the only way to end the Yeerks’ plan (which is to begin World War III, no lie) it is to steal Visser Two away in a nuke-ready plane and threaten to destroy the Yeerk pool. Ax recommends this plan to Jake. Jakes obvs says hell no, so Ax knocks him out, finds Cassie, asks her to tend to him, then convinces Marco (who realizes Ax has knocked out Jake), Tobias, and Rachel that this is their only option. So they help Ax steal the plane, and luckily Visser Two calls off the Yeerks, meaning that Ax doesn’t have to destroy the Yeerk pool. However, he was ready to do so, and that alone is pretty soul crushing.
How will Jake and Cassie react to this in the next book? 😬
Various quotes time!
Marco, describing Ax: “What I'm not sure of is what this stunt is all about. Is it really about saving human lives? Or about pumping up Andalite glory?>”
And Jake, trying to convince Cassie that it’s okay if they start taking/stealing what they need, morphing humans, etc: “"I know, I know." Jake squeezed Cassie's hands. "But . . . doesn't it always
come down to each one of us, all alone, asking ourselves: Am I right in doing whatever it takes for the greater good? And, do I trust myself enough to know I won't become evil in the process? It always comes down to something that personal."
January 21, 2015
WELL I don't even know what to say about this book.
I read a review from Swankivy on here that said: "We've all been waiting for this. Finally the war is really going to start. Out in the open. Win or lose, we're in it for keeps."
That's it. It's starting. I'm scared and nervous and excited all rolled into one.
Quotes:
I read a review from Swankivy on here that said: "We've all been waiting for this. Finally the war is really going to start. Out in the open. Win or lose, we're in it for keeps."
That's it. It's starting. I'm scared and nervous and excited all rolled into one.
Quotes:
June 23, 2022
Ahhhhh it's so good! The Andalite/human belonging angst that Ax feels has been kinda turned on its head - he almost feels like he belongs more to the humans, and yet now he's decided to take the fall for tougher decisions because he's the alien. I love the dynamic with Tobias, Marco, and Rachel helping him. I absolutely love how these characters have different moral codes from each other, and different lines they're willing to cross - not just on a surface level but down deep.
March 3, 2017
okay it is seriously getting real in this one, and I appreciate that this story is told from Ax's POV considering the (questionable?) choices he makes. This is also where the Animorphs start down a slippery slope of compromising their values for the greater good -- doing whatever it takes to win. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out as we start charging toward the finale.
October 18, 2022
This one crammed in a lot of little plots and I feel none of them really blossomed or went anywhere especially swell. Like contacting the Andalites was the cliffhanger from the last book and was almost a nonplot point. Then there was the running around a sub to stop WW3...and it was an exciting end battle scene. But overall a very oddly paced book. Ax did indeed shine as the narrator however.
January 28, 2016
The Animorphs get a Z-space transponder functional, and they are able to get out a communication to the Andalites. However, the results of this communication are not nearly as good as they had hoped for, and they have to cut it short before Bug fighters arrive. Later, Marco, Ax, and Tobias happen to catch a Yeerk transmission and discover that something major is going down in the middle of the ocean. The rules of engagement have changed, and the Animorphs take a course of action they would not previously have taken in order to prevent the new scheme of Vissers One and Two from succeeding. But at what cost will it be?
There are some really long passages that I just couldn't not type up, so this will once again bleed into the comments section.
I would carry the burden.
Quotes and comments:
To be continued in the comments...
There are some really long passages that I just couldn't not type up, so this will once again bleed into the comments section.
I would carry the burden.
Quotes and comments:
To be continued in the comments...
May 29, 2024
It’s the casual attempt to start WW3 and Ax ready to drop a nuclear bomb on the hometown for me
March 28, 2025
Oooooo de etiske barrierene de krysser i denne boka er skikkelig spennende og interessante!
April 16, 2019
A conflicted book, so close to good but not quite there. Ax is a difficult character, too often made into an awkward alien cliché for the sake of comic relief, so I appreciate books that emphasize his role within the Animorphs and his bond to humankind, his conflict with Andalites and his ethical struggles--especially at this ethical turning-point to the series; but this ghostwriter's choppy style, also present in The Reunion (Book 30) and The Weakness (Book 37), is obnoxious and undermines that depth. Thematically this is similarly divided: the scale is phenomenal and continues that beginning-of-the-end escalation and ethical compromise, but it would be more effective if the final dilemma of destroying the Yeerk pool hadn't just come up in The Test (Book 43)--it's insufficiently shocking.
December 3, 2024
Ax saying the death ritual as he’s crashing the plane gets me every time.
March 24, 2022
(I finished this in record time yet my laptop crashed on me so it took a while to get on here to do this so this will be rushed, sorry)
Well, near the end of the run, Ax has been added to the rotation, as has Tobias, instead of them switching out. I think the previous way worked as they are "specialty" characters that work best when their narrations are special occasions. But since it's almost done, we won't have more anyway, so I don't mind this decision. So to close this out, Ax is here.
Our ghostwriter is Elise Donner, who previously did The Reunion. I don't recall how how she was there but I found this was a step down on the writing level. It's simpler, leaning on the short sentences. It works better here due to the action focus but it lacks special flourish usually. It gets the job done at least, just not amazing. (And only one vocab word, and they have to note that it's a big word!)
(Speaking of ghostwriters, this book name drops the tv show "Roswell". That is based on a book series by Melinda Metz, a previous ghostwriter. I see that as a cute wink wink moment)
The story picks up right where we left off, as they manage to call up the Andalite home world. But being Andalites, they aren't sure about helping out. Then we pivot soon after as we find out Visser 3 has been promoted to Visser 1, while Visser 2 finally appears. Yes, you'd think we'd know if there even was a 2 earlier as you'd expect Visser 3 to report to them but ah well.
With this new power, the Yeerks plan to straight up start an assault, less of the subtle stuff. So now the gang has to stop them, mainly by infiltrating a Navvy base.
This is the shortest one at 118 pages, and it feels that. It gets going right away and speeds through, mostly being about action with little downtown. I noticed there's less recap this time, it doesn't go through as much of it. The previous one did too I think, I assume it's because it's the final arc and no one needs the reminder at this point.
The bad side is that it does feel rushed, and the ending is a bit abrupt. It feels more like the end of a chapter than a full book,. I assume the next main book will continue from here, so it's not a big deal for me. I liked this one a fair bit, it went quick and I finished it like 51 or so minutes, again a new record.
I did rush a tad here and there, a bit more than usual, but I tend to do that if it's less talky, and there were tons of mentions of navvy tech and such that went over my head. I like how we go on from last time, seeing, how the events of the last one have changed things big time. Things are different now and we see that further.
Visser 2 is fine, doesn't have much to them beyond being almost as much of a cartoon villain as Vsiser 3, who actually isn't in this. They're fun in that way though.Ax doesn't get too much here, but thankfully we don't repeat his usual Arc. We get a bit of it but at the end we get into him making a choice that is mixed, even for Jake who shoots it down right away. Yet he still makes it, and it ends with him basically being "Well, I'm grounded for life".
It's more of the "tough choices in war" idea, and having it with Ax is big, it works well and was the highlight for me. Aside of that, it's a solid read, but it wasn't anyway too great. It was maybe a bit too simple and rushed here and there, but it makes sense as a action heavy part 2 to our last book. After that one was a bit rushed, I would have hoped for a calmer book this time. Hopefully the next one gives us that.
Overall, not Ax's finest work but it was an easy read with decent action-y stealth, and other highlights. The way it ends makes me interested in the next few as we really ramp up. Not great but it's good.
Now that we're done this, there's only one more book for each narrator, except Jake who gets an extra one before the finale. We're so close, it feels weird. But before that...next time, we get our final special edition book with the last Chronicles. With it, we go way back as finally see the start of our old friend The Ellimist. Oh boy.
See ya then.
Well, near the end of the run, Ax has been added to the rotation, as has Tobias, instead of them switching out. I think the previous way worked as they are "specialty" characters that work best when their narrations are special occasions. But since it's almost done, we won't have more anyway, so I don't mind this decision. So to close this out, Ax is here.
Our ghostwriter is Elise Donner, who previously did The Reunion. I don't recall how how she was there but I found this was a step down on the writing level. It's simpler, leaning on the short sentences. It works better here due to the action focus but it lacks special flourish usually. It gets the job done at least, just not amazing. (And only one vocab word, and they have to note that it's a big word!)
(Speaking of ghostwriters, this book name drops the tv show "Roswell". That is based on a book series by Melinda Metz, a previous ghostwriter. I see that as a cute wink wink moment)
The story picks up right where we left off, as they manage to call up the Andalite home world. But being Andalites, they aren't sure about helping out. Then we pivot soon after as we find out Visser 3 has been promoted to Visser 1, while Visser 2 finally appears. Yes, you'd think we'd know if there even was a 2 earlier as you'd expect Visser 3 to report to them but ah well.
With this new power, the Yeerks plan to straight up start an assault, less of the subtle stuff. So now the gang has to stop them, mainly by infiltrating a Navvy base.
This is the shortest one at 118 pages, and it feels that. It gets going right away and speeds through, mostly being about action with little downtown. I noticed there's less recap this time, it doesn't go through as much of it. The previous one did too I think, I assume it's because it's the final arc and no one needs the reminder at this point.
The bad side is that it does feel rushed, and the ending is a bit abrupt. It feels more like the end of a chapter than a full book,. I assume the next main book will continue from here, so it's not a big deal for me. I liked this one a fair bit, it went quick and I finished it like 51 or so minutes, again a new record.
I did rush a tad here and there, a bit more than usual, but I tend to do that if it's less talky, and there were tons of mentions of navvy tech and such that went over my head. I like how we go on from last time, seeing, how the events of the last one have changed things big time. Things are different now and we see that further.
Visser 2 is fine, doesn't have much to them beyond being almost as much of a cartoon villain as Vsiser 3, who actually isn't in this. They're fun in that way though.Ax doesn't get too much here, but thankfully we don't repeat his usual Arc. We get a bit of it but at the end we get into him making a choice that is mixed, even for Jake who shoots it down right away. Yet he still makes it, and it ends with him basically being "Well, I'm grounded for life".
It's more of the "tough choices in war" idea, and having it with Ax is big, it works well and was the highlight for me. Aside of that, it's a solid read, but it wasn't anyway too great. It was maybe a bit too simple and rushed here and there, but it makes sense as a action heavy part 2 to our last book. After that one was a bit rushed, I would have hoped for a calmer book this time. Hopefully the next one gives us that.
Overall, not Ax's finest work but it was an easy read with decent action-y stealth, and other highlights. The way it ends makes me interested in the next few as we really ramp up. Not great but it's good.
Now that we're done this, there's only one more book for each narrator, except Jake who gets an extra one before the finale. We're so close, it feels weird. But before that...next time, we get our final special edition book with the last Chronicles. With it, we go way back as finally see the start of our old friend The Ellimist. Oh boy.
See ya then.
November 28, 2020
Original review at Jaunts & Haunts
4/5
I gave this book four stars.
This book takes place just seconds after where #45 stopped. The Animorphs have contacted the Andalites, and they need their help in the increasingly bad situation on Earth. Before they can get too cozy, the Yeerks track their location and make them run for the hills, but that's the least of their problems. Thanks to their new Z-Space technology, they learn that there's been a shift of power in the Yeerk ladder, favoring a more hostile takeover of Earth. When Ax learns of a new mission that will almost ensure an easy Yeerk takeover, he and the Animorphs assemble once again and try to thwart this threat. Can they pull this one off, or are they finally beat?
Man oh man, these books are getting really good! I have very few complaints with this book and loved the experience. Crap is getting real on Earth, and things are hanging by a thread.
This time we followed around in Ax's POV. I think that his voice has matured quite a bit over the series, and it was shown well here. The situation he and the Animorphs are in is a nearly impossible one, and I genuinely believed he did all he could to help and went quite a bit further than the others did. I wouldn't necessarily say it was progression, but a worsening of things that warranted challenging the limitations of what he is willing to do to stop the Yeerks. There may be some serious sacrifices to be made.
I think the others were portrayed well, especially with the changing climate of the Yeerk invasion. Again, their altruistic ways could only get them so far, and now that things are getting progressively worse the Animorphs have to make some seriously hard decisions as a group if they want to stop the invasion.
The plot was great. This plot could easily have escalated into a global conflict, so the stakes are insanely high, and I blazed through this book in one go because of how nonstop the action and intrigue was.
The one thing that irked me was the jargon of all the different jets, boats, and weaponry that the army possessed. It was hard to read through as an adult, so I can only imagine how confused kids around the world were when they read these parts.
But in the end, this was a memorable installment of the series that really hit hard. Gone are the days of everyone learning a heartfelt lesson and going home none the wiser. This is war, and it's not going away anytime soon. Sacrifices will have to be made soon, and there will be blood.
Can't wait for the next one!
4/5
I gave this book four stars.
This book takes place just seconds after where #45 stopped. The Animorphs have contacted the Andalites, and they need their help in the increasingly bad situation on Earth. Before they can get too cozy, the Yeerks track their location and make them run for the hills, but that's the least of their problems. Thanks to their new Z-Space technology, they learn that there's been a shift of power in the Yeerk ladder, favoring a more hostile takeover of Earth. When Ax learns of a new mission that will almost ensure an easy Yeerk takeover, he and the Animorphs assemble once again and try to thwart this threat. Can they pull this one off, or are they finally beat?
Man oh man, these books are getting really good! I have very few complaints with this book and loved the experience. Crap is getting real on Earth, and things are hanging by a thread.
This time we followed around in Ax's POV. I think that his voice has matured quite a bit over the series, and it was shown well here. The situation he and the Animorphs are in is a nearly impossible one, and I genuinely believed he did all he could to help and went quite a bit further than the others did. I wouldn't necessarily say it was progression, but a worsening of things that warranted challenging the limitations of what he is willing to do to stop the Yeerks. There may be some serious sacrifices to be made.
I think the others were portrayed well, especially with the changing climate of the Yeerk invasion. Again, their altruistic ways could only get them so far, and now that things are getting progressively worse the Animorphs have to make some seriously hard decisions as a group if they want to stop the invasion.
The plot was great. This plot could easily have escalated into a global conflict, so the stakes are insanely high, and I blazed through this book in one go because of how nonstop the action and intrigue was.
The one thing that irked me was the jargon of all the different jets, boats, and weaponry that the army possessed. It was hard to read through as an adult, so I can only imagine how confused kids around the world were when they read these parts.
But in the end, this was a memorable installment of the series that really hit hard. Gone are the days of everyone learning a heartfelt lesson and going home none the wiser. This is war, and it's not going away anytime soon. Sacrifices will have to be made soon, and there will be blood.
Can't wait for the next one!
July 29, 2022
This story begins with the Animorphs on a call with the Andalites asking for their long-awaited assistance against the Yeerks on earth and to everyone’s surprise, they’re hesitant about extending that assistance.
But there’s a new Visser One and the Yeerks have instigated a new world war.
This installment is chaotic and filled to the brim with horror, death, and needless violence. We watch an influx of innocent lives be put on the line and lost through Ax’s eyes as a difficult decision must be made born out of twisted, last chance attempt at victory for planet earth.
“Billions of human lives versus ten or twenty thousand…”
Ax makes a decision that is so violently Andalite in every way and he’ll hate himself for the rest of his life over it.
Horrifying.
CW: war, violence, mass murder, death, grief, slavery, murder, terrorism
But there’s a new Visser One and the Yeerks have instigated a new world war.
This installment is chaotic and filled to the brim with horror, death, and needless violence. We watch an influx of innocent lives be put on the line and lost through Ax’s eyes as a difficult decision must be made born out of twisted, last chance attempt at victory for planet earth.
“Billions of human lives versus ten or twenty thousand…”
Ax makes a decision that is so violently Andalite in every way and he’ll hate himself for the rest of his life over it.
Horrifying.
CW: war, violence, mass murder, death, grief, slavery, murder, terrorism
June 24, 2023
I’m excited by the story picking up and the Animorphs finding themselves in new situations, but this book was not very well written. It was weirdly obsessive about the details of military hardware and skimped on details of what was happening in the story. As the cover teases, we meet Visser Two but know basically nothing about him, unlike the boat he’s on, about which we know a great deal.
June 29, 2021
FRICK this one was amazing... Like being punched in the heart ten times per page.
Remember in book #31, when Ax insisted he would never torture anyone again? Or book #43, when Cassie refused to do a mission for fear of hurting people?
Yeah.... Those were simpler times.
Remember in book #31, when Ax insisted he would never torture anyone again? Or book #43, when Cassie refused to do a mission for fear of hurting people?
Yeah.... Those were simpler times.
January 19, 2023
NUKES??????
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 26, 2023
holy shit that ending
October 24, 2023
Shits getting real
June 5, 2025
oh my god. I have no words. holy SHIIIIITTT
5 BILLION STARS OUT OF 5
5 BILLION STARS OUT OF 5
April 10, 2023
Prevents WWIII happening between China and the USA by threatening to kill tens of thousands of people with a nuke. A normal Thursday night.
May 9, 2023
If this book is any indication, we're in for a doozy of last novels that further indicate how marred one's sense of right and wrong can become when violent warfare feels like the only choice. These books made me such a pacifist as a kid, I swear.
October 31, 2023
(originally reviewed at
thelibraryladies.com
)
Narrator: Ax
Plot: Another “beginning of the end” book where we see the start of the expansion of what, to this point, has been a very small war up on to a much larger, global scale. And poor Ax really embraces his role as being of two people and what that means, and it’s just rough.
Poor Ax, with the worst choices of all.
The story picks up right off the back of the last with the Animorphs reaching out to the Andalites. In no surprise to anyone, even, notably, Ax himself at this point, the Andalites are huge dicks and immediately question the validity of the information the Animorphs are providing about the Yeerks preparation for the Andalite fleet. They accuse the Animorphs of potentially just trying to make things up to re-direct the Andalite fleet back towards helping Earth. Ax even gets on at one point and they say that while they’ll take what he says “under consideration,” he “might have confused his loyalties” by all of this time on Earth at this point, so they can’t completely trust him. Again, Andalites, showing their true colors as just the worst (all the more so for always strutting around claiming to be the best).
Later, Ax, Marco and Tobias overhear a garble report from the Yeerks on the transmitter. Ax manages to hack the transmitter into the NSA computer system and with its greater power is able to more fully receive the full Yeerk report: Visser Two is on his way to Earth to begin to put Visser Three’s (now Visser One) more grand plans into action. They overhear a set of coordinates and immediately need to make a plan.
They discover that the location is far out over the Pacific Ocean, and with the short amount of time before the plan, whatever it may be, is set to be put in motion, they won’t have time to make it out there using any of their morphs. This sets off the moral debate about whether or not they’ve finally reached the point where they will need to compromise on their general practice of not morphing humans. Cassie protests, but Jake is able to convince her that by this point in the war, they have to make these tough choices.
They make their way to an air force base and there Rachel and Ax knock out two pilots, morph them, and commandeer a fighter jet. The other morph flea and hang on for the ride, their small bodies able to survive the increased pressure from the incredible speeds the jet reaches. They make their way out to a large nuclear carrier ship in the middle of the ocean. But by the time they’ve gotten there, the original pilots have been discovered and everyone is on high alert. Ax manages to execute a controlled crash into the ocean and they all morph seagulls and make their way to the ship.
Jake, it turns out, has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of huge military ships like this, and using this information, they infiltrate the ship with Ax morphing another human sailor and making his way around. The problem is: they don’t know what they’re looking for! Until they spot some new arrivals who include a familiar face: Chapman. Alongside an officer called Admiral Carrington who they quickly discover is Visser Two, Chapman approaches the ship’s captain and says they have a special delivery for him. Ax slips two of the roach!Animorphs into the captain’s pocket and they are able to get in the room with him, but they are too late and the captain is infested. Ax and the others go to battle morphs to try and help, witnessed by several sailors around them. They barge in and Ax upends the portable Yeerk pool. In the madness, human soldiers barge in and the Animorphs have to bail to avoid hurting innocents.
Cassie and Ax end up together and Ax once more morphs his human sailor morph and, with Cassie on board, makes his way through the ship to an information deck that Jake had mentioned. There, they overhear an announcement of an incoming Chinese missile which shortly after hits with a massive explosion. Ax is quick to put together the Yeerk plot: they are planning on setting off WWIII by instigating a war between the Chinese and the U.S. Ax frantically calls out to Jake who orders him to do whatever he has to to reverse the admiral and captain’s orders to retaliate. Ax shoots the admiral/Visser Two in the leg. When the medics arrive to take him to medical bay, Ax follows them and quickly knocks them out when they are in a private room. He acquires the admiral and returns to the control center where he orders the captain to reverse the order for a counter attack.
Chapman and the captain return to the room where Visser Two is lying, but the room is now also full of the rest of the Animorphs in their battle morphs. They demand to know what the rest of the plan is. In the way of any true villain, Visser Two immediately spills the rest of the plan: in a few hours, the US will hear that the ship has been attacked by the Chinese, and a specific sub, manned by Yeerks, will set out with a nuclear weapon to attack China. They try to threaten Visser Two into telling them which sub is the one controlled, but Visser Two is a true believer and zealously wackadoodle with his visions of Yeerk glory and refuses to tell them.
They are interrupted by the arrival of a bunch of Bug Fighters carrying Hork Bajir. Pandemonium breaks out on the ship with the human crew fighting against the Controlled crew and the alien invaders. Several members of the crew begin to recognize that the Earth animals that have suddenly appeared on the ship are fighting on their side and try to team up with the Animorphs. However, they are all badly outnumbered and it is hard to tell which humans are Controlled and which aren’t in the madness. In the madness, Visser Two escapes.
Ax sets off through the battle to track him down. To do so, he decides to follow Chapman and to do that, he gets another human morph, this time asking the individual in question who quickly agrees. He tracks down Chapman and, holding him at gun point, tries to get him to reveal the location of Visser Two. But before he can make much progress, he gets knocked out. He comes to, returns to his Andalite body, and makes his way back through the ship where he discovers the dying Captain. The Yeerk slithers out, but Ax knows it won’t make it far. The Captain says he tried to fight it, and Ax reassures him that he did all he could and stays with him until he dies.
Ax meets up with Tobias who has also acquired another human morph. All around them, the battle is being lost, with more and more of the ship falling under Yeerk control and the real humans being massacred. They meet up with the others and debate what to do, knowing that Visser Two, in his mania, can’t be threatened into revealing the Yeerk-controlled sub.
It’s at this point that Ax realizes the only way forward and privately thought speaks Jake. He tells him that in this situation, they only threat that could work against Visser Two is a threat against the Yeerk pool itself. And fighter jets on the ship has some pretty strong bombs…Jake is horrified, knowing that they’d have to kill thousands of humans to drop a bomb through the middle of their city to reach the Yeerk pool. Ax realizes that Jake can’t make this decision, but he, Ax, the alien and outsider, can. He knocks Jake out and tells Cassie that he’s been injured.
He spots Visser Two and calls out to Rachel, Tobias and Marco that he needs there help; he needs to steal a plane and Visser Two needs to be one it with him. Tobias and Rachel don’t stop to question him, but Marco is suspicious asking not only where Jake is but what Ax plans on doing once he’s in a plane with Visser Two.
And that plane is carrying a nuke. I saw it being fitted up by some of the visser’s
men.>
Ax acknowledges that he and Marco have not always trusted each other, but that he, Ax, knows that Marco has always been one to put the mission first, to do what needs to be done in the face of horrible choices. Rachel looks to Marco, and Tobias looks away. Marco finally agrees to help, asking whether they ever really had any choices in this war.
With Marco, Tobias and Rachel’s help, Ax manages to get Visser Two on a plane and take off, right as Cassie and Jake run up. In the plane, Ax lays out the situation for Visser Two: either contact the submarine and have it stand down, or he will drop a nuke on the Yeerk Pool. At the very last moment, Visser Two agrees and Ax lets him use the radio to contact the submarine. He releases Visser Two and makes his way home, wondering how he will be received by his friends.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: This is a big book for Ax, with a lot of important notes for his character. One of the smallest ones, but one I still found interesting, was seeing just how far Ax has come in his understanding of human behavior. Throughout this story, instead of the general confusion and bewilderment at “strange humans” like we’ve seen in past books, instead we saw more and more evidence of how thoroughly Ax has come to understand humanity. From little things like know what rhetorical questions are and even using them himself, to larger things like being able to imagine facial expressions alongside comments made by his friends while in morph, thus increasing his knowledge of what is truly being communicated beyond the words themselves.
We also see in the very beginning of the book how much Ax has had to readjust his perceptions of his own people. He’s no longer completely surprised by the Andalites’ poor response to pleas for help from him and his friends. And, when asked by Jake later, he admits to not knowing whether the Andalites will ultimately listen to their warning.
Throughout the story, we hear more and more about how much Ax now sees himself as both Andalite and human. He is horrified by the evils of each race, but also loyal and and values them both as well. The destruction on the ship and loss of human life hurts him just as much as it does the others. But then, in the end, he also realizes the unique role he has come to inhabit on the team. He has adopted humanity as his own, but he is also still an alien, still the only one capable of making a decision such as the one to drop a nuke on the Yeerk Pool. That being the case, however, we see how much this decision tears him apart. Marco accuses him of perhaps doing it for Andalite glory, but as a reader, inside of Ax’s head, we see how terrible this decision weighs on him the entire time. And, given that Marco, Rachel, and Tobias ultimately agree to help him, we have to imagine they sense that his real reasons are still in the right place: trying to avoid WWIII.
Our Fearless Leader: It’s pretty lucky/convenient that Jake has so much knowledge of the layout and organization of a massive battleship like the one they end up on. But on the other hand, as someone who has been leading an underground war for years now, it’s also probably not surprising that he may have spent his down time researching other military avenues.
The moment between Ax and Jake where Ax brings up the suggestion to bomb the Yeerk Pool is exceptionally good. We see that while Jake has come far in his ruthlessness and willingness to bend moral lines to do what needs to be done, he still has a pretty hard and fast line with regards to the loss of human life. Ax, to his credit, is quick to realize this as well and to even conclude that it hadn’t been right of him to even ask or expect Jake to be able to grapple with a decision like this. This is pretty close to the end of the series, and I think from here on out, Jake’s progress down this ruthless path goes faster and faster.
Xena, Warrior Princess: Rachel doesn’t have a whole lot in this one. Of course, she’s in on the action the entire time and is chosen to be the other Animorph to morph another person to operate the fighter jet with Ax in the beginning. Ax mentions that she was elected to this role for her “nerves of steel,” since the incredible speeds of the plane would be pretty intimidating to most. It’s also worth noting that in the end, when confronted with Ax’s plan, she looks to Marco to make the ultimate decision about whether they will help Ax.
A Hawk’s Life: Tobias, too, doesn’t have much other than his involvement in Ax’s plan in the end. Looking at the three who end up involved in this, I think it makes a lot of sense. Of the entire team, Rachel, Tobias and Marco have a pretty solid history of making big, often ruthless decisions. Let it not be forgotten that Tobias and Ax were the ones to ultimately decide the fate of an entire alien species back in Megamorphs #2.
Peace, Love, and Animals: One of the more notable moments for Cassie came with the discussion about morphing humans. She immediately resists the idea, but Jake is able to convince her that it has to be done (though, notably, she doesn’t do it herself). She also says that Jake is the only one she would trust to know if the time has come where this type of moral compromise is truly necessary.
The Comic Relief: As I said, it makes sense that Marco, Tobias, and Rachel end up being the three to ultimately decide to go with Ax’s plan. It’s also great seeing just how quickly Marco figures out what is going on. Ax even notes that he had prepped for Marco to ask where Jake was, but even with that prep, Marco jumps immediately to the correct conclusion about Ax’s use of the plane as well. It’s interesting to see Marco accuse Ax of potentially doing this for Andalite glory. Being in Ax’s head, especially in this book, we’ve seen the transformation he’s underwent with regards to the naivety he used to have about his own people. We see how much he values Earth and sees the Animorphs as his family. But from an outsider’s perspective, especially someone as naturally cynical and suspicious as Marco, it’s interesting to note that a motivation like this could still be assigned to him. But Ax’s direct reasoning, that WWIII can not be allowed to happen, is exactly the sort of Point A to Point B line of thinking that would resonate with someone like Marco.
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: There wasn’t a whole lot as far as body horror goes in this one, other than your usual morph descriptions. I will say that it’s interesting to see just how “all-in” they went on the morphing humans thing once they decided that was the way to go. Ax ends up acquiring something like three human morphs over this entire book, and he’s the one of them that even has a human morph already that couldn’t be traced (though, of course, the fact that he’s a kid would stand out). And then Tobias and Rachel each morph people. Rachel’s makes sense, but I’m not sure that Tobias really had to. It almost seems a bit too easy, morally speaking. Like once they got the go-ahead, any moral qualms were immediately out of the window, making it seem like the only one who truly cared about this particular issue was Cassie herself. The others just start morphing people willy-nilly.
Couples Watch!: Not a whole lot in this one, unsurprisingly given it’s an Ax book. Marco notes at one point, after riling Rachel up, that he doesn’t know how Tobias does it. And, of course, we see Cassie’s trust in Jake’s judgement when he gets her to agree to them using human morphs.
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: Whelp, it has happened: Visser Three has become Visser One. And we get the introduction of yet another Visser, Visser Two. For the most part, he’s played for pretty comical effect. I mean, the title of this topic area pretty much fits him perfectly. He immediately reveals the Yeerks’ entire plan under very little pressure. And he randomly starts saluting and genuflecting throughout his various speeches about the coming glory. For all of this, he’s also set up as a pretty unmovable foe as far as being threatened into giving up any real advantages. Unlike Visser Three who values his own life above anything, it’s made pretty clear that Visser Two would die before giving up the submarine, which ultimately forces Ax’s hand at the end to take things to a much more extreme level.
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: There are a handful of pretty sad scenes in the last third of the book when we see the poor human sailors fighting against the Hork Bajir. Ax’s own encounter with the dying captain, and his last words essentially trying to apologize for everything, was pretty heart breaking. But there’s also another scene where at one point a sailor solutes gorilla!Marco, having noted that the Earth animals seem to be on their side. And later in the battle, Ax spots Marco kneeling over the body of this same soldier. Scenes like these also prompt Ax further into action, as well as the others, who all see how badly this individual battle is being lost and are, for the first time, losing fellow human fighters alongside them.
What a Terrible Plan, Guys!: A lot of people see them morph in this book. Like…a lot. Pretty much immediately it seems they all throw caution to the wind and start morphing/demoprhing in front of pretty much anyone. I don’t get this! For one, it’s pretty well established that they don’t know who is Controlled and who is not. And for two, it’s also pretty well assumed that almost everyone will be eventually Controlled once the Yeerks show up and start laying the smack down. So all of those people who saw kids morphing…not only is now really obvious that its humans morphing, but after the close call with Marco in the last book, it’d be really easy to figure out the exact identity of these kids. Obviously, the whole secrecy thing is going to go out the window pretty quickly now, but the Animorphs themselves have no reason to assume this, so their lack of caution is pretty strange.
The other really strange thing is the idea that somehow preventing the Yeerk-staffed sub from launching an counter attack will do much to stop a domino fall that’s already been started. I mean, it would already be communicated back to who knows how many bases that the Chinese attacked this ship. So…isn’t the mission already successful for the Yeerks? Theoretically, the US on its own would launch a counter attack, no need for a Yeerks-only sub at all!
Favorite Quote:
This line from Jake to Cassie when they are discussing the morality of morphing humans is a pretty good summation of the general thought-process/experience of every one of the Animorphs that we witness playing out in each of their books in the entire series:
“But…doesn’t it always come down to each one of us, all alone, asking ourselves: Am I right in doing whatever it takes for the greater good?
...
(Full review on the blog)
Narrator: Ax
Plot: Another “beginning of the end” book where we see the start of the expansion of what, to this point, has been a very small war up on to a much larger, global scale. And poor Ax really embraces his role as being of two people and what that means, and it’s just rough.
Poor Ax, with the worst choices of all.
The story picks up right off the back of the last with the Animorphs reaching out to the Andalites. In no surprise to anyone, even, notably, Ax himself at this point, the Andalites are huge dicks and immediately question the validity of the information the Animorphs are providing about the Yeerks preparation for the Andalite fleet. They accuse the Animorphs of potentially just trying to make things up to re-direct the Andalite fleet back towards helping Earth. Ax even gets on at one point and they say that while they’ll take what he says “under consideration,” he “might have confused his loyalties” by all of this time on Earth at this point, so they can’t completely trust him. Again, Andalites, showing their true colors as just the worst (all the more so for always strutting around claiming to be the best).
Later, Ax, Marco and Tobias overhear a garble report from the Yeerks on the transmitter. Ax manages to hack the transmitter into the NSA computer system and with its greater power is able to more fully receive the full Yeerk report: Visser Two is on his way to Earth to begin to put Visser Three’s (now Visser One) more grand plans into action. They overhear a set of coordinates and immediately need to make a plan.
They discover that the location is far out over the Pacific Ocean, and with the short amount of time before the plan, whatever it may be, is set to be put in motion, they won’t have time to make it out there using any of their morphs. This sets off the moral debate about whether or not they’ve finally reached the point where they will need to compromise on their general practice of not morphing humans. Cassie protests, but Jake is able to convince her that by this point in the war, they have to make these tough choices.
They make their way to an air force base and there Rachel and Ax knock out two pilots, morph them, and commandeer a fighter jet. The other morph flea and hang on for the ride, their small bodies able to survive the increased pressure from the incredible speeds the jet reaches. They make their way out to a large nuclear carrier ship in the middle of the ocean. But by the time they’ve gotten there, the original pilots have been discovered and everyone is on high alert. Ax manages to execute a controlled crash into the ocean and they all morph seagulls and make their way to the ship.
Jake, it turns out, has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of huge military ships like this, and using this information, they infiltrate the ship with Ax morphing another human sailor and making his way around. The problem is: they don’t know what they’re looking for! Until they spot some new arrivals who include a familiar face: Chapman. Alongside an officer called Admiral Carrington who they quickly discover is Visser Two, Chapman approaches the ship’s captain and says they have a special delivery for him. Ax slips two of the roach!Animorphs into the captain’s pocket and they are able to get in the room with him, but they are too late and the captain is infested. Ax and the others go to battle morphs to try and help, witnessed by several sailors around them. They barge in and Ax upends the portable Yeerk pool. In the madness, human soldiers barge in and the Animorphs have to bail to avoid hurting innocents.
Cassie and Ax end up together and Ax once more morphs his human sailor morph and, with Cassie on board, makes his way through the ship to an information deck that Jake had mentioned. There, they overhear an announcement of an incoming Chinese missile which shortly after hits with a massive explosion. Ax is quick to put together the Yeerk plot: they are planning on setting off WWIII by instigating a war between the Chinese and the U.S. Ax frantically calls out to Jake who orders him to do whatever he has to to reverse the admiral and captain’s orders to retaliate. Ax shoots the admiral/Visser Two in the leg. When the medics arrive to take him to medical bay, Ax follows them and quickly knocks them out when they are in a private room. He acquires the admiral and returns to the control center where he orders the captain to reverse the order for a counter attack.
Chapman and the captain return to the room where Visser Two is lying, but the room is now also full of the rest of the Animorphs in their battle morphs. They demand to know what the rest of the plan is. In the way of any true villain, Visser Two immediately spills the rest of the plan: in a few hours, the US will hear that the ship has been attacked by the Chinese, and a specific sub, manned by Yeerks, will set out with a nuclear weapon to attack China. They try to threaten Visser Two into telling them which sub is the one controlled, but Visser Two is a true believer and zealously wackadoodle with his visions of Yeerk glory and refuses to tell them.
They are interrupted by the arrival of a bunch of Bug Fighters carrying Hork Bajir. Pandemonium breaks out on the ship with the human crew fighting against the Controlled crew and the alien invaders. Several members of the crew begin to recognize that the Earth animals that have suddenly appeared on the ship are fighting on their side and try to team up with the Animorphs. However, they are all badly outnumbered and it is hard to tell which humans are Controlled and which aren’t in the madness. In the madness, Visser Two escapes.
Ax sets off through the battle to track him down. To do so, he decides to follow Chapman and to do that, he gets another human morph, this time asking the individual in question who quickly agrees. He tracks down Chapman and, holding him at gun point, tries to get him to reveal the location of Visser Two. But before he can make much progress, he gets knocked out. He comes to, returns to his Andalite body, and makes his way back through the ship where he discovers the dying Captain. The Yeerk slithers out, but Ax knows it won’t make it far. The Captain says he tried to fight it, and Ax reassures him that he did all he could and stays with him until he dies.
Ax meets up with Tobias who has also acquired another human morph. All around them, the battle is being lost, with more and more of the ship falling under Yeerk control and the real humans being massacred. They meet up with the others and debate what to do, knowing that Visser Two, in his mania, can’t be threatened into revealing the Yeerk-controlled sub.
It’s at this point that Ax realizes the only way forward and privately thought speaks Jake. He tells him that in this situation, they only threat that could work against Visser Two is a threat against the Yeerk pool itself. And fighter jets on the ship has some pretty strong bombs…Jake is horrified, knowing that they’d have to kill thousands of humans to drop a bomb through the middle of their city to reach the Yeerk pool. Ax realizes that Jake can’t make this decision, but he, Ax, the alien and outsider, can. He knocks Jake out and tells Cassie that he’s been injured.
He spots Visser Two and calls out to Rachel, Tobias and Marco that he needs there help; he needs to steal a plane and Visser Two needs to be one it with him. Tobias and Rachel don’t stop to question him, but Marco is suspicious asking not only where Jake is but what Ax plans on doing once he’s in a plane with Visser Two.
And that plane is carrying a nuke. I saw it being fitted up by some of the visser’s
men.>
Ax acknowledges that he and Marco have not always trusted each other, but that he, Ax, knows that Marco has always been one to put the mission first, to do what needs to be done in the face of horrible choices. Rachel looks to Marco, and Tobias looks away. Marco finally agrees to help, asking whether they ever really had any choices in this war.
With Marco, Tobias and Rachel’s help, Ax manages to get Visser Two on a plane and take off, right as Cassie and Jake run up. In the plane, Ax lays out the situation for Visser Two: either contact the submarine and have it stand down, or he will drop a nuke on the Yeerk Pool. At the very last moment, Visser Two agrees and Ax lets him use the radio to contact the submarine. He releases Visser Two and makes his way home, wondering how he will be received by his friends.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: This is a big book for Ax, with a lot of important notes for his character. One of the smallest ones, but one I still found interesting, was seeing just how far Ax has come in his understanding of human behavior. Throughout this story, instead of the general confusion and bewilderment at “strange humans” like we’ve seen in past books, instead we saw more and more evidence of how thoroughly Ax has come to understand humanity. From little things like know what rhetorical questions are and even using them himself, to larger things like being able to imagine facial expressions alongside comments made by his friends while in morph, thus increasing his knowledge of what is truly being communicated beyond the words themselves.
We also see in the very beginning of the book how much Ax has had to readjust his perceptions of his own people. He’s no longer completely surprised by the Andalites’ poor response to pleas for help from him and his friends. And, when asked by Jake later, he admits to not knowing whether the Andalites will ultimately listen to their warning.
Throughout the story, we hear more and more about how much Ax now sees himself as both Andalite and human. He is horrified by the evils of each race, but also loyal and and values them both as well. The destruction on the ship and loss of human life hurts him just as much as it does the others. But then, in the end, he also realizes the unique role he has come to inhabit on the team. He has adopted humanity as his own, but he is also still an alien, still the only one capable of making a decision such as the one to drop a nuke on the Yeerk Pool. That being the case, however, we see how much this decision tears him apart. Marco accuses him of perhaps doing it for Andalite glory, but as a reader, inside of Ax’s head, we see how terrible this decision weighs on him the entire time. And, given that Marco, Rachel, and Tobias ultimately agree to help him, we have to imagine they sense that his real reasons are still in the right place: trying to avoid WWIII.
Our Fearless Leader: It’s pretty lucky/convenient that Jake has so much knowledge of the layout and organization of a massive battleship like the one they end up on. But on the other hand, as someone who has been leading an underground war for years now, it’s also probably not surprising that he may have spent his down time researching other military avenues.
The moment between Ax and Jake where Ax brings up the suggestion to bomb the Yeerk Pool is exceptionally good. We see that while Jake has come far in his ruthlessness and willingness to bend moral lines to do what needs to be done, he still has a pretty hard and fast line with regards to the loss of human life. Ax, to his credit, is quick to realize this as well and to even conclude that it hadn’t been right of him to even ask or expect Jake to be able to grapple with a decision like this. This is pretty close to the end of the series, and I think from here on out, Jake’s progress down this ruthless path goes faster and faster.
Xena, Warrior Princess: Rachel doesn’t have a whole lot in this one. Of course, she’s in on the action the entire time and is chosen to be the other Animorph to morph another person to operate the fighter jet with Ax in the beginning. Ax mentions that she was elected to this role for her “nerves of steel,” since the incredible speeds of the plane would be pretty intimidating to most. It’s also worth noting that in the end, when confronted with Ax’s plan, she looks to Marco to make the ultimate decision about whether they will help Ax.
A Hawk’s Life: Tobias, too, doesn’t have much other than his involvement in Ax’s plan in the end. Looking at the three who end up involved in this, I think it makes a lot of sense. Of the entire team, Rachel, Tobias and Marco have a pretty solid history of making big, often ruthless decisions. Let it not be forgotten that Tobias and Ax were the ones to ultimately decide the fate of an entire alien species back in Megamorphs #2.
Peace, Love, and Animals: One of the more notable moments for Cassie came with the discussion about morphing humans. She immediately resists the idea, but Jake is able to convince her that it has to be done (though, notably, she doesn’t do it herself). She also says that Jake is the only one she would trust to know if the time has come where this type of moral compromise is truly necessary.
The Comic Relief: As I said, it makes sense that Marco, Tobias, and Rachel end up being the three to ultimately decide to go with Ax’s plan. It’s also great seeing just how quickly Marco figures out what is going on. Ax even notes that he had prepped for Marco to ask where Jake was, but even with that prep, Marco jumps immediately to the correct conclusion about Ax’s use of the plane as well. It’s interesting to see Marco accuse Ax of potentially doing this for Andalite glory. Being in Ax’s head, especially in this book, we’ve seen the transformation he’s underwent with regards to the naivety he used to have about his own people. We see how much he values Earth and sees the Animorphs as his family. But from an outsider’s perspective, especially someone as naturally cynical and suspicious as Marco, it’s interesting to note that a motivation like this could still be assigned to him. But Ax’s direct reasoning, that WWIII can not be allowed to happen, is exactly the sort of Point A to Point B line of thinking that would resonate with someone like Marco.
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: There wasn’t a whole lot as far as body horror goes in this one, other than your usual morph descriptions. I will say that it’s interesting to see just how “all-in” they went on the morphing humans thing once they decided that was the way to go. Ax ends up acquiring something like three human morphs over this entire book, and he’s the one of them that even has a human morph already that couldn’t be traced (though, of course, the fact that he’s a kid would stand out). And then Tobias and Rachel each morph people. Rachel’s makes sense, but I’m not sure that Tobias really had to. It almost seems a bit too easy, morally speaking. Like once they got the go-ahead, any moral qualms were immediately out of the window, making it seem like the only one who truly cared about this particular issue was Cassie herself. The others just start morphing people willy-nilly.
Couples Watch!: Not a whole lot in this one, unsurprisingly given it’s an Ax book. Marco notes at one point, after riling Rachel up, that he doesn’t know how Tobias does it. And, of course, we see Cassie’s trust in Jake’s judgement when he gets her to agree to them using human morphs.
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: Whelp, it has happened: Visser Three has become Visser One. And we get the introduction of yet another Visser, Visser Two. For the most part, he’s played for pretty comical effect. I mean, the title of this topic area pretty much fits him perfectly. He immediately reveals the Yeerks’ entire plan under very little pressure. And he randomly starts saluting and genuflecting throughout his various speeches about the coming glory. For all of this, he’s also set up as a pretty unmovable foe as far as being threatened into giving up any real advantages. Unlike Visser Three who values his own life above anything, it’s made pretty clear that Visser Two would die before giving up the submarine, which ultimately forces Ax’s hand at the end to take things to a much more extreme level.
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: There are a handful of pretty sad scenes in the last third of the book when we see the poor human sailors fighting against the Hork Bajir. Ax’s own encounter with the dying captain, and his last words essentially trying to apologize for everything, was pretty heart breaking. But there’s also another scene where at one point a sailor solutes gorilla!Marco, having noted that the Earth animals seem to be on their side. And later in the battle, Ax spots Marco kneeling over the body of this same soldier. Scenes like these also prompt Ax further into action, as well as the others, who all see how badly this individual battle is being lost and are, for the first time, losing fellow human fighters alongside them.
What a Terrible Plan, Guys!: A lot of people see them morph in this book. Like…a lot. Pretty much immediately it seems they all throw caution to the wind and start morphing/demoprhing in front of pretty much anyone. I don’t get this! For one, it’s pretty well established that they don’t know who is Controlled and who is not. And for two, it’s also pretty well assumed that almost everyone will be eventually Controlled once the Yeerks show up and start laying the smack down. So all of those people who saw kids morphing…not only is now really obvious that its humans morphing, but after the close call with Marco in the last book, it’d be really easy to figure out the exact identity of these kids. Obviously, the whole secrecy thing is going to go out the window pretty quickly now, but the Animorphs themselves have no reason to assume this, so their lack of caution is pretty strange.
The other really strange thing is the idea that somehow preventing the Yeerk-staffed sub from launching an counter attack will do much to stop a domino fall that’s already been started. I mean, it would already be communicated back to who knows how many bases that the Chinese attacked this ship. So…isn’t the mission already successful for the Yeerks? Theoretically, the US on its own would launch a counter attack, no need for a Yeerks-only sub at all!
Favorite Quote:
This line from Jake to Cassie when they are discussing the morality of morphing humans is a pretty good summation of the general thought-process/experience of every one of the Animorphs that we witness playing out in each of their books in the entire series:
“But…doesn’t it always come down to each one of us, all alone, asking ourselves: Am I right in doing whatever it takes for the greater good?
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(Full review on the blog)
February 22, 2024
Poor Ax :(
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