#1 The Invasion

Narrator : Jake.

Personal Ranking : Unclassifiable to me, it's the first entrance and cornerstone of the series.

Review

I've read this book again and again as a kid, so I know it very well, and I have a lot of nostalgia for it. So obviously to me it's difficult to rank it properly.

The introduction and exposition scene are marked by fear, by the physical sensation of fear. Bodies, changing bodies, are at the center of the series, so it's appropriate. Let's also note that the first person ever to morph in the series is Visser Three, in order to commit the murder of Elfangor. Maybe, in an unconscious way, it could explain why the Animorphs describe their own morphing process as disgusting and repulsive. To further this point, we can already see a lot of parallels between the Andalites's morphing and the Yeerks's infection process. Both are described in a very similar way, which I don't think is made by mistake. But the discussion of the ethics of morphing are left to another book.

We can also note the disappearance of two role models in this book : Elfangor and Tom, both big brothers. This way, the loss of innocence is logical, almost inevitable : if you have no one to protect you, you have to rely on yourself and become the trusted figure.

And in general, the book encourages a distrust of authority figures (which I will not complain about) : Chapman, their school's director, and the cop (ACAB) are both figure of the Sharing. They are both compromised. In a way, you could say that the series lean into conspiracy theorist's aesthetics, especially with the entrance to the Yeerk Pool being situated right in the school, to vulnerable people that are children. But using those aesthetics doesn't necessarly mean endorsing it : it was probably just a choice made to facilitate the plot point, and also to make the kids reading it more palpable.

Marco and Jake's relationship is the starting point of the story. In a way, you could say that Marco is Jake's brother figure, especially when he loses Tom to the Yeerks.

Elfangor does impose his own feelings upon the kids, he imposes them to have pity for the Hork-Bajirs, but to feel disgust for the Taxxons. Which feels weird when you read The Andalite Chronicles, where Elfangor can see that the Taxxons's situation is much more nuanced.

After the first battle with the Yeerks, it seems clear to me that the Animorphs have at least killed one guy (the cop), but probably more. But this act is not the object of moral debate, like you could see in other books. Maybe this is because of the euphoria of the morph, or maybe because the kids don't see the animal bodies as themselves yet, that there's a distance between what they do as people and as animals. Or maybe because it's the first book, and it would be too long to include this discussion.

When you know Tobias is Elfangor's kid, you can squint and see foreshadowing in the way Jake describe him as different. But honestly there's a lot of inconsistencies with the rest of the series, like Elfangor's ability to project images that no Andalite (if I remember well) ever do again, or his aversion for the Taxxons.

The book does what a good first book does : introduce the characters, the stakes and worldbuilding. There's so much information to give to the reader that it's necessary to have a book dedicated to it - even though we'll see how each book will try to summarize the events in a few page each time. Though I do think it is a weaker book than some other instances of the series, it doesn't sacrifice its themes for information. To me, the loss of innocence and the trauma left by Elfangor's death are well imbedded within the narrative. And I really like the physical description of fear and disgust at the start, I think that was what stick with me as a kid (that and Elfangor's scream).