Book #229 of 2021:
The Andalite Chronicles by K. A. Applegate (Animorphs Chronicles #1)
I’m still too early in my Animorphs reread to definitively call this prequel my single favorite entry, but it is certainly a strong contender for that eventual claim. In its first half in particular, it’s a sweeping space opera that takes us far from the earth and thrillingly into the mind of Elfangor, the dying alien who originally gave the team the ability to morph in the series debut. With the young cadet as our guide, we explore new planets and distinctive extraterrestrial cultures, caught up in a propulsive and cinematic rush to keep a piece of ancient Ellimist technology from falling into Yeerk hands. In addition to the protagonist’s own coming-of-age as a capable warrior who can stand up for what’s right even against a superior officer, we wind up witnessing the rise of Visser Three, the only known enemy to gain an Andalite host body, and we learn of a surprising hidden connection among the hero and his later teenage recruits.
Author K. A. Applegate is so confident with the worldbuilding at this point, in both the details that have already been fleshed out and all of the new additions that this volume introduces. The different species and their perspectives feel lived-in and real, creating an immersive atmosphere well-suited to this action-packed tale of honor and cowardice (and how in wartime it can be hard to tell the difference). Aghast attention is given to certain abuses such as mass slaughter of noncombatants either considered or carried out by the Andalite military leadership. Likewise, while the audience is aware of the tragic fates that await several of the current characters, it’s nevertheless surprisingly poignant to watch as they play out. Plus we get some just incredibly striking visuals, like Elfangor driving a modified yellow Mustang across the dusty Taxxon homeworld.
It’s not an altogether perfect read, although it’s near enough that I’m happy awarding it a full five-out-of-five stars. This novel was initially released in three serialized parts, and I think the last installment is a slight step down, consisting largely of a visit to a nightmarish invented landscape that lacks the immediacy of personal stakes present elsewhere in the text. (It feels kind of like the filler portion of an old Doctor Who serial, simply there to take up time by providing weird encounters that don’t add much to the greater plot.) The transitions between each section could have been made smoother for the published composite version too, in my opinion. And there are a few unfortunate continuity issues raised by this book, like the fact that the visser doesn’t seem to know the prince when they meet in The Invasion despite apparently having an extended history with him, or Chapman’s antagonism and willingness to work with the Yeerks contradicting his previous characterization as an involuntary Controller. (To an extent, I suppose those problems can be resolved by pointing to the all-powerful god-being on the scene, but that’s hardly a satisfying explanation.)
As long as I’m offering minor critiques, I also wish more room had been provided for the experience of Loren, the human girl who rapidly ages from thirteen to eighteen as she approaches the Time Matrix at the end. That would be a wildly traumatizing event for anyone to actually undergo, and the narrative’s avoidance of engaging with it at length is the one thing that stands out as a stark reminder that this series was generally aimed at middle-schoolers.
Overall, however, I really do love this one. I don’t have a great recommendation for where in the franchise it should be picked up, other than probably after Ax explains Seerow’s Kindness and similar concepts from his civilization in The Alien and before Tobias discovers his family heritage in The Pretender. But no trip through the wider saga would be complete without flashing back to revisit the origins laid out so compellingly here.
[Content warning for cannibalism, body horror, and gore.]
★★★★★
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