Expanded Universe Round-Up #28

Galaxy of Fear Series by John Whitman

​#1 - Eaten Alive

This was one of my favourites series when I was a kid, so I'm always going to be biased when I re-read it. I also enjoyed Goosebumps at the time, which is the obvious inspiration behind these books (heck, even the typical GB older sister-younger brother dynamic got ported over), but Galaxy of Fear always triumphed in my eyes - the same characters developing in new situations, with bonus Star Wars settings and cameos!

Eaten Alive shows us the blueprint of what all the books will be like. Yes, there are ridiculous cliffhangers at the end of every chapter. Yes, there are cringey hints (D'vouran is devourin'). But the mystery behind Hoole is interesting. Tash and Zak feel like real kids. Perhaps I enjoyed this more than I ought to have... ;D
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#2 - ​City of the Dead

Zombies!! Boba Fett!! This book was quite a chilling tale when I was a kid. As an adult, I can appreciate Zack trying to manage his grief after his losing his parents. It was also great to see Dr Evazan meet his end.
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#3 - Planet Plague

Yep, this is still one of my favourite books, even nearly 30 years later. I'm always happy to see Wedge and I love these plague-infested blobs. So delightfully creepy. This book also showed that Tash is in the anger stage of her grief. She learns an important lesson about handling her anger, which is unexpected but very welcome in a series that's best described as Space Goosebumps.
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#4 - ​The Nightmare Machine

This one really tried my patience - and I don't recall loving it as much as other instalments in the series. But I did like that Tash and Zak were visiting a place that had been offhandedly mentioned in book #2. These books were well planned, or at least planned better than some of their MG contemporaries. And Lando was a welcome cameo! He made sense in the context of things.
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#5 - ​Ghost of the Jedi

This is one of my favourite books OF ALL TIME. I've read it many more times than the rest of the books in the series. As a kid, I was obsessed with ghosts and Jedi, so the ghost of a Jedi was incredibly exciting to me. I am still very fond of Aidan Bok. I spent so many years wishing he would appear in pre-ROTS media. Alas. I also love Tash's journey in this book, as she gains more confidence and more awareness of herself. Something I went through when I was younger, when I was reading about her adventures. Yep, these books aren't just horror and Star Wars cameos (oh hai, Dannik Jerriko!).
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#6 - ​Army of Terror

The mystery of Uncle Hoole is finally revealed! It was such a shock to me as a kid - that and the bad guy getting his comeuppance halfway through the series. Wait, I didn't have time to get sick of him! Which is a good thing. Whitman didn't drag this arc out too much and I appreciate that. Six books was the perfect length for Project Starscream. And heck, I'm always happy to see Han, Leia, Luke, Chewie and the droids. Bonus Darth Vader. I am, as ever, sad about Eppon.
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#7 - ​The Brain Spiders

So the main arc is over and it's time for standalone stories, but they're just as good - because this series' strength is not in its plots but in how it handles Tash and Zak growing up. Obviously, brains and bodies being swapped is not a new concept (sometimes I think it's overdone). And yet, it was still a fun read.
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#8 - The Swarm

While I enjoyed Thrawn's appearance - Whitman suitably modified him for a younger audience, but he was still himself - the rest of the book wasn't as good. Zak learned an important lesson at what felt like an excruciatingly glacial pace, which somehow made this shorter-than-average book feel much longer than it actually was.
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#9 - ​Spore

Okay, this isn't the greatest book and certainly not the best in the series, but it had a HUGE impact on me as a kid. So creepy. So fascinating. So I definitely know where my obsession with sentient trees came from. Ha! Derec was a cool villain and it was many, many years before I realised where he originated from (despite his description being vaguely familiar). I also remember being intrigued by Fandomar, having encountered her in an adult novel before reading this one.
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#10 - ​The Doomsday Ship

This book is a lot of fun and even as an adult I found sections of it to be quite tense. I was amused by the 2001: A Space Odyssey and WarGames references, which I suppose might annoy some people but I have a nostalgic streak. Sometimes you just want to read an entertaining book about a computer AI going rogue. And who can be mad about a Dash Rendar appearance?
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#11 - ​Clones

Clones generally cause mayhem and this is no exception! I really enjoyed exploring Dantooine through this book when I was younger. Unsurprisingly, I still enjoy it. Tash's realisation that she should not be using the Force in anger is an important one. She's always been my favourite character of the series and I fancied myself a Jedi just as she does, so I will always be invested in her journey with the Force. Perhaps this book - like the others - is flawed, but it's a firm favourite.
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#12 - The Hunger

Zak comes into his own in this tale of Boba Fett, Yoda and cannibals. There's not much that's new here, since it's a standard Galaxy of Fear book, but it is the last one and still manages to serves up thrills and entertainment. I often find myself thinking about this plot even when I haven't gone near my Legends books in months. I'm glad the series ends here. It's a good spot for it... though I wish we had seen Tash and Zak at Luke's Jedi Academy. Alas.

Obviously, this book was released before AOTC told us that Boba Fett had to have heard about Yoda (and likely knew what he looked like), but I don't really mind this inconsistency because the pre-1999 Star Wars books were my early childhood and that era seemed to go on forever (as time does when you're a kid). I'm very fond of this stuff. Sure, I was still growing up through the prequel era, but Star Wars media became almost too easy to find after TPM was released. These earlier Legends books I had to hunt for in the back of K-Mart. I almost never managed to buy them in order.

I can confidently say that my pocket money was not wasted on Galaxy of Fear. This series has given me nearly three decades of joy.

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