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Animorphs #10
The Android
When Marco runs into his old friend Erek he doesn't think too much of it. He's got a couple of more important things to do. Like helping to save the world. But then Marco finds out Erek's been hanging with some of the kids at The Sharing. And he starts to think that something just a little weird is going on.
So Marco, Jake, and Ax decide to morph and check old Erek out. Just to see if he's been infested with a Yeerk. The good news is that Erek's not a human-Controller. The bad news is that Erek's not even human. . . .
So Marco, Jake, and Ax decide to morph and check old Erek out. Just to see if he's been infested with a Yeerk. The good news is that Erek's not a human-Controller. The bad news is that Erek's not even human. . . .
170 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1997
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999 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 308 reviews
June 12, 2015
The Android is an excellent example of the greatness of the Animorphs series. If you were going to jump in to this series rather than start from the first book, you could do worse than start here. In addition to the now-boilerplate introduction required to get such new readers up to speed, Applegate continues to expand the mythology of the series. We meet the Chee, programmed to be peaceful by the joy-loving but now extinct Pemalites. And Marco’s parent—this time his dad—is threatened again by the Yeerks.
The writing is stellar in this one. Unlike the disappointing plot in The Secret, which takes a turn towards bathos at the end, the plot The Android is tense and suspenseful up until the final page. First, Marco and Tobias stumble onto the fact that this kid, Erek King � isn’t exactly human. But he’s managed to infiltrate the Sharing. Why? The Animorphs have to get to the bottom of this mystery � and when they do, they find out they have to pull a heist to stop the Yeerks from gaining control over all the computers on the planet.
So the stakes are high.
Oh, and Marco’s dad is starting to work with the company that has the crystal the Yeerks are using. Which means he might be a target.
The stakes are really high.
Navigating the security during the heist is tense. I love heist stories! The Animorphs use bat morphs—an excellent choice. But I particularly love that, after they go to all that trouble to be sneaky, they decide they can’t lift the crystal as bats � so they’re just going to turbo their way out.
That is totally something I would do in a video game. (I save often�.)
Emotionally, there’s a lot going on here too. For Marco, the prospect of losing his dad to the Yeerks is too much, especially considering what happened with his mom. Marco seems lately to be all about drawing lines: if this happens, I’ll do this. Applegate portrays here the emerging conscience of an adolescent: Marco is no longer saying things are right or wrong because an adult told him so; he’s actually internalizing, expressing, and acting on his own sense of ethics.
But where will those ethics lead in time of war?
The pacifism of the Chee is a stark contrast to the child soldier nature of the Animorphs. And Applegate does not pull any punches. Not a single one. Erek manages to rewrite his programming to let him slaughter the Controller guards, thereby saving the Animorphs from certain death � and it’s horrible. Everyone seems shocked and scarred beyond imagining. It feels like they kicked and killed a baby. The fact that Marco was unconscious and only learns about it secondhand makes this sentiment all the more potent. Sometimes, it’s about what you Dz’t say, and the way that the other Animorphs have trouble expressing how disturbing that scene was says it all.
Beyond that single moment, however, lies the enduring ethical question. Most of the Animorphs understand why Erek has now changed sides and agrees with Maria that the Chee cannot surrender their pacifism. This allows us to hold the Chee up as a foil to the Animorphs, who will become increasingly militant as this series progresses. As always, Applegate asks the question: how far are you willing to go to win?
The Android, even this early in the series, hints that there is an event horizon you should not cross.
It’s serious business. Despite being a Marco book, and therefore replete with the usual Marco humour, there’s a sombre tone to this story. This complementary sense of black humour to stave off the darkness is key to Marco’s role in the series, and it’s one reason this book is so successful.
Next time, the Animorphs get timey-wimey wibbly wobbly again. And Jake goes crazy. It’s basically The Real World meets I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.
My reviews of the Animorphs series:
� #9: The Secret | #11: The Forgotten �
The writing is stellar in this one. Unlike the disappointing plot in The Secret, which takes a turn towards bathos at the end, the plot The Android is tense and suspenseful up until the final page. First, Marco and Tobias stumble onto the fact that this kid, Erek King � isn’t exactly human. But he’s managed to infiltrate the Sharing. Why? The Animorphs have to get to the bottom of this mystery � and when they do, they find out they have to pull a heist to stop the Yeerks from gaining control over all the computers on the planet.
So the stakes are high.
Oh, and Marco’s dad is starting to work with the company that has the crystal the Yeerks are using. Which means he might be a target.
The stakes are really high.
Navigating the security during the heist is tense. I love heist stories! The Animorphs use bat morphs—an excellent choice. But I particularly love that, after they go to all that trouble to be sneaky, they decide they can’t lift the crystal as bats � so they’re just going to turbo their way out.
That is totally something I would do in a video game. (I save often�.)
Emotionally, there’s a lot going on here too. For Marco, the prospect of losing his dad to the Yeerks is too much, especially considering what happened with his mom. Marco seems lately to be all about drawing lines: if this happens, I’ll do this. Applegate portrays here the emerging conscience of an adolescent: Marco is no longer saying things are right or wrong because an adult told him so; he’s actually internalizing, expressing, and acting on his own sense of ethics.
But where will those ethics lead in time of war?
The pacifism of the Chee is a stark contrast to the child soldier nature of the Animorphs. And Applegate does not pull any punches. Not a single one. Erek manages to rewrite his programming to let him slaughter the Controller guards, thereby saving the Animorphs from certain death � and it’s horrible. Everyone seems shocked and scarred beyond imagining. It feels like they kicked and killed a baby. The fact that Marco was unconscious and only learns about it secondhand makes this sentiment all the more potent. Sometimes, it’s about what you Dz’t say, and the way that the other Animorphs have trouble expressing how disturbing that scene was says it all.
Beyond that single moment, however, lies the enduring ethical question. Most of the Animorphs understand why Erek has now changed sides and agrees with Maria that the Chee cannot surrender their pacifism. This allows us to hold the Chee up as a foil to the Animorphs, who will become increasingly militant as this series progresses. As always, Applegate asks the question: how far are you willing to go to win?
The Android, even this early in the series, hints that there is an event horizon you should not cross.
It’s serious business. Despite being a Marco book, and therefore replete with the usual Marco humour, there’s a sombre tone to this story. This complementary sense of black humour to stave off the darkness is key to Marco’s role in the series, and it’s one reason this book is so successful.
Next time, the Animorphs get timey-wimey wibbly wobbly again. And Jake goes crazy. It’s basically The Real World meets I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here.
My reviews of the Animorphs series:
� #9: The Secret | #11: The Forgotten �
March 11, 2020
FIRST REVIEW / MAR 15, 2015
The last time I reread this book, just a few years ago, I was reduced to ridiculous weeping over the ending. I looooove tales of alien species and their A.I. companions (don't get me started on the tears I've shed for the Geth in Mass Effect), so this is up my alley: something about the Pemalites and Chee and dogs just really, really hit close to home and left me staggered. The mission starts off cool and awesome (I am perpetually in favour of anything that is like a pitch-black heist, sneaking through air vents and stealing a priceless jewel and all!!), and the second half of it turns horrifying, terrifying, the stuff of which nightmares is made of -- the image of Marco looking down and looking directly into his own insides is something that stuck with me ever since I read this in my childhood.
Erek King is one of my favourite minor characters in this series, and what happens in this book breaks my heart. Marco's livid anger over the Yeerks targeting his father is also gutting, revealing the poisonous toll that this war is having on all of them -- all of the Animorphs obviously feel that anger at times, but that poisonous, strangling, out-of-control rage was very similar to what Rachel described in her previous book. I love seeing the different costs this war is having on them (e.g. Jake's is more inward-directed and self-flagellating; heavy is the head that wears the crown).
The direct status quo might not have changed by the end of this book, but the worldbuilding has just taken another big expansion -- there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, indeed -- as it's revealed that it's not just them fighting, there are other chess pieces in play, and they've now gained a valuable ally.
---------------------------------
SECOND REVIEW / MAR 9, 2020
There's not much I can add to my previous review because I already hit on the most prevailing notes, but suffice it to say: yep, this book remains one of my early favourites in the series!
I also just love how Erek King is both an incredibly wise and ancient being but also having to pretend to be a teenager, but he's also incredibly invested in this war. His sacrifice and trauma at the end-- ugh. My heart. And the Chee and Pemalites are so great!!
That last terrifying fight at the very end, just, woof. That moment when Marco is looking around at all his friends and can't understand why they're not jubilant about having survived, with the sound of Erek crying softly in the background, but it only sinks in for Marco when he sees tears in Rachel's eyes, too.
Some separate but important details to take note of, for down the line: 1) the Howlers, 2) the logistics of morph mass going into Z-space, and 3) how far Marco will go to protect his sole remaining parent.
Favourite quotes moved to .
The last time I reread this book, just a few years ago, I was reduced to ridiculous weeping over the ending. I looooove tales of alien species and their A.I. companions (don't get me started on the tears I've shed for the Geth in Mass Effect), so this is up my alley: something about the Pemalites and Chee and dogs just really, really hit close to home and left me staggered. The mission starts off cool and awesome (I am perpetually in favour of anything that is like a pitch-black heist, sneaking through air vents and stealing a priceless jewel and all!!), and the second half of it turns horrifying, terrifying, the stuff of which nightmares is made of -- the image of Marco looking down and looking directly into his own insides is something that stuck with me ever since I read this in my childhood.
Erek King is one of my favourite minor characters in this series, and what happens in this book breaks my heart. Marco's livid anger over the Yeerks targeting his father is also gutting, revealing the poisonous toll that this war is having on all of them -- all of the Animorphs obviously feel that anger at times, but that poisonous, strangling, out-of-control rage was very similar to what Rachel described in her previous book. I love seeing the different costs this war is having on them (e.g. Jake's is more inward-directed and self-flagellating; heavy is the head that wears the crown).
The direct status quo might not have changed by the end of this book, but the worldbuilding has just taken another big expansion -- there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, indeed -- as it's revealed that it's not just them fighting, there are other chess pieces in play, and they've now gained a valuable ally.
---------------------------------
SECOND REVIEW / MAR 9, 2020
There's not much I can add to my previous review because I already hit on the most prevailing notes, but suffice it to say: yep, this book remains one of my early favourites in the series!
I also just love how Erek King is both an incredibly wise and ancient being but also having to pretend to be a teenager, but he's also incredibly invested in this war. His sacrifice and trauma at the end-- ugh. My heart. And the Chee and Pemalites are so great!!
That last terrifying fight at the very end, just, woof. That moment when Marco is looking around at all his friends and can't understand why they're not jubilant about having survived, with the sound of Erek crying softly in the background, but it only sinks in for Marco when he sees tears in Rachel's eyes, too.
Some separate but important details to take note of, for down the line: 1) the Howlers, 2) the logistics of morph mass going into Z-space, and 3) how far Marco will go to protect his sole remaining parent.
Favourite quotes moved to .
July 21, 2022
Marco’s old friend Erek is hanging out with the Sharing. But there’s clearly something weird going on with him. This is where we’re introduced to the Chee, the pacifist robots who try to fight the Yeerks in their own way. It also shows Marco’s rage and hatred towards the Yeerks. And that fight at the end is brutal and terrifying.
November 18, 2016
The Android was always one of my favorite Animorphs books when I was a kid because, even before I knew what it was, I loved worldbuilding in fiction. This is one of the reasons I love serialized storytelling so much, because serialized stories (no matter the medium) are the ones that have the most room to deepen and define their fictionalized worlds without sacrificing character or theme. And The Android does quite a bit of worldbuilding in a short period of time.
We're introduced to several important new concepts, like zero-space (or z-space), which is where ships travel at faster than light speeds, and also happens to be one of the secrets behind the morphing technology. Ax lets it slip to Marco that due to the laws of physics, when morphing an animal smaller in mass than yourself, the mass has to go SOMEWHERE, and that somewhere is z-space, and there is an infinitesimal but still possible chance that a ship in z-space might hit your extruded mass and vaporize it, thus causing you to become stuck in your morph forever. This is not a pleasant thought for the Animorphs, but it is a cool bit of sci-fi. (They don't inquire further, and I can't remember if we get answers in the future, but what happens when you morph an animal with a larger mass? Does it pull in excess matter from z-space? If so, whose mass are they borrowing?)
But I'm burying the lede, here. It's Marco's old friend Erek and his "family" who are the real focus. Because Erek turns out not to be human, and he might even be involved with The Sharing somehow. The Animorphs end up doing recon at a Sharing retreat, but end up exposing themselves when Marco gets eaten by a crow, and he has to demorph in front of Erek. But Erek doesn't immediately betray them to the Yeerks. Instead, he tells them to meet at his house in a few days, that they are allies in the fight against the Yeerks, and promises to explain everything.
And man, is it ever a weird explanation.
It sounds pretty straightforward, but the way Applegate handles it is an example of why I love this series so much. Erek and his friends see the war with the Yeerks happening, but feel like their programming prevents them from getting involved in the fighting. But there are some Chee who do not wish to overturn their programming, who believe that nonviolence is the best option. The Animorphs unsurprisingly take Erek's side. Nonviolence is nice and all, but from their perspective, they can't afford philosophical stances when real lives are at stake. Marco's dad is in danger of being made a Controller for his work. Jake's brother already is one. Marco's mom is Visser One, and his whole life was torn apart because of it. Things will only get worse if the Yeerks aren't stopped, and stopping them is not something that can be accomplished with nonviolence.
Basically, the book acknowledges that the ethics of nonviolence, especially in a time of war, are not black and white. They're grey as hell. This is made especially clear when
There's also some little stuff in here, both funny and serious that deserves a mention. The Pemalites, and the alien race that destroyed them, the Howlers, are not just one-off aliens. They will both come back, and we will learn much more about them. We don't get much regarding the Howlers here, but any race that destroys what are essentially intelligent dogs is big trouble. Speaking of dogs, , it's sad and so weird that the Chee want to save Earth not for humans, but for dogs. I haven't mentioned much about Marco in this review, but he was a nice way in to this story. His investment in the fight has steadily deepened, and his protectiveness and anger over his family is starting to affect the way he goes into missions. Aside from Ax, he's also lost the most to the Yeerks, even if Jake is the only one (and now Erek) who knows about it. He also got a new haircut in this one, which he agonizes over at length throughout the book, but it turns out that the reason he got the haircut is that Scholastic had a new, cute model they wanted to use for Marco, but he had short hair. So Applegate gave him a haircut. Behind the scenes!
Next up, time stuff!
We're introduced to several important new concepts, like zero-space (or z-space), which is where ships travel at faster than light speeds, and also happens to be one of the secrets behind the morphing technology. Ax lets it slip to Marco that due to the laws of physics, when morphing an animal smaller in mass than yourself, the mass has to go SOMEWHERE, and that somewhere is z-space, and there is an infinitesimal but still possible chance that a ship in z-space might hit your extruded mass and vaporize it, thus causing you to become stuck in your morph forever. This is not a pleasant thought for the Animorphs, but it is a cool bit of sci-fi. (They don't inquire further, and I can't remember if we get answers in the future, but what happens when you morph an animal with a larger mass? Does it pull in excess matter from z-space? If so, whose mass are they borrowing?)
But I'm burying the lede, here. It's Marco's old friend Erek and his "family" who are the real focus. Because Erek turns out not to be human, and he might even be involved with The Sharing somehow. The Animorphs end up doing recon at a Sharing retreat, but end up exposing themselves when Marco gets eaten by a crow, and he has to demorph in front of Erek. But Erek doesn't immediately betray them to the Yeerks. Instead, he tells them to meet at his house in a few days, that they are allies in the fight against the Yeerks, and promises to explain everything.
And man, is it ever a weird explanation.
It sounds pretty straightforward, but the way Applegate handles it is an example of why I love this series so much. Erek and his friends see the war with the Yeerks happening, but feel like their programming prevents them from getting involved in the fighting. But there are some Chee who do not wish to overturn their programming, who believe that nonviolence is the best option. The Animorphs unsurprisingly take Erek's side. Nonviolence is nice and all, but from their perspective, they can't afford philosophical stances when real lives are at stake. Marco's dad is in danger of being made a Controller for his work. Jake's brother already is one. Marco's mom is Visser One, and his whole life was torn apart because of it. Things will only get worse if the Yeerks aren't stopped, and stopping them is not something that can be accomplished with nonviolence.
Basically, the book acknowledges that the ethics of nonviolence, especially in a time of war, are not black and white. They're grey as hell. This is made especially clear when
There's also some little stuff in here, both funny and serious that deserves a mention. The Pemalites, and the alien race that destroyed them, the Howlers, are not just one-off aliens. They will both come back, and we will learn much more about them. We don't get much regarding the Howlers here, but any race that destroys what are essentially intelligent dogs is big trouble. Speaking of dogs, , it's sad and so weird that the Chee want to save Earth not for humans, but for dogs. I haven't mentioned much about Marco in this review, but he was a nice way in to this story. His investment in the fight has steadily deepened, and his protectiveness and anger over his family is starting to affect the way he goes into missions. Aside from Ax, he's also lost the most to the Yeerks, even if Jake is the only one (and now Erek) who knows about it. He also got a new haircut in this one, which he agonizes over at length throughout the book, but it turns out that the reason he got the haircut is that Scholastic had a new, cute model they wanted to use for Marco, but he had short hair. So Applegate gave him a haircut. Behind the scenes!
Next up, time stuff!
February 21, 2024
Seriously what the fuck was Applegate smoking when she wrote this?
It’s the “dogs are the souls of an ancient alien civilization� for me
It’s the “dogs are the souls of an ancient alien civilization� for me
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:
May 29, 2019
Considering Marco is the goofball of the group and often the comic relief, his books always end up pretty damn serious and dealing with heavy issues. I always love his narration, and yeah, I really like this one. It does a lot to strengthen Marco's reasons for fighting in a way that isn't overbearing, and I also deeply respect how deftly the issue of shades of gray in a war are handled. It delved deeply into the them of peace versus war, without sounding preachy about it like Cassie's books usually do. It makes sense, makes the reader feel what Marco feels, and I have to respect that.
Bonus points for making it that dogs are descended from joyful aliens. :D
Bonus points for making it that dogs are descended from joyful aliens. :D
March 7, 2013
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When the Animorphs notice that a school friend of theirs isn’t entirely human and is involved in the Sharing, the Yeerk front organisation that preys on the socially weak, they decide to investigate, only to find out he’s an ancient android called a Chee created by an extinct pacifist race called Pemalites. The Chee can’t fight the Yeerks, but they can if the Animorphs retrieve a special crystal computer the Yeerks are currently guarding in a high-security compound.
The Android is an important book to read because it introduces Erek King, originally a guest star, a small bit part that evolves over the series and turns into a major ally and strong secondary character. The Chee are powerful allies for the Animorphs, but as they can’t fight, they are reduced to spies and on more than one occasion are the plot point for entire novels. In this novel, the Animorphs slowly discover that Erek isn’t human, and then decide it’s a great idea to retrieve the crystal. Except for Cassie, because she has issues with helping a race that’s been peaceful for thousands of year become violent, even though their creators, the Pemalites, were wiped out by another violent race called the Howlers because they couldn’t fight back.
Once again, the fight also becomes personal for Marco because Jake’s brother, human Controller Tom, hints that Marco and his dad should join the Sharing. This is because Marco’s dad now works for a weapons development company and the Yeerks want his brain. Literally. I find it interesting that Marco’s only keen to fight in his novels because they make it so personal. He was originally the most reluctant until we found out about his mother, and now the Yeerks are after his dad, he’s happy to admit that it’s personal and that’s why he’s fighting. I mean sure, Cassie is a moralising over-thinker but at least she wants what is best for everyone, and is not just thinking about herself all the time.
But hey, that’s Marco for you.
The climax of this novel is pretty powerful. Sometimes the Animorphs Dz’t win, and sometimes they run away, and sometimes they kind of win and something happens to help them survive, like a deus ex machina. Well, Erek is that role in this novel. He gets the crystal, rewrites his own programming, and slaughters about two dozen people to save the Animorphs from a brutal fight where Marco actually dies (which is why we Dz’t actively see Erek wreaking havoc, which is a good device because it’s all in our imagination). But Erek’s an android, and he can’t forget anything. He has to relive this awful event over and over. It’s a very powerful moment, when he decides to change his programming back. That’s why the Chee can’t fight: because they are eternal and remember everything.
This is one of those novels you really shouldn’t skip.
March 21, 2022
“See, win or lose, right or wrong, the memory of violence sits inside your head. It sits there, like some lump you can't quite swallow. It sits there, a black hole that darkens hope, and eats away at everyday happiness like a cancer. It's the shadow you take into your own heart and try to live with.�
With the introduction of a new race of androids and their role in this war, we explore how grief and violence haunt the mind.
This is a children’s middle grade series.
🧍♀�
CW: war, slavery, brief dated language referencing disability, violence, death, grief
With the introduction of a new race of androids and their role in this war, we explore how grief and violence haunt the mind.
This is a children’s middle grade series.
🧍♀�
CW: war, slavery, brief dated language referencing disability, violence, death, grief
March 15, 2024
Marco's POV.
June 5, 2018
This volume was a little 90s-tastic : Nine Inch Nails, Alanis Morrisette, and The Offspring .... I haven't listened to those bands in ages, haha. All dated references aside though, this was a solid entry. We got a lot of nice lore and a new race of aliens added to the world.
June 30, 2017
(Originally reviewed at )
Narrator: Marco
Plot: After convincing Jake to join him in an “inappropriate use of morphing� escapade to crash a concert in dog morph, Marco and he discover that a friend of theirs from school, Erek, is not what he seems. He has no scent! He’s also handing out pamphlets for “The Sharing,� the Yeerk front group for recruiting new Controllers. All highly suspicious! Let the sleuthing begin! Some more scouting has Marco and Tobias in bird morph see Erek get hit by a bus and then pop right up as if nothing had happened. Even more amazing was the flicker they see, revealing a bizarre metallic body beneath what seems to be a hologram of some sort. The Animorphs then conclude that they need to use “non traditional� eyes to see beneath this hologram to discover the truth of Erek, so Marco and Ax end up morphing spider and infiltrating a “Sharing� lake-front gathering to sneak up on Erek. I’m unclear why they couldn’t have used their fly morphs which also have compound eyes and would be much safer than spiders due to the simple fact that they can fly. This is even more true since Marco gets eaten by a bird at one point and must demorph THROUGH THE BIRD’S NECK to escape! But, they do discover that Erek is definitely some type of android when he comes upon Marco and Ax morphing and “invites� them back to his house to discuss things.
What follows is the introduction of a completely new set of aliens into our growing catalog of interstellar life. Beneath Erek’s house is a whole host of androids that they learn are called the Chee. The Chee are the creation of an extinct species called the Pemalites, a technologically advanced, but peaceful, species that was wiped out when they were attached by another race. The last of their kind escaped to Earth where the Chee were able to somehow connect the remaining essense of their creators into the most similar species to be found on Earth: wolves. The result was the modern dog, the happy-go-lucky animals that share the same spirit as the lost Pemalites. But due to their peaceful perspective, the Chee were programmed in a way that doesn’t allow them to commit violence in any way. Now that the Yeerks are threatening Earth, the humans, and the dogs that contain all that remains of their creators, Erek and some other Chee wish to join the fight. And this is where the Animorphs come in.
Turns out that the Yeerks have somehow acquired a Pemalites crystal that they are using to develop a super computer that will be able to take control of all the computers in the world. Further, this same crystal could be used by the Chee to re-write their programming and allow them to more actively join the fight. All of this is enough motivation to get our heroes involved.
What follows is an action sequence right out of the movie “Entrapment.� Morphed as cockroaches and spiders, they must navigate a piped tunnels, fall great distances (seriously, there’s so much falling in this series as a whole), evade a rat, almost get burned alive by a furnace activating at an inopportune time, and then morph bats to sneak through a pitch black room full of trigger wires. All of this to discover that once they get there, they have no way of carrying the crystal back. So, because no Animorph book can be completely without them all using their battle morphs, the team decide they must bash their way out. This is…not successful. There was a reason they were told by the Chee that sneaking in was the best option. The Animorphs are sliced and diced and only saved by Marco’s dying push to shove the crystal through a window to Erek who is waiting outside. He is then able to re-write his programming and save the day by massacring the remaining Controllers. But he discovers the price of this violence is too high, especially for an android whose memory is always clear, giving no relief or escape from these acts. The story ends with the Chee offering to help by providing information as they can, but refusing to take the crystal. Marco and Jake have a final moment on the beach with Homer and some other dogs where, majestically, Homer carries off the crystal to be lost in the ocean. The end.
The Comic Relief: Marco is definitely my favorite narrator. His voice is the most distinct, and, especially as I re-read this series as an adult, he is the character I most relate to. He’s highly pragmatic, but also comfortable admitting when things are getting too real and scary. As far as character-growth, there’s not necessarily a lot of that in this book for Marco. Probably some of the least as far the series has gone so far. Usually the POV narrator has some distinct arc to go through. But I’m guessing that there was so much action and world-building that came with the introduction of the Chee and the Pemalites, that some of this had to take a back seat. We get some nice moments between Marco and his Dad (see Adult Crying portion), and some fun friend moments with Jake, but at this point in the series, Marco is pretty committed what with his Mom being Visser One and doesn’t need much more motivation to keep this fight going. He does have a strong reason though to have a very frank approach to getting the Chee involved in the fight. No moral concerns from him, really, about tainting a peaceful species� (?) soul with violence. Not when their help could make the difference in this war and save his mother and humanity. When Cassie is blathering on and on about the wrongness of tainting the Chee species, Marco has this to say:
“Look, no one likes violence. All right? But we didn’t ask for this war with the Yeerks. When the bad guys come after you, when they start the violence, they leave you no choice: fight or die.�
On the other hand, he doesn’t fight against Erek’s and the Chees' choice to abstain from the war after he sees the effects Erek feels after the violence to save the Animorphs towards the end of the story. This whole approach to the Chee conundrum just felt very real and true to Marco’s character as a very practical guy, but also a very empathetic one. He’s just a very well-rounded character. And, funny, never forget funny.
Our Fearless Leader: It’s fun to see Jake get wheedled into just being a regular teenager by Marco early in the book with the concert escapade. Their relationship is very similar to Rachel and Cassie’s in that Jake is more serious, but Marco allows him to just be a regular kid who wants to see a band for free. Marco also mentions how much he appreciates the work that Jake does as a leader when they are all trapped in the building needing to decide how to break out. They all know they’re going to need to go the almost-suicidal-route and barge their way through in battle morph, but it takes Jake saying it for it to be real. And Marco notes the strength it must take to always be in that role.
Xena, Warriar Princess: I Dz’t know if this is “shipping� per se (though, again, re-reading this series, while I love Tobias/Rachel, I more and more can see a Rachel/Marco thing working), but it is interesting to note a pattern with Marco’s views of Rachel. In book 7, we see him change his vote about going with the Ellimist after seeing Rachel break down and admit that she’s struggling with this war. And here, Marco doesn’t fully understand the gravity of the situation with Erek’s pain after killing until he sees Rachel crying. In both of these examples, it is clear that Marco uses Rachel as a gauge upon which to judge his reaction to an event. Rachel clearly has a thing for Tobias, but Marco…even if it’s not romantic, he clearly respects Rachel very much and perhaps even identifies with her the most when it comes to these situations.
A Hawk’s Life: Ugh, poor Tobias! Again he is completely side-lined from the action in this book, especially the last half. He does some good work in the initial scouting of Erek, but can’t, obviously, do anything in their infiltration plan in the end.
Peace, Love, and Animals: Cassie seems to have come to her senses a bit with regards to the fact that Tobias is a hawk that *gasp* eats baby animals sometimes. In one scene she’s scoping out a baby possum nest and notes how cute they are, but admits that Tobias as a hawk has a right to eat them if he needed to…but they’re so cute! Effectively guilting him out of it. Still, a vast improvement over her ridiculous anger in the last book. She is also, of course, completely against the idea of re-writing the Chee’s programming so that they can fight. But it must be noted that when Marco essentially gives her an out on the mission to steal the crystal by saying that he understands if anyone wanted to not involve themselves, Cassie steps up to the plate and accepts the group’s choice (and more importantly, in my opinion, Erek’s and the Chee’s choice!).
E.T./Ax Phone Home: Turns out that not only can Ax keep track of time in his head, he also has an innate ability to tell direction, which I’m sure will come in useful in the future. As always, Ax’s deadpan humor and inability to discern sarcasm plays as a great foil to Marco. These two are really the most entertaining pair in the group, and it’s always great when they end up on missions together, like they did here as spiders.
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: We learn an important fact about morphing in this book that will come up again in a future book in a big way, if I remember correctly. But, with his usual perfect timing, as they are morphing spider, Ax informs Margo that when one morphs a smaller animal then themselves, their “extra mass� gets ballooned out into Z space. So�.blobs of extra guts, and skin, and hair just bobbing around in space. Disgusting and also incredibly nerve-wracking as Marco notes the freakiness of the fact that these blogs could be hit by a passing space ship at any time. Ax is very reassuring about this concern, of course, noting that a ship would never “hit� a mass of excess morph material; it would be disintegrated by the ship’s shields immediately. Thanks Ax.
Couples Watch!: Not a lot in this book, other than my own developing Marco/Rachel/Tobias love triangle that exists nowhere but my own head. When describing the team members, Marco mentions Jake and Cassie’s quasi relationship saying:
“The only time they’ll act that way is when we’re about twelve seconds away from doing something insanely dangerous. Then they’ll kind of give each other these pathetic sad looks. It’s so lame.�
Also, at one point, when Marco and Cassie barely escape being killed by the furnace which suddenly turns on as they are crossing it, Jake becomes very concerned about Cassie, forgetting to ask about Marco’s well-being, much to Marco’s annoyance.
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: Visser Three isn’t in this book! This is a first I think! Instead, we get some high-ranking “grandmotherly� human Controller leading the troops in the final battle. But, guess it makes sense. Though we never see him in action, it sounds like Erek was pretty much an unstoppable killing force when he saved the group and we can’t have him taking out Visser Three right here and ending the whole series!
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: So, the scene between Marco and his Dad. It turns out that Marco’s Dad’s company is thinking about getting involved in developing some type of military technology. But Marco’s Dad tells him this story about how in the year before her death, his relationship with Marco’s Mom turned some type of corner and they had a blissful relationship. Never fighting, completely in love. And one night during this time he woke up to see Marco’s Mom sitting up in bed, clearly struggling with something. But all she says is “They won’t take you if you Dz’t become involved with the military.� And he never fully understood it, but it’s been enough for him to avoid military projects ever since.
Marco sees this story for what it really means. This “blissful� period of time is when his mother became infested. The Yeerk has no reason to involve itself in petting marital spats, preferring a simple home life to focus on its own work. And that night in bed between his Mom and Dad was his Mom’s massive fight against the Yeerk to gain enough control to give her husband that one warning to avoid the military to save him from becoming a Controller himself.
The whole thing is so tragic. His Dad’s false memories of this happy portion of their marriage. The real struggle, and likely high price that was paid, by his Mom to deliver the warning.
One last note on this, the book never really addresses this point again, that Marco’s Dad was considering getting involved with a military contract that would make him bait for the Yeerks. I guess we are left to assume that he decides to continue abiding my his wife’s warning, even if he doesn’t understand it.
What a Terrible Plan, Guys!: Marco notes how the original plan to infiltrate the Yeerk base to get the crystal was supposed to be a week away, giving them time to practice their bat morph and better prepare. But Erek discovers that the Yeerks are working to make the base even more well-protected, forcing the team to need to jump into action immediately. So, there’s some excuse (and self-awareness!) here about the lack of planning. However, turns out the bat morph is super easy to control, so practicing it wasn’t really necessary anyways. But the fact that they couldn’t carry the crystal out…that problem was always there, right in front of them, being ignored!
Favorite Quote:
Marco/Rachel banter is the best. And a big deal is made over the fact that Marco has cut his hair short in the beginning of this book (let’s be real, the model for Marco for the book covers cut his hair and the book needed to address it, for some reason).
“That’s what that hair of yours reminds me of: a wolverine. I knew it was something.� [Rachel said]
“Oh, yeah?� I shot back. “Well, how about your . . . your …�
“My what?� Rachel asked coolly, with the absolute confidence of a girl who never looked less than perfect.
“Your tallness,� I said lamely. “You’re . . . tall. Way tall.�
Somehow this brilliant comeback did not cause Rachel to break down in tears.
Scorecard: Yeerks 2, Animorphs 5
Even though the Chee Dz’t end up joining the war, escaping with the Pemalite crystal and preventing the Yeerks from creating some type of super computer that would control all computers is still a pretty big win, so a point to the Animorphs!
Rating: A solid Marco book! He’s my favorite narrator in the series, and even though he doesn’t have much of a personal arc in this story, we’re still introduced to the Chee who will play a role in future books, so this is an important installment in the series.
Narrator: Marco
Plot: After convincing Jake to join him in an “inappropriate use of morphing� escapade to crash a concert in dog morph, Marco and he discover that a friend of theirs from school, Erek, is not what he seems. He has no scent! He’s also handing out pamphlets for “The Sharing,� the Yeerk front group for recruiting new Controllers. All highly suspicious! Let the sleuthing begin! Some more scouting has Marco and Tobias in bird morph see Erek get hit by a bus and then pop right up as if nothing had happened. Even more amazing was the flicker they see, revealing a bizarre metallic body beneath what seems to be a hologram of some sort. The Animorphs then conclude that they need to use “non traditional� eyes to see beneath this hologram to discover the truth of Erek, so Marco and Ax end up morphing spider and infiltrating a “Sharing� lake-front gathering to sneak up on Erek. I’m unclear why they couldn’t have used their fly morphs which also have compound eyes and would be much safer than spiders due to the simple fact that they can fly. This is even more true since Marco gets eaten by a bird at one point and must demorph THROUGH THE BIRD’S NECK to escape! But, they do discover that Erek is definitely some type of android when he comes upon Marco and Ax morphing and “invites� them back to his house to discuss things.
What follows is the introduction of a completely new set of aliens into our growing catalog of interstellar life. Beneath Erek’s house is a whole host of androids that they learn are called the Chee. The Chee are the creation of an extinct species called the Pemalites, a technologically advanced, but peaceful, species that was wiped out when they were attached by another race. The last of their kind escaped to Earth where the Chee were able to somehow connect the remaining essense of their creators into the most similar species to be found on Earth: wolves. The result was the modern dog, the happy-go-lucky animals that share the same spirit as the lost Pemalites. But due to their peaceful perspective, the Chee were programmed in a way that doesn’t allow them to commit violence in any way. Now that the Yeerks are threatening Earth, the humans, and the dogs that contain all that remains of their creators, Erek and some other Chee wish to join the fight. And this is where the Animorphs come in.
Turns out that the Yeerks have somehow acquired a Pemalites crystal that they are using to develop a super computer that will be able to take control of all the computers in the world. Further, this same crystal could be used by the Chee to re-write their programming and allow them to more actively join the fight. All of this is enough motivation to get our heroes involved.
What follows is an action sequence right out of the movie “Entrapment.� Morphed as cockroaches and spiders, they must navigate a piped tunnels, fall great distances (seriously, there’s so much falling in this series as a whole), evade a rat, almost get burned alive by a furnace activating at an inopportune time, and then morph bats to sneak through a pitch black room full of trigger wires. All of this to discover that once they get there, they have no way of carrying the crystal back. So, because no Animorph book can be completely without them all using their battle morphs, the team decide they must bash their way out. This is…not successful. There was a reason they were told by the Chee that sneaking in was the best option. The Animorphs are sliced and diced and only saved by Marco’s dying push to shove the crystal through a window to Erek who is waiting outside. He is then able to re-write his programming and save the day by massacring the remaining Controllers. But he discovers the price of this violence is too high, especially for an android whose memory is always clear, giving no relief or escape from these acts. The story ends with the Chee offering to help by providing information as they can, but refusing to take the crystal. Marco and Jake have a final moment on the beach with Homer and some other dogs where, majestically, Homer carries off the crystal to be lost in the ocean. The end.
The Comic Relief: Marco is definitely my favorite narrator. His voice is the most distinct, and, especially as I re-read this series as an adult, he is the character I most relate to. He’s highly pragmatic, but also comfortable admitting when things are getting too real and scary. As far as character-growth, there’s not necessarily a lot of that in this book for Marco. Probably some of the least as far the series has gone so far. Usually the POV narrator has some distinct arc to go through. But I’m guessing that there was so much action and world-building that came with the introduction of the Chee and the Pemalites, that some of this had to take a back seat. We get some nice moments between Marco and his Dad (see Adult Crying portion), and some fun friend moments with Jake, but at this point in the series, Marco is pretty committed what with his Mom being Visser One and doesn’t need much more motivation to keep this fight going. He does have a strong reason though to have a very frank approach to getting the Chee involved in the fight. No moral concerns from him, really, about tainting a peaceful species� (?) soul with violence. Not when their help could make the difference in this war and save his mother and humanity. When Cassie is blathering on and on about the wrongness of tainting the Chee species, Marco has this to say:
“Look, no one likes violence. All right? But we didn’t ask for this war with the Yeerks. When the bad guys come after you, when they start the violence, they leave you no choice: fight or die.�
On the other hand, he doesn’t fight against Erek’s and the Chees' choice to abstain from the war after he sees the effects Erek feels after the violence to save the Animorphs towards the end of the story. This whole approach to the Chee conundrum just felt very real and true to Marco’s character as a very practical guy, but also a very empathetic one. He’s just a very well-rounded character. And, funny, never forget funny.
Our Fearless Leader: It’s fun to see Jake get wheedled into just being a regular teenager by Marco early in the book with the concert escapade. Their relationship is very similar to Rachel and Cassie’s in that Jake is more serious, but Marco allows him to just be a regular kid who wants to see a band for free. Marco also mentions how much he appreciates the work that Jake does as a leader when they are all trapped in the building needing to decide how to break out. They all know they’re going to need to go the almost-suicidal-route and barge their way through in battle morph, but it takes Jake saying it for it to be real. And Marco notes the strength it must take to always be in that role.
Xena, Warriar Princess: I Dz’t know if this is “shipping� per se (though, again, re-reading this series, while I love Tobias/Rachel, I more and more can see a Rachel/Marco thing working), but it is interesting to note a pattern with Marco’s views of Rachel. In book 7, we see him change his vote about going with the Ellimist after seeing Rachel break down and admit that she’s struggling with this war. And here, Marco doesn’t fully understand the gravity of the situation with Erek’s pain after killing until he sees Rachel crying. In both of these examples, it is clear that Marco uses Rachel as a gauge upon which to judge his reaction to an event. Rachel clearly has a thing for Tobias, but Marco…even if it’s not romantic, he clearly respects Rachel very much and perhaps even identifies with her the most when it comes to these situations.
A Hawk’s Life: Ugh, poor Tobias! Again he is completely side-lined from the action in this book, especially the last half. He does some good work in the initial scouting of Erek, but can’t, obviously, do anything in their infiltration plan in the end.
Peace, Love, and Animals: Cassie seems to have come to her senses a bit with regards to the fact that Tobias is a hawk that *gasp* eats baby animals sometimes. In one scene she’s scoping out a baby possum nest and notes how cute they are, but admits that Tobias as a hawk has a right to eat them if he needed to…but they’re so cute! Effectively guilting him out of it. Still, a vast improvement over her ridiculous anger in the last book. She is also, of course, completely against the idea of re-writing the Chee’s programming so that they can fight. But it must be noted that when Marco essentially gives her an out on the mission to steal the crystal by saying that he understands if anyone wanted to not involve themselves, Cassie steps up to the plate and accepts the group’s choice (and more importantly, in my opinion, Erek’s and the Chee’s choice!).
E.T./Ax Phone Home: Turns out that not only can Ax keep track of time in his head, he also has an innate ability to tell direction, which I’m sure will come in useful in the future. As always, Ax’s deadpan humor and inability to discern sarcasm plays as a great foil to Marco. These two are really the most entertaining pair in the group, and it’s always great when they end up on missions together, like they did here as spiders.
Best (?) Body Horror Moment: We learn an important fact about morphing in this book that will come up again in a future book in a big way, if I remember correctly. But, with his usual perfect timing, as they are morphing spider, Ax informs Margo that when one morphs a smaller animal then themselves, their “extra mass� gets ballooned out into Z space. So�.blobs of extra guts, and skin, and hair just bobbing around in space. Disgusting and also incredibly nerve-wracking as Marco notes the freakiness of the fact that these blogs could be hit by a passing space ship at any time. Ax is very reassuring about this concern, of course, noting that a ship would never “hit� a mass of excess morph material; it would be disintegrated by the ship’s shields immediately. Thanks Ax.
Couples Watch!: Not a lot in this book, other than my own developing Marco/Rachel/Tobias love triangle that exists nowhere but my own head. When describing the team members, Marco mentions Jake and Cassie’s quasi relationship saying:
“The only time they’ll act that way is when we’re about twelve seconds away from doing something insanely dangerous. Then they’ll kind of give each other these pathetic sad looks. It’s so lame.�
Also, at one point, when Marco and Cassie barely escape being killed by the furnace which suddenly turns on as they are crossing it, Jake becomes very concerned about Cassie, forgetting to ask about Marco’s well-being, much to Marco’s annoyance.
If Only Visser Three had Mustache to Twirl: Visser Three isn’t in this book! This is a first I think! Instead, we get some high-ranking “grandmotherly� human Controller leading the troops in the final battle. But, guess it makes sense. Though we never see him in action, it sounds like Erek was pretty much an unstoppable killing force when he saved the group and we can’t have him taking out Visser Three right here and ending the whole series!
Adult Ugly Crying at a Middle Grade Book: So, the scene between Marco and his Dad. It turns out that Marco’s Dad’s company is thinking about getting involved in developing some type of military technology. But Marco’s Dad tells him this story about how in the year before her death, his relationship with Marco’s Mom turned some type of corner and they had a blissful relationship. Never fighting, completely in love. And one night during this time he woke up to see Marco’s Mom sitting up in bed, clearly struggling with something. But all she says is “They won’t take you if you Dz’t become involved with the military.� And he never fully understood it, but it’s been enough for him to avoid military projects ever since.
Marco sees this story for what it really means. This “blissful� period of time is when his mother became infested. The Yeerk has no reason to involve itself in petting marital spats, preferring a simple home life to focus on its own work. And that night in bed between his Mom and Dad was his Mom’s massive fight against the Yeerk to gain enough control to give her husband that one warning to avoid the military to save him from becoming a Controller himself.
The whole thing is so tragic. His Dad’s false memories of this happy portion of their marriage. The real struggle, and likely high price that was paid, by his Mom to deliver the warning.
One last note on this, the book never really addresses this point again, that Marco’s Dad was considering getting involved with a military contract that would make him bait for the Yeerks. I guess we are left to assume that he decides to continue abiding my his wife’s warning, even if he doesn’t understand it.
What a Terrible Plan, Guys!: Marco notes how the original plan to infiltrate the Yeerk base to get the crystal was supposed to be a week away, giving them time to practice their bat morph and better prepare. But Erek discovers that the Yeerks are working to make the base even more well-protected, forcing the team to need to jump into action immediately. So, there’s some excuse (and self-awareness!) here about the lack of planning. However, turns out the bat morph is super easy to control, so practicing it wasn’t really necessary anyways. But the fact that they couldn’t carry the crystal out…that problem was always there, right in front of them, being ignored!
Favorite Quote:
Marco/Rachel banter is the best. And a big deal is made over the fact that Marco has cut his hair short in the beginning of this book (let’s be real, the model for Marco for the book covers cut his hair and the book needed to address it, for some reason).
“That’s what that hair of yours reminds me of: a wolverine. I knew it was something.� [Rachel said]
“Oh, yeah?� I shot back. “Well, how about your . . . your …�
“My what?� Rachel asked coolly, with the absolute confidence of a girl who never looked less than perfect.
“Your tallness,� I said lamely. “You’re . . . tall. Way tall.�
Somehow this brilliant comeback did not cause Rachel to break down in tears.
Scorecard: Yeerks 2, Animorphs 5
Even though the Chee Dz’t end up joining the war, escaping with the Pemalite crystal and preventing the Yeerks from creating some type of super computer that would control all computers is still a pretty big win, so a point to the Animorphs!
Rating: A solid Marco book! He’s my favorite narrator in the series, and even though he doesn’t have much of a personal arc in this story, we’re still introduced to the Chee who will play a role in future books, so this is an important installment in the series.
February 10, 2020
... Huh. This was a weird one, folks.
Having Marco as a narrator is always fun. He's as cute and funny as a juvenile badly coping with PTSD can be. (That's not sarcasm; he IS cute and funny, and I want only good things for him.) And some moments of this were genuinely good, or tense, or interesting. (I found Marco's musings on rage and vengance particularly poignant for a kid no older than... What is he, 12? 13?)
Having Marco as a narrator is always fun. He's as cute and funny as a juvenile badly coping with PTSD can be. (That's not sarcasm; he IS cute and funny, and I want only good things for him.) And some moments of this were genuinely good, or tense, or interesting. (I found Marco's musings on rage and vengance particularly poignant for a kid no older than... What is he, 12? 13?)
But this is the first book where the "science" didn't really work for me. Androids? Come on, now. I can accept mouthless aliens who drink through their feet, but somehow a whole society of ancient androids that just so happen to live in the same city as our heroes, even attending the same school, is a bit hard to swallow.
I would have accepted even that, but it's hard to when it feels, ultimately, irrelavant. Nothing was changed or gained (unless the Chee eventually become important to the plot later on, I suppose). Marco's dad is in no more danger now than he was at the start of the series. Even the pretty McGuffin they faced hell and high water to acquire was lost to sea. What was the point of all that peril? Even Marco made it clear that, despite the trauma he's suffered (he was mangled pretty badly in this book), he'll forget it over time. So... What's the point?
This all just felt like filler.
April 30, 2016
Love Marco's narration (as usual), and I love that this book brings in some things that are really important in the series. Erek King is a great character, and I really like the moral questions this book raises.
August 2, 2016
This one really stayed with me over the years. I think they turned into spiders and were almost eaten by a seagull. Things were always intense anytime they were insects or whatever.
July 6, 2023
07/02/2023
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author and myself.
All of my thoughts are my own~
So here I am finally reviewing book #10 (audio-book format) of Animorphs and I have just got to say- these books are super intense. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy them, but woweeeee.
4.5 stars
Book #10, The Android, follows the Animorph kids and Ax the young Andalite as they continue to try thwarting the bad guys, the Yeerks. I felt as if this one did not follow the same pattern as some of the books before where we got to learn about the animals the kids morphed, but instead I felt as if the book focused more on the moral, and ethical dilemmas of the space war/trying to save humanity/defeat the baddies. I did enjoy meeting Erek and the other dog androids (sorry already forgot what they are called), but I felt their lore was so deeply important, especially for Cassie to learn. It felt as if the kids were given such a HUGE eye opener at just how devastating and how much of an impact (ahem PTSD actually) taking lives, fighting, and making giant choices can have on a person's mind.
As per my small review said, I was extremely stressed out the last 15 minutes trying to gauge how the kids were going to pull off their ridiculous and hair brained scheme without one or all of them dying only for the climax to sorta fall flat in HOW it explained (like trust me, it just worked out- it is a book for kids but common, I want a tad bit more), but I did deeply appreciate that, once again, the lasting emotional and mental damage of war was kinda thrust directly at the readers. It was correctly packaged for the target audience (children/young teens), but I felt it was a good way to pretty much express this very nuanced topic to any audience really.
It is only book #10 and yet the mental and emotional decline of each of them is extremely apparent in this book and in everyone of their POVs I feel like it gets gradually in your face that these are just kids and these kids are literally child soldiers fighting an insanely hardcore war and they still have to get their homework done in time. My only bone to pick as a parent myself is how the hell did NONE of their parents notice that their children were going through any of this stuff?? I get its the 90's but man.....oooof. Big call out to the generations before us I guess
- - - -
Short Review: Still motoring through the Animorphs (audio) books. Bigger and more cohesive review to come but i hate the whole giant climax, everything might go to sh*t, anxiety mess at the last 15 minutes this one had.
This book felt more like a character growth/emotional growth book than usual and it was definitely needed. These kids need therapy ASAP
Please note: This review may not be reproduced or quoted, in whole or in part, without explicit consent from the author and myself.
All of my thoughts are my own~
So here I am finally reviewing book #10 (audio-book format) of Animorphs and I have just got to say- these books are super intense. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy them, but woweeeee.
4.5 stars
Book #10, The Android, follows the Animorph kids and Ax the young Andalite as they continue to try thwarting the bad guys, the Yeerks. I felt as if this one did not follow the same pattern as some of the books before where we got to learn about the animals the kids morphed, but instead I felt as if the book focused more on the moral, and ethical dilemmas of the space war/trying to save humanity/defeat the baddies. I did enjoy meeting Erek and the other dog androids (sorry already forgot what they are called), but I felt their lore was so deeply important, especially for Cassie to learn. It felt as if the kids were given such a HUGE eye opener at just how devastating and how much of an impact (ahem PTSD actually) taking lives, fighting, and making giant choices can have on a person's mind.
As per my small review said, I was extremely stressed out the last 15 minutes trying to gauge how the kids were going to pull off their ridiculous and hair brained scheme without one or all of them dying only for the climax to sorta fall flat in HOW it explained (like trust me, it just worked out- it is a book for kids but common, I want a tad bit more), but I did deeply appreciate that, once again, the lasting emotional and mental damage of war was kinda thrust directly at the readers. It was correctly packaged for the target audience (children/young teens), but I felt it was a good way to pretty much express this very nuanced topic to any audience really.
It is only book #10 and yet the mental and emotional decline of each of them is extremely apparent in this book and in everyone of their POVs I feel like it gets gradually in your face that these are just kids and these kids are literally child soldiers fighting an insanely hardcore war and they still have to get their homework done in time. My only bone to pick as a parent myself is how the hell did NONE of their parents notice that their children were going through any of this stuff?? I get its the 90's but man.....oooof. Big call out to the generations before us I guess
- - - -
Short Review: Still motoring through the Animorphs (audio) books. Bigger and more cohesive review to come but i hate the whole giant climax, everything might go to sh*t, anxiety mess at the last 15 minutes this one had.
This book felt more like a character growth/emotional growth book than usual and it was definitely needed. These kids need therapy ASAP
March 17, 2020
Animorphs Read 2020 (March);
Marco books are quickly becoming my least favorite book. I can usually open one of these books and power through in about an hour, or less, without looking up, since eating them is rather like eating cotton candy. But Marco's book became my very first dropped star, and the first it put down three or four times while reading it because I was just tired of his abrasiveness.
(I'm, also, having a lot of issues with anytime he gets angry with anyone for keep secrets from him/them, while he's also keeping one of the biggest secrets going that will later involve this group.)
I really did love the focus on the androids and the dogs. That part was absolutely touching, and even a good deal heartbreaking at the end there. I hope we do see more of them and their underground world inside of the Earth later in our series.
Marco books are quickly becoming my least favorite book. I can usually open one of these books and power through in about an hour, or less, without looking up, since eating them is rather like eating cotton candy. But Marco's book became my very first dropped star, and the first it put down three or four times while reading it because I was just tired of his abrasiveness.
(I'm, also, having a lot of issues with anytime he gets angry with anyone for keep secrets from him/them, while he's also keeping one of the biggest secrets going that will later involve this group.)
I really did love the focus on the androids and the dogs. That part was absolutely touching, and even a good deal heartbreaking at the end there. I hope we do see more of them and their underground world inside of the Earth later in our series.
May 4, 2022
This was an interesting little tangent that introduced some characters who have a different view on the fight with the Yeerks.
She pulls no punches, which I always love in her writing.
Speaking of the writing, the writing in this one is really great. We get Marco, who thinks everything is a joke, narrating a very heavy topic and it's done so well. The only thing holding me back from 5 stars here is some of the logic is a bit...lacking in this one, ha!
She pulls no punches, which I always love in her writing.
Speaking of the writing, the writing in this one is really great. We get Marco, who thinks everything is a joke, narrating a very heavy topic and it's done so well. The only thing holding me back from 5 stars here is some of the logic is a bit...lacking in this one, ha!
November 16, 2022
This one was pretty grim, other than the awesome Chee.
May 23, 2022
This one gets brownie points for introducing the Chee and simultaneously managing to retcon the entire history of dogs and canines on Earth to make them even more tragic and loveable. Great read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2011
Animorphs tropes:
When trying a morph for the first time, the morpher will always temporarily lose control to the animal mind, only reasserting himself or herself after a brief scrape with death.
If the Animorphs ever find themselves in a situation where the enemy has guns or Dracon beams, an excuse will be found to have Hork-Bajir fight them in hand-to-hand combat instead. "You fools, don't destroy the equipment!" -- "You fools, don't destroy the crystal!" -- "You fools, you'll hit the Visser!" The Animorphs are not bullet proof. If the Yeerks weren't so painfully incompetent, they would have killed the kids in one of the first five books.
This was another okay entry, but for a book that revealed a whole new "species," it's disappointingly by-the-numbers. The dialogue was stiff, and Marco's internal narration wasn't nearly as witty as we've come to expect. The whole "dogs have the spirits of aliens" thing was too mawkish for my tastes. Blah blah blah, aren't doggies wonderful.
The crystal setup was pretty ridiculous. The Yeerks have this priceless artifact that will win the war for them and they can't even bother to load it on a Bug fighter and shoot it to the Blade ship? And when the Animorphs obtain it, they... give it to a dog!? I know they're just five kids and an alien cadet, but how stupid do you have to be? At the very least, if they couldn't figure out how to do anything with it, they could've bargained with the Yeerks, used it to set up a trap, etc. There were many possibilities that didn't involve throwing away a huge coup.
When trying a morph for the first time, the morpher will always temporarily lose control to the animal mind, only reasserting himself or herself after a brief scrape with death.
If the Animorphs ever find themselves in a situation where the enemy has guns or Dracon beams, an excuse will be found to have Hork-Bajir fight them in hand-to-hand combat instead. "You fools, don't destroy the equipment!" -- "You fools, don't destroy the crystal!" -- "You fools, you'll hit the Visser!" The Animorphs are not bullet proof. If the Yeerks weren't so painfully incompetent, they would have killed the kids in one of the first five books.
This was another okay entry, but for a book that revealed a whole new "species," it's disappointingly by-the-numbers. The dialogue was stiff, and Marco's internal narration wasn't nearly as witty as we've come to expect. The whole "dogs have the spirits of aliens" thing was too mawkish for my tastes. Blah blah blah, aren't doggies wonderful.
The crystal setup was pretty ridiculous. The Yeerks have this priceless artifact that will win the war for them and they can't even bother to load it on a Bug fighter and shoot it to the Blade ship? And when the Animorphs obtain it, they... give it to a dog!? I know they're just five kids and an alien cadet, but how stupid do you have to be? At the very least, if they couldn't figure out how to do anything with it, they could've bargained with the Yeerks, used it to set up a trap, etc. There were many possibilities that didn't involve throwing away a huge coup.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 18, 2019
This is the first book I don't remember (also the first with a meaningful title). I wonder if/when I stopped reading, or if I just skipped this one because of the spider morph? Regardless: The dog aliens are pretty ridiculous, but that's balanced by the significant expansion to the worldbuilding and the combo attack of Z-space's role in morphing + the consequences of the spider morph + the incredibly violent ending. It's a lot for a kids's book and sincerely horrific, in engaging and awful ways. The investigation of pacifism/trauma/obligation is less robust than I'd like, especially after the nuance of Cassie's ethical debate in the previous book, but it dovetails nicely with the content so I appreciate its presence.
February 23, 2017
I loved this one. Even more and more aliens are popping up. I love the whole Pemalite Chee and dog thing. It's so sweet. And the ending... It is interesting how even though the Chee were programed and decide to stay non violent, they still find a way to help.
And one question that came up- if, when they morph something smaller or that has less organs or whatever, the extra goes to z space, what about when they morph something bigger? Like Rachel's bear, it has all the parts of a human internally and the same number of limbs, so where does the extra mass come from?
And one question that came up- if, when they morph something smaller or that has less organs or whatever, the extra goes to z space, what about when they morph something bigger? Like Rachel's bear, it has all the parts of a human internally and the same number of limbs, so where does the extra mass come from?
August 17, 2022
So I felt like I read the first two chapters and then stuck this book on the side table for the rest of the year. Or I guess a couple of months. It's a fine book, I feel like this is a break between the plot arcs. I still enjoy the characters and this had some fun development for their world. Now onto the next!
January 15, 2018
I really liked this one. This really took a look at what it means to be violent. What it means to be at war. What if there was peace? What if we could be a peaceful race. Pretty big stuff for a young adult novel... love it.
November 17, 2019
I can't believe dogs were created by aliens, and I love the thematic resonance here. Fighting really fucks people up, and even in a terrible war for survival, there's room for pacifism. What's the point of winning if everyone is so messed up by PTSD that they can't live?
September 16, 2018
I was going to give it three stars, but then I read the last page.
December 28, 2018
Dogs, man. Dogs.
May 21, 2023
I just hate Erek King so, so much. My perspective is entirely colored by what happens in book #54, but what he did was so unforgivable that I’m hating him retroactively this time around.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 10, 2020
So I dropped the ball on this one, and finished this book gosh, nearly two months ago. Makes me glad I already pulled my quotes and did a brief review specifically for the audiobook version here! I think by the quotes I pulled, it’s easier to see where my mind was with this book:
[Violence is] the shadow you take into your own heart and try to live with.
It really does a great job addressing the lure (or avoidance) of violence and the ramifications on oneself � namely, one’s mental health, one’s spiritual health, basically the emotional wounds it leaves. On the flip side, it also addresses what a fully-evolved species might be like � and it’s so very, very hopeful: pacificsm, kindness, a desire to play and have fun and just love one another unconditionally. Something that we need more of in this world. It’s also interesting that it is in a Marco book that we get this exposure � “love one another� is more of a Cassie theme � but that is also what makes it work so well. Marco is the Animorph with the cold, analytical mind (well, that’s how his character progresses through the series). This unconditional love is so very opposite to his character that it makes for a good counterbalance for the events of this book and how Marco deals with them. And it also makes for some really, really great things to think about and lines to quote.
Favorite quotes:
Rage is addictive, you know. I guess it’s sorta like a drug. Anger and hatred get you high. They get you high, but like any addiction, they hollow you out and tear you down and eat you alive. � page 45
You have us by the� you have us cold.� � page 86 � Hm, I wonder what Marco almost said here? I’m inclined to think it is bordering on expletive, or at least too much for Scholastic in the late 90s. But which one?
“We want you to trust us,� Erek said. “We know that you’re suspicious. You have to be. I’m sure you’ve left some of your people outside, just in case we betray you. I wanted us to be equal. I wanted you to know our secrets, since we know yours.� � page 100
“[The Pemalites] loved to play. They loved games and jokes and laughter. And they had been a fully evolved race for so long that all the harsher instincts were gone from them. They had no evil in their hearts. They had no evil in their souls.� � page 102 � If only…this would be a wonderful world to be a part of.
Original Review: May 20, 2015
How come I didn't really remember the tough exchanges like the last quote under the cut from when I read these books as a kid? Mostly I just remembered the morphing, the fighting of the Yeerks, among a few other details, but not just how much time is spent on the emotional impact all of this fighting has on the Animorphs. Regular nightmares, the horrible things they see and even do, all to protect humanity. These books really do have more depth and potential for discussion than many children's books, and are so very worth the read. I think it would be great for some of these books to be read in class, and then for there to be discussion as a group/small group about the topics and themes present in the series.
Marco is writing his English paper during lunch before class:
"Topic -- the use of rhetoric to obscure a lack of content," Jake said. -- page 29
People were just ovals of black, brown, blond, and red hair to me. That's mostly what a person looks like from a hundred feet up. A hair oval.
I have never felt as totally alive as when I'm in a hawk morph. Tobias doesn't have it all that bad, in some ways. There are so many worse animals to be. -- page 34
[Right after Marco has just talked to Tom, who was trying to suggest Marco and his dad come to The Sharing's outing at the lake.)
I could feel the rate flowing through me, the blind, violent rage that became little films in my head -- little head-movies of revenge and destruction. I pictured the things I would do to Tom...to Chapman... someday even to Visser Three. I would do terrible things to them. Terrible, violent things.
It was a sick feeling. It was sick, and I knew it, and yet I ran those images over and over in my head.
Rage is addictive, you know. I guess it's sorta like a drug. Anger and hatred get you high. They get you high, but like any addiction, they hollow you out and tear you down and eat you alive.
I guess I knew all that. But all I could think of was that they were not getting my father.
So I ran the scenes of violence over and over in my head. I rode that rush of fury till at last it burned itself out and left me feeling empty and beaten. -- page 45
Cassie stood up. Then, as an afterthought, she brushed off her knees. "Baby opossums," she said, by way of explanation. "Too big for the pouch, not ready to leave the den."
"Don't tell Tobias," I said. "He'll eat 'em."
/I already know about them,/ Tobias said.
I looked up in surprise. He was in the tree above me. I hadn't heard him arrive.
Cassie shrugged. "Tobias is a hawk. He has a right to be a hawk." Then she looked up at Tobias and smiled. "Of course, they are awfully cute."
/Oh, man,/ Tobias groaned. /Okay, okay, this litter is off-limits. Happy now?/
"You're a sweetheart, Tobias," Cassie said. -- page 48
Ax, in a harrier morph, Jake, in his peregrine falcon morph, and I flew on toward the lake, though still far apart.
/You know, one of your kind tried to kill me the other day,/ I said to Jake.
/Tobias told me,/ Jake said. /Gotta watch out. Falcons rule./
/Yeah, well, I noticed he didn't try it a second time./
/Don't diss falcons,/ Jake said.
/One-on-one in a fair fight, an osprey would kick your butt./
/As if,/ Jake sneered.
/Excuse me,/ Ax interrupted. /Is there some special meaning to this conversation that I don't understand?/
/Yeah,/ I said. /The meaning is that Jake and I are scared, so we're babbling in a desperate effort not to think about it./
/Ah. I am frightened, too. I don't really like morphing tiny animals. I keep thinking about all the rest of my mass./
[Ax explains about how mass goes into Zero-space when you morph something small, and how it could potentially get hit by a spaceship.]
/Of course no ship would actually hit a floating mass,/ Ax said, talking to us like we were nitwits. /The ship's shielding systems would disintegrate the mass. That's what troubles me about doing small morphs. It very seldom happens. The odds are millions to one. But it could happen./
Jake and I thought about this for awhile. About a spaceship "disintegrating" some big was of our mass. It was not a pretty picture.
/Hey, Ax?/ Jake said. /You know how we wanted you to be honest with us? To tell us everything you know?/
/Yes, Prince Jake./
/Small change. In the future, don't tell us things that will scare us silly just as we're going into possible battle./
/A big was of Marco in Zero-space,/ I muttered. /Like hanging your butt out of a car window, waiting for a truck to come along and sideswipe it off./ -- page 59-61
[Ax and Marco are in wolf spider morph, and Ax just interrupted Marco before he could bite into a cockroach, asking him what he was doing.]
/Nothing. I was just letting the spider be a spider.> It was a pretty good answer, I though. /I guess its instincts kind of carried me away./
/Marco, I morphed the identical spider,/ Ax said.
I felt a wave of guilt and shame suddenly swell up inside me. /Ax, it was just a cockroach. Who cares? Come on, we have a job to do./
/Sometimes humans worry me,/ Ax said.
I didn't ask him what he meant. Why had I gotten so into the hunt? Why hadn't I resisted the urge?
I flashed on the rage I'd felt when I talked to Tom. Was that it? -- page 73
There are two kinds of thought-speak. Private, which is like whispering right in one person's ear, and public, which is like yelling. -- page 78
-- I'm glad that the Animorphs were able to figure out how to do the two different types of thought-speak on their own, because man would they have been in trouble if the Yeerks could hear them all the time...
[Violence is] the shadow you take into your own heart and try to live with.
It really does a great job addressing the lure (or avoidance) of violence and the ramifications on oneself � namely, one’s mental health, one’s spiritual health, basically the emotional wounds it leaves. On the flip side, it also addresses what a fully-evolved species might be like � and it’s so very, very hopeful: pacificsm, kindness, a desire to play and have fun and just love one another unconditionally. Something that we need more of in this world. It’s also interesting that it is in a Marco book that we get this exposure � “love one another� is more of a Cassie theme � but that is also what makes it work so well. Marco is the Animorph with the cold, analytical mind (well, that’s how his character progresses through the series). This unconditional love is so very opposite to his character that it makes for a good counterbalance for the events of this book and how Marco deals with them. And it also makes for some really, really great things to think about and lines to quote.
Favorite quotes:
Rage is addictive, you know. I guess it’s sorta like a drug. Anger and hatred get you high. They get you high, but like any addiction, they hollow you out and tear you down and eat you alive. � page 45
You have us by the� you have us cold.� � page 86 � Hm, I wonder what Marco almost said here? I’m inclined to think it is bordering on expletive, or at least too much for Scholastic in the late 90s. But which one?
“We want you to trust us,� Erek said. “We know that you’re suspicious. You have to be. I’m sure you’ve left some of your people outside, just in case we betray you. I wanted us to be equal. I wanted you to know our secrets, since we know yours.� � page 100
“[The Pemalites] loved to play. They loved games and jokes and laughter. And they had been a fully evolved race for so long that all the harsher instincts were gone from them. They had no evil in their hearts. They had no evil in their souls.� � page 102 � If only…this would be a wonderful world to be a part of.
Original Review: May 20, 2015
How come I didn't really remember the tough exchanges like the last quote under the cut from when I read these books as a kid? Mostly I just remembered the morphing, the fighting of the Yeerks, among a few other details, but not just how much time is spent on the emotional impact all of this fighting has on the Animorphs. Regular nightmares, the horrible things they see and even do, all to protect humanity. These books really do have more depth and potential for discussion than many children's books, and are so very worth the read. I think it would be great for some of these books to be read in class, and then for there to be discussion as a group/small group about the topics and themes present in the series.
Marco is writing his English paper during lunch before class:
"Topic -- the use of rhetoric to obscure a lack of content," Jake said. -- page 29
People were just ovals of black, brown, blond, and red hair to me. That's mostly what a person looks like from a hundred feet up. A hair oval.
I have never felt as totally alive as when I'm in a hawk morph. Tobias doesn't have it all that bad, in some ways. There are so many worse animals to be. -- page 34
[Right after Marco has just talked to Tom, who was trying to suggest Marco and his dad come to The Sharing's outing at the lake.)
I could feel the rate flowing through me, the blind, violent rage that became little films in my head -- little head-movies of revenge and destruction. I pictured the things I would do to Tom...to Chapman... someday even to Visser Three. I would do terrible things to them. Terrible, violent things.
It was a sick feeling. It was sick, and I knew it, and yet I ran those images over and over in my head.
Rage is addictive, you know. I guess it's sorta like a drug. Anger and hatred get you high. They get you high, but like any addiction, they hollow you out and tear you down and eat you alive.
I guess I knew all that. But all I could think of was that they were not getting my father.
So I ran the scenes of violence over and over in my head. I rode that rush of fury till at last it burned itself out and left me feeling empty and beaten. -- page 45
Cassie stood up. Then, as an afterthought, she brushed off her knees. "Baby opossums," she said, by way of explanation. "Too big for the pouch, not ready to leave the den."
"Don't tell Tobias," I said. "He'll eat 'em."
/I already know about them,/ Tobias said.
I looked up in surprise. He was in the tree above me. I hadn't heard him arrive.
Cassie shrugged. "Tobias is a hawk. He has a right to be a hawk." Then she looked up at Tobias and smiled. "Of course, they are awfully cute."
/Oh, man,/ Tobias groaned. /Okay, okay, this litter is off-limits. Happy now?/
"You're a sweetheart, Tobias," Cassie said. -- page 48
Ax, in a harrier morph, Jake, in his peregrine falcon morph, and I flew on toward the lake, though still far apart.
/You know, one of your kind tried to kill me the other day,/ I said to Jake.
/Tobias told me,/ Jake said. /Gotta watch out. Falcons rule./
/Yeah, well, I noticed he didn't try it a second time./
/Don't diss falcons,/ Jake said.
/One-on-one in a fair fight, an osprey would kick your butt./
/As if,/ Jake sneered.
/Excuse me,/ Ax interrupted. /Is there some special meaning to this conversation that I don't understand?/
/Yeah,/ I said. /The meaning is that Jake and I are scared, so we're babbling in a desperate effort not to think about it./
/Ah. I am frightened, too. I don't really like morphing tiny animals. I keep thinking about all the rest of my mass./
[Ax explains about how mass goes into Zero-space when you morph something small, and how it could potentially get hit by a spaceship.]
/Of course no ship would actually hit a floating mass,/ Ax said, talking to us like we were nitwits. /The ship's shielding systems would disintegrate the mass. That's what troubles me about doing small morphs. It very seldom happens. The odds are millions to one. But it could happen./
Jake and I thought about this for awhile. About a spaceship "disintegrating" some big was of our mass. It was not a pretty picture.
/Hey, Ax?/ Jake said. /You know how we wanted you to be honest with us? To tell us everything you know?/
/Yes, Prince Jake./
/Small change. In the future, don't tell us things that will scare us silly just as we're going into possible battle./
/A big was of Marco in Zero-space,/ I muttered. /Like hanging your butt out of a car window, waiting for a truck to come along and sideswipe it off./ -- page 59-61
[Ax and Marco are in wolf spider morph, and Ax just interrupted Marco before he could bite into a cockroach, asking him what he was doing.]
/Nothing. I was just letting the spider be a spider.> It was a pretty good answer, I though. /I guess its instincts kind of carried me away./
/Marco, I morphed the identical spider,/ Ax said.
I felt a wave of guilt and shame suddenly swell up inside me. /Ax, it was just a cockroach. Who cares? Come on, we have a job to do./
/Sometimes humans worry me,/ Ax said.
I didn't ask him what he meant. Why had I gotten so into the hunt? Why hadn't I resisted the urge?
I flashed on the rage I'd felt when I talked to Tom. Was that it? -- page 73
There are two kinds of thought-speak. Private, which is like whispering right in one person's ear, and public, which is like yelling. -- page 78
-- I'm glad that the Animorphs were able to figure out how to do the two different types of thought-speak on their own, because man would they have been in trouble if the Yeerks could hear them all the time...
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