The Threat

Animorphs #21
by K.A. Applegate

Warning for SPOILERS.

Most of this book takes place at a summit, where the Animorph team are desperately trying to thwart the aliens' attempts to take over the minds of several leaders of the world, without being detected by the human security in place. It's confusing. Especially all the levels of holograms that occur. Deviousness galore. Not just on the enemy's part- also apparently from one of their own. David, the newer Animorph member, proves himself more and more untrustworthy. He has an unpleasant, look-out-for-yourself mentality, an unpalatable glee in watching fights, an obvious callousness to animal suffering. At one point he wonders aloud to Jake which animal would win in a fight: lion or tiger? (David has a lion morph). The summit turns out to be a huge trap, the Animorphs once again confront Visser Three face-to-face, David ends up exposing himself as being human, and in a moment of visceral fear, pleads for his life and caves in to the enemy- admitting he'd go over to their side. But they manage to get away and later he tells the Animorphs it was all a sham, he'd never do that. Now this kid has nothing to loose, though- his parents are controlled by Yeerks, the enemy knows his face, he can never go home again. He has to live in hiding or morph other humans (something he has no qualms about doing). Makes it clear to the others that he doesn't care about their fight, he'll use his morphing powers for gain any way he wants (already having done so to some degree) and he threatens Tobias' life (I yelped aloud when I read that page near the end). Yet already I was suspicious enough about David's motives I wondered if that, too, was a sham- did he, as a golden eagle, attack and tear apart a random hawk, to make the Animorphs think he'd killed Tobias? the book ends with the Animorphs new and old turning against each other, a battle between lion and tiger (in the mall) in the dead of night, while Ax races to get Rachel for help, and Tobias is ominously silent to all communication attempts. It's a very tense cliffhanger ending-I have to read on.

Rating: 3/5                  158 pages, 1998

more opinions:
Arkham Reviews
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