SUMMARY

Someone's looking for Tobias. Someone who says she's his long-lost cousin. Tobias isn't sure the person is telling the truth. But she's really nice, and knows a lot about him. And what she tells Tobias definitely gets his attention. It seems a lawyer has discovered Tobias's father's last will and testament. So, Tobias needs to attend the reading. His "cousin" even offers to go along. But something just doesn't feel quite right. That's when Tobias, the other Animorphs, and Ax decide to do a little checking on this "cousin." And what they discover will change the rest of Tobias's life...

Released: October 1998 Pages: 154 Cover Art by David B. Mattingly

Front Cover (Hi-Res) Inside Cover (Hi-Res)

 

ADDITIONAL / ALTERNATE COVERS

U.S. Inside Cover	U.K. Cover	French Cover

TRIVIA

ANIBASE: Above the usual dedication in this book reads a message thanking Michael Mates for his help. So who's Michael Mates? He's the very same Michael that all the books are dedicated to! Michael is actually Katherine Applegate's husband and the unaccredited co-writer for all of her books. They decided that, as an inside joke, they'd give him a special credit for #23. Now you know! Continuity Note: This book was published at the time as The Hork-Bajir Chronicles, however, with the introduction of Toby in that book, #23: The Pretender is set after it. Starting with this book, all of Tobias's covers include his human-self transparent in the background, while his original hawk-self morphs into another creature. This is done to represent the re-gifting of the morphing ability which he recieved back by the Ellimist in #13: The Change. Although revealed to readers back in The Andalite Chronicles, Tobias finally learns for the first time that Elfangor is his real father in this book. Also, by relation, he now knows that Ax is his uncle, though this is never fully explored into by the end of the book. The reaction to Tobias being Elfangor's son is sadly also not openly discussed by the other Animorphs at any time in the series, but they are seemingly aware of it as it is briefly referred to from time to time. An example of this is in #33 when Ax proudly relishes the moment when Tobias practices morphing his Andalite form, by acknowledging that they are related. Also, in #33 again, Ax refers to an ancient legend, which he believes Elfangor used to pass along his memories to his DNA, which Tobias was able to see and feel by being his son. Continuity Note / Alteration: To make the letter by Elfangor in this book work, an 'off-screen' scene was added into place in Elfangor's story from The Andalite Chronicles by K.A in this book (The alteration remained unchanged in the Andalite Chronicles). As Tobias receives a letter from Elfangor, explaining who he is, Elfangor also explains that he is being given the opportunity to communicate with Tobias by the same being (Ellimist) who erased his life on Earth. This was told to avoid a KASU, as Elfangor (basing the story from The Andalite Chronicles) simply would not have had the time to write that letter in the first place, because he did not find out about Tobias until he was taken away and had his life erased by the Ellimist, nor could he have written it upon his return (the second time he came to Earth) as it ended with his immediate death at the hands of Visser Three, after giving the Animorphs their powers.

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