 | |
| Author | K. A. Applegate |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | David B. Mattingly |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Animorphs #5 |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
Publication date | December 1996 |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 152 |
| ISBN | 0-590-62981-6 |
| OCLC | 35965674 |
| Preceded by | The Message |
| Followed by | The Capture |
The Predator, published in 1996 and written by K. A. Applegate, is the fifth book in the Animorphs series. It is narrated by Marco.
Two years before the events of the novel, Marco's mother vanished in a boating accident; her body was never found. Marco's father has fallen into deep depression and Marco is having second thoughts about fighting the Yeerks, parasitic aliens that are the main antagonists of the series, as he does not want his father to lose him too.
Ax wishes to return to the Andalite home world, and to do so, he needs a ship. He intends to build a communicator to broadcast a Yeerk distress signal and lure in a Yeerk ship which he can then hijack. He, Jake, and Marco go to the mall to buy the equipment to build a communicator. Ax finds the food court and runs wild sampling food left over on tables, overwhelmed by the new sense of taste. He is chased by security guards and, frightened, demorphs in the middle of the mall in front of many people. Ax, Jake, and Marco run out of the mall and into a nearby grocery store where they are chased by Controllers. They morph into lobsters and hide in a tank. They later narrowly escape being boiled alive.
Ax builds his device, but needs a zero-space transponder. Vice principal Hedrick Chapman regularly communicates with Visser Three from his basement, so the Animorphs morph into ants and retrieve the Z-space transponder that he uses. As they are returning from Chapman's house, they are almost killed when attacked by ants from another colony. They are able to demorph in time, but everyone is upset by the experience.
Ax completes his device, and broadcasts the signal, but the Yeerks have changed their distress frequencies, and, sensing a trap, they set one of their own. The Animorphs are captured (in animal morph) and taken aboard the Yeerk mother ship in Earth orbit, where Visser One is visiting. Visser One confronts them and her host body is revealed to be Marco's mother, who is alive after all. The Animorphs are put in a cell, but they are freed by one of Visser One's Hork-Bajir; Visser One and Visser Three are rivals, and Visser One wanted to disgrace Visser Three. The Animorphs reach an escape pod and return to Earth.
Marco asks Jake, the only one who had previously met Marco's mom, not to tell any of the others about Visser One. Marco resolves to continue fighting the Yeerks, as he now has a personal motivation to free his mother.
The Predator was adapted as part of the Animorphs TV series, which aired on Nickelodeon and YTV between the fall of 1998 and the spring of 2000. The fifth book was covered by the fourteenth and fifteenth episodes, "The Leader" (Parts 1 and 2), along with plot lines from The Stranger . The TV episodes did not follow the books faithfully, altering many aspects of the characters' roles within the Animorphs, the events in the war against the Yeerks, and added plot lines that were not present in the books.
Scholastic re-released The Predator with a new lenticular cover in December 2011. [1]
The Invasion, published in 1996 and written by K. A. Applegate, is the first book in the Animorphs series. It is narrated by Jake.
The Visitor, published in 1996 and written by K. A. Applegate, is the second book in the Animorphs series. It is narrated by Rachel.
The Beginning is the 54th and final book in the Animorphs series. Unlike other Animorphs books in the main series, but similar to the Megamorphs, all characters conduct narration instead of just one.
The Answer is the 53rd and penultimate book in the Animorphs series. It is the final book (fully) narrated by Jake and is the final book to fully be narrated by only one character.
The Message, published in 1996 and written by K. A. Applegate, is the fourth book in the Animorphs series. It is narrated by Cassie.
The Capture, published in 1997 and written by K. A. Applegate, is the sixth book in the Animorphs series. It is narrated by Jake. The Capture was re-released by Scholastic in March 2012.
The Stranger is the seventh book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Rachel.
The Alien is the eighth book in the Animorphs series, written by K. A. Applegate. It is the first book narrated by Ax.
<Megamorphs #1> The Andalite's Gift is the first book in the <Megamorphs> series, a set of companion books to the Animorphs series. With respect to continuity, it takes place between Book #7: The Stranger and Book #8: The Alien. The Andalite's Gift was originally published as two parts and later put together as one book as #2 of Megamorphs came out.
The Escape is the 15th book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Marco.
The Underground is the 17th book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Rachel.
The Decision is the 18th book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Ax.
The Threat is the 21st book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Jake. It is the second book in the David trilogy.
The Sickness is the 29th book in the Animorphs series, authored by K. A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Melinda Metz. It is narrated by a character named Cassie.
The Sacrifice is the 52nd book in the Animorphs series, written by K. A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Kim Morris. It is the final book to be (fully) narrated by Ax.
The Prophecy is the 34th book in the Animorphs series, authored by K.A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Melinda Metz. It is narrated primarily by Cassie and secondarily by Aldrea. It was published on September 27, 1999.
The Arrival is the 38th book in the Animorphs series, written by K. A. Applegate. It was ghostwritten by Kim Morris. It is narrated by Ax.
The Revelation is the 45th book in the Animorphs series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Ellen Geroux. It is the first book in the ten-book arc that finalized the story of the Animorphs. It is narrated by Marco.
The Diversion, published in 2001 and written by K. A. Applegate, is the 49th book in the Animorphs series. It is known to have been ghostwritten by Lisa Harkrader. It is the final book (fully) narrated by Tobias.
Animorphs is a science fantasy series of children's books written by Katherine Applegate and her husband Michael Grant, writing together under the name K. A. Applegate, and published by Scholastic. It is told in first person, with all six main characters taking turns narrating the books through their own perspectives. Horror, war, dehumanization, sanity, morality, innocence, leadership, freedom, family, and growing up are the core themes of the series.
