Saturday, December 12, 2015

The Hork-Bajir Chronicles by K.A. Applegate

Title: The Hork-Bajir Chronicles
Series: Animorphs (book 22.5)
Author: K.A. Applegate
Length: 206 pages

The Story

This book is a sort of prequel to the Animorphs series, much like The Andalite Chronicles. It is the story of how the Yeerks came to the Hork-Bajir home world in search of hosts they could use to fight the Andalites. The main characters are Dak Hamee, a Hork-Bajir seer who is more intelligent than the rest of his species, Aldrea, a young Andalite girl, and Esplin 9466, a Yeerk who will do anything to gain more power.

When the Yeerks attack, Aldrea calls to her people for help, but the Andalites send too little too late, leaving the gentle Hork-Bajir to desperately defend themselves.

My Thoughts

Readers of the Animorphs series already know how things end for the Hork-Bajir. In the present day when the main series takes place, the Hork-Bajir are used as hosts for the Yeerks. This makes the story sad to read, since we know all along they aren't going to be successful. It's also sad because we see a darker side of the Andalites, who are supposed to be the good guys. K.A. Applegate is great at showing that moral issues aren't always black and white. Still, the story ends on a hopeful note, with a promising future for the new free Hork-Bajir.

If you're reading the main series, don't skip this book! There's lots of backstory on the Hork-Bajir, the Andalites, and the Yeerks. Events of this book are also mentioned in the next Animorphs book (#23 - The Pretender).