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Animorphs #45
The Revelation
Things were already really weird. Fighting aliens. Battling to have Earth. And still trying to be normal. Marco and the other Animorphs are almost used to it. But things are changing. The Yeerk invasion of Earth started out passively, secretly. But now, everything seems to be stepped up. Even Marco's father is talking about some top secret project at his job. Something about discovering Zero-space...Marco doesn't even know whether his father is a Controller. But he does know he's not going to let the Yeerks win this one. They've already got his mother. And Marco will do anything it takes to save his father. Anything...
149 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 31, 2000
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About the author
K.A. Applegate
251 books486 followersalso published under the name Katherine Applegate
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
October 12, 2023
Marco's father lets something slip about a top secret project he’s working on. This immediately grabs his attention. Marco realizes his father’s work makes him a prime target for the Yeerks. And Marco’s predictions quickly come true as the Yeerks try to infect his father with a Yeerk parasite and turn him into one of their own.
Marco’s character arc is the highlight of the story. Marco has already lost his mother to the Yeerks. So it’s very understandable that he will do anything he can to stop the parasitic Yeerks from infecting his father. But it’s what comes after the saving of his father that makes this story so special. What will Marco reveal to his father? How can he keep his father safe? Most importantly: how will this event impact Marco’s life, and the lives of the other Animorphs?
Finally. It has been a very long time coming. But after an army of filler stories, the Animorphs series is finally properly shifting gears as we start to race towards the finale. And this story shifts multiple gears at once in a very gripping story. Also, the ending is just an emotional climax to a very strong story.
Marco’s character arc is the highlight of the story. Marco has already lost his mother to the Yeerks. So it’s very understandable that he will do anything he can to stop the parasitic Yeerks from infecting his father. But it’s what comes after the saving of his father that makes this story so special. What will Marco reveal to his father? How can he keep his father safe? Most importantly: how will this event impact Marco’s life, and the lives of the other Animorphs?
Finally. It has been a very long time coming. But after an army of filler stories, the Animorphs series is finally properly shifting gears as we start to race towards the finale. And this story shifts multiple gears at once in a very gripping story. Also, the ending is just an emotional climax to a very strong story.
December 18, 2015
Ghostwriter: Ellen Geroux, who is hitting it out of the ballpark!
This book, in one word: GAMECHANGER. Long drawn-out storylines finally come to fruition, and the war takes a massive leap forward. Marco's father is on the verge of inventing Zero-space transmissions at his workplace, which places him right in the crosshairs for infestation. (This also follows nicely from #10 The Android, when his engineering work also brought him too-close to the Yeerks: the Animorphs managed to save him then, but we now see they only postponed the inevitable.)
I'm not even going to talk about what exactly happens in this book, because the plot is so, so so fantastic: twists and turns and gutpunches and really big developments. So instead, a few sporadic notes:
Circumstances have been irrevocably changed by the end of this book. It's not precisely right to say that childhood is over -- it's been over for a long, loooong time, probably ever since they met Elfangor in that construction site -- but it's sinking in in a way that it hadn't before. Taking more of an overt toll, rather than covert. And most importantly, other people are finally realising that the Animorphs are no longer children. That's what makes it 'real' in a way it hasn't been before.
This is pretty much a pitch-perfect Animorphs book, IMO. Stellar characterisations and development all around, facing real and terrible decisions, making grueling decisions, tying up loose ends from previous storylines, and pushing the war into a new phase. After the introspective what-ifs of Megamorphs #4 and #41 The Familiar, and with only 10 books remaining, you have the palpable sense of things ramping up towards the endgame, the last era, the lead-up to the end.
Favourite quotes (SO MANY):
This book, in one word: GAMECHANGER. Long drawn-out storylines finally come to fruition, and the war takes a massive leap forward. Marco's father is on the verge of inventing Zero-space transmissions at his workplace, which places him right in the crosshairs for infestation. (This also follows nicely from #10 The Android, when his engineering work also brought him too-close to the Yeerks: the Animorphs managed to save him then, but we now see they only postponed the inevitable.)
I'm not even going to talk about what exactly happens in this book, because the plot is so, so so fantastic: twists and turns and gutpunches and really big developments. So instead, a few sporadic notes:
• I was so happy to see Erek again! I've missed him, my sassy android fave. Also, weirdly: I've missed Visser Three?? I was strangely glad to see that lunatic again. I don't think the Animorphs have come in direct, bellowing-threats-at-each-other contact with him since... maybe the cheetah assassination attempt in #37 The Weakness? I could be wrong, though.
• While reading this, my brain basically just kept going: 'MARCO BOOKS ARE MY FAVOURITE BOOKS. *___* But wait, but what about Jake books? But wait, Ax books!! ARGH.' (Those three are my favourites of the Animorphs, if anyone's counting.)
• The Revelation turns the tables: the kids are no longer kids, . Things are now changing and they will never be the same.
• The ending:
• I love Marco's dad and their relationship SO MUCH. It also just makes me think of the other parents in general -- we haven't seen that much of them lately, but I really like them & their relationships with their kids. Jake's dad, and Jake's ruminations about how he's a good guy and helps people as a doctor and how Jake wishes he could be like him. Cassie's parents, and how cheesy/loving/protective they are. Rachel's mom, even, a hardworking divorcee saddled with too much work to do and three girls to juggle. And then there's been this long arc of Marco's dad getting back on his feet, recovering from his loss, getting a job and moving back to a better neighbourhood, and DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON EVA... I just. The parents are in the background a lot and there's not much focus on them, but what details we do get, I love. I'm attached despite the fact that we don't even know their names.
• Cassie's strength, cleverness, and emotional manipulation is perfectly on-display here, and I love that Marco immediately recognised it and respected her for it. Her characterisation is fantastic these days, and a great development from how she used to aggravate me at the very beginning of the series. Her and Marco's relationship is one of my favourites, too, and how it's developed since the start -- I've talked about this before, but despite being sheer opposites, who are sometimes pitted antagonistically against each other as they stand for completely differing morals/priorities... they've also had a lot of really great moments. Cassie's guilt about leaving him behind in the first Megamorphs. How she was the only one to seek him out at his crappy apartment and try to talk to him about his father's depression. The way she talked him through not getting stuck in flea morph, and he cried in her arms, the first time any of the Animorphs had seen him cry. I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS BAR.
• There are so many casual, perfect, relevant references to past adventures here. You really get the sense that Geroux knows her shit.
• Marco's own personal line has been reached, and it turns out it's not quite as hardline as he managed to maintain before. He was able to make the sacrifice for his mom, but not his father; it's a let-down of his usual "rationality > emotion" approach, and you can feel his own perceivable anger and disappointment in himself for having slipped. But can you blame him? There's a difference between pulling the trigger on Visser One, knowing that great tactical advantage to killing her, the mother you'd already lost and grieved -- versus standing by helplessly and watching as your only remaining parent is forcibly infested, literally in front of your eyes. (AUGH, MARCO, MY HEART.)
• I freakin loved the hilarious Bug Fighter-piloting comedy. It's a moment of levity that's still in-character for everyone, and doesn't detract from the rest of the drama.
Circumstances have been irrevocably changed by the end of this book. It's not precisely right to say that childhood is over -- it's been over for a long, loooong time, probably ever since they met Elfangor in that construction site -- but it's sinking in in a way that it hadn't before. Taking more of an overt toll, rather than covert. And most importantly, other people are finally realising that the Animorphs are no longer children. That's what makes it 'real' in a way it hasn't been before.
This is pretty much a pitch-perfect Animorphs book, IMO. Stellar characterisations and development all around, facing real and terrible decisions, making grueling decisions, tying up loose ends from previous storylines, and pushing the war into a new phase. After the introspective what-ifs of Megamorphs #4 and #41 The Familiar, and with only 10 books remaining, you have the palpable sense of things ramping up towards the endgame, the last era, the lead-up to the end.
Favourite quotes (SO MANY):
March 8, 2018
I’m wrekt.
The Revelation reminds me of the beginning of that final seven-episode story arc of Deep Space Nine. And I was not ready.
I was not ready for so much to change.
In a very Marco-centric book, Marco’s dad find himself inadvertently working on a Yeerk-controlled project to build a better zero-space communicator. The Animorphs narrowly manage to extract Marco’s dad before the Yeerks make him into a controller. Meanwhile, Visser One—the slug living inside Marco’s mom—is about to be executed. It’s time for Visser Three to step up, take control, and turn up this invasion of Earth to eleven. So the Animorphs mount a daring rescue mission, and it all goes to hell.
This series has taken us to some dark places, but The Revelation has no chill. It’s Megamorphs-level action.
First, the scene where Marco confronts his dad with the truth. So much role reversal here: the kid having to be the mature one, giving his dad the Speech, telling his dad what to do and how to react so they can just survive. And then that moment where we see Marco’s vulnerability and remember that, deep down beneath these war scars, he is still just a kid. He didn’t ask for or deserve this role:
Ugggggggh just kill me now I can’t take it.
And then Marco has to fake his own death!
Bawling over here now.
And then that moment near the end, when Marco essentially lies to his father to make him feel better about not going after Nora….
This is a harsh book. It’s so harsh, especially on Marco. Maybe not physically, the way Tobias was tortured recently. But this book is as emotionally traumatic as it gets … and I know that we’re only just entering the final arc!
My one criticism of The Revelation is simply that, for what feels like the second or third book in a row, we’ve had a book where the other Animorphs don’t get much page-time. The action very closely follows the narrator, who is often solo. It reminds me of when TV series save money by shooting a bunch of episodes in a block, with each one featuring a single main character doing their own thing. These books have their purpose, and it doesn’t necessarily detract from the story, but it is nice to see the Animorphs working together on problems instead of at a distance.
The Revelation ends on a hell of a cliffhanger: the Animorphs place a very long-distance call. The Andalties pick up … but will this be Earth’s salvation? Or its doom? Tune in … next time.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← #44: The Unexpected | #46: The Deception →
The Revelation reminds me of the beginning of that final seven-episode story arc of Deep Space Nine. And I was not ready.
I was not ready for so much to change.
In a very Marco-centric book, Marco’s dad find himself inadvertently working on a Yeerk-controlled project to build a better zero-space communicator. The Animorphs narrowly manage to extract Marco’s dad before the Yeerks make him into a controller. Meanwhile, Visser One—the slug living inside Marco’s mom—is about to be executed. It’s time for Visser Three to step up, take control, and turn up this invasion of Earth to eleven. So the Animorphs mount a daring rescue mission, and it all goes to hell.
This series has taken us to some dark places, but The Revelation has no chill. It’s Megamorphs-level action.
First, the scene where Marco confronts his dad with the truth. So much role reversal here: the kid having to be the mature one, giving his dad the Speech, telling his dad what to do and how to react so they can just survive. And then that moment where we see Marco’s vulnerability and remember that, deep down beneath these war scars, he is still just a kid. He didn’t ask for or deserve this role:
“But that doesn’t make it right.”
“Dad, nothing is right anymore.”
Ugggggggh just kill me now I can’t take it.
And then Marco has to fake his own death!
My eye caught a photo tacked to the cork board over my father's worktable. It was a snapshot of me and Dad, taken by Mom on a sun-drenched day several years ago.
Suddenly, reality hit.
I was dead. And this was the end … of school, of dates, of video games. Of everything normal.
The kid in that photo had prepared his last frozen pizza dinner. Had gone to his last math class. Had seen his last movie at the Cineplex. That kid would never even hang out in his own backyard again. Because this wasn't his home anymore. He had no home.
He'd made the necessary sacrifice.
I could take the photo with me. It was small enough to fit in the beak of the osprey I would
morph to fly away.
I took two steps toward the cork board, then stopped.
No.
I had my memories.
They would have to be enough.
Bawling over here now.
And then that moment near the end, when Marco essentially lies to his father to make him feel better about not going after Nora….
This is a harsh book. It’s so harsh, especially on Marco. Maybe not physically, the way Tobias was tortured recently. But this book is as emotionally traumatic as it gets … and I know that we’re only just entering the final arc!
My one criticism of The Revelation is simply that, for what feels like the second or third book in a row, we’ve had a book where the other Animorphs don’t get much page-time. The action very closely follows the narrator, who is often solo. It reminds me of when TV series save money by shooting a bunch of episodes in a block, with each one featuring a single main character doing their own thing. These books have their purpose, and it doesn’t necessarily detract from the story, but it is nice to see the Animorphs working together on problems instead of at a distance.
The Revelation ends on a hell of a cliffhanger: the Animorphs place a very long-distance call. The Andalties pick up … but will this be Earth’s salvation? Or its doom? Tune in … next time.
My reviews of Animorphs:
← #44: The Unexpected | #46: The Deception →
October 1, 2022
Absolutely brilliant. Marco's books have certainly improved as the series has gone along. This one in particular brought the emotion as now his dad is compromised due to a secret project at work. And Marco must decide where his dad sits in this war. There were HIGH stakes here...and that makes sense as we're in the final stretch. There was intense battles and lots going on here for Marco and his family. And the final decision/the ending completely shook me. These poor kids...this poor family. Great writing, awesome story.
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 7, 2014
What're they supposed to do when humans start discovering weird stuff about space-time on their own, just when it's going to muck things up for those who are using it to Earth's benefit? Oh you Earth scientists. Ahem. Marco's dad. o_O Seriously, was this accident coincidence?
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
This book is ghostwritten by Ellen Geroux.
Marco finally expresses some semblance of sulkiness over being the only romantically single human Animorph in this book, against the backdrop of his dad having just gotten married as well. Usually his cockiness and his insistence that girls love him precludes him from expressing such things.
When Marco is showing his dad his morphs to get him to believe what's going on, he says he can morph "about twenty other animals" after he's shown three. In reality, his total is closer to forty. Could be a mistake, or could be Marco literally has no idea how many he's acquired.
A misspelling of Erek was included in this book. One line called him Erik.
At one point Marco's dad reaches through a hologram that a Chee is projecting for his body, able to touch the real android inside. It's said in previous books about the Chee that they also have force field abilities that they use to make their illusions seem to behave like they're solid masses. It's not really said why Erek didn't turn his on with the visual part of it, enabling Marco's dad to reach through it.
Marco and his dad have to fake being killed by Controllers at one point, and it's surprising that even though their cover is being legally dead, there are never any reactions from anyone--Jake was his best friend, and people had to wonder how he was taking losing his best friend. The book didn't go into whether there were any funeral arrangements or how many people really knew Marco was supposed to be dead.
Notable moments and inconsistencies:
This book is ghostwritten by Ellen Geroux.
Marco finally expresses some semblance of sulkiness over being the only romantically single human Animorph in this book, against the backdrop of his dad having just gotten married as well. Usually his cockiness and his insistence that girls love him precludes him from expressing such things.
When Marco is showing his dad his morphs to get him to believe what's going on, he says he can morph "about twenty other animals" after he's shown three. In reality, his total is closer to forty. Could be a mistake, or could be Marco literally has no idea how many he's acquired.
A misspelling of Erek was included in this book. One line called him Erik.
At one point Marco's dad reaches through a hologram that a Chee is projecting for his body, able to touch the real android inside. It's said in previous books about the Chee that they also have force field abilities that they use to make their illusions seem to behave like they're solid masses. It's not really said why Erek didn't turn his on with the visual part of it, enabling Marco's dad to reach through it.
Marco and his dad have to fake being killed by Controllers at one point, and it's surprising that even though their cover is being legally dead, there are never any reactions from anyone--Jake was his best friend, and people had to wonder how he was taking losing his best friend. The book didn't go into whether there were any funeral arrangements or how many people really knew Marco was supposed to be dead.
January 21, 2015
Wow. Just wow. My heart was in my throat the whole time. What a "conclusion" to the Marco storyline. I'm scared to go forward. I know it's only going to get better, but so much worse from here on out.
January 28, 2016
Normally, I don’t mention the ghost-writers. But this is three for three knocked out of the park (in my opinion), and Ellen Geroux deserves some major kudos. The characterizations are spot-on, the plot executions solid, the tug-on-the-reader’s-emotions-and-force-them-to-really-think brought out in full, and in short, she has done an amazing job.
Though she had previously only done Tobias (twice) and Jake (once), and this is her first time writing Marco, you really could not tell. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that this book was written by Ms. Applegate herself, the quality is that high. Geroux has nailed Marco in every nuance of character. Which as we know, is not easy to do considering how complicated he is. (Even while making sure all the others are darn-well in character too.) She has quite evenly balanced, for starters, his humorousness vs. his coldness, his improvisation vs. his strategizing, and him doing what needs to be done vs. him doing what matters most to him. Taking the seeds planted from The Reunion (Animorphs #30), this book is born.
I marked so many quotes to type, I am certain I will have to continue them in the comments (this is a 9 page Word document already!!). I marked them for many reasons: for hitting an emotional nerve, for being great humor, for being a poignant observation, and even for just being the Real Marco. I had never really connected with Marco as much before as in this book, probably because of his ruthlessness and how cold he became as a person. But here, we are really reminded that he is not just who he has become, but also who he was - and that he never really lost who he was before all of this – he just buried it deep when necessary to do what needed to be done, to follow that bright, clear line.
The beginning of the end has been hinted at coming in the past few books (possibly the best foreshadowing being Cassie saying “It will never be okay” in The Test (Animorphs #43)), and I think this book makes it official: THIS is the beginning of the end. There is no more going back. Rules and morals will be broken. And the Animorphs will do this, or they will die.
He’d made the necessary sacrifice.
Nothing is right anymore.
Quotes and a couple comments:
I think there was a kiss [between Dad and Nora]. Maybe some mushy whispers. I don’t know. I looked away. I see enough of the “power of love” between Jake and Cassie, and Rachel and Tobias. – page 3
Dad was still talking to Nora. “We’re working on a way to communicate through the singularity. Normal matter is dimensional and in theory couldn’t pass through.”
News flash, Dad: My matter passes through the singularity several times a week. Every time I morph, my excess mass gets sucked into nothingness. A bubble in time. – page 9
“It could be simpler than we think,” Jake said calmly, lowering himself onto a bale of hay. This war had aged my best friend in ways you couldn’t really see. But you could definitely tell that in his mind he was no longer just a kid. None of us were. – page 15 – (emphasis added) We’ve certainly seen this come about, haven’t we?
There had to be an escape route. Some domestic weapon I hadn’t used! – page 29
I think all science types secretly believe in aliens.
Though she had previously only done Tobias (twice) and Jake (once), and this is her first time writing Marco, you really could not tell. If I didn’t know any better, I would think that this book was written by Ms. Applegate herself, the quality is that high. Geroux has nailed Marco in every nuance of character. Which as we know, is not easy to do considering how complicated he is. (Even while making sure all the others are darn-well in character too.) She has quite evenly balanced, for starters, his humorousness vs. his coldness, his improvisation vs. his strategizing, and him doing what needs to be done vs. him doing what matters most to him. Taking the seeds planted from The Reunion (Animorphs #30), this book is born.
I marked so many quotes to type, I am certain I will have to continue them in the comments (this is a 9 page Word document already!!). I marked them for many reasons: for hitting an emotional nerve, for being great humor, for being a poignant observation, and even for just being the Real Marco. I had never really connected with Marco as much before as in this book, probably because of his ruthlessness and how cold he became as a person. But here, we are really reminded that he is not just who he has become, but also who he was - and that he never really lost who he was before all of this – he just buried it deep when necessary to do what needed to be done, to follow that bright, clear line.
The beginning of the end has been hinted at coming in the past few books (possibly the best foreshadowing being Cassie saying “It will never be okay” in The Test (Animorphs #43)), and I think this book makes it official: THIS is the beginning of the end. There is no more going back. Rules and morals will be broken. And the Animorphs will do this, or they will die.
He’d made the necessary sacrifice.
Nothing is right anymore.
Quotes and a couple comments:
I think there was a kiss [between Dad and Nora]. Maybe some mushy whispers. I don’t know. I looked away. I see enough of the “power of love” between Jake and Cassie, and Rachel and Tobias. – page 3
Dad was still talking to Nora. “We’re working on a way to communicate through the singularity. Normal matter is dimensional and in theory couldn’t pass through.”
News flash, Dad: My matter passes through the singularity several times a week. Every time I morph, my excess mass gets sucked into nothingness. A bubble in time. – page 9
“It could be simpler than we think,” Jake said calmly, lowering himself onto a bale of hay. This war had aged my best friend in ways you couldn’t really see. But you could definitely tell that in his mind he was no longer just a kid. None of us were. – page 15 – (emphasis added) We’ve certainly seen this come about, haven’t we?
There had to be an escape route. Some domestic weapon I hadn’t used! – page 29
I think all science types secretly believe in aliens.
October 23, 2013
Marco and the Animorphs suspect the Yeerks will go after Marco’s father when he suddenly announces his engineering firm has discovered Zero-space. With little time to think, Marco acts to save his only family left – but then the Animorphs learn Visser One is being tried at the Yeerk Pool as a traitor. Can Marco rebuild the most important thing the Yeerks took from him – his family?
This book is where you can leap back in to the main story arc quite firmly without missing a lot from the previous books. It’s an important story to be told – not only Does Marco risk everything to save his dad, whom he’s pretty certain is not a Controller, but they then lose their home, Marco’s step-mother, their lives, basically. Marco and his dad move in with the Chee while Marco’s dad helps Ax to build a Zero-space transmitter, which intercepts the fateful message that Visser One is back on Earth and dying.
See the full review on The Moonlight Library.
This book is where you can leap back in to the main story arc quite firmly without missing a lot from the previous books. It’s an important story to be told – not only Does Marco risk everything to save his dad, whom he’s pretty certain is not a Controller, but they then lose their home, Marco’s step-mother, their lives, basically. Marco and his dad move in with the Chee while Marco’s dad helps Ax to build a Zero-space transmitter, which intercepts the fateful message that Visser One is back on Earth and dying.
See the full review on The Moonlight Library.
March 20, 2017
SOBBING.
May 29, 2024
We have officially entered endgame status
When I tell you this has been one of my fav animorphs yet. Marco’s father was gonna be infected, so naturally he saves him. But FIRST he contemplates it, like damn Marco the GROWTH and MATURITY. He rescues him and then tells him the truth. AND THEN he had to tell him that his dead wife actually led the invasion of earth 💔 so then what happens? Marco and his dad had to fake their deaths, like mans can’t even go to school now. Then what happens? Marco’s mom is about to be publicly (well yeerk publicly) executed. But Marco is like no guys I get it it’s too dangerous to rescue her, BUT THEN THEY DO. Proceed to one of the most high action battles I’ve read with the buildup from 52 books. AND MARCO GETS TO RESCUE HIS MOM ❤️❤️❤️ When he got to reunite his mom and dad I did in fact sob
Visser 1 is dead, Visser 3 is promoted. The subtle Earth invasion is about to end, it’s about to be war
When I tell you this has been one of my fav animorphs yet. Marco’s father was gonna be infected, so naturally he saves him. But FIRST he contemplates it, like damn Marco the GROWTH and MATURITY. He rescues him and then tells him the truth. AND THEN he had to tell him that his dead wife actually led the invasion of earth 💔 so then what happens? Marco and his dad had to fake their deaths, like mans can’t even go to school now. Then what happens? Marco’s mom is about to be publicly (well yeerk publicly) executed. But Marco is like no guys I get it it’s too dangerous to rescue her, BUT THEN THEY DO. Proceed to one of the most high action battles I’ve read with the buildup from 52 books. AND MARCO GETS TO RESCUE HIS MOM ❤️❤️❤️ When he got to reunite his mom and dad I did in fact sob
Visser 1 is dead, Visser 3 is promoted. The subtle Earth invasion is about to end, it’s about to be war
February 27, 2025
I mean. It's the Revelation. Action is amazing. Character is fascinating and seeing Marco get pushed to act against the group-- act like the child he is-- was a treasure.
Stuff is HAPPENING.
Also loved how Cassie and Ax were written in this one.
Stuff is HAPPENING.
Also loved how Cassie and Ax were written in this one.
May 28, 2024
peak literature
September 14, 2015
Holy. Why did I rate this 3 stars before? Why only 3 stars before? What's up younger me, what's up? You dumb? This is gold. As Jesse's friends would say, 'this the bomb yo'. XD
Friendly reminder that Marco dies in this book. Officially. With his whole "family".
Okay officially, as in, on paper. :]
Gods.
So both Marco's mom and dad knows about the Animorphs and their little hero, aww. Can he get an aww, because Marco totally deserves it. :] Visser One got killed, and Eva is back to being a regular human being.
But the world, everyone, is not really saved, yet. Not yet.
Friendly reminder that Marco dies in this book. Officially. With his whole "family".
Okay officially, as in, on paper. :]
Gods.
So both Marco's mom and dad knows about the Animorphs and their little hero, aww. Can he get an aww, because Marco totally deserves it. :] Visser One got killed, and Eva is back to being a regular human being.
But the world, everyone, is not really saved, yet. Not yet.
March 30, 2015
This book marks the beginning of the end. Marco and his parents are officially dead to the world and in hiding, and things can only get worse from here.....
September 21, 2016
Another fun and exciting adventure!
February 7, 2025
Endelig igjen en animorphs bok som har noe å si for plottet! Spennende og deilig å få hørt igjen.
Nå nærmer det seg slutten og i følge mine kilder er det nesten ingen filler-bøker igjen
Nå nærmer det seg slutten og i følge mine kilder er det nesten ingen filler-bøker igjen
November 22, 2020
Original Review at Jaunts & Haunts
4/5
I gave this book four stars.
In this installment of the Animorphs saga, it's Marco's turn to tell the story, and boy is it a big one. Everything's all sunshine and roses until one night his dad comes home talking about a new engineering project involving Zero Space. Hardly able to control his shock, Marco and the other Animorphs assemble to address the issue. Is Marco's family in danger and if so, what are they going to do? What does this tech upgrade even mean?
This book had all the feels for me. I've been complaining a bit over the last few installments that not enough big things were happening, but this one was a home run. Some big things are happening, irreversible things.
First and foremost, I think Marco and the other Animorphs were portrayed very well. Marco's reaction to this insanely crappy scenario are understandable, and it really tugged at my heartstrings. No one should be in this kind of a situation, but he does the best he can to protect his family, and so do the others. Extra brownie points for teamwork making that dream work, no matter how grim things may seem.
The plot was seemingly simple, but got more and more interesting as things developed. Like I said, there were some huge plot developments impacting the rest of the series in this book, but I can't spoil the fun so I'll leave it at that. Plenty of twists, mystery, and action were present in this book, and that paired with the high stakes of this story made me blaze through this one.
If I had to pick at anything, some of the scenes describing things were discombobulated and a bit confusing, so I took a star away for that. Besides that, I honestly have no complaints.
This was a great memorable read for the series, and I shudder to imagine what's going to happen next. Happy Reading!
4/5
I gave this book four stars.
In this installment of the Animorphs saga, it's Marco's turn to tell the story, and boy is it a big one. Everything's all sunshine and roses until one night his dad comes home talking about a new engineering project involving Zero Space. Hardly able to control his shock, Marco and the other Animorphs assemble to address the issue. Is Marco's family in danger and if so, what are they going to do? What does this tech upgrade even mean?
This book had all the feels for me. I've been complaining a bit over the last few installments that not enough big things were happening, but this one was a home run. Some big things are happening, irreversible things.
First and foremost, I think Marco and the other Animorphs were portrayed very well. Marco's reaction to this insanely crappy scenario are understandable, and it really tugged at my heartstrings. No one should be in this kind of a situation, but he does the best he can to protect his family, and so do the others. Extra brownie points for teamwork making that dream work, no matter how grim things may seem.
The plot was seemingly simple, but got more and more interesting as things developed. Like I said, there were some huge plot developments impacting the rest of the series in this book, but I can't spoil the fun so I'll leave it at that. Plenty of twists, mystery, and action were present in this book, and that paired with the high stakes of this story made me blaze through this one.
If I had to pick at anything, some of the scenes describing things were discombobulated and a bit confusing, so I took a star away for that. Besides that, I honestly have no complaints.
This was a great memorable read for the series, and I shudder to imagine what's going to happen next. Happy Reading!
June 21, 2022
Welcome to Zero-Space. I mean the endgame. I mean... oh god so much Marco content. This is the book where Marco singlehandedly saves his whole family and he does it by essentially ignoring all the rules Jake has abided by regarding contact, telling his dad everything, and getting him the fuck out of there. He then hatches a plan to save his mom, as well, and ends the book with the Visser One neatly wrapped up. I think that this book shows some of Marco's best, specifically that he's been fathering his dad for a long, long time now, but he's not a good Freudian dad, in that Marco's ruthless enough at this point in the book to lie so his parents will be happy:
""Dad, what if Nora was a Controller all along?
What if the Yeerks put her in your path because
they knew you were involved in secret work?"
Pain knotted my father's face.
My conscience was heavy. Permanent damage had been done. My family was back together,
but not really.
Not honestly.
It was desperate speculation, one that, I
hoped, would make it easier for my dad.
It didn't make it any easier for me.
"What are you saying?"
"You were set up by the enemy," I said. "You
can't blame yourself." "
No consequences for this. Marco just gets his family back. Then there's how unceremoniously Visser One dies, after all the build-up and Visser One's own struggles with motherhood. Eva has a lot going on in her head, and could carry on Viss's plotline, but we're drawing up on the finish line fast. This might be an aggressive, fast-paced book, but I've always felt Marco's plotlines are mishandled, and I'd lump this in. The fact that such a major story-- the end of all normalcy-- is in such a forgettable volume is a major disappointment.
""Dad, what if Nora was a Controller all along?
What if the Yeerks put her in your path because
they knew you were involved in secret work?"
Pain knotted my father's face.
My conscience was heavy. Permanent damage had been done. My family was back together,
but not really.
Not honestly.
It was desperate speculation, one that, I
hoped, would make it easier for my dad.
It didn't make it any easier for me.
"What are you saying?"
"You were set up by the enemy," I said. "You
can't blame yourself." "
No consequences for this. Marco just gets his family back. Then there's how unceremoniously Visser One dies, after all the build-up and Visser One's own struggles with motherhood. Eva has a lot going on in her head, and could carry on Viss's plotline, but we're drawing up on the finish line fast. This might be an aggressive, fast-paced book, but I've always felt Marco's plotlines are mishandled, and I'd lump this in. The fact that such a major story-- the end of all normalcy-- is in such a forgettable volume is a major disappointment.
August 10, 2018
5/5 Mind blown! Wow! I cannot believe how GOOD this was! My eyes actually watered at times to this one! God damn! Ellen Geroux is easily my favorite ghost writer. I love Marco books, so a good book, that's also an emotional Marco book with a BIG plot, was everything a guy could hope for!
SPOILERS
OMG
OMG
OMG
Okay, now that that is out of my system. OMG. MIND BLOWN!
NOT ONLY does Marco get his mother back, but Visser One dies!, Marco's dad gets to reunite with his long thought dead wife. On the downside, Marco's dad loses Nora who he clearly loves. It's tragic, and his dad almost doesn't seem to want to get back with his wife/Visser One, because he clearly loved Nora.
I can't go into all the details of this, other than to say this was one of my favourites yet. I finished off books 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50 all today... yes... Yes I did... and I can't write a review extensive on each, on that account. I'm going to watch Pop Arena's Youtube Summaries of those books this evening, because they rock (SUPER BOOKS), and those video summaries and reviews rock (I've downloaded them for fear they would disappear from Youtube!)
SPOILERS
OMG
OMG
OMG
Okay, now that that is out of my system. OMG. MIND BLOWN!
NOT ONLY does Marco get his mother back, but Visser One dies!, Marco's dad gets to reunite with his long thought dead wife. On the downside, Marco's dad loses Nora who he clearly loves. It's tragic, and his dad almost doesn't seem to want to get back with his wife/Visser One, because he clearly loved Nora.
I can't go into all the details of this, other than to say this was one of my favourites yet. I finished off books 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50 all today... yes... Yes I did... and I can't write a review extensive on each, on that account. I'm going to watch Pop Arena's Youtube Summaries of those books this evening, because they rock (SUPER BOOKS), and those video summaries and reviews rock (I've downloaded them for fear they would disappear from Youtube!)
February 19, 2023
Book 45 of Animorphs. This was a pivotal book. It is obvious the series is winding down. Lots of action and some huge movements in the plot. Crazy to think of the series coming to an end after this long. If you’ve been reading along, this is a can’t miss part of the story. Still a great recommended series.
Joseph McKnight
http://www.Josephmcknight.com
Joseph McKnight
http://www.Josephmcknight.com
July 4, 2022
|4.5 Stars|
who gave these books to children
who gave these books to children
October 22, 2023
It's all coming together boys
March 17, 2022
And now with this return to Marco, we have reached the beginning of the end. Yep, we only have about 10 or so books left now, this is where the "final arc" begins. No more time for helmacrons or double Rachels, it's time to buckle down. We're in the endgame now. Not every book from here on is super important to the finale but from what I get, everything from here is important, be it finale stuff or just housekeeping.
Ellen Geroux returns to ghostwrite this. Yes, she's back already. Shows how beloved she was. She does well here, she gets Marco perfectly, his jokes are spread out, mostly because he's dealing with more serious matters. She's one of the writers who is good at getting him down,. again she nails the tone of the series. Her writing itself is maybe a tad weak just because this is more action focused than some of her others. Still, Ellen rules again.
So this will be short, there's not much as far as non-spoiler stuff I can say. Basically at the start, the place Marco's dad works at has figured out Z-space, giving humans a solid step forward to getting out there, which of course the Yeerks don't like. Side note, this amusingly ties into some of what is mentioned in the Bruce Coville teacher stuff, I bet it's the same universe. Soon they go after Marco's dad and it's a race to save him.
This one hits the ground running and doesn't let up., It's all exciting and pretty solid. That said, the nature of this one is both a pro and con. It feels closer to a Laura Weiss book, with it's hetic pacing. It works for all the action it gets into in the 3rd act, but story wise some bits can feel rushed. It could have lingered on some things more. Spoilers, Marco's Dad does end up finding out about everything and there are some places where we zoom past his reactions to move on.
It's not a big deal, but it does feel like they were all like "oh crap the end is near, let's go!". So there's that, it could have been a bit longer in some spots to let everything soak in. I wouldn't say anything here blew me away. That said, plenty of good emotional moments here. This book really tells us that everything is gonna change. By the end, there is a new status qou for Marco and things regarding Visser 1 are somewhat wrapped up.
The way they handle that isn't quite what you'd think and it mostly works. Although it may have been too early to just deal all that now, but maybe they needed more time to explore the ramifications of where this goes. We got plenty of time for that at least. I went through this fast, took me 57 minutes on the dot, as it was all pretty exciting.
I like the note it ends on, where Marco ends up. It has a bit of a cliffhanger, showing we are charging through. While some bits get rushed, others are nailed well. It's interesting to see at least one adult finally find out what is going on and see how they deal with that. And...yeah there's not a lot to say without spoilers.
It's both simple and complex, dealing with heavy stuff while zooming through a bunch of action. It's not amazing but it's pretty good. It could have hit harder but it does everything it needed to do. It signals that we're on the road to the end and the journey starts off well. I mean very interested in where this goes, how these last books will be spent. There's actually a few callbacks in this, a few bits that showed how far we've come. It's neat.
For now, this started the final arc on a pretty good note. It's so weird how close I am to finishing this. Usually I'd say that ends this cycle but actually...nope. See,. at the last minute they decided to finally put Ax is the permanent rotation. Took them long enough. So next time, Ax comes back early, and we'll see how he handles where this book leaves off.
See ya then.
Ellen Geroux returns to ghostwrite this. Yes, she's back already. Shows how beloved she was. She does well here, she gets Marco perfectly, his jokes are spread out, mostly because he's dealing with more serious matters. She's one of the writers who is good at getting him down,. again she nails the tone of the series. Her writing itself is maybe a tad weak just because this is more action focused than some of her others. Still, Ellen rules again.
So this will be short, there's not much as far as non-spoiler stuff I can say. Basically at the start, the place Marco's dad works at has figured out Z-space, giving humans a solid step forward to getting out there, which of course the Yeerks don't like. Side note, this amusingly ties into some of what is mentioned in the Bruce Coville teacher stuff, I bet it's the same universe. Soon they go after Marco's dad and it's a race to save him.
This one hits the ground running and doesn't let up., It's all exciting and pretty solid. That said, the nature of this one is both a pro and con. It feels closer to a Laura Weiss book, with it's hetic pacing. It works for all the action it gets into in the 3rd act, but story wise some bits can feel rushed. It could have lingered on some things more. Spoilers, Marco's Dad does end up finding out about everything and there are some places where we zoom past his reactions to move on.
It's not a big deal, but it does feel like they were all like "oh crap the end is near, let's go!". So there's that, it could have been a bit longer in some spots to let everything soak in. I wouldn't say anything here blew me away. That said, plenty of good emotional moments here. This book really tells us that everything is gonna change. By the end, there is a new status qou for Marco and things regarding Visser 1 are somewhat wrapped up.
The way they handle that isn't quite what you'd think and it mostly works. Although it may have been too early to just deal all that now, but maybe they needed more time to explore the ramifications of where this goes. We got plenty of time for that at least. I went through this fast, took me 57 minutes on the dot, as it was all pretty exciting.
I like the note it ends on, where Marco ends up. It has a bit of a cliffhanger, showing we are charging through. While some bits get rushed, others are nailed well. It's interesting to see at least one adult finally find out what is going on and see how they deal with that. And...yeah there's not a lot to say without spoilers.
It's both simple and complex, dealing with heavy stuff while zooming through a bunch of action. It's not amazing but it's pretty good. It could have hit harder but it does everything it needed to do. It signals that we're on the road to the end and the journey starts off well. I mean very interested in where this goes, how these last books will be spent. There's actually a few callbacks in this, a few bits that showed how far we've come. It's neat.
For now, this started the final arc on a pretty good note. It's so weird how close I am to finishing this. Usually I'd say that ends this cycle but actually...nope. See,. at the last minute they decided to finally put Ax is the permanent rotation. Took them long enough. So next time, Ax comes back early, and we'll see how he handles where this book leaves off.
See ya then.
July 22, 2017
A big, big huge turning point here. Guys, there are only 10 books left, and that's counting Elemist Chronicles... I'm scared for these characters. I have spent 7 months reading them, and I am not sure how I am goanna find more to read that is this simple, but yet so good!
Marco is our voice this time, and my gosh how he has changed, and yet the core is still the same. I love how he is the first one to make the big mistake, the first one to have to hide, the first to involve a parent. It just shows how much of a blind spot he has for his family too, though his is much larger than Jakes.
Also, some of the real world things he is going through are so true. I could empathize with him feeling betrayed when his dad said he loved Nora, and feeling like that then meant he no longer cared about Eva, because that is a hard thing for any one to accept until they have been through it, and he is only 14 or 15 at this point still, even though he seams so much older.
The Andalite fleet is brought in, at last, though I have a bad feeling about that.
Have I mentioned I have to work the next 4 days, and so can't read any Animorphs till after most likely? Well, I have now and it makes me impatient!
"It could be simpler than we think," Jake said calmly, lowering himself onto a bale of hay. This war had aged my best friend in ways you couldn't really see. But you could definitely tell that in his mind he was no longer just a kid. None of us were.
I set the phone down and headed for the door. I was glad Rachel was the one. If you think a situation could get ugly, you want Rachel on your side.
He was shocked and confused again."What do you mean you can't let me? I'm your father. I tell you what to do."
Not in this reality, Dad. Not in this world.
"Dad, of course you're my father," I said, fighting an onslaught of emotion. And it would be so nice to have someone make decisions for me again, I added silently. "I love you. I respect you. But I've been fighting this war for a long time. I've been on more missions, in more fights, and seen more terrible things than you can imagine. This is my fight. My war. Me and my friends, we know what's going on. You don't."
Dad frowned at me, then looked back at the rising sun.
"You've told me what's going on," he said quietly.
"Not everything. I left something out."
Dad chuckled sardonically. "Let me guess. Visser Three's your father, your mother's an Andalite, and I'm no relation at all."
"No," I said. No way around it. My fingers gripped the vinyl of the seat. "Mom's not an Andalite. And she didn't drown. She's the host to Visser One. The Yeerk who started the invasion of Earth."
Dad's face went white. "You mean Eva?"
"I mean Mom."
Dad bent forward. His head hit the steering wheel. His hands pressed into his face.
"Oh, God," he said.
"She's alive."
"I didn't know..."
He rocked back against the seat. His head hit the headrest. "If only I'd waited..." He covered his eyes, then uncovered them. Then he reached for the glove box, rifled through, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He stuck one in his mouth and made it burn.
"Dad, what are you doing?" I said nicely. "You stopped five years ago. Cut it out."
Dad looked at me and threw the cigarette out the window.
"Dad, Dad, Dad. You underestimate your son. Burglary -- in the name of justice and freedom, of course -- is among the great variety of talents the Animorphs possess. You want it, we can get it."
Dad looked disturbed. "Marco, you can't just..."
"Don't worry. We only take from Controller-run corporations and we'll find a way to make everything okay when the war's over."
"But that doesn't make it right."
"Dad, nothing is right anymore."
He was silent for a moment. Then he rose to his feet and looked at us.
"Well, then, boys. Let's get busy."
I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Not the kind you get when you smell rotten milk. The kind you get when you want to cry, but the tears just won't come.
Nora had been a nice lady. Could I have saved her? Could anyone have saved her?
The Yeerks must have taken her away in the night, as Dad was begging me to let him return home to get her.
I'd known she was in danger and I'd done nothing.
That was wrong. What was worse is that a part of me had wanted her out of our lives.
My eye caught a photo tacked to the cork board over my father's worktable. It was a snapshot of me and Dad, taken by Mom on a sun-drenched day several years ago.
Suddenly, reality hit.
I was dead. And this was the end... of school, of dates, of video games. Of everything normal.
The kid in that photo had prepared his last frozen pizza dinner. Had gone to his last math class. Had seen his last movie at the Cineplex.
That kid would never even hang out in his own backyard again. Because this wasn't his home anymore. He had no home.
He'd made the necessary sacrifice.
I could take the photo with me. It was small enough to fit in the beak of the osprey I would morph to fly away.
I took two steps toward the cork board, then stopped.
No.
I had my memories.
They would have to be enough.
"Marco?" he said in a whisper. "Was there any way to save Nora? Is there any way to save her now?"
His words made me feel a little sick. But by now, I knew that life, and love, were complicated.
"You know that I love her--"
I nodded. Made the decision.
"Dad, what if Nora was a Controller all along? What if the Yeerks put her in your path because they knew you were involved in secret work?"
Pain knotted my father's face.
My conscience was heavy. Permanent damage had been done. My family was back together, but not really.
Not honestly.
It was a desperate speculation, one that, I hoped, would make it easier for my dad.
It didn't make it any easier for me.
"What are you saying?"
"You were set up by the enemy," I said. "You can't blame yourself."
Marco is our voice this time, and my gosh how he has changed, and yet the core is still the same. I love how he is the first one to make the big mistake, the first one to have to hide, the first to involve a parent. It just shows how much of a blind spot he has for his family too, though his is much larger than Jakes.
Also, some of the real world things he is going through are so true. I could empathize with him feeling betrayed when his dad said he loved Nora, and feeling like that then meant he no longer cared about Eva, because that is a hard thing for any one to accept until they have been through it, and he is only 14 or 15 at this point still, even though he seams so much older.
The Andalite fleet is brought in, at last, though I have a bad feeling about that.
Have I mentioned I have to work the next 4 days, and so can't read any Animorphs till after most likely? Well, I have now and it makes me impatient!
"It could be simpler than we think," Jake said calmly, lowering himself onto a bale of hay. This war had aged my best friend in ways you couldn't really see. But you could definitely tell that in his mind he was no longer just a kid. None of us were.
I set the phone down and headed for the door. I was glad Rachel was the one. If you think a situation could get ugly, you want Rachel on your side.
He was shocked and confused again."What do you mean you can't let me? I'm your father. I tell you what to do."
Not in this reality, Dad. Not in this world.
"Dad, of course you're my father," I said, fighting an onslaught of emotion. And it would be so nice to have someone make decisions for me again, I added silently. "I love you. I respect you. But I've been fighting this war for a long time. I've been on more missions, in more fights, and seen more terrible things than you can imagine. This is my fight. My war. Me and my friends, we know what's going on. You don't."
Dad frowned at me, then looked back at the rising sun.
"You've told me what's going on," he said quietly.
"Not everything. I left something out."
Dad chuckled sardonically. "Let me guess. Visser Three's your father, your mother's an Andalite, and I'm no relation at all."
"No," I said. No way around it. My fingers gripped the vinyl of the seat. "Mom's not an Andalite. And she didn't drown. She's the host to Visser One. The Yeerk who started the invasion of Earth."
Dad's face went white. "You mean Eva?"
"I mean Mom."
Dad bent forward. His head hit the steering wheel. His hands pressed into his face.
"Oh, God," he said.
"She's alive."
"I didn't know..."
He rocked back against the seat. His head hit the headrest. "If only I'd waited..." He covered his eyes, then uncovered them. Then he reached for the glove box, rifled through, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He stuck one in his mouth and made it burn.
"Dad, what are you doing?" I said nicely. "You stopped five years ago. Cut it out."
Dad looked at me and threw the cigarette out the window.
"Dad, Dad, Dad. You underestimate your son. Burglary -- in the name of justice and freedom, of course -- is among the great variety of talents the Animorphs possess. You want it, we can get it."
Dad looked disturbed. "Marco, you can't just..."
"Don't worry. We only take from Controller-run corporations and we'll find a way to make everything okay when the war's over."
"But that doesn't make it right."
"Dad, nothing is right anymore."
He was silent for a moment. Then he rose to his feet and looked at us.
"Well, then, boys. Let's get busy."
I got a sick feeling in my stomach. Not the kind you get when you smell rotten milk. The kind you get when you want to cry, but the tears just won't come.
Nora had been a nice lady. Could I have saved her? Could anyone have saved her?
The Yeerks must have taken her away in the night, as Dad was begging me to let him return home to get her.
I'd known she was in danger and I'd done nothing.
That was wrong. What was worse is that a part of me had wanted her out of our lives.
My eye caught a photo tacked to the cork board over my father's worktable. It was a snapshot of me and Dad, taken by Mom on a sun-drenched day several years ago.
Suddenly, reality hit.
I was dead. And this was the end... of school, of dates, of video games. Of everything normal.
The kid in that photo had prepared his last frozen pizza dinner. Had gone to his last math class. Had seen his last movie at the Cineplex.
That kid would never even hang out in his own backyard again. Because this wasn't his home anymore. He had no home.
He'd made the necessary sacrifice.
I could take the photo with me. It was small enough to fit in the beak of the osprey I would morph to fly away.
I took two steps toward the cork board, then stopped.
No.
I had my memories.
They would have to be enough.
"Marco?" he said in a whisper. "Was there any way to save Nora? Is there any way to save her now?"
His words made me feel a little sick. But by now, I knew that life, and love, were complicated.
"You know that I love her--"
I nodded. Made the decision.
"Dad, what if Nora was a Controller all along? What if the Yeerks put her in your path because they knew you were involved in secret work?"
Pain knotted my father's face.
My conscience was heavy. Permanent damage had been done. My family was back together, but not really.
Not honestly.
It was a desperate speculation, one that, I hoped, would make it easier for my dad.
It didn't make it any easier for me.
"What are you saying?"
"You were set up by the enemy," I said. "You can't blame yourself."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 29, 2022
Marco is struggling to adapt to having a stepmother when he is suddenly reminded of just how close to Yeerk danger his father actually is.
Things are getting too personal and Marco is put in a position where he feels as though he can never make a sound decision. This is also the installment with the most parental involvement and I’m genuinely surprised it took this long to see that!
There are jarring yet major developments in this war and I have no idea how this is supposed to all play out. It makes me very curious about what’ll happen next with Jake’s family.
CW: war, violence, death, grief, slavery, murder, home invasion
Things are getting too personal and Marco is put in a position where he feels as though he can never make a sound decision. This is also the installment with the most parental involvement and I’m genuinely surprised it took this long to see that!
There are jarring yet major developments in this war and I have no idea how this is supposed to all play out. It makes me very curious about what’ll happen next with Jake’s family.
CW: war, violence, death, grief, slavery, murder, home invasion
June 6, 2022
[Note: Spoiler warning! It was too hard to write a review for this book without going into significant detail about its various surprises.]
This series has been spinning its wheels for a while now, putting out volumes that are sometimes better and sometimes worse but generally pretty episodic overall, doing little to alter the status quo and advance any larger plot. Luckily, all of that changes here, in spectacularly thrilling fashion. Marco's dad is working on a research project that discovers evidence of zero-space -- a development Ax is hilariously miffed about, showing his usual Andalite concern / jealousy over the speed of human technological progress -- and could soon allow earth to communicate instantly with anywhere else in the universe. The Yeerks understandably want to keep that under wraps, and swoop in to take all the engineers as Controllers. Only Marco, who has already lost one parent to the enemy, can't stand to sit back and watch it happen again with his customary detached strategic analysis. He jumps in and saves his dad, bringing our first instance of an Animorph coming clean to their family about the ongoing alien invasion and the kids' secret resistance campaign against it.
It's a major coming-of-age moment, which on this reread reminds me of Joyce Summers finally learning about her daughter Buffy's extracurricular habit of vampire-slaying. It's exciting for the narrative to no longer have to sneak around that particular obstacle, and it forces a parental reckoning of how the young protagonist has grown up, in many ways reversing the ordinary child/guardian dynamic with the assertion of familiarity in this strange and dangerous world. To the extent that these novels are allegorical for normal teenage life, with its confusing physical changes and deadly serious drama, Marco is crossing a recognizable threshold here into adult maturity and responsibilities. And his father must grapple not only with the loss of his comfortable existence in society and his new status as a fugitive among the free Hork-Bajir colony, but also with the realization that his little boy has become a hardened soldier willing to kill and die for the mission.
Marco's days as a regular teen are over now too, which is perhaps even more surprising of a shift. Realizing that the Yeerks will aim to take him and his stepmom in order to control the situation, he has the Chee fake his death to shut down that avenue of a lead. From now on, he will be living off the grid with those pacifist robots, the biggest upset in a character's home life since Tobias got stuck as a hawk way back in book #1. (I don't quite get why our narrator would live somewhere different than his father, though.)
Working together, Ax and Marco's dad are able to finish constructing the z-space device, which is the only element of this story that feels a bit too conveniently coincidental to me, as they immediately learn that Visser One, the nominal Yeerk leader whose host is his mother, has been brought home to be executed by Kandrona starvation for treason. It's the culmination of a long-running power struggle between her and the more merciless Visser Three, and another great sign of the series plot moving forward. The Animorphs rush to the side of their tentative ally, although it's not clear whether the plan is to do something to restore her leadership position and stop her rival from launching the all-out war he favors, or simply to prevent her from sharing their secrets and to rescue Marco's mom. In any event, amid the chaos of another exhilarating Yeerk pool action sequence, it's the latter task that wins out as Edriss 562's winding journey comes to a definitive close. The human host has been saved, but the way is cleared for the team's brutal adversary to become the new military commander.
In one last twist of the knife, Marco sees his parents unexpectedly reunited, but only because in a return of his usual coldness, he's left his stepmother to be seized by the Yeerks and falsely implied to his dad that she might have been a Controller all along and their relationship nothing but a ploy. It's a sting that helps mitigate the treacly unlikeliness of this happily-ever-after, and an appropriately somber note to end on as the heroes finally make contact with the Andalite fleet across the galaxy and really kick off the series endgame.
I've almost given this title a full five stars, in recognition of ghostwriter Ellen Geroux surpassing even her typical skill to deliver a rousing and continuity-heavy adventure. There are just a few of those small details that stand out as minor weaknesses, although I'd still say this is one of the stronger later installments of the franchise overall.
[Content warning for body horror, gun violence, and gore.]
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This series has been spinning its wheels for a while now, putting out volumes that are sometimes better and sometimes worse but generally pretty episodic overall, doing little to alter the status quo and advance any larger plot. Luckily, all of that changes here, in spectacularly thrilling fashion. Marco's dad is working on a research project that discovers evidence of zero-space -- a development Ax is hilariously miffed about, showing his usual Andalite concern / jealousy over the speed of human technological progress -- and could soon allow earth to communicate instantly with anywhere else in the universe. The Yeerks understandably want to keep that under wraps, and swoop in to take all the engineers as Controllers. Only Marco, who has already lost one parent to the enemy, can't stand to sit back and watch it happen again with his customary detached strategic analysis. He jumps in and saves his dad, bringing our first instance of an Animorph coming clean to their family about the ongoing alien invasion and the kids' secret resistance campaign against it.
It's a major coming-of-age moment, which on this reread reminds me of Joyce Summers finally learning about her daughter Buffy's extracurricular habit of vampire-slaying. It's exciting for the narrative to no longer have to sneak around that particular obstacle, and it forces a parental reckoning of how the young protagonist has grown up, in many ways reversing the ordinary child/guardian dynamic with the assertion of familiarity in this strange and dangerous world. To the extent that these novels are allegorical for normal teenage life, with its confusing physical changes and deadly serious drama, Marco is crossing a recognizable threshold here into adult maturity and responsibilities. And his father must grapple not only with the loss of his comfortable existence in society and his new status as a fugitive among the free Hork-Bajir colony, but also with the realization that his little boy has become a hardened soldier willing to kill and die for the mission.
Marco's days as a regular teen are over now too, which is perhaps even more surprising of a shift. Realizing that the Yeerks will aim to take him and his stepmom in order to control the situation, he has the Chee fake his death to shut down that avenue of a lead. From now on, he will be living off the grid with those pacifist robots, the biggest upset in a character's home life since Tobias got stuck as a hawk way back in book #1. (I don't quite get why our narrator would live somewhere different than his father, though.)
Working together, Ax and Marco's dad are able to finish constructing the z-space device, which is the only element of this story that feels a bit too conveniently coincidental to me, as they immediately learn that Visser One, the nominal Yeerk leader whose host is his mother, has been brought home to be executed by Kandrona starvation for treason. It's the culmination of a long-running power struggle between her and the more merciless Visser Three, and another great sign of the series plot moving forward. The Animorphs rush to the side of their tentative ally, although it's not clear whether the plan is to do something to restore her leadership position and stop her rival from launching the all-out war he favors, or simply to prevent her from sharing their secrets and to rescue Marco's mom. In any event, amid the chaos of another exhilarating Yeerk pool action sequence, it's the latter task that wins out as Edriss 562's winding journey comes to a definitive close. The human host has been saved, but the way is cleared for the team's brutal adversary to become the new military commander.
In one last twist of the knife, Marco sees his parents unexpectedly reunited, but only because in a return of his usual coldness, he's left his stepmother to be seized by the Yeerks and falsely implied to his dad that she might have been a Controller all along and their relationship nothing but a ploy. It's a sting that helps mitigate the treacly unlikeliness of this happily-ever-after, and an appropriately somber note to end on as the heroes finally make contact with the Andalite fleet across the galaxy and really kick off the series endgame.
I've almost given this title a full five stars, in recognition of ghostwriter Ellen Geroux surpassing even her typical skill to deliver a rousing and continuity-heavy adventure. There are just a few of those small details that stand out as minor weaknesses, although I'd still say this is one of the stronger later installments of the franchise overall.
[Content warning for body horror, gun violence, and gore.]
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6...
--Or click here to browse through all my previous reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
May 5, 2023
This one feels like it could have been the finale to the series. Excellent plot that pulls at the heartstrings. I almost cried at multiple points.
June 21, 2023
It’s heating up!! A Marco heartbreaker and what will happen next? We’re definitely careening toward the series end now.
June 21, 2022
Shit's getting real.
I do think the Nora thing was potentially brushed under the rug... but Marco's ruthlessness is v in character in how he does that.
I do think the Nora thing was potentially brushed under the rug... but Marco's ruthlessness is v in character in how he does that.
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