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Animorphs #30
The Reunion
Marco's mom is back. But she's not Visser One anymore. Marco's not even sure if she's still a Controller. But he's determined to find out. No matter what it takes. No matter what might happen. Marco wants his mom back.
Jake, the other Animorphs, and Ax realize that Marco is under some serious stress. And that the situation with his mom could very well jeopardize everything they've worked for. Now they also have to wonder if Marco will be the one to give away the secret of the Animorphs. . . .
Jake, the other Animorphs, and Ax realize that Marco is under some serious stress. And that the situation with his mom could very well jeopardize everything they've worked for. Now they also have to wonder if Marco will be the one to give away the secret of the Animorphs. . . .
156 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1999
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927 people want to read
About the author
K.A. Applegate
251 books486 followersalso published under the name Katherine Applegate
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 185 reviews
May 14, 2015
Ghostwriter: Elise Donner.
Oh, oh, my heart. I want to cling to Donner forever. This book is the most quintessential & perfect Marco book. It's a follow-up to #15 The Escape (and can I just say, I love how these books are revisiting old ones, picking up on recurring storylines and pushing arcs forward), bringing back Marco's mother: Visser One is back and has found out about the existence of the free Hork-Bajir colony, and the Animorphs need to find a way to deal with her.
I highlighted so many quotes from this one. It's a high-stakes mission with a lot of exciting twists-and-turns, but it's also immensely character-driven, the perfect exploration of Marco's complex characterisation. He's compromised, hopelessly compromised by this mission, and almost breaks it at one point -- but then he gets himself together, and comes up with a plan to take down both Vissers One and Three at the same time. He steps into Jake's shoes, having to call the shots and lead the Animorphs and take point. This book also brings us this quote, which is one of my absolute favourites:
Marco has always been their strategist and pragmatist, but nowadays, the word ruthless is being applied to him more and more. It's an illustration of what this war has done to him, that he's able to make these value judgments. He's able to make the tough calls, the ones led by logic and the bigger picture. This is a spoiler, but whatever: at the end of the book, he is willing to, and actually does try to kill his own mother. He would have done it. He essentially pulled the trigger. It would have happened.
He did it.
And this is one of the reasons I'm now bumping this series up to "young adult". Because if it wasn't obvious in the previous Megamorphs that they've crossed a line, this definitely does it. This is some dark, awful shit. It's a commentary on the necessary evil, the lengths which they have to go to win this war, to put aside the personal. This book breaks my heart.
Oh, oh, my heart. I want to cling to Donner forever. This book is the most quintessential & perfect Marco book. It's a follow-up to #15 The Escape (and can I just say, I love how these books are revisiting old ones, picking up on recurring storylines and pushing arcs forward), bringing back Marco's mother: Visser One is back and has found out about the existence of the free Hork-Bajir colony, and the Animorphs need to find a way to deal with her.
I highlighted so many quotes from this one. It's a high-stakes mission with a lot of exciting twists-and-turns, but it's also immensely character-driven, the perfect exploration of Marco's complex characterisation. He's compromised, hopelessly compromised by this mission, and almost breaks it at one point -- but then he gets himself together, and comes up with a plan to take down both Vissers One and Three at the same time. He steps into Jake's shoes, having to call the shots and lead the Animorphs and take point. This book also brings us this quote, which is one of my absolute favourites:
People don’t understand the word ruthless. They think it means ‘mean.’
It’s not about being mean. It’s about seeing the bright, clear line that leads from A to B. The line that goes from motive to means. Beginning to end. It’s about seeing that bright, clear line and not caring about anything but the beautiful fact that you can see the solution. Not caring about anything else but the perfection of it.
Marco has always been their strategist and pragmatist, but nowadays, the word ruthless is being applied to him more and more. It's an illustration of what this war has done to him, that he's able to make these value judgments. He's able to make the tough calls, the ones led by logic and the bigger picture. This is a spoiler, but whatever: at the end of the book, he is willing to, and actually does try to kill his own mother. He would have done it. He essentially pulled the trigger. It would have happened.
He did it.
And this is one of the reasons I'm now bumping this series up to "young adult". Because if it wasn't obvious in the previous Megamorphs that they've crossed a line, this definitely does it. This is some dark, awful shit. It's a commentary on the necessary evil, the lengths which they have to go to win this war, to put aside the personal. This book breaks my heart.
Around and around, as the hours ticked away. As exhaustion sank deep into my bones.
Someday, if we won, if humanity survived, we'd be in the history books.
Me and Jake and Rachel and Cassie and Tobias and Ax. They'd be household names, like generals from World War II or the Civil War. Patton and Eisenhower, Ulysses Grant and Robert E. Lee. Kids would study us in school. Bored, probably.
And then the teacher would tell the story of Marco. I'd be a part of history. What I was about to do.
Some kid would laugh. Some kid would say, "Cold, man. That was really cold."
I had to do it, kid. It was a war. It's the whole point, you stupid, smug, smirking little jerk! Don't you get it? It was the whole point. We hurt the innocent in order to stop the evil.
Innocent Hork-Bajir. Innocent Taxxons. Innocent human-Controllers.
How else to stop the Yeerks? How else to win?
No choice, you punk. We did what we had to do.
"Cold, man. The Marco dude? He was just cold."
July 12, 2016
The Animorphs series is many things over its 54+ book run. At times it is moving, heart-wrenching in its portrayal of the cost of war. At times it is humorous, heart-warming in its depictions of compassion in the face of hatred and misunderstanding.
At times it reaches into very dark places and confronts us with images that sear themselves into your soul.
I’m not trying to be dramatic. Well, maybe a little. But #30: The Reunion is a very special book. Previous Marco books are notable for Marco’s trademark adolescent humour. He has a “class clown” vibe; he makes the groaner jokes that you nevertheless laugh at, because he’s just so earnestly dorky in his clownishness. And while these books hinted at the steel within, it isn’t really until this book that we understand the lengths to which he will go.
Here’s one of those images that seared:
That’s messed up. That’s some straight-up horror movie shit.
The ship has sailed on whether Animorphs is YA at this point—they’ve covered some dark road in the past, what with trapping David in morph, and the amount of emotional and physical trauma the various Animorphs have endured. Applegate is not pulling punches here.
But it’s easy to forget the visceral experience—especially when one is re-reading this series, especially in electronic form. As I’ve mentioned previously, neither Applegate’s nor her ghostwriters’ writing is of the most complex nature. It is tempting to skim through parts of the book, and I find it’s easier to do that in an ebook than on paper. But then you get hit with something like the above, and you have to stop and digest what’s happening.
That’s Marco’s mom. Of everything they’ve experienced, everything that’s happened, Jake’s brother being a controller … this is the first time we’ve seen something as horrible as Marco’s mother, temporarily free of the Yeerk infestation, physically restrained in such a manner. I would argue that this is probably high on the list of most traumatizing moments in the series—and it’s only a quarter of the way through the book.
Central to The Reunion, of course, is the question of whether Marco can sacrifice/kill his own mother to take out Visser One (and potentially Visser Three, in the crossfire). He’s not even sure himself. And it drives a rather awkward wedge through the always-fractious unity of the Animorphs, with Cassie reacting with uncharacteristic anger:
There is so much we could discuss in those three lines—I could write a whole essay, I think, on this one exchange. We could talk about Jake’s evolving role as leader/general of the Animorphs (there is another great exchange earlier in the book, where Marco observes how much his relationship with Jake has changed as the latter has become more of a leader and the Animorphs have evolved from gang to soldiers). We could talk about Cassie’s evolving role as the group’s conscience. There is, of course, the fact that she and Jake must continually butt heads about these matters, even though they lurrrrrve each other, and the tragic consequences this has as the series plays out. And, as she observes in that last line, there are the ramifications that these actions will have for Marco.
All of the above subtext is readily accessible to an adolescent reader. There is nothing here that would elude them; these conflicts would feel real and substantial despite the presence of aliens and morphing. This is the brilliance of the Animorphs series in its most quintessential form: these five human characters are relatable, because they are so flawed and unsure in the face of what are, ultimately, human problems. By mixing the issues of puberty and adolescence (growing up, finding your voice, dealing with absent parents, developing your moral nature) with issues of social justice (war, deception, making allegiances, dealing with betrayal, challenging systemic problems), Animorphs exemplifies what YA can do at its most thoughtful.
We have short memories. It’s easy to forget that there was meaningful, dark YA pre–Hunger Games (which was also a Scholastic publication, heyyyy). Harry Potter, obviously, is a huge influence in the way it grew from “hey, you’re a wizard, Harry, and you’re protected by the Power of Love” to “btw you got to kill Voldemort or he is going to kill you and literally everyone else—no pressure—oh btw a bunch of your favourite characters are DEAD NOW.” The proliferation of vampires and dystopias of late gives rise to a type of saturation that kind of obscures what YA was like when I was coming of age in the 1990s and early 2000s. (On a personal note, I mostly read “adult” literature from the very beginning of my novel-reading career. Aside from brief flirtations with Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew in grade 3, I was pretty much all about the Agatha Christie from the start, followed quickly by LOTR and Dune. While I dabbled in Harry Potter and similar stuff, I was never much of a YA reader until I’d already moved beyond the target age-range.)
Re-reading Animorphs isn’t just a blast from the past: it’s a reminder of the enduring and cyclic nature of our literature. Although the technology and pop culture references might seem dated, I feel like any teen from 2016 could pick up these books and find them recognizable and valuable, just as a teen from the 1980s, somehow stranded in 2016 thanks to time travel, might also get into them. I guess what I’m trying to say is that this series in timeless, because it touches on timeless topics in a deep, meaningful way. The Reunion is a fantastic example of that.
The resolution is, in my opinion, perfect. Firstly, it is kind of a victory for the Animorphs—after all, the Yeerks now believe the free Hork-Bajir colony destroyed. Yet again it raises the stakes for our poor Animorphs: Visser One seems to have figured out there are humans who can morph! And the uncertainty over whether or not Visser One/Marco’s mom are dead sets up this huge emotional weight they have to carry going forward. This is just such rich, masterful plotting.
And I want to reach out and hug every one of these children. Even Ax. (Maybe especially Ax.)
Next time, we’re sticking to the family theme, as Jake has to stop his controller-brother, Tom, from possibly infesting their dad. When did this series get this dark?? I’m starting to see why that TV show never worked out. (I feel like on today’s CW it would be greenlit with, like, 5 seasons.)
My reviews of Animorphs:
← Megamorphs #3: Elfangor’s Secret | #31: The Conspiracy →
At times it reaches into very dark places and confronts us with images that sear themselves into your soul.
I’m not trying to be dramatic. Well, maybe a little. But #30: The Reunion is a very special book. Previous Marco books are notable for Marco’s trademark adolescent humour. He has a “class clown” vibe; he makes the groaner jokes that you nevertheless laugh at, because he’s just so earnestly dorky in his clownishness. And while these books hinted at the steel within, it isn’t really until this book that we understand the lengths to which he will go.
Here’s one of those images that seared:
On the lip of the portable Yeerk pool was a large clamp. A sort of collar.
My mother’s neck was in that collar. It held her tight. It held her head sideways, so that one side of her face, one ear, was pressed into the water.
The rest of her body stood awkwardly, helplessly, bent over.
That’s messed up. That’s some straight-up horror movie shit.
The ship has sailed on whether Animorphs is YA at this point—they’ve covered some dark road in the past, what with trapping David in morph, and the amount of emotional and physical trauma the various Animorphs have endured. Applegate is not pulling punches here.
But it’s easy to forget the visceral experience—especially when one is re-reading this series, especially in electronic form. As I’ve mentioned previously, neither Applegate’s nor her ghostwriters’ writing is of the most complex nature. It is tempting to skim through parts of the book, and I find it’s easier to do that in an ebook than on paper. But then you get hit with something like the above, and you have to stop and digest what’s happening.
That’s Marco’s mom. Of everything they’ve experienced, everything that’s happened, Jake’s brother being a controller … this is the first time we’ve seen something as horrible as Marco’s mother, temporarily free of the Yeerk infestation, physically restrained in such a manner. I would argue that this is probably high on the list of most traumatizing moments in the series—and it’s only a quarter of the way through the book.
Central to The Reunion, of course, is the question of whether Marco can sacrifice/kill his own mother to take out Visser One (and potentially Visser Three, in the crossfire). He’s not even sure himself. And it drives a rather awkward wedge through the always-fractious unity of the Animorphs, with Cassie reacting with uncharacteristic anger:
“She’s your mother!” Cassie exploded. “She’s not ‘Visser One.’ She’s your mother! Is everyone just going to let this happen?”
Jake sent her a cold look. “This is not the time, Cassie.”
“When is it going to be the time? When Marco’s mind is screwed up forever by this? He’s in denial. This is his mother, for God’s sake.”
There is so much we could discuss in those three lines—I could write a whole essay, I think, on this one exchange. We could talk about Jake’s evolving role as leader/general of the Animorphs (there is another great exchange earlier in the book, where Marco observes how much his relationship with Jake has changed as the latter has become more of a leader and the Animorphs have evolved from gang to soldiers). We could talk about Cassie’s evolving role as the group’s conscience. There is, of course, the fact that she and Jake must continually butt heads about these matters, even though they lurrrrrve each other, and the tragic consequences this has as the series plays out. And, as she observes in that last line, there are the ramifications that these actions will have for Marco.
All of the above subtext is readily accessible to an adolescent reader. There is nothing here that would elude them; these conflicts would feel real and substantial despite the presence of aliens and morphing. This is the brilliance of the Animorphs series in its most quintessential form: these five human characters are relatable, because they are so flawed and unsure in the face of what are, ultimately, human problems. By mixing the issues of puberty and adolescence (growing up, finding your voice, dealing with absent parents, developing your moral nature) with issues of social justice (war, deception, making allegiances, dealing with betrayal, challenging systemic problems), Animorphs exemplifies what YA can do at its most thoughtful.
We have short memories. It’s easy to forget that there was meaningful, dark YA pre–Hunger Games (which was also a Scholastic publication, heyyyy). Harry Potter, obviously, is a huge influence in the way it grew from “hey, you’re a wizard, Harry, and you’re protected by the Power of Love” to “btw you got to kill Voldemort or he is going to kill you and literally everyone else—no pressure—oh btw a bunch of your favourite characters are DEAD NOW.” The proliferation of vampires and dystopias of late gives rise to a type of saturation that kind of obscures what YA was like when I was coming of age in the 1990s and early 2000s. (On a personal note, I mostly read “adult” literature from the very beginning of my novel-reading career. Aside from brief flirtations with Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew in grade 3, I was pretty much all about the Agatha Christie from the start, followed quickly by LOTR and Dune. While I dabbled in Harry Potter and similar stuff, I was never much of a YA reader until I’d already moved beyond the target age-range.)
Re-reading Animorphs isn’t just a blast from the past: it’s a reminder of the enduring and cyclic nature of our literature. Although the technology and pop culture references might seem dated, I feel like any teen from 2016 could pick up these books and find them recognizable and valuable, just as a teen from the 1980s, somehow stranded in 2016 thanks to time travel, might also get into them. I guess what I’m trying to say is that this series in timeless, because it touches on timeless topics in a deep, meaningful way. The Reunion is a fantastic example of that.
The resolution is, in my opinion, perfect. Firstly, it is kind of a victory for the Animorphs—after all, the Yeerks now believe the free Hork-Bajir colony destroyed. Yet again it raises the stakes for our poor Animorphs: Visser One seems to have figured out there are humans who can morph! And the uncertainty over whether or not Visser One/Marco’s mom are dead sets up this huge emotional weight they have to carry going forward. This is just such rich, masterful plotting.
And I want to reach out and hug every one of these children. Even Ax. (Maybe especially Ax.)
Next time, we’re sticking to the family theme, as Jake has to stop his controller-brother, Tom, from possibly infesting their dad. When did this series get this dark?? I’m starting to see why that TV show never worked out. (I feel like on today’s CW it would be greenlit with, like, 5 seasons.)
My reviews of Animorphs:
← Megamorphs #3: Elfangor’s Secret | #31: The Conspiracy →
May 30, 2018
(Full review here at the thelibraryladies.com.)
Narrator: Marco
Plot: Didn’t remember much about this one either, other than the obvious fact that the “reunion” that drives the title was between Marco and his mother, Visser One. And then I started reading…and became very concerned. And kept reading…and was a bit less concerned. And then it actually kind of turned into a good book?
Marco decides to skip school and go downtown (for plot reasons cuz we’re literally given no other explanation.) He then just so conveniently happens to literally bump into his mother, Visser One, in the busy streets. What follows is a ridiculous series of events that in any other book would have never happened for so many reasons. At one point Marco morphs to a fly in the MIDDLE OF A FULL ELEVATOR but somehow we’re to believe that this is fine because he….puts a newspaper over his head? And then, after locating the office where his mother goes, fly!Marco gets sucked into an AC vent and ends up having to MORPH A HUMAN (whom he had conveniently acquired earlier to get into the building, somehow using the morphing trance to get through the door with him, claiming it was a “take your kid to work” day or something.) Again, there is zero reason for him to be morphing human when he could easily go back to bug. Not to mention the fact that when this happens, he’s alone in an office hiding behind a desk. A notably MUCH MORE HIDDEN spot than in the damn elevator where he just did this before. Whatever. He ends up back in the barn with the others and tells them that he found Visser One, and we can all pretend that this is the real start of the book since there’s almost a complete turn around in quality of the story after this point.
Jake quickly decides that they need to investigate this further, however he, Rachel, and Cassie are all out for a mission that night. This leaves Tobias, Marco, and Ax. Jake makes it clear that Marco is too close to this, and that because of this, Tobias has last say on what goes down. Later that night, the infiltrate the building in roach morph. After a wild ride down a stair banister, the small group make their way to the office. There, they see the horrifying image of a small Yeerk pool, portable Kandrona ray, and Marco’s mother, locked on her side with her ear in the pool. She’s free for a brief minute and Marco struggles not to go to her. They also notice satellite images of the free Hork Bajir in their valley. Before they can investigate further, the Yeerk reinfests Marco’s mother and the door is knocked down by Visser Three’s goons coming after Visser One.
Marco is not about to let his mother die at the hands of Visser Three, and he is able to spin it to Tobias that saving her could benefit them as well. Gorilla!Marco, Tobias, and Ax rush in and fight off the invading Hork Bajir. They manage to corner Visser One and get her talking. She reveals that she planned to find the free Hork Bajir and use that information as leverage to discredit Visser Three and regain her place on the Council of Thirteen. Visser One wants to strike a bargain: she will help them kill Visser Three, and the Animorphs will lead her to the free Hork Bajir. They agree, but Marco has a plan that will take out both Vissers and leave the Hork Bajir safe. They arrange to meet Visser One the next day.
As they fly away, Marco reflects on what it means to be ruthless and the fact that others have thought that of him in the past. Instead, he says that he is simply practical and sees a bright line between point A and point B. Through all the mess of worries & fears, the line is what drives his decisions. And that right now he sees a clear line, but one that will result in the death of his mother.
But for his plan to work, they need a specific morph. They fly to Cassie’s house and wake her up, asking where they can acquire goats morphs. She says there is a new mountain goat section at the Gardens, so the three make their way there and acquire the goats (not with out some knocks, of course).
The next day he begins to explain his plan and how it will result in them taking out both Visser Three and Visser one, while also convincing the Yeerks that they have destroyed the Hork Bajir colony. They will also need the help of Erek.
Using their best arrogant Andalite voice (Tobias is the best, having spent so much time with Ax), they instruct Visser One to go to the mall and buy mountain climbing gear. Various Animorphs keep an eye on her the entire time. They also assume that Visser Three will eventually spot her and send Controllers to follower her as well. Plus, they’re sure she has her own reinforcements.
As they head out, in the midst of a parlay between Visser One and Cassie, Visser One notes that there are significantly more Hork Bajir and Taxxon deaths in the casualty lists in the Yeerks’ fights with the “Andalites.” It is clear that she stumbles upon the truth, which only increases the stakes. No one can live who knows the truth.
In bug morphs, Marco, Jake, Cassie and Rachel stash themselves in her car, Tobias and Ax are waiting at the destination. Once they reach the mountain, they tell Visser One to start climbing. Jake tells everyone to go to bird morph. Rachel and Marco make it out of the car, but Jake and Cassie are still in the car morphing when Visser Three shows up in his limo and casually blows it up with a Dracon beam. Marco is the only one who sees it, and when he frantically calls for them, they don’t answer.
Sure that his friends are dead, Marco has no choice but to continue the mission, flying up the hill where he spots Tobias and Rachel in Hork Bajir morph meeting up with Visser One to “lead her to their valley.” As Marco continues to fly, he notes empty camp sites that look recently vacated. Ax has been successful at scaring away other innocents. When asked, he has to reveal to Tobias and Rachel the likely fate of Jake and Cassie.
The climb takes hours, with Tobias and Rachel having to slip away to re-morph every once in awhile. Far behind, osprey!Marco sees Visser Three and his Controllers making their way up after her, willing to let her live until she reveals where the free Hork Bajir have been hiding. On the way up, Visser Three morphs a new alien, one that is quite capable of climbing, and worse, has the ability to camouflage itself with its surroundings.
Marco demorphs and remorphs as a goat, and Ax meets back up with him in bird morph. Ax notes that the numbers are now not in their favor, with Visser Three having many more Controllers than they had anticipated. Marco snaps at him about not seeing any reinforcements anywhere. Ax then takes off. Goat!Marco zips up the mountain, quickly passing Visser One and arriving at the top near a cliff side with a sheer drop on three sides. When Visser one arrives, Marco “shows” her the Hork Bajir colony: Erek puts up a hologram of the Hork Bajir valley that has been “concealed” using another hologram in the mountainside. In a slip of tongue, Marco cracks a joke, even further confirming to Visser One that they are not Andalite warriors. What’s worse, Visser One is suspicious that she recognizes his voice and type of joke.
Visser Three is next to arrive. They both order their cloaked ships to attack. Visser Three with his Bug fighters and Blade ship and Visser One with a massive ship that Visser Three looks at with awe, calling it a Nova class Empire ship. He and Visser One go at it as well, each striking a hit on the other. Goat!Marco can’t stand it, and attacks Visser Three who shoots him in the leg. Visser One orders her ships to destroy the Hork Bajir colony and Erek displays the valley’s destruction. However, the guns are still hitting a mountainside that in reality is much closer than a valley floor. A fissure cracks the ground, leaving Visser Three, his troops, and Hork Bajir!Rachel & Tobias on one side, and Visser One and Marco on the other.
Marco whispers that he loves her and Visser One instantly recognizes him as “the boy.” Goat!Marco charges her, but at the last minute a tiger!Jake knocks him aside and osprey!Cassie scrapes Visser One upside the head, preventing her from shooting Marco with the Dracon beam. Visser One overbalances and falls backwards off the cliff. The free Hork Bajir show up, lead by Ax, and the battle between the ships rages above. Marco is only dimly aware of any of it.
He stays in bed for the next week, watching TV and trying not to think. Jake shows up and explains that once Visser Three saw the free Hork Bajir arrive, he and his Controllers skedaddled, but five free Hork Bajir were lost in the battle. He also explains that when he and Cassie saw the limo arrive, they went straight to roach morph, assuming that nothing can kill a roach. Cassie made it all the way, but Jake was midmorph when the car blew up and was knocked unconscious. Cassie stayed by his side and was only able to wake him up a few minutes before the two hour time limit was up.
A few days later, Rachel visits. She says she didn’t see Visser One’s body. Marco says the Yeerks would have cleaned up after themselves. She says that there were scorch marks where they burned other dead Controllers, but there was nothing where Visser One fell. Marco remembers a Bug fighter roaring past. Maybe it was able to catch her? Marco snaps that he doesn’t want her pity, but Rachel notes that telling him she may still be alive is worse. If Visser One was dead, Marco’s already being going through the stages of hate and sadness. If she’s alive, he’ll have to confront the same decision all over again. With some hope, they sit in silence and watch TV.
The Comic Relief: Like I said earlier, this book is very weird in the way it is written. The first 25% of the book is frankly awful, probably the worst I’ve read so far. There are no explanations for Marco’s choices and the plot convenience factor is out of control. He makes stupid decision after stupid decision, two that are against the most cardinal rules that Animorphs have: don’t reveal yourself by morphing public & don’t morph human. And his reasons for doing each are incredibly poor.
But when the story actually gets into it, there’s some really good stuff here. Whenever teh story focuses on Marco’s situation with his mother as Visser One we’re going to see some pretty heart wrenching stuff. What makes it worse and different than Jake’s situation with Tom is both down to who is Controlling Marco’s mother and who Marco is himself. Obviously, Visser One is a much more dangerous and well-protected Yeerk than whomever is currently infesting Tom. This makes the equation of saving her vs taking her out very different. Tom’s loss would have zero impact on the Yeerk war at this point. However, taking out Visser One is worth almost any cost, including the life of Marco’s mother.
And Marco himself knows this. Jake, though we’ve seen him hardening himself more and more through each book, is still hopeful for Tom (again partially due to his unimportance all told). But one of Marco’s defining characteristics is his all-consuming practicality of thought. He himself identifies it as ruthlessness. His metaphor of the bright line and how it drives everything he does, is spot on not only for how we see him in this book, but for the decisions and reactions to situations that we’ve seen from him in the past. Rachel is ruthless in a reckless, sometimes mindless, way. Marco is ruthless in a cold, conniving way. He knows what he is doing and he chooses to do it over and over again. At one point in this book, he thinks about what the history books will say if the Animorphs manage to win this war. That this Marco guy was cold. So cold that he took out his own mother. And while Marco hates this idea, he never wavers from following his plan. Of course, he hesitates at the last minute on the mountain, even intervening when Visser Three attacks her. But at the last, when he’s in goat morph, he chooses to go through with it. Had tiger!Jake not hit him, he would have succeeded in knocking her off that cliff. Everyone questioned his ability to make the tough calls throughout this book, but this one act really proves that the cold, calculating Marco will follow that line no matter what.
Our Fearless Leader: Jake has a few really good moments in this. They’re small, but notable. One, when he first sends them to check out Visser One in the office building. He can sense Marco’s reckless energy and wisely puts Tobias in charge (yet more evidence for my “Tobias should be second in charge” theory.) Then, when Marco is explaining his plan to take out both Visser One and Visser Three, Jake doesn’t question him. When Cassie explodes, saying that they can’t let this happen, that this is Marco’s mother, Jake silences her. Not only does he recognize that this is Marco’s decision, but the leader in him knows that this is the right call, and that the sacrifice of his best friend’s psyche or ability not to self-loathe himself is a price that needs to be paid. But again, in the end, Jake takes it out of Marco’s hands, knocking her out of the way. Had Visser One not fallen herself, one wonders if Jake would have been the one to actually push her.
Xena, Warrior Princess: Rachel comes down hard on Marco a few times in this book, about whether or not he’ll be able to take out his own mother. Most especially after she’s heard that Jake and Cassie are dead. Marco almost suspects that she will take out Visser One right then and there and is relieved when she doesn’t.
But, like in the last book with Visser One, it’s Rachel that takes the time to follow up on Visser One and give Marco hope. She checked out the mountain side in detail and tells Marco his mother might still be alive. There’s no mention that any of the others thought to do this. She also notes that she doesn’t fell that telling him this is a kindness, but that it’s just a fact. As she and Marco are often the two most prone to relying on facts over kindness, this makes a lot of sense. She also stays with him, not hugging but sitting with him. It’s a very sweet moment and speaks to a unique connection that the two of them have, for all of their bickering in other stories.
A Hawk’s Life: Tobias also has a lot of action in this book. Not only does he end up as the leader in the late-night office raid, but he also does much of the talking to Visser One since he talks to Ax the most and is most capable of mimicking his patterns of speech. His dialogue for all of this is pretty spot on. When he feels that Marco’s plans are going sideways, we get another fun look at sarcastic Tobias which is, of course, the best Tobias. Then, of course, he’s with Rachel as one of the Hork Bajir that leads Visser One up the mountain.
Peace, Love, and Animals: Cassie comes up with the mountain goat morph idea, and the fact that she is able to morph all the way to cockroach, unlike Jake, before the car is blown up is another example of her proficiency at morphing. It does seem like since she was in roach morph, she should have been able to let osprey!Marco know what happened instead of leaving him to think they were dead, so that’s strange.
When Marco first explains his plan to take out Visser One and Visser Three, she has this to say:
“She’s your mother!” Cassie exploded. “She’s not ‘Visser One.’ She’s your mother! Is everyone just going to let this happen?”
Jake sent her a cold look. “This is not the time, Cassie.”
It seems pretty inline with what we know of Cassie that she would be the one protesting this. After this bit, she goes on to say that they should be concerned about what state Marco will be in if they let this happen. And, as I mentioned in Jake’s section, he ignores her. It is a sign of her strong sense of friendship and concern for others, but on the other hand, she does make an already almost unbearable situation for Marco worse by having this outburst.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: Ax has some funny moments being offended by the others’ versions of how arrogant Andalites talk, but it does seem pretty spot on. Throughout the book, it’s made clear that he’s on board for Marco’s plan mostly because of his ongoing mission to take out Visser Three, the killer of his brother, at any cost. While he feels bad for Marco, he’s also pretty cold about his priorities, regularly suggesting that they just take her out now.
He’s also the one to think to get the free Hork Bajir as backup when it becomes clear that they are outnumbered.
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: Marco mentions that Tobias’s morph from bird to cockroach is particularly horrifying, noting that roach wings begin to form out of the top of his bird head.
Mother Nature didn’t come up with a birdbug on her own for good reason.
Couples Watch!: Not a lot of couple action in this one, as per typical for Marco or Ax books. But there is a pretty interesting moment between Rachel and Tobias. After Marco has told them about Jake and Cassie, Rachel is pretty hard on Marco. She continues to pick at him throughout the trip up the mountain, until at one point Tobias quietly interrupts her and says “That’s enough” and she immediately stops. Marco notes that he is surprised that Tobias stood up to her as he doesn’t do it very often. I think it’s another nice example of how Rachel and Tobias work well together. He mostly respects and values Rachel for the bad-ass she is, but he is also not intimidated or scared of her, and feels comfortable enough to speak up when he thinks she’s crossed a line. And Rachel respects him enough to listen when he does.
Also, when the three wake up Cassie to get the goat morph, her first words are “Jake?” Marco has some fun teasing her about this.
I’ve already briefly noted my feelings on the secondary Marco/Rachel thing that seems to go on. And like I said in her section, it’s important I think that she was the only one to follow up on the fate of Visser One and the one to sit with Marco and provide hope and comfort in the end.
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: Man, Visser One is so much smarter than Visser Three. It takes her all of what, maybe a few hours total, talking to and interacting with the Animorphs to figure out their secret. And it wasn’t even first down to any slip up on their part. She’s done her research and noted the oddness of the casualty lists, information that is equally available to Visser Three. And then when Marco slips up, she’s quick to zero in on a familiar pattern to his voice, meaning she’s spent the time to learn and distinguish between individual humans. All told, the Animorphs are super lucky they ended up with a fool like Visser Three instead of her.
We also got another example of Visser Three losing his shit at one of his own Controllers.
Evidently encouraged by Visser Three’s seemingly tolerant mood, another human-Controller made the mistake of offering an opinion.
The end result is a missing arm. Probably should count himself lucky for that.
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: Um, the entire last half? As I discussed in Marco’s section, his books that deal with his mother are always going to be rough. And here, unlike the last time, from the very beginning the plan is for her not to make it out of this, and it’s Marco’s plan on top of that. Throughout the entire story he struggles with what this says about him and about whether he’ll be able to pull it off in the end. And while he is able to, he is not able to stop himself from trying to give his Controlled mother one last bit of peace. He’s been reflecting this entire time on what he would say to his father when/if he found out, and what his mother would think if she knew what he planned.
(Review was too long for Goodreads, check out the link for the rest!)
Narrator: Marco
Plot: Didn’t remember much about this one either, other than the obvious fact that the “reunion” that drives the title was between Marco and his mother, Visser One. And then I started reading…and became very concerned. And kept reading…and was a bit less concerned. And then it actually kind of turned into a good book?
Marco decides to skip school and go downtown (for plot reasons cuz we’re literally given no other explanation.) He then just so conveniently happens to literally bump into his mother, Visser One, in the busy streets. What follows is a ridiculous series of events that in any other book would have never happened for so many reasons. At one point Marco morphs to a fly in the MIDDLE OF A FULL ELEVATOR but somehow we’re to believe that this is fine because he….puts a newspaper over his head? And then, after locating the office where his mother goes, fly!Marco gets sucked into an AC vent and ends up having to MORPH A HUMAN (whom he had conveniently acquired earlier to get into the building, somehow using the morphing trance to get through the door with him, claiming it was a “take your kid to work” day or something.) Again, there is zero reason for him to be morphing human when he could easily go back to bug. Not to mention the fact that when this happens, he’s alone in an office hiding behind a desk. A notably MUCH MORE HIDDEN spot than in the damn elevator where he just did this before. Whatever. He ends up back in the barn with the others and tells them that he found Visser One, and we can all pretend that this is the real start of the book since there’s almost a complete turn around in quality of the story after this point.
Jake quickly decides that they need to investigate this further, however he, Rachel, and Cassie are all out for a mission that night. This leaves Tobias, Marco, and Ax. Jake makes it clear that Marco is too close to this, and that because of this, Tobias has last say on what goes down. Later that night, the infiltrate the building in roach morph. After a wild ride down a stair banister, the small group make their way to the office. There, they see the horrifying image of a small Yeerk pool, portable Kandrona ray, and Marco’s mother, locked on her side with her ear in the pool. She’s free for a brief minute and Marco struggles not to go to her. They also notice satellite images of the free Hork Bajir in their valley. Before they can investigate further, the Yeerk reinfests Marco’s mother and the door is knocked down by Visser Three’s goons coming after Visser One.
Marco is not about to let his mother die at the hands of Visser Three, and he is able to spin it to Tobias that saving her could benefit them as well. Gorilla!Marco, Tobias, and Ax rush in and fight off the invading Hork Bajir. They manage to corner Visser One and get her talking. She reveals that she planned to find the free Hork Bajir and use that information as leverage to discredit Visser Three and regain her place on the Council of Thirteen. Visser One wants to strike a bargain: she will help them kill Visser Three, and the Animorphs will lead her to the free Hork Bajir. They agree, but Marco has a plan that will take out both Vissers and leave the Hork Bajir safe. They arrange to meet Visser One the next day.
As they fly away, Marco reflects on what it means to be ruthless and the fact that others have thought that of him in the past. Instead, he says that he is simply practical and sees a bright line between point A and point B. Through all the mess of worries & fears, the line is what drives his decisions. And that right now he sees a clear line, but one that will result in the death of his mother.
But for his plan to work, they need a specific morph. They fly to Cassie’s house and wake her up, asking where they can acquire goats morphs. She says there is a new mountain goat section at the Gardens, so the three make their way there and acquire the goats (not with out some knocks, of course).
The next day he begins to explain his plan and how it will result in them taking out both Visser Three and Visser one, while also convincing the Yeerks that they have destroyed the Hork Bajir colony. They will also need the help of Erek.
Using their best arrogant Andalite voice (Tobias is the best, having spent so much time with Ax), they instruct Visser One to go to the mall and buy mountain climbing gear. Various Animorphs keep an eye on her the entire time. They also assume that Visser Three will eventually spot her and send Controllers to follower her as well. Plus, they’re sure she has her own reinforcements.
As they head out, in the midst of a parlay between Visser One and Cassie, Visser One notes that there are significantly more Hork Bajir and Taxxon deaths in the casualty lists in the Yeerks’ fights with the “Andalites.” It is clear that she stumbles upon the truth, which only increases the stakes. No one can live who knows the truth.
In bug morphs, Marco, Jake, Cassie and Rachel stash themselves in her car, Tobias and Ax are waiting at the destination. Once they reach the mountain, they tell Visser One to start climbing. Jake tells everyone to go to bird morph. Rachel and Marco make it out of the car, but Jake and Cassie are still in the car morphing when Visser Three shows up in his limo and casually blows it up with a Dracon beam. Marco is the only one who sees it, and when he frantically calls for them, they don’t answer.
Sure that his friends are dead, Marco has no choice but to continue the mission, flying up the hill where he spots Tobias and Rachel in Hork Bajir morph meeting up with Visser One to “lead her to their valley.” As Marco continues to fly, he notes empty camp sites that look recently vacated. Ax has been successful at scaring away other innocents. When asked, he has to reveal to Tobias and Rachel the likely fate of Jake and Cassie.
The climb takes hours, with Tobias and Rachel having to slip away to re-morph every once in awhile. Far behind, osprey!Marco sees Visser Three and his Controllers making their way up after her, willing to let her live until she reveals where the free Hork Bajir have been hiding. On the way up, Visser Three morphs a new alien, one that is quite capable of climbing, and worse, has the ability to camouflage itself with its surroundings.
Marco demorphs and remorphs as a goat, and Ax meets back up with him in bird morph. Ax notes that the numbers are now not in their favor, with Visser Three having many more Controllers than they had anticipated. Marco snaps at him about not seeing any reinforcements anywhere. Ax then takes off. Goat!Marco zips up the mountain, quickly passing Visser One and arriving at the top near a cliff side with a sheer drop on three sides. When Visser one arrives, Marco “shows” her the Hork Bajir colony: Erek puts up a hologram of the Hork Bajir valley that has been “concealed” using another hologram in the mountainside. In a slip of tongue, Marco cracks a joke, even further confirming to Visser One that they are not Andalite warriors. What’s worse, Visser One is suspicious that she recognizes his voice and type of joke.
Visser Three is next to arrive. They both order their cloaked ships to attack. Visser Three with his Bug fighters and Blade ship and Visser One with a massive ship that Visser Three looks at with awe, calling it a Nova class Empire ship. He and Visser One go at it as well, each striking a hit on the other. Goat!Marco can’t stand it, and attacks Visser Three who shoots him in the leg. Visser One orders her ships to destroy the Hork Bajir colony and Erek displays the valley’s destruction. However, the guns are still hitting a mountainside that in reality is much closer than a valley floor. A fissure cracks the ground, leaving Visser Three, his troops, and Hork Bajir!Rachel & Tobias on one side, and Visser One and Marco on the other.
Marco whispers that he loves her and Visser One instantly recognizes him as “the boy.” Goat!Marco charges her, but at the last minute a tiger!Jake knocks him aside and osprey!Cassie scrapes Visser One upside the head, preventing her from shooting Marco with the Dracon beam. Visser One overbalances and falls backwards off the cliff. The free Hork Bajir show up, lead by Ax, and the battle between the ships rages above. Marco is only dimly aware of any of it.
He stays in bed for the next week, watching TV and trying not to think. Jake shows up and explains that once Visser Three saw the free Hork Bajir arrive, he and his Controllers skedaddled, but five free Hork Bajir were lost in the battle. He also explains that when he and Cassie saw the limo arrive, they went straight to roach morph, assuming that nothing can kill a roach. Cassie made it all the way, but Jake was midmorph when the car blew up and was knocked unconscious. Cassie stayed by his side and was only able to wake him up a few minutes before the two hour time limit was up.
A few days later, Rachel visits. She says she didn’t see Visser One’s body. Marco says the Yeerks would have cleaned up after themselves. She says that there were scorch marks where they burned other dead Controllers, but there was nothing where Visser One fell. Marco remembers a Bug fighter roaring past. Maybe it was able to catch her? Marco snaps that he doesn’t want her pity, but Rachel notes that telling him she may still be alive is worse. If Visser One was dead, Marco’s already being going through the stages of hate and sadness. If she’s alive, he’ll have to confront the same decision all over again. With some hope, they sit in silence and watch TV.
The Comic Relief: Like I said earlier, this book is very weird in the way it is written. The first 25% of the book is frankly awful, probably the worst I’ve read so far. There are no explanations for Marco’s choices and the plot convenience factor is out of control. He makes stupid decision after stupid decision, two that are against the most cardinal rules that Animorphs have: don’t reveal yourself by morphing public & don’t morph human. And his reasons for doing each are incredibly poor.
But when the story actually gets into it, there’s some really good stuff here. Whenever teh story focuses on Marco’s situation with his mother as Visser One we’re going to see some pretty heart wrenching stuff. What makes it worse and different than Jake’s situation with Tom is both down to who is Controlling Marco’s mother and who Marco is himself. Obviously, Visser One is a much more dangerous and well-protected Yeerk than whomever is currently infesting Tom. This makes the equation of saving her vs taking her out very different. Tom’s loss would have zero impact on the Yeerk war at this point. However, taking out Visser One is worth almost any cost, including the life of Marco’s mother.
And Marco himself knows this. Jake, though we’ve seen him hardening himself more and more through each book, is still hopeful for Tom (again partially due to his unimportance all told). But one of Marco’s defining characteristics is his all-consuming practicality of thought. He himself identifies it as ruthlessness. His metaphor of the bright line and how it drives everything he does, is spot on not only for how we see him in this book, but for the decisions and reactions to situations that we’ve seen from him in the past. Rachel is ruthless in a reckless, sometimes mindless, way. Marco is ruthless in a cold, conniving way. He knows what he is doing and he chooses to do it over and over again. At one point in this book, he thinks about what the history books will say if the Animorphs manage to win this war. That this Marco guy was cold. So cold that he took out his own mother. And while Marco hates this idea, he never wavers from following his plan. Of course, he hesitates at the last minute on the mountain, even intervening when Visser Three attacks her. But at the last, when he’s in goat morph, he chooses to go through with it. Had tiger!Jake not hit him, he would have succeeded in knocking her off that cliff. Everyone questioned his ability to make the tough calls throughout this book, but this one act really proves that the cold, calculating Marco will follow that line no matter what.
Our Fearless Leader: Jake has a few really good moments in this. They’re small, but notable. One, when he first sends them to check out Visser One in the office building. He can sense Marco’s reckless energy and wisely puts Tobias in charge (yet more evidence for my “Tobias should be second in charge” theory.) Then, when Marco is explaining his plan to take out both Visser One and Visser Three, Jake doesn’t question him. When Cassie explodes, saying that they can’t let this happen, that this is Marco’s mother, Jake silences her. Not only does he recognize that this is Marco’s decision, but the leader in him knows that this is the right call, and that the sacrifice of his best friend’s psyche or ability not to self-loathe himself is a price that needs to be paid. But again, in the end, Jake takes it out of Marco’s hands, knocking her out of the way. Had Visser One not fallen herself, one wonders if Jake would have been the one to actually push her.
Xena, Warrior Princess: Rachel comes down hard on Marco a few times in this book, about whether or not he’ll be able to take out his own mother. Most especially after she’s heard that Jake and Cassie are dead. Marco almost suspects that she will take out Visser One right then and there and is relieved when she doesn’t.
But, like in the last book with Visser One, it’s Rachel that takes the time to follow up on Visser One and give Marco hope. She checked out the mountain side in detail and tells Marco his mother might still be alive. There’s no mention that any of the others thought to do this. She also notes that she doesn’t fell that telling him this is a kindness, but that it’s just a fact. As she and Marco are often the two most prone to relying on facts over kindness, this makes a lot of sense. She also stays with him, not hugging but sitting with him. It’s a very sweet moment and speaks to a unique connection that the two of them have, for all of their bickering in other stories.
A Hawk’s Life: Tobias also has a lot of action in this book. Not only does he end up as the leader in the late-night office raid, but he also does much of the talking to Visser One since he talks to Ax the most and is most capable of mimicking his patterns of speech. His dialogue for all of this is pretty spot on. When he feels that Marco’s plans are going sideways, we get another fun look at sarcastic Tobias which is, of course, the best Tobias. Then, of course, he’s with Rachel as one of the Hork Bajir that leads Visser One up the mountain.
Peace, Love, and Animals: Cassie comes up with the mountain goat morph idea, and the fact that she is able to morph all the way to cockroach, unlike Jake, before the car is blown up is another example of her proficiency at morphing. It does seem like since she was in roach morph, she should have been able to let osprey!Marco know what happened instead of leaving him to think they were dead, so that’s strange.
When Marco first explains his plan to take out Visser One and Visser Three, she has this to say:
“She’s your mother!” Cassie exploded. “She’s not ‘Visser One.’ She’s your mother! Is everyone just going to let this happen?”
Jake sent her a cold look. “This is not the time, Cassie.”
It seems pretty inline with what we know of Cassie that she would be the one protesting this. After this bit, she goes on to say that they should be concerned about what state Marco will be in if they let this happen. And, as I mentioned in Jake’s section, he ignores her. It is a sign of her strong sense of friendship and concern for others, but on the other hand, she does make an already almost unbearable situation for Marco worse by having this outburst.
E.T./Ax Phone Home: Ax has some funny moments being offended by the others’ versions of how arrogant Andalites talk, but it does seem pretty spot on. Throughout the book, it’s made clear that he’s on board for Marco’s plan mostly because of his ongoing mission to take out Visser Three, the killer of his brother, at any cost. While he feels bad for Marco, he’s also pretty cold about his priorities, regularly suggesting that they just take her out now.
He’s also the one to think to get the free Hork Bajir as backup when it becomes clear that they are outnumbered.
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: Marco mentions that Tobias’s morph from bird to cockroach is particularly horrifying, noting that roach wings begin to form out of the top of his bird head.
Mother Nature didn’t come up with a birdbug on her own for good reason.
Couples Watch!: Not a lot of couple action in this one, as per typical for Marco or Ax books. But there is a pretty interesting moment between Rachel and Tobias. After Marco has told them about Jake and Cassie, Rachel is pretty hard on Marco. She continues to pick at him throughout the trip up the mountain, until at one point Tobias quietly interrupts her and says “That’s enough” and she immediately stops. Marco notes that he is surprised that Tobias stood up to her as he doesn’t do it very often. I think it’s another nice example of how Rachel and Tobias work well together. He mostly respects and values Rachel for the bad-ass she is, but he is also not intimidated or scared of her, and feels comfortable enough to speak up when he thinks she’s crossed a line. And Rachel respects him enough to listen when he does.
Also, when the three wake up Cassie to get the goat morph, her first words are “Jake?” Marco has some fun teasing her about this.
I’ve already briefly noted my feelings on the secondary Marco/Rachel thing that seems to go on. And like I said in her section, it’s important I think that she was the only one to follow up on the fate of Visser One and the one to sit with Marco and provide hope and comfort in the end.
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: Man, Visser One is so much smarter than Visser Three. It takes her all of what, maybe a few hours total, talking to and interacting with the Animorphs to figure out their secret. And it wasn’t even first down to any slip up on their part. She’s done her research and noted the oddness of the casualty lists, information that is equally available to Visser Three. And then when Marco slips up, she’s quick to zero in on a familiar pattern to his voice, meaning she’s spent the time to learn and distinguish between individual humans. All told, the Animorphs are super lucky they ended up with a fool like Visser Three instead of her.
We also got another example of Visser Three losing his shit at one of his own Controllers.
Evidently encouraged by Visser Three’s seemingly tolerant mood, another human-Controller made the mistake of offering an opinion.
The end result is a missing arm. Probably should count himself lucky for that.
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: Um, the entire last half? As I discussed in Marco’s section, his books that deal with his mother are always going to be rough. And here, unlike the last time, from the very beginning the plan is for her not to make it out of this, and it’s Marco’s plan on top of that. Throughout the entire story he struggles with what this says about him and about whether he’ll be able to pull it off in the end. And while he is able to, he is not able to stop himself from trying to give his Controlled mother one last bit of peace. He’s been reflecting this entire time on what he would say to his father when/if he found out, and what his mother would think if she knew what he planned.
(Review was too long for Goodreads, check out the link for the rest!)
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
August 24, 2024
*** 3.55 ***
Marco and Visser 1...
Marco and Visser 1...
June 16, 2015
And this book is one of the many reasons this series rocked my world as a kid--holy crow that this is kid's literature, that this is a topic and language that is given to kids because they *can* handle it, they *have* to handle it.
Marco, I've mentioned, is definitely one of my favorite characters, but here we get to see his surety of himself splintering. It's something that's starting to happen to all of the Animorphs at this point in the series because, let's face it, guerilla warfare tears you apart--especially when it's on top of things like having to care about a chemistry exam. So Marco accidentally bumps into his mom--somewhat literally--and gets dragged back into the horrible rock-and-hard-place of wanting to save her but destroy the Yeerk within.
I don't envy him that at all. But this is so amazing because we get a lot of introspection from Marco--not something that he usually does, and I'm guessing the ghost rider just decided it was time--about what it is to be the strategist of the Animorphs. He knows damn well that his ability to plan through and on top of casualty isn't something that we humans are really excited about, even though it's very helpful and it's saved the Animorphs on plenty of occasions.
A notable quote moment that I actually marked to remember:
"People don't understand the word 'ruthless.' They think it means 'mean.' It's not about being mean. It's about seeing the bright, clear line that leads from A to B. The line that goes from motive to means. Beginning to end.
It's about seeing that bright, clear line and not caring about anything but the beautiful fact that you can see the solution. Not caring about anything else but the perfection of it." (71-72)
And when Marco was talking about that future kid in history class learning about him and saying he was just cold, my heart about broke in half.
Also of note was how this impacted Marco's relationship with Jake. Jake is probably my favorite simply because it's fascinating to watch his character arc as more and more decisions land on his doorstep, but his friendship with Marco is great because Marco refuses to let Jake totally hide in his general persona. Marco is the one who takes him down a peg, which is very necessary, and Jake knows to value him for that. But here Jake steps outside of their friendship completely; it's the first time that I've noticed that Jake is totally pulling away from the rest of the group in order to hold it together, and it also is the first I've seen that would give rise to the alternate Jake in the third Megamorph book, "Elfangor's Secret."
"Jake has changed a lot over the months we've been fighting this little war. The look he gave me did not come from my boy Jake, my bud, my pal. It came from a battle commander.
Freaky seeing how old Jake has gotten.
'Marco, you're my best friend. But if you ever go off like that again you and I will have serious problems.'
In the old days I'd have said 'Bite me,' or something equally brilliant.
Now I said, 'Okay, understood.'
It was all I could do to stop myself from saying, 'Yes, sir.'" (34)
Heart broken again. Gah, this book and its power. Gah, Marco. Gah, the Visser power struggle. Gah, what this is doing to these kids.
Marco, I've mentioned, is definitely one of my favorite characters, but here we get to see his surety of himself splintering. It's something that's starting to happen to all of the Animorphs at this point in the series because, let's face it, guerilla warfare tears you apart--especially when it's on top of things like having to care about a chemistry exam. So Marco accidentally bumps into his mom--somewhat literally--and gets dragged back into the horrible rock-and-hard-place of wanting to save her but destroy the Yeerk within.
I don't envy him that at all. But this is so amazing because we get a lot of introspection from Marco--not something that he usually does, and I'm guessing the ghost rider just decided it was time--about what it is to be the strategist of the Animorphs. He knows damn well that his ability to plan through and on top of casualty isn't something that we humans are really excited about, even though it's very helpful and it's saved the Animorphs on plenty of occasions.
A notable quote moment that I actually marked to remember:
"People don't understand the word 'ruthless.' They think it means 'mean.' It's not about being mean. It's about seeing the bright, clear line that leads from A to B. The line that goes from motive to means. Beginning to end.
It's about seeing that bright, clear line and not caring about anything but the beautiful fact that you can see the solution. Not caring about anything else but the perfection of it." (71-72)
And when Marco was talking about that future kid in history class learning about him and saying he was just cold, my heart about broke in half.
Also of note was how this impacted Marco's relationship with Jake. Jake is probably my favorite simply because it's fascinating to watch his character arc as more and more decisions land on his doorstep, but his friendship with Marco is great because Marco refuses to let Jake totally hide in his general persona. Marco is the one who takes him down a peg, which is very necessary, and Jake knows to value him for that. But here Jake steps outside of their friendship completely; it's the first time that I've noticed that Jake is totally pulling away from the rest of the group in order to hold it together, and it also is the first I've seen that would give rise to the alternate Jake in the third Megamorph book, "Elfangor's Secret."
"Jake has changed a lot over the months we've been fighting this little war. The look he gave me did not come from my boy Jake, my bud, my pal. It came from a battle commander.
Freaky seeing how old Jake has gotten.
'Marco, you're my best friend. But if you ever go off like that again you and I will have serious problems.'
In the old days I'd have said 'Bite me,' or something equally brilliant.
Now I said, 'Okay, understood.'
It was all I could do to stop myself from saying, 'Yes, sir.'" (34)
Heart broken again. Gah, this book and its power. Gah, Marco. Gah, the Visser power struggle. Gah, what this is doing to these kids.
April 16, 2016
This one kept me on the edge of my seat! Can't wait to read the next one!
May 7, 2022
I think I’ll always harbor some resentment toward Applegate for making Marco the only character in this entire series that’s able to have depth, substance, and interesting development but only from his perspective. When we’re not inside his head, it’s like he’s put on pause entirely while the other continue progressing.
With that established and out of the way, this installment finds itself as being one of the more brutal and gritty in the series- not necessarily because of any violence or gore, but because of this passage:
“Kids would study us in school. Bored, probably. And then the teacher would tell the story of Marco. I'd be a part of history. What I was about to do. Some kid would laugh. Some kid would say, "Cold, man. That was really cold." I had to do it, kid. It was a war. It's the whole point, you stupid, smug, smirking little jerk! Don't you get it? It was the whole point. We hurt the innocent in order to stop the evil.”
It’s almost worse than watching an act of extreme violence because we’re watching a child soldier being ripped apart from the inside in the name of duty, justice, and the greater good.
Sacrifice is the focus of this book and it hurts so much.
CW: war, slavery, violence, murder, death, grief
With that established and out of the way, this installment finds itself as being one of the more brutal and gritty in the series- not necessarily because of any violence or gore, but because of this passage:
“Kids would study us in school. Bored, probably. And then the teacher would tell the story of Marco. I'd be a part of history. What I was about to do. Some kid would laugh. Some kid would say, "Cold, man. That was really cold." I had to do it, kid. It was a war. It's the whole point, you stupid, smug, smirking little jerk! Don't you get it? It was the whole point. We hurt the innocent in order to stop the evil.”
It’s almost worse than watching an act of extreme violence because we’re watching a child soldier being ripped apart from the inside in the name of duty, justice, and the greater good.
Sacrifice is the focus of this book and it hurts so much.
CW: war, slavery, violence, murder, death, grief
November 21, 2020
I’m really unsure how to rate this one, as I think this was the Animorphs book that made me initially quit the series. At the time, I was annoyed they were being ghostwritten, and there’s certain awkward phrase and word choices here that are technically good, but sound *wrong* coming from characters mouths. The whole book reads like good, but slightly off fan fiction to me, and I seem to be alone on this as this is a fan favorite.
On the other hand, this is a fascinating book. The war has always been dark (see the David trilogy, for example), but it isn’t every middle grade book series where a character decides it’s time to kill their mother (who hosts a rather powerful Yeerk) because they’ve determined an irresistible plan to do so and don’t want to look weak.
Marco muses, “people don’t understand the word ruthless. They think it means “mean.“ It’s not about being mean. It’s about seeing the bright, clear line that leads from A to B. The line that goes from motive to means. Beginning to end.
It’s about seeing that bright, clear line and not caring about anything but the beautiful fact that you can see the solution. Not caring about anything else but the perfection of it.
That’s what it happened. I saw the way to take both Vissers down. And that’s all that mattered.
But I wasn’t going to explain all that. Other people’s pity just messes with a straight line. Other people‘s pity makes you think things you can’t think about when you were seeing the line.”
Random aside- Cassie and Marco are sometimes compared as strategists, but Cassie would have never offered up her mother as an option UNLESS, maybe it was the only way for all of them to survive.
On the other hand, this is a fascinating book. The war has always been dark (see the David trilogy, for example), but it isn’t every middle grade book series where a character decides it’s time to kill their mother (who hosts a rather powerful Yeerk) because they’ve determined an irresistible plan to do so and don’t want to look weak.
Marco muses, “people don’t understand the word ruthless. They think it means “mean.“ It’s not about being mean. It’s about seeing the bright, clear line that leads from A to B. The line that goes from motive to means. Beginning to end.
It’s about seeing that bright, clear line and not caring about anything but the beautiful fact that you can see the solution. Not caring about anything else but the perfection of it.
That’s what it happened. I saw the way to take both Vissers down. And that’s all that mattered.
But I wasn’t going to explain all that. Other people’s pity just messes with a straight line. Other people‘s pity makes you think things you can’t think about when you were seeing the line.”
Random aside- Cassie and Marco are sometimes compared as strategists, but Cassie would have never offered up her mother as an option UNLESS, maybe it was the only way for all of them to survive.
January 28, 2016
Wow, these reviews are just getting longer and longer, aren’t they? I’m finding more and more powerful exchanges or ideas lately, things that are worth bringing attention to. This series is growing up, in more than one way.
This time, it is Marco’s turn to really be put in a hard moral/decision-making spot. He sees an opportunity to take down both Vissers Three and One at the same time, and deal a powerful blow against the Yeerk invasion. But the clear, bright line he sees to this end, from point A to point B, is ruthless, and it just might cost him more than he realizes.
It was the whole point. We hurt the innocent in order to stop the evil.
Quotes and comments:
I led Mr. Grant to the elevator. Let me make it clear that I had no intention of morphing this man. I just needed him to get me past security and to the elevators. – page 13 – Good, because I was really wondering, Marco.
Jake sighed. “Okay, Marco, Ax, and Tobias. Tonight.” He looked at me. “Don’t do anything foolish. It’s reconnaissance only.”
I nodded.
“And if it comes to a judgment call, Tobias makes the call.”
That caught me off guard. But there was no point arguing. In Jake’s place I’d have done the same thing. – page 33-34 – It does make sense. Tobias does have a history of making good judgment calls, and even being one of the more level-headed ones in a tough position.
“I noticed a certain lack of details about what happened today,” Jake said. “Which tells me you did things that I probably don’t want to hear about.”
“Yeah. You probably don’t.” I tried out a devil-may-care grin. Not a big success.
Jake folded his arms over his chest and looked down at the ground in silence. Then up at me.
Jake has changed a lot over the months we’ve been fighting this little war. The look he gave me did not come from my boy, Jake, my bud, my pal. It came from a battle commander.
Freaky seeing how old Jake has gotten. – page 34 – Jake’s not the only one, Marco. Not by a long shot.
[After careening about 20 stories down a railing as cockroaches.]
/That was cool!/ I said.
/Way cool!/ Tobais agreed.
/Let’s never, ever do that again!/ I said.
/Never. Ever./
/Repetition of that activity would be a very bad idea,/ Ax agreed. – page 45 – Maybe I’ll go back and find where else they’ve said this. Because they have said almost this exact thing before. And it is still very amusing.
/Where did you get this theory of yours?/ Ax demanded [of Visser One].
“That’s my business.” Visser One shrugged. “There are all sorts of ways to figure out what is going on underground if you have the mental acuity, which Visser Three most assuredly does not./ -- page 63 – Haha, Visser One’s got that right about Three, that’s for sure!
Then [Visser One] narrowed her eyes and looked at us, each, one after the other. “One of you does almost all the talking. Two of you stay in morph. Visser Three is a fool. He has overlooked something strange about your group of rebels. He has missed something.” – page 67 – Stage one of Visser One figuring out the truth. Though the Animorphs put forth a mighty effort in the pages to follow to put her off the trail.
People don’t understand the word ruthless They think it means “mean.” It’s not about being mean. It’s about seeing the bright, clear line that leads from A to B. The line that goes from motive to means. Beginning to end.
It’s about seeing that bright, clear line and not caring about anything but the beautiful fact that you can see the solution. Not caring about anything else but the perfection of it.
That’s what happened. I saw the way to take both Vissers down. And that’s all that mattered.
But I wasn’t going to explain all that. Other people’s pity just messes with the straight line. Other people’s pity makes you think things you can’t think about when you are seeing the line. – page 71-72 (underlined emphasis added). Recently we have heard Marco being referred to as ruthless, and here is his particular brand of ruthless. It’s not like Rachel’s, where she will just do whatever has to be done usually according to orders. His version of ruthless has him seeing what must be done, making the judgment call, and then following through on whatever action is necessary, no matter the cost to himself.
“What if [the mountain goat] wakes up?” I said.
/This is your little picnic, you tell me,/ Tobias sniped.
I sighed. “Tobias, look, get up off my back, okay? I know you’re thinking Jake will blame you if this all goes bad. But we need to just get along here, okay?”
Tobias laughed. /Okay. I’m done pouting. Unless we end up getting kicked cross-country by these big goats. Then I’ll pout plenty./ -- page 80 – Nice little bit of humor, which was needed. I feel like these humorous moments might become fewer as the series progresses, or at least more strained, less natural. Just barely enough to help the Animorphs keep their sanity.
“Ax, do you think we can play the roles of arrogant Andalites?” Jake asked.
/It will certainly require good acting skills to imbue the fundamentally humble and dispassionate Andalite character with a taint of arrogance,/ he said.
“Yeah. Humble is the very first word that comes to mind when I think ‘Andalite,’” Rachel said with a drawl.
/I think I should do as much of it as possible,/ Tobias suggested. /I spend the most time with Ax. I can do a pretty good “arrogant Andalite.”/
/I am very close to taking offense,/ Ax huffed. – page 90 – Hahaha! This exchange is just perfect. And Ax, need I remind you, that the other Animorphs have a fair amount of practice in acting – when they lie to their families about what they’ve been doing, for one. Just recently it seems like everyone is starting to be more upfront and frank with their observations/analyses of the other’s characters. Or at the very least, it comes out in open conversations among everyone more. They are beyond trying to hide much of anything from each other. They all recognize that they have been changed by this war, that they each have a dark side which they normally have to hide, and that they have to be able to show these changes somewhere so that they don’t lock it all up inside. They can’t show them to their families; they can only show them to someone they trust: their own group.
/Next stop, the camping store,/ Jake said. /Let’s see how well she holds up. She’s volatile. She could go off./
/No. She’ll stick with the plan,/ I said.
I understood Visser One. She saw the bright, clear line, too. Problem was, only one of us could be right. – page 98 – Like mother, like son? I’m sure that with how entwined a Yeerk gets with their host mind, after awhile some of the host’s personality probably wears off on the Yeerk.
This time, it is Marco’s turn to really be put in a hard moral/decision-making spot. He sees an opportunity to take down both Vissers Three and One at the same time, and deal a powerful blow against the Yeerk invasion. But the clear, bright line he sees to this end, from point A to point B, is ruthless, and it just might cost him more than he realizes.
It was the whole point. We hurt the innocent in order to stop the evil.
Quotes and comments:
I led Mr. Grant to the elevator. Let me make it clear that I had no intention of morphing this man. I just needed him to get me past security and to the elevators. – page 13 – Good, because I was really wondering, Marco.
Jake sighed. “Okay, Marco, Ax, and Tobias. Tonight.” He looked at me. “Don’t do anything foolish. It’s reconnaissance only.”
I nodded.
“And if it comes to a judgment call, Tobias makes the call.”
That caught me off guard. But there was no point arguing. In Jake’s place I’d have done the same thing. – page 33-34 – It does make sense. Tobias does have a history of making good judgment calls, and even being one of the more level-headed ones in a tough position.
“I noticed a certain lack of details about what happened today,” Jake said. “Which tells me you did things that I probably don’t want to hear about.”
“Yeah. You probably don’t.” I tried out a devil-may-care grin. Not a big success.
Jake folded his arms over his chest and looked down at the ground in silence. Then up at me.
Jake has changed a lot over the months we’ve been fighting this little war. The look he gave me did not come from my boy, Jake, my bud, my pal. It came from a battle commander.
Freaky seeing how old Jake has gotten. – page 34 – Jake’s not the only one, Marco. Not by a long shot.
[After careening about 20 stories down a railing as cockroaches.]
/That was cool!/ I said.
/Way cool!/ Tobais agreed.
/Let’s never, ever do that again!/ I said.
/Never. Ever./
/Repetition of that activity would be a very bad idea,/ Ax agreed. – page 45 – Maybe I’ll go back and find where else they’ve said this. Because they have said almost this exact thing before. And it is still very amusing.
/Where did you get this theory of yours?/ Ax demanded [of Visser One].
“That’s my business.” Visser One shrugged. “There are all sorts of ways to figure out what is going on underground if you have the mental acuity, which Visser Three most assuredly does not./ -- page 63 – Haha, Visser One’s got that right about Three, that’s for sure!
Then [Visser One] narrowed her eyes and looked at us, each, one after the other. “One of you does almost all the talking. Two of you stay in morph. Visser Three is a fool. He has overlooked something strange about your group of rebels. He has missed something.” – page 67 – Stage one of Visser One figuring out the truth. Though the Animorphs put forth a mighty effort in the pages to follow to put her off the trail.
People don’t understand the word ruthless They think it means “mean.” It’s not about being mean. It’s about seeing the bright, clear line that leads from A to B. The line that goes from motive to means. Beginning to end.
It’s about seeing that bright, clear line and not caring about anything but the beautiful fact that you can see the solution. Not caring about anything else but the perfection of it.
That’s what happened. I saw the way to take both Vissers down. And that’s all that mattered.
But I wasn’t going to explain all that. Other people’s pity just messes with the straight line. Other people’s pity makes you think things you can’t think about when you are seeing the line. – page 71-72 (underlined emphasis added). Recently we have heard Marco being referred to as ruthless, and here is his particular brand of ruthless. It’s not like Rachel’s, where she will just do whatever has to be done usually according to orders. His version of ruthless has him seeing what must be done, making the judgment call, and then following through on whatever action is necessary, no matter the cost to himself.
“What if [the mountain goat] wakes up?” I said.
/This is your little picnic, you tell me,/ Tobias sniped.
I sighed. “Tobias, look, get up off my back, okay? I know you’re thinking Jake will blame you if this all goes bad. But we need to just get along here, okay?”
Tobias laughed. /Okay. I’m done pouting. Unless we end up getting kicked cross-country by these big goats. Then I’ll pout plenty./ -- page 80 – Nice little bit of humor, which was needed. I feel like these humorous moments might become fewer as the series progresses, or at least more strained, less natural. Just barely enough to help the Animorphs keep their sanity.
“Ax, do you think we can play the roles of arrogant Andalites?” Jake asked.
/It will certainly require good acting skills to imbue the fundamentally humble and dispassionate Andalite character with a taint of arrogance,/ he said.
“Yeah. Humble is the very first word that comes to mind when I think ‘Andalite,’” Rachel said with a drawl.
/I think I should do as much of it as possible,/ Tobias suggested. /I spend the most time with Ax. I can do a pretty good “arrogant Andalite.”/
/I am very close to taking offense,/ Ax huffed. – page 90 – Hahaha! This exchange is just perfect. And Ax, need I remind you, that the other Animorphs have a fair amount of practice in acting – when they lie to their families about what they’ve been doing, for one. Just recently it seems like everyone is starting to be more upfront and frank with their observations/analyses of the other’s characters. Or at the very least, it comes out in open conversations among everyone more. They are beyond trying to hide much of anything from each other. They all recognize that they have been changed by this war, that they each have a dark side which they normally have to hide, and that they have to be able to show these changes somewhere so that they don’t lock it all up inside. They can’t show them to their families; they can only show them to someone they trust: their own group.
/Next stop, the camping store,/ Jake said. /Let’s see how well she holds up. She’s volatile. She could go off./
/No. She’ll stick with the plan,/ I said.
I understood Visser One. She saw the bright, clear line, too. Problem was, only one of us could be right. – page 98 – Like mother, like son? I’m sure that with how entwined a Yeerk gets with their host mind, after awhile some of the host’s personality probably wears off on the Yeerk.
April 10, 2024
Yo no one can say Marco ain’t committed to the cause because he was ready to kill his mother
July 10, 2013
Brought to you by The Moonlight Library!
Marco discovers his mother, the host body is Visser One, is still alive. He concocts a plan to murder both of them and take out Visser Three as well. But can Marco be trusted not to be too emotionally attached to this mission?
This book is Marco’s shining light. It’s the best Marco book of the middle series in my humble opinion, because his ruthlessness really shines in this. There is a lot of internal angst, obviously, but we’re treated to a show of “I want to kill you, no, I want to save you!” coupled with how our gutsy narrator sees ‘the bright clear line’ from point A to point B, and the truth behind his ruthlessness to get there.
Marco’s not my favourite Animorph but because he continually fights to keep his emotional detachment in this novel, it is one of my favourites. We don’t necessarily learn a lot about the other characters, but we see Marco’s struggle first hand, and it’s an exciting novel to read and watch the scenes play out: particularly how Marco lays the trap for Visser Three to fall into quite neatly, even with unexpected turns.
It’s also one of the rare Animorph books that makes me cry – and yes, I do cry over everything. But the ending is powerful and still, even after 15 years, left me gobsmacked. I think I felt the emotional impact a lot more powerfully this time around because I am older and I have experienced loss, the kind of loss that Marco grieves. I have a better understanding of the struggle he’s going through with loving his mother and wanting to free her.
July 25, 2022
Marco’s mom is back. She’s still the enemy, infested by Visser one. And she knows about the free Hork-Bajir colony. We get some more character development for Marco and his mom. The rivalry between the Vissers is further explored and makes complete sense in the grand scheme of things, in the Yeerks hierarchy. The reference to the OK Corral is very well used here, as it’s absolute chaos towards the end. And the ending is quite shocking.
October 24, 2016
What? No, of course a children's book didn't make me cry. That would be ridiculous... *sobs into book*
May 19, 2020
Original Review at Jaunts & Haunts
3.5/5
I gave this novel three and a half stars.
This tends to happen with this series. After a great Megamorphs or great couple of normal installments we'll get a mediocre Animorphs adventure. This one had the potential to be great, given that Marco's mother's life is on the line and other stakes involved, but it just felt a bit hollow to me.
The blurb basically explains things in a nutshell, so I'll get right into what worked and didn't work for me.
First off, the characters. At first glance, the characters were great. Marco's obviously torn in this scenario because his mom is still being controlled by Visser One. He desperately craves her freedom, but even if he did get her free, the Yeerks know who she is and it would still endanger his family and standing as an Animorph. That part I get.
Unfortunately, this seems to be the only side of Marco that we see this entire time, and that's my problem. He isn't quite three-dimensional, and neither are the other Animorphs. They mainly switch from annoyance to mistrust of Marco's actions, and there just doesn't seem to be enough there for me, especially from characters like Cassie, who kind of just fade into the background. Jake/Rachel were handled pretty well though I will say.
The plot was pretty good, and the stakes were very high. Marco's mom and others' lives hang in the balance, and due to Visser One's issues with Visser Three it seems there may be a way to plot them against each other. I feel that the characters being off threw off the plot and how much I got into it, but that's just me.
In the end, I was happy with my experience, I just wanted more out of it. We've seen so much depth from our beloved Animorphs, and that simply has to be there every time we pick up one of the books.
Despite all my qualms, I still look forward to the next great Animorphs adventure and will cross my fingers that it's a good one!
3.5/5
I gave this novel three and a half stars.
This tends to happen with this series. After a great Megamorphs or great couple of normal installments we'll get a mediocre Animorphs adventure. This one had the potential to be great, given that Marco's mother's life is on the line and other stakes involved, but it just felt a bit hollow to me.
The blurb basically explains things in a nutshell, so I'll get right into what worked and didn't work for me.
First off, the characters. At first glance, the characters were great. Marco's obviously torn in this scenario because his mom is still being controlled by Visser One. He desperately craves her freedom, but even if he did get her free, the Yeerks know who she is and it would still endanger his family and standing as an Animorph. That part I get.
Unfortunately, this seems to be the only side of Marco that we see this entire time, and that's my problem. He isn't quite three-dimensional, and neither are the other Animorphs. They mainly switch from annoyance to mistrust of Marco's actions, and there just doesn't seem to be enough there for me, especially from characters like Cassie, who kind of just fade into the background. Jake/Rachel were handled pretty well though I will say.
The plot was pretty good, and the stakes were very high. Marco's mom and others' lives hang in the balance, and due to Visser One's issues with Visser Three it seems there may be a way to plot them against each other. I feel that the characters being off threw off the plot and how much I got into it, but that's just me.
In the end, I was happy with my experience, I just wanted more out of it. We've seen so much depth from our beloved Animorphs, and that simply has to be there every time we pick up one of the books.
Despite all my qualms, I still look forward to the next great Animorphs adventure and will cross my fingers that it's a good one!
March 6, 2019
This is grim--moreso than the average Animorphs book, and that's saying something. I've always had a hard time getting a grasp on Marco's character; I'm not wholly convinced by this version of him, but Jake is very good and there's a consistent emphasis on group dynamics, manipulation, shared responsibilities, interdependencies--it feels like the ghostwriter's hobbyhorse, but it's often mine too, so I appreciate it. But the highlight is the more-than-usual ethical ambiguity and explicit acknowledgement that this war is having, will have, permanent negative effects on the Animorphs.
This one feels ghostwritten--the language and characterization feel a little off; the themes are fairly heavy-handed--but in that good, fanfic-adjacent way: a heightened, deeper exploration of the base text's underlying themes.
"She's your mother!" Cassie exploded. "She's not 'Visser One.' She's your mother! Is everyone just going to let this happen?"
Jake sent her a cold look. "This is not the time, Cassie."
"When is it going to be the time? When Marco's mind is screwed up forever by this? He's in denial. This is his mother, for God's sake."
Jake said nothing. No one said anything. Cassie's words just hung in the air.
This one feels ghostwritten--the language and characterization feel a little off; the themes are fairly heavy-handed--but in that good, fanfic-adjacent way: a heightened, deeper exploration of the base text's underlying themes.
November 19, 2025
I don’t give a lot of kids books 5 stars but this was EXCELLENT. Gripping the whole way through, deeply personal, and heartfelt, this feels like Animorphs is back after a slump. The right amount of morphing and emotion without all the extra weird stuff that’s been happening lately. The ending was just incredible. Loved it. 4.9 stars
(In order to get the full impact of this book you will have to read every book before it in the series.)
(In order to get the full impact of this book you will have to read every book before it in the series.)
February 22, 2022
The Marco books are usually amazing, and this one is PHENOMENAL. His mother is back, and this story hits so many emotional beats regarding that. It's super well done.
Side note but did he ever actually turn into a grasshopper like the cover?
Side note but did he ever actually turn into a grasshopper like the cover?
August 10, 2023
the one where marco kills his mom.
some of the best character work for marco we've had yet. the reunion is to marco as the solution (animorphs #22) is to rachel; the two have to confront the fact that after being forced into a war, something in them has awakened and thrives in violence. the hints of how marco and jake's dynamic has shifted from boy besties to that of soldier and general were also nice. but the scheme to outwit the yeerks and fight at the end were all over the place.
some of the best character work for marco we've had yet. the reunion is to marco as the solution (animorphs #22) is to rachel; the two have to confront the fact that after being forced into a war, something in them has awakened and thrives in violence. the hints of how marco and jake's dynamic has shifted from boy besties to that of soldier and general were also nice. but the scheme to outwit the yeerks and fight at the end were all over the place.
August 23, 2022
what the fuck
February 10, 2023
Thanks for the pain ✌️ Any story that involves Visser One is a guaranteed tear-jerker, and this one had me clenching my gut.
May 11, 2024
*throws back my head and howls in anguish* MAAAARRRCCCCOOOO
August 6, 2014
Marco has to struggle with emotional issues regarding his mother. Breathtaking!
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
This book was ghostwritten by Elise Smith.
Jake asserting his "rank" as leader doesn't happen very often, but it's handled well in this book because he recognized Marco has a weakness with regards to his mother being used as Visser One's host body. Marco having a sincere urge to say "yes, sir" to him--in a non-joking way--is a testament to the fact that Jake is unequivocally accepted as leader.
In this book Marco and Tobias talk in thought-speak without reservation to Visser One. In the past, this was considered a huge no-no, and only Ax--the only true Andalite--was allowed to speak to Yeerks on the off chance that a human might "sound" like a human to anyone. Nobody seems to care about that in this book.
A Yeerk death sentence or fatwa is called a gashad.
Marco flies to and from The Gardens to get a goat morph. However, after having morphed to fly back home, Marco still describes having soreness and injuries from his encounters with the goats butting him and falling down the rocks. His injuries should have been healed.
While making their plans to trap and trick Visser One, Jake needs someone to go get Erek, and Tobias flies off to do so. Only a few sentences later, they're discussing strategy and trying to decide who will morph Andalites, and Tobias is in the conversation as if he hasn't just flown away. (And he plays an important role in that conversation, too.) There's no way he's flown to and from Erek's house within maybe half a minute, and the narration doesn't mention him coming back.
During the carrying out of their plans, there are several points where people who are not in morph are answering in thought-speak, which isn't supposed to be possible unless the human form is a morph.
Rachel in Hork-Bajir morph is recognized by the ex-visser as "Maska Fettan," but it is not clear why Rachel acquired this morph (or whether perhaps the visser just made a mistake). Her Hork-Bajir morph was Jara Hamee before. Ax has also acquired this morph. The identity of Tobias's Hork-Bajir morph is not pointed out, but unless he also acquired a different one for use in this mission, he is likely playing Ket Halpak. It's possible Rachel simply chose a different morph so nothing would seem suspicious with two of the same Hork-Bajir being seen by Visser One.
Since it's unclear in this book whether Visser One survived the fall she took, it only makes sense that the Animorphs should be panicked that she figured out who Marco was. If she still has loyal Yeerks on her side, it seems it'd be very very easy to just kill Marco since obviously she knows where he lives.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
This book was ghostwritten by Elise Smith.
Jake asserting his "rank" as leader doesn't happen very often, but it's handled well in this book because he recognized Marco has a weakness with regards to his mother being used as Visser One's host body. Marco having a sincere urge to say "yes, sir" to him--in a non-joking way--is a testament to the fact that Jake is unequivocally accepted as leader.
In this book Marco and Tobias talk in thought-speak without reservation to Visser One. In the past, this was considered a huge no-no, and only Ax--the only true Andalite--was allowed to speak to Yeerks on the off chance that a human might "sound" like a human to anyone. Nobody seems to care about that in this book.
A Yeerk death sentence or fatwa is called a gashad.
Marco flies to and from The Gardens to get a goat morph. However, after having morphed to fly back home, Marco still describes having soreness and injuries from his encounters with the goats butting him and falling down the rocks. His injuries should have been healed.
While making their plans to trap and trick Visser One, Jake needs someone to go get Erek, and Tobias flies off to do so. Only a few sentences later, they're discussing strategy and trying to decide who will morph Andalites, and Tobias is in the conversation as if he hasn't just flown away. (And he plays an important role in that conversation, too.) There's no way he's flown to and from Erek's house within maybe half a minute, and the narration doesn't mention him coming back.
During the carrying out of their plans, there are several points where people who are not in morph are answering in thought-speak, which isn't supposed to be possible unless the human form is a morph.
Rachel in Hork-Bajir morph is recognized by the ex-visser as "Maska Fettan," but it is not clear why Rachel acquired this morph (or whether perhaps the visser just made a mistake). Her Hork-Bajir morph was Jara Hamee before. Ax has also acquired this morph. The identity of Tobias's Hork-Bajir morph is not pointed out, but unless he also acquired a different one for use in this mission, he is likely playing Ket Halpak. It's possible Rachel simply chose a different morph so nothing would seem suspicious with two of the same Hork-Bajir being seen by Visser One.
Since it's unclear in this book whether Visser One survived the fall she took, it only makes sense that the Animorphs should be panicked that she figured out who Marco was. If she still has loyal Yeerks on her side, it seems it'd be very very easy to just kill Marco since obviously she knows where he lives.
May 23, 2017
This is just about the greatest book in the series yet.
Marco is ruthless, to an extreme extent. I absolutely love how he describes ruthless too.
"People don’t understand the word ruthless. They think it means ‘mean.’
It’s not about being mean. It’s about seeing the bright, clear line that leads from A to B. The line that goes from motive to means. Beginning to end. It’s about seeing that bright, clear line and not caring about anything but the beautiful fact that you can see the solution. Not caring about anything else but the perfection of it."
And yet, in the end, he wants her to say his name, to acknowledge it is him.
Bad idea.
This is goanna come back to bite them.
And Cassie saying they have to stop him, because they have to draw a line somewhere, and it has to be before he messes up his mind is so so true.
Marco sees that Jake and Vissser One can also both see the bright clear line, and that is another so true line. I like how his humor is slowly changing and lessening.
Just a great book.
Marco is ruthless, to an extreme extent. I absolutely love how he describes ruthless too.
"People don’t understand the word ruthless. They think it means ‘mean.’
It’s not about being mean. It’s about seeing the bright, clear line that leads from A to B. The line that goes from motive to means. Beginning to end. It’s about seeing that bright, clear line and not caring about anything but the beautiful fact that you can see the solution. Not caring about anything else but the perfection of it."
And yet, in the end, he wants her to say his name, to acknowledge it is him.
Bad idea.
This is goanna come back to bite them.
And Cassie saying they have to stop him, because they have to draw a line somewhere, and it has to be before he messes up his mind is so so true.
Marco sees that Jake and Vissser One can also both see the bright clear line, and that is another so true line. I like how his humor is slowly changing and lessening.
Just a great book.
November 17, 2025
I think Marco and Eva are my favorite relationship in this series.
January 23, 2023
This one is from Marco's point of view.
Ooh, poor Marco. This one was hard on him. It's again very insightful into his inner workings and thoughts. He says about himself, that he's pretty ruthless, a the-goal-justifies-the-means-kinda guy. He , because he sees a way to do so and to get rid of some other problems at the same time. But he hates himself for it, for not being more emotional and for setting himself up for a lot of pain and guilt. I think Marco is the classic archetype of someone, that is loosing the focus on why they're fighting the war. It's not worth fighting, if you're destroying that, which you're fighting for within yourself. While Rachel gets more and more agressiv, she still preserves her emotions, even if it's mostly anger. Marco instead gets more distant and cold.
Favourite sentences:
People don't understand the word ruthless. They think it means "mean". It's not about being mean. It's about seeing the bright, clear line that leads from A to B. The line that goes from motive to means. Beginning to end.
It's about seeing that brigt, clear line and not caring about anything but the beautiful fact that you can see the solution. Not caring about anything else but the perfection of it.
I'd be part of history. What I was about to do.
Some kid would laugh. Some kid would say, "Could, man. That was really cold."
I had to do it, kid. It was a war. It's the whole point, you stupid, smug, smirking little jerk!
Don't you get it?
It was the whole point. We hurt the innocent in order to stop the evil.
(Whoa, Marco, please pay attention in history class, man.)
Ooh, poor Marco. This one was hard on him. It's again very insightful into his inner workings and thoughts. He says about himself, that he's pretty ruthless, a the-goal-justifies-the-means-kinda guy. He , because he sees a way to do so and to get rid of some other problems at the same time. But he hates himself for it, for not being more emotional and for setting himself up for a lot of pain and guilt. I think Marco is the classic archetype of someone, that is loosing the focus on why they're fighting the war. It's not worth fighting, if you're destroying that, which you're fighting for within yourself. While Rachel gets more and more agressiv, she still preserves her emotions, even if it's mostly anger. Marco instead gets more distant and cold.
Favourite sentences:
People don't understand the word ruthless. They think it means "mean". It's not about being mean. It's about seeing the bright, clear line that leads from A to B. The line that goes from motive to means. Beginning to end.
It's about seeing that brigt, clear line and not caring about anything but the beautiful fact that you can see the solution. Not caring about anything else but the perfection of it.
I'd be part of history. What I was about to do.
Some kid would laugh. Some kid would say, "Could, man. That was really cold."
I had to do it, kid. It was a war. It's the whole point, you stupid, smug, smirking little jerk!
Don't you get it?
It was the whole point. We hurt the innocent in order to stop the evil.
(Whoa, Marco, please pay attention in history class, man.)
May 13, 2025
I had mixed feelings about this book. The story takes an interesting turn when Marco makes a deal with the former Visser One, trading the location of the Hork-Bajir Valley for a chance to eliminate Visser Three. Realizing they can use this opportunity to kill both Vissers at the same time, Marco is torn between saving his mother and killing the Yeerk infesting her. This internal conflict adds depth to Marco's character.
The beginning was a bit underwhelming, especially with Marco skipping school without much explanation – it felt like a plot device to set up his later plan. What worked well was Marco's emotional drive to save his mother from Visser One, who had become a traitor to the Yeerks. However, the Animorphs made some questionable decisions, particularly in revealing themselves by morphing in public, which went against their core rules.
The Andalite impressions were entertaining, with Tobias doing a standout job, likely due to his close bond with Ax. Visser One's observations about Andalite tactics hinted that she was getting close to uncovering the Animorphs' true identities.
One interesting aspect was the contrast between Jake's brother Tom and Marco's mom as human-controllers. While both were infested, removing Tom would likely have minimal impact on the Yeerks due to his relatively low rank and replaceability. In contrast, Visser One's demise would be a significant blow to the Yeerks' plans, given her high-ranking position and insight into the human resistance. This dynamic made Marco's plan to take out Visser One and save his mother a potentially game-changing move, worth considerable risk.
The tension around Marco's plan was palpable, with the group questioning his resolve. When Marco attacked his mother in goat morph, it showed just how far he'd go to achieve his goals – a mix of calculation and desperation.
The ending left Visser One's fate uncertain, setting up potential future conflicts. Overall, the book had its moments, but the decisions made by the characters often felt reckless.
The beginning was a bit underwhelming, especially with Marco skipping school without much explanation – it felt like a plot device to set up his later plan. What worked well was Marco's emotional drive to save his mother from Visser One, who had become a traitor to the Yeerks. However, the Animorphs made some questionable decisions, particularly in revealing themselves by morphing in public, which went against their core rules.
The Andalite impressions were entertaining, with Tobias doing a standout job, likely due to his close bond with Ax. Visser One's observations about Andalite tactics hinted that she was getting close to uncovering the Animorphs' true identities.
One interesting aspect was the contrast between Jake's brother Tom and Marco's mom as human-controllers. While both were infested, removing Tom would likely have minimal impact on the Yeerks due to his relatively low rank and replaceability. In contrast, Visser One's demise would be a significant blow to the Yeerks' plans, given her high-ranking position and insight into the human resistance. This dynamic made Marco's plan to take out Visser One and save his mother a potentially game-changing move, worth considerable risk.
The tension around Marco's plan was palpable, with the group questioning his resolve. When Marco attacked his mother in goat morph, it showed just how far he'd go to achieve his goals – a mix of calculation and desperation.
The ending left Visser One's fate uncertain, setting up potential future conflicts. Overall, the book had its moments, but the decisions made by the characters often felt reckless.
April 13, 2018
READ THIS ONE!! This was a solid book! I can't see any reason to give it any less than 5 stars, honestly. There are others I may have enjoyed more, but this was definitely a great book, despite being ghost written.
I actually used text to speech on my phone with ALReader to read me most of this on my drive to and from work today, and on my lunch. It feels like cheating, but it's the only way I've been able to get into any books lately, because I've been so busy.
SPOILERS SECTION:
So. Spoils.
The whole Marco's mom being made a controller, plot, has been great. It really tugs at the heart strings.
The ending, with the ambiguity of whether she lived or died.. .well I think she lived, it strongly hinted at that... but the fact that she knows Marco is an Animorph... that's bad... so bad... and clearly we'll get to see some consequences later as a result.
The fight between Visser One and Three was great. Although I could have used a few more descriptive scenes of the ships fighting. The Nova Class Empire ship was pretty neat, but I'd have liked more elaboration. That said, it was a pretty exciting moment when Visser Three stared aghast at this awesome spaceship.
Makes me wonder what the deal is with Visser One. Does she have a large secret following? She clearly has some manner of army. I'd like to learn more about this. Like how would this work? Is it a secret army? You would think a Nova Class Empire Ship wouldn't be something you could casually whisk away in secret, after all.
The Marco emotions are strong in this book. I really enjoyed that aspect. Him being torn over what to do... kill his mother...or let her live... In the End we have Jake step in and stop Marco from doing something that would surely haunt and torture him for the rest of his life. BUT now, as I've said, she knows their secret!!!!!
I actually used text to speech on my phone with ALReader to read me most of this on my drive to and from work today, and on my lunch. It feels like cheating, but it's the only way I've been able to get into any books lately, because I've been so busy.
SPOILERS SECTION:
So. Spoils.
The whole Marco's mom being made a controller, plot, has been great. It really tugs at the heart strings.
The ending, with the ambiguity of whether she lived or died.. .well I think she lived, it strongly hinted at that... but the fact that she knows Marco is an Animorph... that's bad... so bad... and clearly we'll get to see some consequences later as a result.
The fight between Visser One and Three was great. Although I could have used a few more descriptive scenes of the ships fighting. The Nova Class Empire ship was pretty neat, but I'd have liked more elaboration. That said, it was a pretty exciting moment when Visser Three stared aghast at this awesome spaceship.
Makes me wonder what the deal is with Visser One. Does she have a large secret following? She clearly has some manner of army. I'd like to learn more about this. Like how would this work? Is it a secret army? You would think a Nova Class Empire Ship wouldn't be something you could casually whisk away in secret, after all.
The Marco emotions are strong in this book. I really enjoyed that aspect. Him being torn over what to do... kill his mother...or let her live... In the End we have Jake step in and stop Marco from doing something that would surely haunt and torture him for the rest of his life. BUT now, as I've said, she knows their secret!!!!!
January 1, 2020
Marco is probably my second favorite character in the series, but this was my favorite book so far. The way the plan unraveled at the end kept the tension high, and it never felt padded. The struggle Marco dealt with over his mother hit me hard, and provided a refreshing insight about the human condition. Sometimes we are stronger than we think (a theme that is almost cliche), but sometimes we are weaker than we think (still a refreshing theme for me). But no matter what, we rarely do what we think we will in the heat of the moment.
I wanted this to be my last read of 2019, but I was too strapped for time yesterday to finish it. I’m just as happy for it to kick off my reading for 2020. I’m enjoying this series so much I have added a few more books to my list as well. I still think the series is heavily padded, but there are certainly more than 10 good books in the series.
Next I’m giving Jake a try. He’s not as boring as I had initially thought.
I wanted this to be my last read of 2019, but I was too strapped for time yesterday to finish it. I’m just as happy for it to kick off my reading for 2020. I’m enjoying this series so much I have added a few more books to my list as well. I still think the series is heavily padded, but there are certainly more than 10 good books in the series.
Next I’m giving Jake a try. He’s not as boring as I had initially thought.
July 3, 2020
Maybe more of a 3.5 because of the ending but the stakes reach their climax for Marco. Shit is definitely getting real for the Animorphs.
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