Book #34 in the series
Animorphs by K.A. Applegate.
Disclaimer: If you've heard of Animorphs and you're thinking "Aww, how
cute," maybe you should read my introduction to the first book
to see how wrong you are.
THE PROPHECY
Animorphs #34
by K.A. Applegate
Summarized Plot:
An alien called an Arn lands on Earth and meets with the Animorphs, saying that he wants to use Hork-Bajir DNA to create an army to fight the Yeerks on their own world. But the only hope is to also give them weapons, and a known cache of weapons was hidden by Aldrea-Iskillion-Falan, daughter of Prince Seerow. In order to get her advice on where the weapons are hidden, they have to resurrect her from a recorded essence she provided before she died, and the essence needs a vessel. Toby the young Hork-Bajir seer and Rachel both volunteer, but the presence chooses Cassie instead. The group goes to the Hork-Bajir world in the stolen Yeerk spaceship with the Arn, and throughout the journey Aldrea and Cassie communicate mentally, with Aldrea learning about what she's been through in the Yeerk war and Cassie learning about Aldrea's long-gone family and her own struggles. But Cassie also worries whether Aldrea will be able to take her body away from her, which is especially important when they end up disagreeing about how to fight a battle. Eventually they sort out their differences and uncover the weapons, and the Arn has what he needs to both create new Hork-Bajir and arm them, but there's always the final question about whether Aldrea will choose to let Cassie have her life again.
About this book:
Narrator: Cassie
New known controllers:
New morphs acquired:
- Jake: Hork-Bajir
- Cassie: Hork-Bajir (Jara Hamee)
- Marco: Hork-Bajir
- Rachel: None
- Ax: None
- Tobias: None
Notable:
- This book is ghostwritten by Melinda Metz.
- Toby, the daughter of free Hork-Bajir Jara Hamee and Ket Halpak, is referred to as "Toby Hamee," which suggests that "Hamee" is kind of like a last name; it's unclear whether her second name being the same as her father's indicates a paternal naming convention, but it's possible.
- In this book it is stated that the Hork-Bajir are from a different galaxy. Ax says so when they have to go through Z-space to arrive "somewhere in the galaxy of the Hork-Bajir planet," and when Aldrea awakens Cassie wonders whether she has any idea that she's on "a planet in a different galaxy." But in The Hork-Bajir Chronicles, it's said over and over that the Yeerks, the Andalites, and the Hork-Bajir are from the same galaxy.
- The concept of the Ixcila is introduced in this book: it's a person's essence and memories, and can be accessed through a "receptacle mind."
- Typo: One of Ax's lines says "And if she doesn't chose to release her hold?" Should be "choose."
- Cassie's narration has her describing climbing a tree as going "Up and up, toes and blades biting the bark, racing straight toward 'Father Sky,'" as if this is how Hork-Bajir think of the sky. In every other place, it's "Mother Sky." The "father" here is "Father Deep."
- It's curious that despite Cassie's never attempting a maneuver like keeping wings from a previous morph on through to her natural form and onto another morph, she is somehow confident that she can do it. No testing, no understanding of whether it's possible; they just banked on it working. And because of her morphing talent, it does. There doesn't seem to be an Andalite science-related reason for this.
Best lines:
Cassie: We very seldom ended up refusing to do what was insane.
Cassie: Sometimes, in war, even the "good guys" do awful things.
Cassie: "She wants to know why she should have chosen you. Should I explain to her that you are the mighty, the powerful, the ultimate Yeerk-killer, Xena: Warrior Princess, whereas I am merely an ambivalent, animal-loving, tree-hugging wuss?"
Cassie: I could have pointed out that my friends and I were probably the galactic morphing champions. But I didn't feel right. I felt . . . I don't know. Aldrea was a hero right out of history. And I was the girl with the raccoon enema bag.
Cassie: I wondered again why Aldrea hadn't chosen Rachel as her receptacle. But maybe the answer was all too clear: Maybe I'd been chosen because she sensed that I was the weakest.
Ax: "Let us agree, then, that all civilized species must share a hatred of war."
Next book: The Proposal, Animorphs #35