The Prophecy

Animorphs #34

by K.A. Applegate, Katherine Applegate

There is a chance for the free Hork-Bajir on Earth to help start a rebellion against the Yeerks on the Hork-Bajir homeworld. And they've learned from the last surviving Arn—the race that created the Hork-Bajir—that Aldrea, daughter of Prince Seerow, knew the location of a stolen Yeerk vessel packed with weapons.

Unfortunately, the only way to recover the ship is to ask Aldrea herself—and she's dead. But the Arn has Aldrea's persona stored. And Cassie, Rachel, or Toby Hamee are the closest match. The only problem is that once Aldrea gets into one of their minds, she may not want to come out. . . .

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Aliens

141 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 1999

About the author

also published under the name Katherine Applegate

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ghostwriter: Melinda Metz, who also wrote the last tremendous Cassie book (#29 The Sickness). I'm almost on the verge of committing heresy and saying that Metz has an even better grasp on Cassie than KAA did, because these two books have made me love her, which the previous ones never managed.

Because oh, gosh. You'd never have thought that the coda to The Hork-Bajir Chronicles would have occurred in a Cassie book; again, right when you think that ship has sailed and you're over the emotional devastation, it comes back to punch you in the heart even worse. Cassie gets a lot of the humorous one-offs, but she also gets some of the most philosophical books, the ones that need her empathetic abilities to put herself in someone else's shoes, to see the world through their eyes. It's what makes her such a good morpher; it's what makes her good at manipulating other people if necessary; it's what made her capable of starting the Yeerk peace movement; and in this book, it's what draws Aldrea to her. Because if anyone understands inter-species empathy, it's Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan.

In this book, the archived consciousness & memories of Aldrea are transplanted into Cassie's mind, paving the way for a crazy adventure on the Hork-Bajir home world. I have definitely mentioned how much I love this series' ways of getting the Animorphs to bizarre new settings, and this one is no exception: revisiting the events of the Hork-Bajir Chronicles, literally going back to old settings, seeing how they've changed, feeling Aldrea's grief at the loss of her family (it was really painful and awful, you guys).

One of my favourite things was Aldrea and Ax's dynamic, seeing how it shifted and they slowly gained respect for each other, culminating in that fistpump-victorious moment that got me a little verklempt, when they called each other brother Andalite and sister Hork-Bajir and accepted one another. When Ax finally learned to respect Aldrea's decision to become Hork-Bajir. I feel like Aldrea's situation could be a slight mirror of transgender issues & body dysmorphia, but it probably wasn't consciously meant to be, I dunno.

Other great things: Jake and Cassie's relationship. As stupid as I found Cassie and Rachel's one-off risk at the beginning of the book, this is still the first book to really address and delve into the vague Cake relationship, and it's sweet how Cassie wishes they could just go out on a real date, and have a kiss that wasn't caused by the "OH THANK GOD WE'RE STILL ALIVE" rush. They might not be a super active couple, but they love and support each other, explicitly and implicitly.

And I cannot even talk about the last lines of the book because just. Ouch.

A few favourite quotes below. Can I just say, Sassy Erek is quite possibly the best thing? I REALLY JUST LOVE EREK KING A LOT, YOU GUYS. Plus, the Animorphs have gotten soooo awesome at planning and strategising now; they speak in flat-out military language, stand up for themselves when Aldrea questions their capabilities, prove themselves like crazy, call in the Chee to maintain their covers at home while they're off gallivanting alien planets, and even have individual instructions to the Chee playing them. It's great.

"The appropriate receptacle mind is essential. Aldrea's Ixcila will be attracted to someone most like she was. Someone strong, fierce, independent. Presumably female. Hork-Bajir or Andalite, most likely, but I suppose she might gravitate toward a human. If such a human female existed."

"Oh, I think I know where one could be found," Marco said.

***

"Okay, there's that girl, Holly Perry, you know, she transferred from Polk?" Marco said from his seat on one of the big bales of hay in my barn. "I wnat my Chee to ask her out for me. I tried a couple of times, but this thing happened with my voice."

"He started clucking like the chicken he is," Rachel commented.

"Holly Perry. No problem," Erek the Chee told Marco. "It's not like we have anything else to do but work on your love life. Yeah, the Chee who plays you will also hold down his regular full-time job as a restaurant manager, but hey, your love life comes first."

***

"I don't see why we couldn't have gone Z-space the whole way," Marco whined.

Ax and Aldrea both laughed. Then they realized they were both laughing at the same thing and they both stopped laughing.

"Just say it," Marco told him. "I am but a poor Earth man, unable to understand the ways of the superior Andalite beings."

"Hork-Bajir," Aldrea corrected him.

***

"Yes, good work," Jake said much more quietly. "We may have just alerted the Yeerks, made things harder. So take five seconds to celebrate, then get ready to land. Be ready for battle morphs if needed."

<Cassie, I believe I like your boyfriend,> Aldrea said.

***

"I need someone on weapons," Aldrea said.

Ax appeared beside her. <We burn our way out?>

"We burn our way out."

<Once we create a hole, the water will rush in and through. It will create a vast drain that will empty much of the pool and suck many of the Yeerks to their doom.>

"Yes," Aldrea said. "Do you object, brother Andalite?"

<No, sister Hork-Bajir. I do not.>

"Then power up the Dracon beams."

***

<No, Aldrea, that's not all that's left,> Cassie said. <You didn't stop the Yeerks. But you slowed them. And that gave humans time. Now we may not stop them, but we, too, will fight, and delay, and weaken them. And someday, somewhere, they will be stopped.>

[Gavin Hetherington · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Kara Babcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

At this point in the Animorphs series, the team has been fighting the Yeerks long enough that each of them must come to terms with how this war is changing them. The Prophecy is Cassie’s turn, as she suddenly finds herself riding shotgun with the personality of Aldrea (remember her from The Hork-Bajir Chronicles ?). The Animorphs need Aldrea’s personality to help them retrieve a cache of weapons on the Hork-Bajir homeworld. With it, the last Arn can arm a new generation of cloned Hork-Bajir who can rise up and retake their planet. There is something so strategic in the way the Animorphs agree to help in this mission, not just because helping the Hork-Bajir is the right thing to do, but because it would be a distraction for the Yeerks and might divert resources away from Earth. Very calculating.

Aldrea’.s presence in Cassie’s mind reminds me of #19: The Departure, where Cassie is temporarily host to a Yeerk. There is, of course, an intentional parallel between Aldrea’s presence and the Yeerks: Aldrea can seize control of Cassie’s body, although Cassie has at least some capacity to wrest back that control, which is not the case when a Yeerk infests you. There is something very ironic to having an Andalite mind in control of one’s body in this way, however. Applegate and Metz capitalize on the tension of whether Aldrea will go willingly once the mission is over. I like the subterfuge that Aldrea and the Animorphs commit, exploiting this tension, to ensure that Toby returns to Earth instead of staying to lead the new Hork-Bajir.

On one level, it might seems surprising that such a big adventure takes place here, instead of in a Megamorphs instalment. The Animorphs visit the Hork-Bajir homeworld! This should be a big deal! There are explosions and chase sequences and stuff! Most of that gets sidelined, though—and it’s better that way. This book works because it’s not about the fight or the struggle. Instead, it’s about how to conduct yourself when you don’t want to fight. Aldrea chooses Cassie not because she is weaker and therefore easier to control, as Cassie first surmises, but because Cassie is most similar to her: cool and collected, intelligent and compassionate, but with an inner wellspring of strength. For all her fighting, Aldrea is not the gung-ho warrior that Rachel is. She and Cassie share the trait of not really wanting to be in this fight but having no choice in the matter.

Aldrea has to struggle with losing her beloved Dak, and that grief runs through this entire book. It’s mirrored and amplified by the way Cassie casually addresses her feelings for Jake at the beginning, prior to the start of the adventure. I love how the Animorphs’ various relationships are intensifying at this point in the series. While the ongoing fight makes it difficult for them to explore these feelings and associations in ways they might like, it’s nice we’re seeing some acknowledgement of the situation. Aldrea and Dak’s ending, if you will, is a portent (dare I say, a prophecy?) of how Jake and Cassie could end up: torn asunder in the fighting, one or both wounded or killed and thereby snatched away from the other. It’s a reminder that life is unfair, that the universe is uncaring, that good people do not always get happy endings.

This is another very strong book in the series in a sequence of strong books. The Animorphs (both group and series) have come so far. Whereas the earliest books necessarily deal with more localized problems—aliens in your high school, kidnapping your family, etc.—these books are addressing far larger issues. The Animorphs are literally helping an entire species to rebuild! That’s huge! It lends credence to the meddling of the Ellimist and Crayak earlier (and later) in the series: despite being five human beings from a backwater of the galaxy, the Animorphs do get around and have remarkable influence on events. As The Prophecy explores, however, these events take a toll on the Animorphs themselves. How much longer can Cassie continue her cognitive dissonance of compassionate warrior before something has to go?

Find out … well, not next time. Next time Marco has a much more important mission: his Dad must not get laid!

My reviews of Animorphs:
← #33: The Illusion | #35: The Proposal →

[Grapie Deltaco · Rating 3 out of 5]

A new alien race is introduced to the team and we learn of more options for freedom and rebirth for the Hork-Bajir that doubles as revenge on the Yeerks enslaving them.

And the process involves Cassie getting possessed by an alien ghost.

As much as I love and admire Cassie’s immense level if empathy and strength, I’m noticing a really unfair trend with Applegate where she is constantly having Cassie sacrifice her body and willingly be enslaved or controlled in someway to test how far her empathy and kindness goes. It’s situations like these that only ever happen to Cassie and literally no one else and Applegate clearly didn’t think of the racial implications that come along with having it always be Cassie.

Beyond this, I appreciated the critique on Andalite ways of being and approaches to war. It was a necessary reality check.

I’m just left annoyed at Cassie being defaulting to the one who loses her autonomy the most.

CW: war, slavery, violence, death, grief

[Choko · Rating 4 out of 5]

*** 3.75 ***

Cassie and Aldrea... Trying to find solutions for a more permanent freedom of the Free Hork-Bajir...

[Thibault Busschots · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cassie gets the consciousness of an alien entity implanted in her as the gang have an adventure on the Hork-Bajir home world. Said alien is Aldrea, the Andalite from the The Hork-Bajir Chronicles who got stuck in a Hork-Bajir morph.


What sets apart this book is the way the characters have evolved. They have become more accustomed to war and have become more strategic and calculating in picking their battles. The plot feels a little bit complicated to be honest for such a short book but it’s definitely strong and action-packed. While the scale of the conflicts in the series is definitely increasing, the overarching plot of the series feels like it hasn’t advanced in quite a while.

[Jay DeMoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cassie was all parts BLACK GIRL MAGIC in this one.

[Trevor Abbott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cassie is so boring it took me a week to finish a three hour audiobook

[The Library Ladies · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Full review here at the thelibraryladies.com.)

Narrator: Cassie

Plot: Another book where I only had vague memories! Most notable, perhaps, was my lack of memories at being frustrated by a Cassie book, which had been the standard for the last few. And there’s a reason! I think this, so far, is the best Cassie book in the series! I always want to give book #4 credit for introducing Ax, but, really, it’s not that great what with the magical whale nonsense and some of Cassie’s “ponderings” on the morality of morphing dolphins. Is the fact that this is only half a “Cassie book” since she shares the narrative with Aldrea part of the reason I enjoyed it?

But I also think it’s legitimately one of the better ones for Cassie herself. Let’s dive in!

We start with the required mini-adventure that seems to lead off all the books now. This time it’s cat!Rachel and rat!Cassie invading a teacher’s house to retrieve a piece of paper with an “I love Jake” doodle that Cassie accidentally turned in with her homework. Teasing happens, but they manage to retrieve it.

Back at the barn, Cassie is surprised to find Jara Hamee waiting for her. He’s come to fetch the Animorphs to the Hork Bajir valley where something shocking as occurred: an Arn, the alien species that created the Hork Bajir long ago, has arrived and has a request.

The Animorphs all fly to the valley. Once there, Toby, the Hork Bajir seer, explains that the Arn arrived out of nowhere in a stolen Yeerk ship and wants the Hork Bajirs’ help, but she wanted the Animorphs’ insight before making any decisions. The Arn claims to be the last of his species. But he doesn’t want to go quietly into the night and has come up with a way to try to reclaim his, and the Hork Bajirs’, home world. Before Aldrea and Dak died, they had managed to capture a Yeerk ship that was loaded with weapons. With these, the Arn proposes to gather some Hork Bajir DNA and create another guerilla warfare combatant group on the home world that can fight the Yeerks who remain there. The Hork Bajir are all willing to contribute DNA. But the hold up becomes clear: the Arn doesn’t know where the cache of weapons was hidden, only Aldrea herself knew this. But, luckily (?) for everyone, before she died, Aldrea had her personality/memories transferred into this jar thing that can be used to bring her back, sharing the mind and body of a host. Once she locates the weapons, she can be returned to the jar. The danger is that Aldrea herself will need to choose to leave her host body, making it quite a risk.

Rachel, of course, volunteers, as does Toby. After some debate, they all agree it’s for the best, and the ritual begins. But it is Cassie who is chosen. Caught completely by surprise, Cassie still knows that the only choice she really has is to accept. From this point onward, the story breaks into alternating chapters between Cassie and Aldrea.

Sharing minds and bodies, Cassie and Aldrea struggle to find a balance. Aldrea is shocked, confused, and scared by this sudden turn of events. From her perspective, she was just alive, with Dak and their child Seerow on the Hork Bajir homeworld. She’s now awoken to find herself in the mind of an alien girl, years later, and that both her son and husband are long dead. Her, too. There is also a lot of tension and mistrust between Ax and Aldrea. But eventually, they explain what they need from her. Aldrea is able to keep some of her thoughts private and realizes that she doesn’t know where the cache is, it was hidden after she had transferred her memories. But still wanting to travel back to her home, she agrees to the mission anyways.

The Arn, Toby, and the Animorphs all take off in the Yeerk ship on their way to the Hork Bajir world. The Chee remain behind to pose as the Animorphs while they’re away. Days later, when they arrive, they get in a brief battle with an Andalite ship that is patrolling near the Hork Bajir home world (the Andalite only sees the Yeerk ship). They manage to escape by using Aldrea’s skills as a pilot and markswoman. This gains her further trust with the group. She also begins to appreciate Jake’s leadership skills as he makes calls.

On the home world, Aldrea is shocked and saddened to see the destruction the Yeerks have brought to her planet. Many of the trees have been razed and the land is barren in many places. The Arn leads the group down into one of the deep trenches where his civilization used to exist. As they discuss next steps, the mental barrier between Aldrea and Cassie slips for a second and Cassie realizes that Aldrea lied, and doesn’t know where the cache is. The other are furious and say that Aldrea has lost their trust.

There is nothing to be done, however, but to move forward with Aldrea’s best guess as to where she might have hidden it. They all morph Hork-Bajir and swing through the massive forest. Aldrea leads them to the valley that used to be her home with Dak and Seerow. But the Yeerks have destroyed it, razing the trees and damming up a portion of the valley to now serve as a Yeerk pool. Aldrea is crushed, the reality of her situation finally hitting home. However, she is able to spot one tree that is part of the dam that has a marking that she and Dak had put on it. That’s where the cache would be. The problem is that the entrance to the hollowed out tree is on the other side, submerged in the Yeerk pool itself.

Jake and the others come up with a crazy plan. Aldrea calls it crazy and is horrified when they decide to move forward. Cassie tells her that they been pulling off crazy missions for quite a while now, and that she trusts Jake’s leadership skills. The team sets up to put the plan in action. Of course, it all relies on Cassie and her unique morphing skills.

All of the Animorphs morph bugs and climb into osprey!Cassie’s mouth. She then flies as high as she can above the Yeerk pool and then begins to let herself fall. As she falls, she slowly begins demorphing, saving her wings for last. At one point, she manages to completely demorph her lower half and begin the whale morph, all while still retaining her wings. As they fall, Aldrea is in awe of what Cassie is managing, never having heard of anyone being able to control their morphing like this. But as Cassie draws things out (to avoid being spotted as a human girl somehow on the Hork Bajir planet), Aldrea begins to panic and tries to take control of Cassie’s body. Cassie manages to not only continue her complicated morph but shut down Aldrea’s attempts as well. Finally, fully whale, Cassie lands in the Yeerk pool. In her huge mouth, the other Animorphs begin their next morphs. She surfaces and Ax, Andalite!Tobias, and Hork Bajir!Marco leap out onto the dam and start fighting off the Yeerks. Shark!Jake and shark!Rachel take care of the Taxxons powering towards them in the water. Lastly, Aldrea/Cassie demorph from whale and morph back to Hork Bajir. In this form, they are able to open the secret door into the tree and they all escape into it. There they find the Yeerk shop and the cache of weapons.

There is only one way out, however. They all load into the ship and blast their way out, creating a massive sink hole into which thousands of Yeerks are sucked down to their deaths. Cassie mourns this and Aldrea, again, wonders at these humans. When they get back to the Arn’s home, Aldrea knows that it is time. After seeing her home destroyed and realizing there is nothing for her in this life (and that she cannot wrestle control away from Cassie), she agrees to return to the jar. She also insists that Toby, her remaining kin, not stay on the Hork Bajir home world. She wants one family member, at least, to not get caught up in a guerrilla war. With the Animorphs’ help, she puts on a scene saying she is trying to take over Cassie. Ax grabs Toby and tells Aldrea that they are keeping her as a hostage if Aldrea doesn’t leave. Aldrea leaves Cassie and slowly fades away. The other return, knowing that Toby will realize it was a trick, but that by then it would be too late.

Peace, Love, and Animals: This is actually a really good book for Cassie. The personal arcs/plot points fall directly into her wheelhouse. And the action itself is of the kind that could be accomplished only by her.

In the beginning, she is sure that Aldrea’s spirit won’t choose her. Aldrea was known as an independent, fierce woman. Naturally, they all assume she’ll gravitate towards Rachel or Toby. After being chosen, Cassie then spends most of the rest of the book wondering why she was chosen. As Aldrea begins to push the boundaries on controlling Cassie’s body, Cassie begins to suspect that Aldrea must have sensed some sort of weakness in her, one that she could exploit to remain in the living world. But it is only in the end when Cassie asks Aldrea that she finds out the truth: Aldrea can’t know for sure, as she wasn’t consciously choosing, but she suspects that she knew she would be tempted to stay and that she needed to be with someone who could remind her of her own “humanity” essentially and strong enough to show her that. I think this fits very well with Cassie as a character.

Also, Aldrea really struggles throughout this book, as would be expected for someone who just woke up years later and finds out they have lost everything. Cassie’s simple sorrows for her and empathy are comforting to Aldrea. Lord knows Rachel wouldn’t have pulled that off. And Toby would also have had some self-interest involved in a way that Cassie’s simple focus on supporting Aldrea’s emotions didn’t.

The morphing scene at the end was also awesome. We’ve seen Cassie pull off some amazing stunts before (all seemingly involving morphing whale while falling from the sky), but what she manages here takes it to a new level. I don’t believe we’ve ever seen her (or obviously, anyone) pull off morphing two different animals at once, getting her legs fully human and started up on whale while her arms are still osprey and waiting to go through the human stage. It’s pretty incredible and Aldrea’s own shock and awe is a nice cipher for readers to understand how truly extraordinary what Cassie is pulling off is. Throughout the book, Cassie also notes to herself that even while she has a particular talent, the Animorphs in general are all probably morphing experts, as compared to the Andalites who rarely actually use the ability, including Aldrea.

Aldrea: It’s great having another book with Aldrea in it. Through her memories, we get more insight into what her and Dak’s life was like with their baby before the end of everything. Obviously, we know it ended tragically, but there are some sweet moments between the two that we get to see through her memories and dreams.

She is also, understandably, dealing with a lot of anger, confusion and denial throughout this book. She’s never even heard of humans and now suddenly she’s on their planet inside the body of one. She’s rightly skeptical of the Arn’s motivations for his whole plot, and sees the Animorphs as children and finds it difficult to trust and follow their lead. Further, she and Ax have an ongoing conflict, each looking on the other with a sense of distaste.

The space fight scene is a good moment to highlight her skills as a combatant, and while they are all in Hork Bajir morph on the planet, we see just how comfortable she is in that form, having truly adopted it as her own.

We also see her struggle with the idea of returning to her unconscious state. She never outright plots to take over Cassie, but when, in a moment of panic, she tries to take over while they’re falling through the air, the realization that she actually can’t is a helpful push for her to realize just how wrong what she had been considering was.

It’s also a nice touch, in the end, for her to feel so strongly about Toby returning to Earth, not wanting the same life for Toby as the one Aldrea lead.

Our Fearless Leader: Jake really highlights his strength by repeatedly standing up to Aldrea. It’s mentioned several times that she’s essentially a war hero straight out of history. So it’s natural that there might be tension regarding who makes the calls. Jake never wavers, however, and as the story progresses, Aldrea begins to see why he has been so successful for as long as he has and why the other Animorphs trust his judgement with some of their more crazy plans.

Xena, Warrior Princess: Rachel, of course, volunteers immediately and is very confused when she isn’t chosen. She outright asks Aldrea about it early in the book, but Aldrea doesn’t really know at that point. Along with Jake, Rachel is also the most on the alert for signs that Aldrea may be trying to take over Cassie or not give her up. There were a few instances when Aldrea talked from Cassie’s mouth and Rachel was immediately angry and upset, insisting that she let Cassie back.

A Hawk’s Life: Tobias doesn’t have much in this book, other than it being recognized that he is the closest to the Hork Bajir and the one who had heard Aldrea’s story from Jara Hamee originally. When they’re all on the Hork Bajir planet, he stays in hawk morph and struggles to navigate around the massive trees.

The Comic Relief: Marco also doesn’t have much. He has a few good one-liners here and there. His usually commentary on how insane all of their plans are. And there is a moment when Jake is in the middle of a big “leader” speech where he interrupts him to make a joke. Cassie notes this as a good service that Marco provides his best friend when he thinks Jake is getting too serious or caught up in things.

E.T./Ax Phone Home: Ax struggles the most with the appearance of Aldrea. His normal Andalite arrogance is amped up when presented with the daughter of the Andalite who essentially created the Yeerk threat. Not only does he have the usual Andalite disdain for Seerow, and through him, his daughter, but his own prejudices regarding Andalite superiority are on display. He cannot understand why an Andalite would choose to live as a Hork Bajir. Aldrea does a good job calling him out on both of these fronts, noting that Elfangor did the same by giving the Animorphs their powers and naming his prejudice for what it is with regards to her decision to become a Hork Bajir. By the end of the book, both have come to an understanding and appreciation for the other, but it’s rough there at the start.

Best (?) Body Horror Moment: Cassie has one of her biggest moments of panic and horror when Aldrea takes over the morphing process when they morph wolf back on Earth as a practice run. For the first time, the morphing process is described as being painful, likely largely due to the psychological strain of having one’s body go through that but not to be in control of it. Probably especially for Cassie, as she is used to having more control over the process in general than any of the rest of them, so to have it completely out of her hands…

Couples Watch!: Obviously there’s the bit in the beginning when they’re fetching the love note. Maybe aware that Tobias/Rachel jumped the “using the ‘L'” word hurdle in the last book, it is noted here that Cassie and Jake have kissed other times (though usually just after battles) and, while they haven’t told each other, they both know they love each other.

Unfortunately, what should have been big miles stones for these two (but AGAIN, all of that supposed kissing happened off screen, so I’m still calling these two the wet blanket couple of the bunch) are over-shadowed by the much-more compelling and adult-feeling relationship between Aldrea and Dak. Not only do they have a whole book of backstory for the two of them together, but Aldrea’s emotions and memories of Dak just feel deeper and more meaningful.

If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: Another book without Visser Three! Really, this is one of the few books that had no main villain. Like we saw in the last book, sometimes other Controllers step in for the villain role, but here we don’t have much other than the generic Hork Bajir and Taxxon Controllers they all fight in the end. And even there, Cassie/Aldrea are never really in that battle. But the Arn is viewed with quite a lot of suspicion from everyone. He says he is the only one left, and they all question his motivations for wanting to start up another guerilla war with the Hork Bajir serving as warriors. What’s in it for him? It’s not like the Arn have a great history about caring for anyone other than themselves, especially not the Hork Bajir. He also has an unfortunate habit of referring to the planet as only his own. Though, to be fair, they were there before the Hork Bajir. So while it’s the Hork Bajirs’ home, too, they can’t really deny the Arn some ownership of it. But, in the end, there doesn’t appear to be anything to all of this suspicion, and while the Arn is still arrogant and a bit off-putting, his claims seemed to be true.

An example of his sliminess, when they are discussing who needs to make the trip to the Hork Bajir planet:

“But she is just a vessel,” Quafijinivon [the Arn] said with a sort of greasy smile. “Why would you humans need to come?”

Tobias said.

Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: The scene where Aldrea first sees what used to be her, Dak, and Seerow’s home, now converted to a Yeerk pool of all things. It’s pretty crushing. Especially because up to this point, some small part of Aldrea has been in denial about her situation. Seeing it really makes it hit home what she’s lost and how far removed she is from everything she knew. It’s really tragic when you think about it. To her, she had just minutes ago been alive and well, transferring her memories. And now it’s all gone. Her husband is dead. Her son went on to be taken by the Yeerks and die in captivity. Her home is a freaking YEERK POOL. The tree in which she and Dak essentially carved “A hearts D” is part of the dam itself!! It’s rough. And then, in the end, she has to choose to return to oblivion, not knowing if she’ll ever wake again.

What a Terrible Plan, Guys!: The plan with Cassie’s morphing feats was really awesome. The plan to trick Toby was…really not. It all happens in about two pages and it just doesn’t make sense. I feel like Toby knows that Ax threatening her is an empty threat, so it’s hard to believe she’d fall for it. Beyond that, I have to think she’d be more open to an honest conversation with Aldrea and none of it might have been necessary. Beyond that, once she does learn the truth, I’d think the fallout would be massive. That’s a HUGE betrayal by the Animorphs. And it’s only made worse by the general way that Hork Bajir have been mistreated in the past, manipulated by “smarter” species “for their own good.” I have to believe that Toby would see it as such and have a hard time forgiving them all for taking away her agency.

Favorite Quote:

Aldrea notes with some confusion the Animorphs’, and Cassie in particular, sadness over the death of all the helpless Yeerks in their pool. It’s over this concept that Ax and Aldrea begin to understand each other:

Aximili said.

Funny AND super dated moment. Marco expresses an opinion that does not hold up well!





Marco said.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aldrea is back! Aldrea is such an awesome character, and I love how she was brought back into the story. I also love how Ax reacts to her at first, with all his Andalite haughtiness because she chose to become something else. And the way she talks about being a Hork Bajir. Ah, it is so great. I can see, as others have pointed out, a parallel of Aldrea and transgender people, with how Ax looks down on her for becoming Hork Bajir and insists that she is an Andalite, and her saying Hork Bajir is her true body. For a Cassie book, this one had a lot of action. That ending is a punch, as are a lot of the later books endings.

[Swankivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, Cassie is channeling a spirit; not only a spirit, but a dead Andalite who thinks she's a Hork-Bajir. What the hell.

Notable moments and inconsistencies:

This book is ghostwritten by Melinda Metz.

Toby, the daughter of free Hork-Bajir Jara Hamee and Ket Halpak, is referred to as "Toby Hamee," which suggests that "Hamee" is kind of like a last name; it's unclear whether her second name being the same as her father's indicates a paternal naming convention, but it's possible.

In this book it is stated that the Hork-Bajir are from a different galaxy. Ax says so when they have to go through Z-space to arrive "somewhere in the galaxy of the Hork-Bajir planet," and when Aldrea awakens Cassie wonders whether she has any idea that she's on "a planet in a different galaxy." But in The Hork-Bajir Chronicles, it's said over and over that the Yeerks, the Andalites, and the Hork-Bajir are from the same galaxy.

The concept of the Ixcila is introduced in this book: it's a person's essence and memories, and can be accessed through a "receptacle mind."

Typo: One of Ax's lines says "And if she doesn't chose to release her hold?" Should be "choose."

Cassie's narration has her describing climbing a tree as going "Up and up, toes and blades biting the bark, racing straight toward 'Father Sky,'" as if this is how Hork-Bajir think of the sky. In every other place, it's "Mother Sky." The "father" here is "Father Deep."

It's curious that despite Cassie's never attempting a maneuver like keeping wings from a previous morph on through to her natural form and onto another morph, she is somehow confident that she can do it. No testing, no understanding of whether it's possible; they just banked on it working. And because of her morphing talent, it does. There doesn't seem to be an Andalite science-related reason for this.

[JD Waggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmm, I think this one would be a 3.5 stars. It was great to bring in the Chronicle so clearly to the regular series and continue the story of Aldrea and Dak. There some super neat aspects of this as well, like Cassie's holy-crow-how-in-the-universe morphing feat of awesome. But there were a handful of things that just felt unfinished, or mayble flat, like the plot-point-ness of the Arn and the underuse of Toby.

Cassie was indeed the best choice for this narration, though, and it was again a phenomenal risk on Applegate & Co.'s part to use a YA book to look at what it is to be dead but not totally, at how incredibly varied body snatching can be, at that fundamental hope of every race to live. Aldrea's grief was very real and very well done, and I love love love the evolution of her reactions to and relationship with Ax.

I continue to appreciate Jake's journey in the background, here so painfully highlighted by the adorable love that Cassie has for him against the battle general role he so easily assumes now. That kid is not going to be okay at the end of this series, and I applaud the authors for setting up the reality of that so clearly, even as I hate that both Cassie and Jake (and all of them) are just getting broken by this.

[Juushika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where Tobias books are identity/situational angst, satisfying and character-driven but not particularly complex beyond the messed up situation & family tree, Cassie books are about ethics and consent and power-dynamics, a particularly unsolvable angst which is tied both to worldbuilding and the series's themes. This is the second time Cassie has effectively been possessed, and I wish there were more direct comparisons to her firsthand experience with the Yeerks--like The Sickness (Animorphs 29), which has the same ghostwriter, this is strong but would be stronger if taken one step further. But that's my only substantial complaint. I like Aldrea more here than in The Hork-Bajir Chronicles (Animorphs 22.5 / Animorphs Chronicles 2): she's abrasive, intentionally unlikable, threatening; her character arc is more distinct. I appreciate the trust in the Animorphs social dynamics, especially after so many books that remind us how fraught these friendships have become. And I love Cassie; I love her predicaments, and I love that her moralizing is simultaneously a weakness, a strength, and a counterbalance to her incredible competency.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

   (EDITED) The last Arn alive on the Hork-Bajir homeworld pays a visit to the free Hork-Bajir colony on earth to collect DNA samples to bring back and create more Hork-Bajir. He also has the recorded essence of Aldrea (from the Hork-Bajir Chronicles), who might know where a captured Yeerk ship from her final battles would be hidden on the Hork-Bajir planet, so that the new Hork-Bajir would have a fighting chance to survive on their defeated planet. But Aldrea would need a body, and her essence selects Cassie as her host. Together, the Animorphs, Ax, Toby, Aldrea, and the Arn head back to the Hork-Bajir planet to find this weapons stash and return before the Chee has too much time to clean Marco’s room and his dad get suspicious.

   **EDIT** I took a couple of days break from Animorphs, the re-read this book over the course of three or four sittings. It gave me a chance to breathe a little, and refresh my view on this book. The result? I’d now give this book a solid 4 stars. Cassie is Cassie, and Aldrea is as much Aldrea as she can be, given that she is a construct of memories implanted in Cassie’s mind. The pacing is different, yes, than previous books, but Cassie is also very different from the other Animorphs. She is the one least invested in this fight for personal reasons, and it shows: she does not refer to the fight against the Yeerks a “war” like Marco, Jake, and Rachel have already. It is still a fight to her, a fight that they might lose, but one which she will take on to help slow down the Yeerk Empire and protect the planet, its diverse creatures, and those she loves on it as much as she is able.

   This book is a mix of Cassie narrating and Aldrea narrating, and a blend between the two. Oddly enough, it was never confusing as to who was speaking or thinking, because the pronouns changed accordingly and some chapters were specifically marked as Aldrea narrating. However, there are two gripes I have about the plot. For one, Aldrea is upfront at the beginning about not knowing where the weapons are stored on the planet. When that comes up as an issue later on, it doesn’t make sense. For another, there’s not much logical reason why Toby has to go along on the mission (potentially putting herself in danger and possibly upsetting even further the balance of the Animorph’s team) once Aldrea selects Cassie as her host, except to be an extra little plot-conflict at the end.

   Overall, it is refreshing that this book is not nearly as intense as the past few have been – what with Cassie’s dilemma about letting Aldrea “die” again once having been “reborn” in her being only lightly touched upon– and it also gives Cassie a chance to gain some self-confidence in herself as a person, not just as an Animorph who is especially talented at morphing. Plus there is advancement of the free Hork-Bajir plot, and building up that aspect of the war against the Yeerks – I hope the Arn does his work well, and that the new Hork-Bajir on their homeworld fare better than their ancestors. Growing up and reading this, Cassie was one of my other favorite characters. Now, rereading, I’m starting to see why again. Between this book and #19 The Departure and #29 The Sickness, we are getting not only the Cassie-is-a-tree-hugger-and-animal-lover, but also good explorations of her evolving and deepening character. And coming after what just happened to Tobias, Rachel, Jake, and Marco, this book is a welcome break from dark and horrific.

        All civilized species must share a hatred of war.

   /[The Arn] had to come. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace isn’t coming out on DVD there for, like, two years. He buys up a bunch of copies here, takes ‘em home, makes a fortune./
   /Good grief, Marco, you live science fiction, why do you want to watch science fiction?/
   /Don’t be dissing TPM,/ Marco said. /Cool is cool./ -- page 13 – I remember when Phantom Menace came out – and it is still the only Star Wars movie I have seen, haha. And when I’ve told friends that, they groan that that is the only Star Wars movie I’ve seen yet (apparently it’s bad in relation to the original trilogy??)

   [After hearing the Arn’s plan to take back the Hork-Bajir homeworld]
   It was a chance to hurt the Yeerks. It was a chance to help the free Hork-Bajir. A no-brainer, morally or strategically.
   Except for the fact that, as Marco pointed out, it was insane. We very seldom ended up refusing to do what was insane. – page 26 – It would be Cassie who would take into account the moral repercussions of a mission. And I’m glad she notices how they rarely refuse to do insane.

   “We call on Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan,” [the Arn] said.
   “Paging Stephen King,” Marco said quietly. “R. L. Stine calling Stephen King with a message from Anne Rice.” – page 30

   [Aldrea narrating] My rebirth had brought me a pain that felt almost unbearable. My Dak gone. My Seerow gone.
   But it had brought me a gift as well. The chance to know my great-granddaughter. – page 42 – And what about getting to know your grandson, Jara Hamee, hm? Are you forgetting about him? Or is it because he is not a seer like Dak was, like Toby is? Or is it because he is an adult, whereas Toby is a child?

   [Toby has explained that they must make this journey, have this fight to Aldrea.]
   Aldrea spread my hands wide. “Why?”
   “Because we must be a free people, Great-grandmother. So far our freedom here, in this valley, on this planet, has been bought and paid for by these humans, our friends. But freedom can’t be given. It must be taken and held and defended. Our freedom has to be our own creation.” – page 47 – Freedom has the most value, the most meaning, when it has been hard fought and won.

   “But now that I know it has morphing abilities, I’m sure it will work well enough,” Aldrea continued.
   It. I guess “it” is the right word to use when you’re talking about a body. “It” stepped in to reach the speech centers. – page 54 – This would be another good point to bring up in a discussion group, is a body an “it”, a “she”, a “he”, or something else, and in what situations would the different terms possibly be interchangeable.

   Rachel would not have been intimidated by Aldrea. She’d have laid down the law: Do what I tell you, or else.
   Or else what, though? That was the question, wasn’t it. Or else… what?
   I wondered again why Aldrea hadn’t chosen Rachel as her receptacle. But maybe the answer was all too clear: Maybe I’d been chosen because she sensed I was the weakest. – page 58 – A very relatable sentiment, if different circumstances, for kids: the feeling of lacking confidence in oneself, in questioning one’s own worth, having self-doubt. A good reminder that the Animorphs are kids, and they can question themselves about very basic matters of the self, not just the big things that come up from being in a war.

   [Marco has been detailing to Erek how he wants his replacement Chee to take a girl on a date]
   I felt impatience from Aldrea. […] /It’s their way of blowing off steam. You know, of dealing with the anxiety of leaving for a mission,/ I explained to her.
   Her impatience didn’t lessen. /You are all still such children,/ she muttered.
   /Actually, we’re not much younger than you and Dak Hamee were when you fought the Yeerks./
   I got the strong feeling that she didn’t appreciate the comparison. – page 60

   /You care for this Jake person,/ Aldrea said to me.
   /Yeah. I do./
   /Like Dak and me./
   /Yeah. I guess so./ It was a disturbing comparison. Neither Dak nor Alrdrea had survived their war.
   /I wish you better luck than we had./ -- page 70 – Foreshadowing this early on? =/ But then again, Cassie’s comments later on also belie that she does not necessarily think that the Animorphs will win their fight, but she hopes to give the next species a fighting chance, like Aldrea and Dak and the Hork-Bajir gave to humanity. (Also, I think this is the closest Cassie has come to outright referring to their fight against the Yeerks a war, maybe?)

   “Quafijinivon says we are now in Hork-Bajir space. We may pass the Yeerk defenses unnoticed. Or not,” Jake announced. “We should get ready. We don’t know what we’ll be walking into. I want everyone—”
   Marco held up his hand like he was asking a question.
   “Yes, Marco.”
   “Do we have correct change for the tolls?”
   Jake blinked. Then he grinned. He and Marco have been best friends forever. Marco knows how to knock Jake down a peg when Jakes starts taking his fearless leader role too seriously. – page 76 – The Animorphs are getting to be rather like a well-oiled military machine. I’m glad they also know when to be more casual too, and Marco is great for that while he’s also great at strategizing. But the day will come when Jake won’t be able to not take his role to seriously…

   “Can [the Andalite fighter] fly?” Jake asked [after Aldrea shot one of the Andalite warrior’s engines].
   /Yes. He is regaining control. But he is as slow as we are, now. He will never outrun them./ [Ax answered]
   “They won’t attack us,” Marco remarked. “They see we fired on the Andalite. We’re a bona fide Yeerk craft.”
   /How lucky for us,/ Ax said acidly. /That warrior has bought us our passage./ -- page 83 – This is tough on Ax’s loyalty. If he had a mouth, I bet he’d be clenching his teeth as he said that, too. It’s a good thing they did what they did after this to kind of make up for it.

   “Yes, good work,” Jake said much more quietly. “We may have just alerted the Yeerks, made things harder. So take five seconds to celebrate, then get ready to land. Be ready for battle morphs if needed.”
   /Cassie, I believe I like your boyfriend,/ Aldrea said. – page 86 – A guy after her own heart, maybe?

   /You do not have to worry about the lava, Cassie,/ Ax comforted me.
   “Thanks, Ax,” I answered.
   /If you fell, I believe you would be incinerated before you hit the actual magma,/ he continued.
   Sometimes I think hanging around Marco so much has given Ax a totally twisted sense of humor. Very un-Andalite. – page 95-96 – Well, Jake had told him ages ago to tell the rest of the Animrophs when he knows something that might affect the mission…and his additional comment could be seen as trying to comfort Cassie/not give her information which will scare the wits out of her (which would also be following Jake’s amended orders from way back when).

   I [Aldrea] did not know the location of the weapons. I remembered Dak and I and the others, the few who still gathered with us, taking the ship. But I must have hidden them after recording my Ixcila.
   /You don’t know where they are!/ Cassie accused. – page 98 – Inconsistency. Let’s backtrack to page 43 for a minute here, yes? Aldrea flat out tells Cassie, who then relays it to the rest of the group, that she does not know where the weapons are hidden, that she must have hidden the weapons after she had recorded her Ixcila.

   I saw the subtle evolution from human to Hork-Bajir eyes. Colors shifted as the spectrum of visible light moved toward the ultraviolet, losing color toward the infrared end of the spectrum. – page 103 – Interesting to read exactly how Hork-Bajir eyes are different than human eyes!

   [Aldrea] was alive, now. Alive in a way. She spoke and thought and felt and experienced and even learned. She was alive, but only by my grace.
   Oh, my God. Was it my decision to make? Would I have to tell her when the time had come to return to nothingness?
   Was I going to be the one to kill Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan?
   The realization took my breath away. – page 109

   The others caught up to me. We all stood amid the high branches and gazed down at the devastation. The humans did not understand, of course, not really. This was my home. Not from decades ago, but from just the other day. Just the other day I left my husband and my son there. Just the other day they were alive.
   /I’m sorry, Aldrea,/ Cassie said.
   It was true. I was dead. I saw, I heard, I touched and I felt, and yet, I was dead.
   This life was no life at all. This life was an illusion created by the Arn. My life was Dak. My life was Seerow. Everyone who had made up my life with theirs was gone. – page 112-113 – Poor Aldrea. We really see her pain, her grief. A person’s life is as much their own as those around them – interpersonal relationships are very important for keeping us alive and giving us the support system we need as a social being.

   I fell slowly, reusing the accelerating pull of gravity. And then, only a hundred feet above the Yeerk pool, I began to morph to whale.
   My feet twined together, like fast-acting ivy, or spaghetti twirled on a fork. They melted, and fused and my flesh grew thicker, fatter.
   And still, I kept the wings – page 122 – As cool as this morphing is, I really thought that she had to return to fully human before morphing a different animal. When has she tested this type of morphing before, to be sure that she could do it now? It seems a rather important point….

   “The [code] number represents a logarithm of Seerow’s birth date. I always used it.” – page 134 – Inconsistency: there were no numbers in the code, it was “Mother loves Seerow”.

   I [Aldrea] drew Aximili aside. “You have lived with these humans. They seem troubled by their victory [of killing thousands of Yeerks].”
   /Yes. They regret doing what they know they must. They have an almost Andalite sensibility./
   I smiled. “I was going to say that they remind me of our Hork-Bajir warriors, who never forgave themselves for learning to kill.”
   /Let us agree, then, that all civilized species must share a hatred of war,/ Aximili said. – page 137-138

[Bon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was so depressing 😞

[madly · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was such a gift to child me :') ♡ can't believe i never read this one as a kid, it feels like fanfiction catered to me specifically

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Animorphs with fascinating ideas and no time to explore them. The Arn are here, Aldrea is introduced, Cassie confronts her perceived weakness, interplanetary travel and the creation of a new front against the Yeerks; all of this in one book!!

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

(So my computer rebooted at random while I was in the middle of this and when I came back, it seemed to be that I had to redo it but when I clicked the thing, it was all still here. Neat!)

"Paging Stephen King. R.L. Stine calling Stephen King with a message from Anne Rice"

Another Cassie book, and with it we have the return of ghostwriter Melinda Metz. The Sickness is still the best ghostwritten book so far, likely thanks to Metz' experience. So her return is exciting, and yet this is sadly her last book. I assume she got busy with her own work. This book seems to be dumped on for the premise but I think that's unfair. Honestly, I thought this was good. Not super great and we'll get to why, but when you get past the premise, it's fine.

This is basically a continuation of The Hork-Bajir Chronicles so I have to spoil that one as it's important to the setup. In that one, we found out the Hork Bajir were actually created by a spefeis called the Arn to make trees for them or something. One Arn comes to Earth, telling them that he has a plan to get some weapons and finally take back the Hork Bajir world from the Yeerks.

The problem is that the only person who knew where they are is Aldrea, the Andalite from that book, and she's dead. But Arn copied her memory and can basically put ghost in someone's body, with it being her choice somehow. The body picked is Cassie's and then Aldrea struggles with how things have changed since her death, the fact that she's dead all, and oh yeah they gotta do the plan too.

They cover it up in Sci-Fi mumbo jumbo but yeah, Cassie gets possessed by a ghost. It's easy to mock that idea for how silly it sounds, and yeah it's pretty out there. It's on the far fetched side. But once they get into it, it works out okay. The main reason is how it's tied to Hork Bajir Chronicles. That was a really good story and this is a solid way to continue is.

Aldera gets her own chapters and they are the highlight, as we explore her complicated feelings towards all this. It gives us some of that gray-ness and there are interesting moments with Ax regarding her. Even if he's a bit of a dick at some points, guess that comes with being an Andalite.

There's some good heft there, which carries this. On Cassie's end, this being a Cassie book seemed random at first but later it becomes clear why she was picked. I wouldn't say she gets development, but she at least gets something even if it's only a bit at the end. I'll take it.

The structure isn't the strongest, as it's slow to get going and the climax/ending is kinda rushed. Still, it flows okay despite that as we get good introspective stuff. Despite the goofy idea, it has decent seriousness to it. It's not as junky as the premise suggests. Some important things happen...and apparently don't quite come up again but it's not this book's fault I guess. It's kinda like The Warning in that way.

As far as Cassie books go, it's lesser than The Departure/The Sickness but I'd rank it above the others aside from those. It has more going for it. As far as Melinda goes, I'm not good at detecting ghostwriting still but I can see she is a bit weaker this time as far as the plot goes in some areas, but she's still good and yet, vocab bug is staying.

Overall, it's not exemplary, I won't go to bat too hard for it, but I could call it good as it gave me a solid continuation of Hork Bajir Chronicles with solid stuff, even if the premise is kinda weird. As far as the odd premise books go, it's on the better end. Cassie books for me are getting better again, hopefully her next one will keep it up....Right?

Next time, we close out this cycle with Marco. I know it ties into the book after I think so we'll see how that goes.

(Side notes: No Visser 3 yay. There is no Prophecy. This is weird given there is a seer here so it would be easy to fit one in. And yes, that quote is real, it happened again!)

[Nemo (The ☾Moonlight☾ Library) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brought to you by The Moonlight Library!

An Arn has come to Earth to offer the Hork-Bajir a way to fight the Yeerks and retake their home planet. It requires someone to take on the ixcila – the essence, or spirit – of Aldrea, the lonely Andalite-turned Hork-Bajir rebel leader of the Hork-Bajir Chronicles, and the great-grandmother of the Earth Hork-Bajir leader, Toby. Everyone thinks she’ll pick Rachel. She chooses Cassie.

This is basically the sequel the Hork-Bajir Chronicles deserved and never got.

I love this book so much it hurts. Half of it takes place on the Hork-Bajir homeworld, and my only quibble is that I would have loved to have been able to spend more time with Cassie as she explored this beautiful, broken planet. The Animorphs didn’t have time for that, so we didn’t get to see it, but I bet Cassie would have loved to explore all the new trees and animals.

I love Aldrea’s story: I’ve always found the romance in being the last of one’s kind, the loneliness and angst, and cross-species romance (like Elfangor and Loren). I love how Cassie thinks herself inferior to Rachel and even Toby, and it comes as a huge surprise when strong-willed, violent, manipulative, natural leader Aldrea chooses pacifist Cassie as her vessel. I love how Aldrea constantly thinks of herself as a Hork-Bajir, yet still can’t shake the superiority of Andalites. I love how Aldrea loves Dak and her son Seerow, and her flashbacks and nightmares are bittersweet because I’ve always thought Dak was pretty awesome, and it’s so sad that everyone’s dead.

What else is amazing is that once again Cassie’s morphing talent is a major plot point – she has to pull off the most impossible morph challenge ever in mid-air, and she’s strong enough to push back Aldrea’s will when the scared Andalite tries to take over. Cassie always underestimates how strong she is, and when it comes to morphing, she always proves it. Again, Cassie is forced into a leadership position she neither wants not really knows how to handle, but she is always successful with her approach and ends up saving the day.

If you read the Hork-Bajir Chronicles, this is essential reading. If not, it’s kind of a moo point (a cow’s opinion doesn’t matter, therefore it’s ‘moo’). The point of this book is to distract the Yeerks from Earth, so it doesn’t really move the overarching plot forwards. The Yeerks will still be there when the Animorphs return to Earth.

[Alan Gilfoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Great once it got started"

This one started off with even more repeated exposition than usual. There were more Cake kisses, though? That was very welcome new information. Yes, Cassie and Jake don't talk about their relationship. I'm amused by "the L word" being used for a straight couple, since the phrase makes me think of that TV show about lesbians. Since that was form the late 2000's, this is one of the odder anachronisms in Animorphs. A lot of the repetition was from The Hork-Bajir Chronicles, so was it necessary for non-Chronicles readers?

Like andalites, arn trash talk human biology. As for other recurring themes: Ax had another identity crisis, this time with a Hork-Bajir as well as human aspect. Ixcila and receptable was an analogy for many Yeerk-host issues.

Now why Cassie? Didn't see that coming. At least that was addressed later in-character, and the question was sort of answered.

This book had another great action ending. I liked seeing another side of Jake's leadership. Often Jake as a leader focuses on knowing the capabilities of his team. This time, it was about tactics in how they fought off that group of Bug fighters. Being outnumbered, they would need to use a lot of deception and use the Bugs against each other.

I loved the information on the Hork-Bajir homeworld. I thought there would've been lots of Yeerk capital ships around, but maybe those would've come out only against a larger attack. The emphasis on ground-based Dracon cannons makes sense, partially so they can focus their capital ship strength elsewhere. Likewise, there should be some Vissers around, but it makes sense that there are sub-vissers present for the small raid.

Ten thousand seems small for one of the largest Yeerk pools, though. I don't inherently object to killing Yeerks in their natural state, but I liked the way the ethical analysis was phrased. It was said that civilized species regret war even when necessary, rather than downplaying a particular species.

[Jonathan Pongratz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original Review at Jaunts & Haunts

4/5

I gave this novel four stars!

This time around, we are in Cassie's POV, and like usual I was cautiously optimistic that this book wouldn't disappoint like some of Cassie's other books in the series. Luckily, my faith was well placed.

After receiving an invitation to come see the free Hork-Bajir in their secluded valley, the Animorphs are shocked when they are greeted by the last of the Arn, the creators of the Hork-Bajir.

He wants to help arm the Hork-Bajir in both number and weaponry, but in return he requires someone in the group's mind to be taken over by Aldrea, daughter of Seerow so they can retrieve her weapons cache on the Hork-Bajir home world.

Suddenly, Cassie finds herself sharing her mind and actions with Aldrea herself, but can they find the weapons before the Yeerks do? Can they get home in one piece?

This book was a lot of scifi fun.

I was happy with Cassie's POV this time around. As usual, she questions the ethics of their actions, this time in a crazy situation with her mind being partially occupied by Aldrea. Aldrea and her had a great yin-yang effect going on. Where Aldrea was strategic and ruthless, Cassie was thoughtful and cautious. It was really enjoyable. We also got to see a bit more from her in other ways, but I'm not going to spoil that for you.

The plot was a winner from the get go. I love our friendly free Hork-Bajir, and I was rooting for the mission to finally go right when so many times they end in a stalemate or failure. I won't tell you the results, but this adventure was very entertaining and full of action. I love it when our Animorphs journeys take us to outer space.

If I had to pick at anything, small sections of the action could get a little jumbled in the mix as far as descriptions go, but other than that I can't really complain too much.

In the end, this was a great continuation of the Animorphs series, and I'm super excited to read the next one!

[L. Rambit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Woof, I have chills.

I think Melinda Metz is my favorite ghost writer for this series so far; she's got a grasp on Cassie that I think even Applegate herself doesn't have. She manages to make Cassie's moral quandaries just that-- quandaries, without crossing the boarder into 'preaching' and occasionally 'hypocrisy.' Cassie is complicated, and books #29 and #34 so far have reflected that best.

(Also HOW FRIGGAN OP was Cassie in the battle of this book??? hot DAMN.)

Also... Remember just a few books ago when Jake refused to boil that jacuzzi full of yeerks because it "wouldn't be right" to kill defenseless enemies? :))) Down and down we spiral.

[Valfe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't remember this one at all, but it was really good - revisiting Aldrea from Cassie's perspective, and comparing their complicated feelings about the use of violence and self-sacrifice. My only complaint is that it flattened Aldrea's decision to become a Hork-Bajir into "love for Dak", when we saw in The Hork-Bajir Chronicles that it was a complicated mix of love, grief, desire for vengeance, and guilt about taking advantage of the Hork-Bajir to achieve that vengeance (I think you can compare this to Cassie agreeing to stay as a caterpillar in #19 - Cassie and Aldrea definitely do have more in common than it appears at first glance.)

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

As long as you go into Animorphs knowing the later books are all ghostwritten and thus tend to vary in quality, you'll be fine. This book and #29, The Sickness, were written by Melinda Metz and are some of my favorites in the whole series.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good story made awkward by the perspective shifting.

[Florence Mullot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un avis un peu ambivalent avec ce tome trente-quatre. Le niveau est toujours là. Du début à la fin, l’histoire est très bien menée et Katherine A. Applegate soulève encore des points liés à lé guerre et au conflit qui poussent à réfléchir. C’est une très bonne histoire, surtout avec le point de vue extérieur au groupe qui permet d’avoir une vision inédite de nos héros. Le hic, pour moi, c’est que je n’ai pas apprécié le nouveau personnage, et que j’ai eu aussi l’impression de déjà-vu. Les deux combinés font qu’en finissant le tome… je n’étais pas aussi enthousiaste que pour les précédents.

Nos héros font la rencontre de l’esprit d’une Andalite ayant décidée de rester dans le corps d’un Hork-Bajir et qui à l’époque avait mené une guerre contre les Yirks. Elle n’est pas totalement inconnue du groupe, vu qu’Ax connait son histoire, et que Toby, l’une des Hork-Bajir que nos héros ont sauvés est sa petite fille. Beaucoup de liens donc qui font que la présence d’Aldrea aura beaucoup de répercutions.

L’histoire est comme je le disais très bonne. Il y a d’abord le fait de transformer un peuple pacifique en guerrier. Même si c’est pour sa survie, est-ce une bonne chose ? Le fait de vouloir se venger quitte à blesser les autres. Le poids d’un héritage, les décisions que l’on doit prendre pour les autres, le libre-arbitre aussi. Franchement, en plus de l’action, l’intrigue est intéressante. Rien à redire à ce niveau-là.

Le hic vient d’Aldrea. Elle incarne la suffisance et l’arrogance même des Andalites. Et c’est plutôt pénible à suivre surtout qu’elle prend les rênes à plusieurs reprises. Elle se targue pourtant d’être une Hork-Bajir… Mais non, clairement pas. Son histoire est triste, mais avec un tel caractère, elle n’a rien de sympathique et il était difficile d’avoir de l’empathie pour elle.

Et on en vient au deuxième point : le fait qu’elle cohabite avec l’esprit de Cassie. On est dans de la répétition à ce niveau-là. On se retrouve comme lorsque notre héroïne avait accueilli un Yirk en elle. Et franchement, même s’il y avait des points qui étaient super, choisir Cassie était encore une fois jouer sur la corde sensible. C’était facile en un sens, sans surprise. Et c’est dommage.

Après, Cassie nous prouve à plusieurs reprises qu’elle est un personnage courageux, réfléchie, humainement sensible et apte à comprendre la nature de chacun. Elle contrebalance très bien Aldrea et sur ce point c’était une excellente chose. Pas sûre, par exemple que si Rachel avait pris les choses en main, le tome aurait été très agréable à lire avec deux fortes personnalités.

Un dernier point : les fins des tomes d’Animorphs. Ce n’est pas la première fois que je me fais cette réflexion, mais ici cela sautait aux yeux. Katherine A. Applegate n’arrive pas à donner des fins correctes à ses histoires. Elles sont extrêmement expéditives à chaque fois. D’habitude, je m’en contente, mais là… il ne manquait pas grand-chose pourtant, un petit paragraphe de plus qui aurait fait toute la différence. On comprend, certes, mais il faut extrapoler trop de choses.

Je ne perds pas du tout mon intérêt pour la série, loin de là, mais c’est certain que c’est le tome dont je ne garderais pas un grand souvenir (d’ailleurs, je ne m’en souvenais absolument pas… c’est pour dire). Il est par contre, je pense, une bonne introduction pour le tome des Animorphs hors-série consacré aux Hork Bajir.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting volume. One of the inhabitants of the Hork-Bajir world, the last Arn (the ones who created the Hork-Bajir) brings the essence of the daughter of Prince Seerow. Before she died, she stole a ship containing a lot of weapons and hid it on their world. The Arn wants to put the essence into a vessel body and find the weapons and try to fight the Yeerks living on the Hork-Bajir planet.
This one is told from Cassie's POV (so it's obvious who Aldrea chooses as a vessel). The whole thing is focused on travelling to the Hork-Bajir planet, but there's also a lingering question on whether or not Aldrea will choose to return to an essence state once the weapons are found or stay in the vessel body and refuse to leave. Cassie believes she was chosen because she is the "weakest" and the one she believes Aldrea will have the best chance of staying in her body.
Some of this book takes place on the Hork-Bajir planet which was really fun to see. I loved getting to imagine this other planet and how that species lived on it.
There is of course an insane plan that the Animorphs concoct which is super unbelievable, but I've come to expect it and just roll with it.
Once again, excited to see what comes next in this series!

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot of this one is difficult to understand/get into without having read The Hork-Bajir Chronicles, but is otherwise well-written. However, I feel like more attention needs to be given to the fact that the canon for morphing is changed by Cassie's morph at the end? I hope it's explained later.

[Cienna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bark eating monster turns into dust, inhabits human body so they can have war flashbacks. Dies.

[Kate Crabtree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again, a Cassie book in which the plan hinges on her and despite the crazy challenges, she shines.