ANIMORPHS #26 |
STORY | BOOKS | CHARACTERS
SUMMARY
The Animorphs have met the Ellimist. He "helped" to save the kids when they were about to be eaten by a Taxxon. He "helped" to free two Hork-Bajir and restored Tobias's morphing ability. But, even though the Ellimist has enormous power, he is not all-powerful. He has an enemy. The Crayak.
So, the Crayak and the Ellimist decide that a battle will prove their ultimate power. But they don't intend to fight each other. The Ellimist will choose the Animorphs, Ax, and Erek, the Chee; the Crayak will choose his own army. But if the Animorphs lose they will be erased from the universe altogether. And there'll be no one left to fight the Yeerks...
Released: January 1999
Pages: 149
Cover Art by David B. MattinglyFront Cover (Hi-Res)
Inside Cover (Hi-Res)
ADDITIONAL / ALTERNATE COVERS
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U.S. Inside Cover |
U.K. Cover | French Cover |
| bEWARE NEW READERS, SPOILERS AHEAD! |
TRIVIA
- ANIBASE: K.A. Applegate had this to say about a very memorable scene in this book:
"The Jake and Cassie kiss was not only something Ani-Fans had wanted for a long time, it was our small homage to the first interracial kiss on TV, the famous Captain Kirk, Lieutenant Uhura moment. That long-ago kiss ignited a storm of angry response. For us, we always got lots of fan mail, and not a single letter that we ever saw complained about the kiss between a black character and a white character. Mostly what readers said was, 'It's about time!'"
- The Big Red Eye which was seen at the end of #6: The Capture puzzled many fans when it first appeared. The mystery behind who or what it was, however, was not revealed until this book as a super being called Crayak, and as a rival to the Ellimist of all things, in the godly game that they played.
Furthermore, this is one of the few books that vastly expanded upon the bigger picture of the Animorphs universe, past the crisis that was often only focused on Earth through the majority of the series. Many revelations and notable moments take place in this book, such as the return of the Howler race that killed the Pemalites, creators of the Chee androids (as told in #10: The Android); the evolutionary link between the Iskroot and the Yeerks; but most importantly, the new found hate that Crayak gets of Jake by the end of this book.
The consequences of Jake stopping Crayak's Howler Army are played out a few times in the series, mostly through Crayak's minion, the Drode, and almost directly in the next book #27: The Exposed, and then Megamorphs #3: Elfangor's Secret.
These events also lead Crayak into taking an interest in Rachel, which plays out through several books, most notably in #48: The Return. However, the true origin story of both the Ellimist and Crayak isn't fully explored until The Ellimist Chronicles.
NEW PLOT ADDITIONS
CHARACTERS
ANIBASE: On the Iskroot world, the Animorphs are led arond by one of the strange, sale-obsessed alien Iskroot, whose name is Guide, Grub of Skin-seller, Brother of Memory Wholesaler. In exchange for the profitable memories of their numerous deadly battles, Guide shows our heroes around his multi-colored city.
We also meet Ellimist's millennia-long enemy, the big red eye known as Crayak. Also a fourth dimensional being, Crayak is the champion of all things evil, off-setting Ellimist's fight for good. Crayak has made it his life goal to destroy innocent life around the universe. More can be found about Crayak in The Ellimist Chronicles.
MORPHS
Jake Howler Rachel None. Cassie None. Marco None. Tobias None. Ax None. Visser Three None.
ALIENS
Graffen's Children
A race of aliens that the Howler's have completely destroyed. They looked a bit like dark blue, rough-skinned "Gumbies".Howlers
Creations of Crayak, these creatures exist to do nothing except destroy other alien species. Humanoid with skin like cracked, cooling lava, they have claws on their hands and their midsection is attached in such a way that they can turn their upper body all the way around. The deadly howl for hich they are named is so loud and piercing that anyone who hears it is immediately stunned and unable to think. Ultimately though, their reign of terror comes to an ironic end.Iskroot
Like a whole race of salesmen, these aliens live in guilds and spend their lives selling anything they can -- even memories, skin and hair. They have torsos like a wheezing, veiny pink accordion, vulture heads, and legs that make them look like they walking backwards. The Iskroot are actually two species: The Isk and the Yoort. The Yoort are parasites, but the two species have become symbiotic. Ellimist's hope is that one day the Yeerks will find the Iskroot and see that there's another way of life beyond enslaving innocent species.
TERMS
City of Beauty
The name of the Iskroot city that the Animorphs are sent to. It resides high above the ground, and looks like a child's haphazard Lego tower creation, with a multi-colored appearance and strange layout.The Kiss
They finally do it: Jake and Cassie kiss. But this kiss turns out to be more than just a long-awaited lip lock: While in Howler morph, Jake's memory of the kiss spreads to the collective memory of all the Howlers. Now they've got love on the brain and instead of massacring aliens, the Howlers attempt to run up and kiss them!
- Check the Alien-English Dictionary for more detailed terms and descriptions.
PROMOTIONAL ITEMS
The morph for this book was also animated by David B. Mattingly, as part of the Sanctuary Screensavers. These were exclusive to all fans of the club for a limited amount of time.
Download this Sanctuary Screensaver, or
Watch it as a clip (will load on left).
RELATED LINKS
K.A. Q&A Archives
Reading List and Anibase Download
Alien-English DictionarySubmit Trivia or your most Memorable Quotes!
CREDITS
A big credit to Jeff Sampson for helping build and write the Anibase, which provided much of the inside information towards the series.
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