The premise of this novel, the fourth and final Megamorphs, is simple: what would have happened to the Animorphs and Ax if the teenagers had not walked through the construction site and met Elfangor?
Even though this alternate-world has absolutely no bearing on the overall story arch, it’s one of the best novels of the series and well worth a read. Here are some major things to note that affect the plot:
~ Tobias, no longer a red tailed hawk nothlit, joins The Sharing.
~ Marco witnesses his ‘dead’ mother in the city, and gives chase, and ends up being chased by thugs with laser beams.
~ Ax can’t wait for a rescue and needs to escape his sunken Dome ship alone.
Rachel, Jake and Cassie have less interesting alternatives, but Jake also attends some Sharing meetings, Rachel no longer has an outlet for her aggression, and Cassie thinks she’s losing her mind because she keeps seeing impossible things.
The reason I love this novel so much, I think, is because I love seeing the little details readers of the series will recognise. Rachel chases after Marco’s mother with him because she likes chasing things, Cassie notes that Rachel’s shopping instinct is like a hunting instinct, and she beats Tom with a baseball bat whilst still looking perfect, not a hair out of place. Similarly, Jake resists becoming a full member of the Sharing because he doesn’t want to be assimilated (for lack of a better word), and when the Animorphs figure out it’s an alien invasion, they all instinctively turn to him. Tobias’ weakness is that the Sharing protects him from bullies and he’s literally got nowhere else to go.
The other great thing about the novel is that in this version, the Animorphs win. They don’t survive, but in less than two months they eliminate both Visser Three and the Yeerk Pool ship, effectively wiping out the Yeerk invasion fleet.
Now, the question is, which way is better? The war lasting a month and a half, everyone dying, but the invasion stopped, or the war extending for 3 years, one of the Animorphs dying, effectively settling a truce with the Yeerks and Visser Three on trial for war crimes?
For one little book, it sure does pack a punch.
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