'It started with the dreams. Dreams that Cassie and Tobias are both having. Dreams about someone calling for help - from beneath the ocean. Cassie, Tobias and their friends must use their morphing powers to travel deep beneath the seas and answer the desperate calls. But they have to be more careful than ever. Because they can't be sure if the drea,s are really a message from a friend - or a deadly trap...'
The Message is easily the most enjoyable of the Animorphs series that I have read so far, introducing some exciting new elements to the franchise.
Shifting the focus of the narration to Cassie, the Animorph most in tough with animals, the book introduces a mystery in the form of a strange dream that keeps plaguing her and Tobias. For the longest time the book presents this as something that Cassie is unsure of, teasing the possibility that it may just be a simple dream.
Over the course of the book the Animorphs try to find the source of this message, using dolphin morphs to travel out into the ocean, trying to discover if it's real or not. These scenes are some of best that the series has given so far, as it's such a different environment for the heroes to find themselves in. It's a place that they have no familiarity with, with no support from Tobias in the sky, and danger lurking in every direction. The scene where they find sharks attacking a whale is a particular stand out.
Despite some initial difficulty in tracking down the origin of the message the team eventually come across a crashed Andalite ship deep beneath the ocean. Inside the ship the five of them come across a new friend and ally, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill, an Andalite prince, and younger brother of Elfangor, the Andalite that gave the Animorphs their powers.
We don't get much of Ax in this particular book, but the small time that we do get with him is very good, and it proves to be a good introduction for the character. Initially distrustful of the
animorphs, the discovery of their connection to his brother brings him around to seeing them as potential allies in the fight against the Yeerks. Ax is a small part of the book, but a brilliant addition to the series as a whole. He's a character that will be able to bring some answers to the team, able to fill them in on the war against the Yeerks, to explain their technology, and their tactics.
Ax does this to a small extent in this book, when he informs the team that the Yeerks aren't just going to take control of the human race, but will use up all of the Earth's resources and kill all life on the planet before moving on to another world. Not only does this news help to fill in some of the information gaps we have on the Yeerks, but also galvanises the team in their mission, knowing that it's imperative that they stop the alien threat.
Animorphs: The Message is a big leap forward in the Animorphs story, one that provides up with a lot of new information, a new character, and some excellent action sequences. The start of a new era for the series, it sets up exciting things to come.
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