The Capture, published in 1997 and written by K.A. Applegate, is the sixth book in the Animorphs

Animorphs

Animorphs is an English language science fiction series of young adult books written by K. A. Applegate and published by Scholastic. Five humans, Jake, Marco, Cassie, Rachel, and Tobias, and one alien, Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill , obtain the ability to morph into any animal they touch. They name...

series. It is narrated by Jake

Jake Berenson

Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...

. The Capture is due to be re-releasd by Scholastic in March 2012.

Plot summary

The Animorphs morph cockroaches in order to infiltrate a meeting of The Sharing. They discover that the Yeerks have infested an entire hospital staff and are using them to turn patients into Controllers. Not only that, but next week their state's governor - who is a Presidential candidate - will be checking in for surgery.

The Animorphs morph houseflies to infiltrate the hospital, and discover a Jacuzzi that has been converted into a miniature Yeerk Pool. Jake demorphs to human and turns the Jacuzzi on to kill the Yeerks, but the Animorphs are discovered by the Controllers. In the subsequent fight Jake is hit by a sledgehammer blow and his head falls in the pool. He is infested by a Yeerk named Temrash 114 who seeks to escape death.

The Animorphs escape from the hospital into the woods, and Jake panics as he realizes that none of his friends have noticed anything different about him. Fortunately, Ax notices something amiss in Temrash's initial reaction to him and accuses Jake of being a Controller. Temrash loses his cool and insults Ax, calling him "Andalite filth" and the others realize he is indeed a Controller.

The others decide to hold him for three days until Temrash dies of Kandrona starvation. In the meantime, Ax morphs Jake and takes his place at home and school. The others tie Jake to a chair in an abandoned shack out in the forest, but Temrash still has access to all of Jake's morphs. He morphs to tiger

Tiger

The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...

 in the night and escapes. He becomes lost in the forest and morphs to falcon

Peregrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"...

 and tries to and fly away, but Cassie stops him as a great horned owl

Great Horned Owl

The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...

.

Temrash morphs to wolf and again tries to escape, but is stopped by a rival wolf pack, in fact, the same wolf pack from The Encounter

The Encounter (Animorphs)

The Encounter, published in 1996 and written by written by K. A. Applegate, is the third book in the Animorphs series. It is narrated by Tobias.-Plot summary:...

. Rachel escorts him back to the shack in elephant

Elephant

Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...

 morph.

Temrash begins to taunt Jake, revealing that he was once the Yeerk controlling Jake's brother Tom. Jake tells him that he will never give up.

The next morning Temrash again tries to escape, this time as an ant

Black garden ant

The black garden ant is a formicine ant, the type species of the subgenus Lasius, found all over Europe and in some parts of North America and Asia. It is monogynous, meaning colonies have a single queen....

, but is forced back by an enemy ant colony. Temrash begins to die of Kandrona starvation. As he does, Jake witnesses his pain, and in the final hours catches his first terrifying glimpse of Crayak

Crayak

Crayak is a fictional character and villain from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate.-Description:Crayak is a nearly omnipotent entity appearing in the form of an armless cyborg with massive limbs and nothing but what would resemble as a blood-red eye for a head...

.

Jake returns to his family to find that he has apparently been acting strangely lately, because Ax is not used to being in human morph. A few days later he morphs partway to wolf (to disguise his voice) and telephones Tom to give him a message of hope.

Morphs

Morpher	Morphs acquired	Morphs used
Jake Jake Berenson Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...	Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... , Housefly Housefly The housefly , Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha...	Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... , Housefly Housefly The housefly , Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha... , partially Wolf
Temrash 114 (through Jake)	--	Siberian Tiger, Peregrine Falcon Peregrine Falcon The Peregrine Falcon , also known as the Peregrine, and historically as the Duck Hawk in North America, is a widespread bird of prey in the family Falconidae. A large, crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-gray back, barred white underparts, and a black head and "moustache"... , Wolf, Ant Ant Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
Rachel Rachel (Animorphs) Rachel is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs. Her full name is never explicitly mentioned in the books, but her relation to her cousin Jake Berenson through their fathers makes it most likely to be Rachel Berenson, if it was never changed or hyphenated.-Biography:Before the...	Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... , Housefly Housefly The housefly , Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha... , Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...	Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... , Housefly Housefly The housefly , Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha... , Wolf, African Elephant, Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...
Cassie Cassie (Animorphs) Cassie is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Her last name is never mentioned, although she referred to it as being "nice" in The Secret.-Biography:...	Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... , Housefly Housefly The housefly , Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha... , Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:...	Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... , Housefly Housefly The housefly , Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha... , Wolf, Great Horned Owl Great Horned Owl The Great Horned Owl, , also known as the Tiger Owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an adaptable bird with a vast range and is the most widely distributed true owl in the Americas.-Description:... , Flea Flea Flea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
Marco Marco (Animorphs) Marco is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series, Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. His last name is never mentioned.-Biography:...	Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... , Housefly Housefly The housefly , Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha...	Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... , Housefly Housefly The housefly , Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha... , Gorilla Gorilla Gorillas are the largest extant species of primates. They are ground-dwelling, predominantly herbivorous apes that inhabit the forests of central Africa. Gorillas are divided into two species and either four or five subspecies...
Ax Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill is a fictional character from the sci-fi book series Animorphs.-Biography:Aximili is a young Andalite who becomes stranded on Earth when the Andalite Dome Ship GalaxyTree is shot down by Yeerk fighters...	Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... , Housefly Housefly The housefly , Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha... , Jake Jake Berenson Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake...	Cockroach Cockroach Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations... , Housefly Housefly The housefly , Musca domestica, is a fly of the suborder Cyclorrhapha... , Human Human Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...  (Jake Jake Berenson Jake Berenson is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists from the science-fiction book series Animorphs, written by K. A. Applegate. Until the penultimate book of the series, his last name was never revealed, and he was known only as Jake... )
Visser Three Visser Three Visser Three, born as Esplin 9466 Primary and later known as Visser One, is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the sci-fi book series Animorphs, written by K.A. Applegate. He is the leader of the Yeerk forces on Earth, having inherited the planet from Edriss 562, who was Visser One at...	--	Human Human Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...

TV series

This book formed the basis for the episodes "The Capture: Part 1" and "The capture Part 2". While this followed the storyline fairly faithfully, there were still a number of changes made.

• In the book, Jake and the others discover the existence of the clinic through Tom dialling various doctors at home and at a meeting for the Sharing. In the TV series, he learns about the clinic through his parents and their meeting with Visser Three/Victor Trent. Jake's dad is later found out to be involved in running the clinic in the TV series.
• Ax shows an odd ability in the TV series, which isn't present in the books. In this case, he is able to demagnetize a card and turn it into a card that works on any standard card reader.
• In the books they morph flies. In the TV series, they morph into cockroaches (they do morph into cockroaches in the books, but not to examine the facility) and are almost stepped on.
• Jake's Yeerk is not named in the TV series.
• In the book, Jake morphs into several animals while under Yeerk control. In the TV series, he only morphs into one animal to escape his chair he is bound to.
• In the book, Jake is taken to an old shack out in the woods near Cassie's house, while in the TV series, Jake is just held at the barn.
• In the book, Jake partly morphs a wolf to disguise his voice to Tom over the telephone. In the TV episode, he has Ax rewire a telephone to be untraceable and electronically disguise his voice.

External links

• Official page at Scholastic.com