We’ve seen the Ellimist before, so when he shows up again proposing that the Animorphs help him in some big interstellar game of chess, they naturally hesitate. The whole thing practically gives one chills, reading it. Indeed, this is a great book-not quite five stars, because it didn’t really move me the way some of the previous books have, but as far as the story goes, it successfully combines high stakes with a plot that makes sense. As such it is regarded (accurately) as an island of quality among otherwise mediocre, or at least uneven, books. The Attack is notoriously the last Animorphs book written exclusively by K.A. The Animorphs save everyone with the Power of Love™, and it would be disgusting if they didn’t need this win so very much. Hell, maybe Animorphs was the origin of my love for slow-burn organic ships in fiction.

Romance is not a big part of these books at all, but the few times you see it, I'm so invested because I adore these characters, and they've taken literally like 28 books (counting Megamorphs) to get to this point. And it's a 'running full-tilt at each other, leaping into each others' arms, thank god you're alive, I thought you were dead' instinctive kiss and the others are awkward about it until Marco cracks a joke and they all laugh and it is just the cutest thing, okay.

I FORGOT TO MENTION ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS. The secret behind the Iskoort, and the real reason for the Ellimist & Crayak staging their battle on this ground, is a deeply compelling one with hints of long-standing, future-set repercussions (long after the Animorphs' time).ĮDIT: OH MY GOD. The worldbuilding in this one is just so ceaselessly creative I loved every last piece of information about the Iskoort (their various guilds!!) and the Howlers. PLUS, they get to go on an adventure with Erek, and he is another one of my favourite minor characters <3333 The book also harkens back to Jake's nightmares and trauma from being been infested as a Controller, which is another great example of this series' continuity and not conveniently forgetting about past experiences that leave a lasting imprint on them. Any romp featuring the Ellimist is guaranteed to be pretty mind-boggling and thought-provoking and fascinating, and I love the creative ways KAA is able to bring them to new settings away from Earth, and this is the first time the Crayak is properly introduced and explained, a whole twenty books (!) after his first appearance. KAA temporarily interrupts what is going to become a streak of 5 more ghostwritten books in order to write The Attack, which is awesome awesome AWESOME and always lodged itself in my memory, because of a) the Howlers, which are some of the most amazing, frightening antagonistic aliens, and b) the Animorphs' crazy adventures off-world, on another alien planet, in a zany Dr Seuss setting.

Animorphs the alien