The Escape (Animorphs)

infobox Book |
name = The Escape
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = Marco morphing into a hammerhead shark.
author = K. A. Applegate
illustrator =
cover_artist = David B. Mattingly
country = United States
language = English
series = "Animorphs" #15
genre = Science fiction
publisher = Scholastic
pub_date = January 1998
english_pub_date =
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 163
isbn = 0-590-49424-4
preceded_by = The Unknown
followed_by = The Warning

"The Escape" is the fifteenth book in the "Animorphs" series, written by K.A. Applegate. It is narrated by Marco.

Plot Summary

Marco's old acquaintance, Erek King, has some disturbing news about his mother, Eva, aka Visser One. She's returned to Earth, overseeing a Yeerk bioweapons program to allow them to venture deep waters - a requirement made by the Yeerk command for the invasion of Leera, a planet covered almost entirely by oceans. The research is conducted in the waters around Royan Island. The Animorphs infiltrate the facility, and discover that the Yeerks are trying to create super-intelligent sharks that can be infested and controlled by a slug. They decide to acquire hammerhead morphs. Marco accidentally reveals to the other animorphs his fear of sharks. While scouting the waters off Royan Island the animorphs are captured, and have devices installed in them designed to bestow sentience on animals. The only way to remove them is to destroy the facility. They attempt to do this, and during the battle, Marco reveals to Rachel and Ax that Visser One is his mother. Visser Three storms in, angry that Visser One would do this without his knowledge or consent, and they have a verbal argument. Even worse, the Yeerks have just captured some new specimens of an aquatic species - known as Leerans. The Leerans are capable of telepathy and unlimited mind-reading capacity. The Animorphs know that the Yeerks must be stopped before they can utilize two new powerful living weapons. They destroy the factory and escape unscathed.

Morphs