<We can save your people, if they will learn to fight! They don't have to be destroyed.>
"Yes, they do," he said quietly. "Either they will learn to fight and hurt and kill, or they will learn to be slaves. Both will destroy them. Killers or slaves. They will be one or the other. Killers or slaves."
I stopped and grabbed Dak Hamee's arm. I deliberately moved my fingers down to the blade at his elbow. It was almost as hard as an Andalite male's tail blade. And just as sharp.
<If the choice is between being a killer and being a slave, be a killer. You did it back there. It isn't so hard to learn.>
"And that's what you want for me? To be a killer?"
<If necessary, yes!>
Dak nodded his horned head. "Have you fought in many battles, Aldrea?"
I was surprised by the question. <No. Of course not. But I have studied ->
"Have you ever killed a fellow Andalite?"
<No! Why would you ->
"You ask me to kill my own people today and to lead my people in killing their brothers," Dak said. "You say they are not Hork-Bajir, but Yeerks. But when the dead have given up their souls to Mother Sky, there will be Hork-Bajir bodies lying dead."
Synopsis
Tobias is told a story by Jara Hamee, one of the free Hork-Bajir:
The Andalite Prince Seerow is relieved of duty after the Yeerks use the knowledge he gave them to betray and attack the Andalites. As punishment, he is sent to a barely-habited planet to research and watch for the Yeerks. His daughter, Aldrea, speaks with a "strange" intelligent Hork-Bajir called Dak Hamee. Meanwhile the Yeerk Esplin 9466 experiences having a host for the first time, and decides to become an expert on the Andalites in order to be recognised and receive another host.
A few months later, Aldrea morphs a chadoo (a creature like a flying squirrel) while out adventuring with Dak Hamee, and the two visit the Tribe Tree. A few weeks later, they hear the music of the Speaking Trees, used to communicate that new monsters have been spotted. Through replied messages, Aldrea learns that they are Gedds - the Yeerks are here. They rush back to the ship, but are too late - the Yeerks fire, kill all of Aldrea's family and destroy everything. Dak Hamee convinces Aldrea to flee, but they are then attacked by Hork-Bajir Controllers. Dak Hamee is forced to learn how to use his blades to kill. More Yeerk troops arrive, and the two flee into Father Deep. The Jubba-Jubba monster dispatches many of the Yeerk Controllers, and Aldrea defeats the Jubba-Jubba - the first time one has been defeated.
The two discover signs of a civilisation in the Deep. While Dak Hamee keeps watch, they meet the Arn. After being threatened by Aldrea, one of them reveals that they created the Hork-Bajir to tend to the trees planted to stabilise the planet's atmosphere after an asteroid collision. Dak Hamee convinces the Arn to teach them how to control the monsters in order to protect the Arn's tree-herders.
Under their control, the monsters of Father Deep launch an attack on the Yeerk pool that has been made from one of the trees. The Hork-Bajir are instructed by Aldrea to follow their seer and "do as he does". When Dak Hamee strikes at and kills a Hork-Bajir Controller, they join the fray. Aldrea makes it to the Andalite fighter, and begins preparations to send a message to the Andalite fleet. She is attacked by Esplin 9446, and is almost downed before she morphs a Jubba-Jubba monster. She tosses Esplin out of the door of the ship, and transmits her message.
Seven months of guerilla fighting later, the Andalite ships arrive. Dak Hamee gives Prince Alloran a harrowing report, and Alloran reveals that they are the only ships coming for another year - they have underestimated the situation because it was reported by a female and a daughter of Seerow. After further attrition, Dak Hamee and Aldrea discover a room under guard in the Arn's complex. Morphing Alloran, Aldrea gains entry, and the two discover that the Andalites have been working on a virus that will exclusively target Hork-Bajir. They grab the canister of the virus, blow up the facility, and flee, riding a Blade ship out of there.
Aldrea morphs a Hork-Bajir, just before they are caught by Esplin 9466. He attempts to transfer to her as a host and force her to demorph, but he gets just a brief glimpse before his former host drags him out. The Yeerk ship crashes, the Andalite ships flee, the virus begins to spread across the planet, and Aldrea's time runs out - she and Dak Hamee, now two Hork-Bajir hide in one of the valleys.
In the present day, it is revealed that Esplin 9466 survived to become Visser 3, and Aldrea and Dak Hamee survived to have a child, who then had Jara Hamee. His daughter is named Toby, after Tobias, and is different
Plot
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Characterisation
All three main characters are absolutely exceptional. The contrasting viewpoints are each unique, vibrant, and full of depth.
The exploration of Esplin 9466 - and the revelation that this is the backstory for the main villain of the series so far - is deep and rich and fully explicable. That he is so intoxicated by having a host provides perfect justification for his obsession with the Andalites. His tendency to gloat and lord over his victims is a noted part of his arrogance and belief that he is better than both them and his fellow Yeerks.
Aldrea is both a reflection of facets of Andalite society - a tendancy to arrogance, a predilection for rash and violent reactions, and a disdain for the "weak, feminine" members of their society - and a proud and increasingly wise defender of the people she has grown to care about. She is understandably defensive, given the betrayals of both the Yeerks and her own people, and desperate for safety, but is so unwilling to simply give in.
Dak Hamee, however, is the character that makes this book what it is. His voice is initially stilted, simple, and innocent, but still filled with understanding and a curiosity for more. As the book develops, so does his speech, becoming more eloquent and thoughtful and wise, even at times sarcastic and bitter and angry. His transformation from innocent friend to reluctant leader to resigned lover is so well-crafted, and at moments genuinely brought me to tears. There are two quotes at the top of this page, because I have found it so difficult to choose which better represents this book.
The characters' relationships to one another feel incredibly genuine. The back and forth in Dak Hamee's descriptions of Aldrea between curiosity and frustration and affection and gratitude is woven between a chaotic and desperate story that would absolutely fuel that kind of fire-forged relationship. The resignation Seerow has to his treatment, the infighting and logistical structure between the Yeerks, the anger and disappointment that Aldrea has with the lackluster - and then despicable - response her people bring with them; all of them feel like glimpses into genuinely believable societal structures.
Part of the whole
As a Chronicles book, there is no set place where this book ought to be read. Personally, I read it immediately after Book 19 - a book that already considers the "humanity" of the Yeerks and their motivations. With that in mind, the exploration of the early days of the Yeerk Empire is a welcome layer of complexity. The Andalites are no knights in shining armour, and the Yeerks are performing acts of unimaginable cruelty for reasons that feel - to them - entirely explainable. But more importantly, ordinary people are caught beneath the engines of war. The Hork-Bajir are entirely innocent. They are crafted tools to the Arn, playthings of the Yeerks, and viewed as expendable by the Andalites.
And yet, as the bookends make clear, there are some Hork-Bajir who are free.
Final Review
If it didn't benefit so much from the surrounding context and prior knowledge, I would recommend this as a standalone book. It is filled with so many lines and moments that