Line #63 Literature/GalaxyOfFear


1	[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gof1_eatenalive.jpg]]
2	-> ''The whole galaxy seemed to stretch out before them. It was dark, and dangerous, and [[TitleDrop full of fear]]. But it was also full of stars, and the stars burned brightly.''
3	-->-- ''The Hunger''
4
5	''[[http://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Galaxy_of_Fear Galaxy of Fear, ]]'' written by John Whitman, is a series of children's sci-fi horror novels set in the ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'' continuity. The series is centered on the Force-sensitive Tash Arranda and her brother Zak, who travel with their Uncle Hoole, a [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifting]] Shi'ido, and their [[RobotBuddy protocol droid tutor]] DV-9, or Deevee. Tash and Zak were survivors of the Death Star's attack on Alderaan as they had been in an off-planet field trip. They were taken in by Hoole, an anthropologist with a mysterious past, who travels the galaxy for his work.
6
7	There are twelve books in the series. The first six books deal with the mysterious Project Starscream, a series of experiments in biological weapons conducted by the Galactic Empire. The other six have more independent storylines with the main characters fleeing the Empire as fugitives. One of the series' major gimmicks is [[TheCameo guest appearances]] by major characters from other ''Star Wars'' works, from the movies to other novels to video games.
8
9	Tash, Zak, Hoole, and DV-9 achieved CanonImmigrant status in 2021, when the Disney canon featured them in an issue of ''ComicBook/StarWarsAdventures''.
10
11	'''List of novels'''
12	* ''EatenAlive'': Our heroes [[ComingInHot crash-land]] on the planet D'vouran and deal with several mysterious disappearances. Han, Luke, Leia, Chewie, and their droids make an appearance.
13	* ''[[TitleOfTheDead City of the Dead]]'': The family visits the planet Necropolis, where Zak befriends some local kids who dare him to sneak into a cemetery. Boba Fett and [[Literature/TalesFromTheMosEisleyCantina Doctor Evazan]] make an appearance.
14	* ''[[ThePlague Planet Plague]]'': The family visits Gobindi, where Tash learns that the Empire is experimenting with viruses. [[VirusVictimSymptoms And she might be infected]]. [[Literature/XWingSeries Wedge Antilles]] makes an appearance.
15	* ''[[IKnowWhatYouFear The Nightmare Machine]]'': Zak and Tash visit Hologram Fun World, which includes [[PsychologicalTormentZone a simulator that brings their worst fears to life]]. Lando Calrissian makes an appearance.
16	* ''[[UnfinishedBusiness Ghost of the Jedi]]'': Fleeing [[BigBad Borborygmus Gog]], the family hides out in an abandoned space station that houses [[SpookySilentLibrary an ancient Jedi library]]. However, the library also houses the spirit of a Jedi.
17	* ''Army of Terror'': The Arrandas visit Kiva to investigate Project Starscream where they encounter a spectral army and [[DoorstopBaby rescue an infant]] named Eppon from an AbandonedLaboratory. Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, and C-3PO all make an appearance, as does Darth Vader.
18	* ''The Brain Spiders'': Hoole visits Jabba's Palace so that he can study the [[BrainInAJar B'omarr monks]]. Meanwhile, the kids investigate a series of murders whose [[SerialKiller killer]] [[CallingCard leaves a K carved into his victims' bodies]].
19	* ''TheSwarm'': The gang visits the Sikadian Garden, where they run into Imperial officers and a swarm of carnivorous insects whose numbers have mysteriously skyrocketed. Captain (and future Grand Admiral) [[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy Thrawn]] makes an appearance.
20	* ''Spore'': The family travels to a mining colony in the middle of an asteroid belt looking for fuel for their ship. However, the [[AsteroidMiners miners]] may have DugTooDeep. [[VideoGame/JediKnightDarkForcesII Jerec]] makes an appearance.
21	* ''The Doomsday Ship'': The Arrandas are relaxing on a luxury space yacht when passengers are ordered to [[EscapePod abandon ship]] due to an imminent meltdown. Zak and Tash are stuck onboard but the meltdown never happens. The Arrandas are now trapped onboard with no communications and no way out. [[Literature/ShadowsOfTheEmpire Dash Rendar]] makes an appearance.
22	* ''Clones'': The family lands on Dantooine, where they are tricked into visiting some old Jedi ruins. They run into a gang of Rebels but Tash senses the Dark Side in the ruins. Darth Vader appears.
23	* ''The Hunger'': Their ship destroyed by Boba Fett, the family is stranded on a swamp planet with a strange tribe calling themselves the Children. Boba Fett, Yoda, and [[https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Platt_Okeefe/Legends Platt Okeefe]] make appearances.
24
25	In 2009 Adrian Tolliver wrote ''[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Death_in_the_Slave_Pits_of_Lorrd Death in the Slave Pits of Lorrd,]] or What I Did On My Inter-Term Break'', an essay from the perspective of Tash Arranda. Set between ''Army of Terror'' and ''The Brain Spiders'', it has the kids wandering Lorrd and finding a wicked plot. [[Literature/XWingSeries Face Loran]] appears.Tash, Zak, Hoole, and DV-9 achieved CanonImmigrant status in 2021, when the Disney canon featured them in an issue of ''ComicBook/StarWarsAdventures''.
26	----
27	!!This series provides examples of:
28	* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler: Eppon in his child form]] is eager to eat people but [[CuddleBug cuddly and affectionate]] otherwise. The two modes aren't mutually exclusive. Tash believes he's good and that what he ''does'' is separate from his personality.
29	%%* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler:SIM in ''The Doomsday Ship''.]]
30	* AlienArtsAreAppreciated: Wingsong isn't comprehensible to our heroes, but it's pretty.
31	* AllThereInTheManual: The [[http://web.archive.org/web/20090629180129/http://blogs.starwars.com/taloncard/12 notes]] for ''Death in the Slave Pits of Lorrd'' claims that Tash's change in attitude towards her brother and life in general between ''Army of Terror'' and ''The Brain Spiders'' is due to infatuation.
32	* AllYourPowersCombined: [[spoiler:Eppon]] is the culmination of Gog's SuperSoldier project, and he possesses traits from all of the previous threats in the series.
33	* AnAesop: Several books have them, sometime more obvious than others.
34	* AnimalWrongsGroup: A sci-fi example. [[spoiler: Vroon, a Sk'rrr (an InsectoidAlien), is part of a cult that worships drog beetles as they believe that drogs and Sk'rrr are related. As the gardener of Sikadian Garden, he kills the beetles' natural predators. This causes the drog beetle population to grow incredibly quickly, reaching plague proportions and causing them to get so hungry they start attacking ''people''.]]
35	* ApocalypticLog: In ''The Hunger,'' Hoole and the Arranda's stumble upon a datapad left behind by a failed survey mission to Dagobah [[spoiler: revealing that the stranded expedition was joined by the crew of a crashed cruise ship, eventually resulting in the survivors beginning to breed and produce children. On her deathbed, the expedition leader confesses that the only way they could feed the children was by feeding them the bodies of the dead.]]
36	* [[AscendedFanboy Ascended Fangirl]]: Tash idolizes Jedi and is Force-Sensitive. Long after the series, she's part of Luke's Jedi order.
37	* AssimilationPlot: The goal of the villain of ''Spore''.
38	--> "I mean you no harm. I simply need... I mean, I want to know you better. To be a part of you. For you to be a part of me."
39	* TheAtoner: [[spoiler: It's revealed that Hoole is atoning for the destruction of an entire civilization over the course of his experiments; true, it was the result of deceit and sabotage by Gog, but he still blames himself for failing to notice it - and for collaborating with the Empire in the first place.]]
40	* BadassBookworm: Hoole is a stoic and cautious anthropologist known for producing numerous first-hand accounts of various planets and species, though he's dabbled in other fields of science over the course of his career. However, his ability to shapeshift makes him easily the most dangerous of the main characters in combat; in most of the books, once he finally gets directly involved in the action, the tide turns dramatically in the heroes' favor.
41	* BackForTheFinale: DV-9 returns in ''The Hunger''.
42	* BeliefMakesYouStupid: [[spoiler: Vroon's faith in the holiness of drog beetles leads to him sabotaging the natural balance to protect them, resulting in numerous deaths -- including his own.]]
43	* BigBad: Borborygmus Gog for the first six books. Technically he works for the Emperor, but he has a lot of discretion.
44	* BigDamnHeroes: Many times.
45	** In ''Eaten Alive'', the crew of the ''Falcon'' make a brief cameo early on, then leave the planet. Later [[spoiler: the planet itself comes to life]] and prevents our heroes' ship from taking off, and the ''Falcon'' picks them up because Luke had wanted to check on them.
46	** It's also very common for Hoole to be kept in reserve until the climax of a story, and then suddenly appear out of nowhere to save the day.
47	* BizarreAlienBiology: The natives of D'vouran, the Enzeen, look like blue-skinned humanoids with spikes for hair. [[spoiler: The planet is actually alive, and they are symbiotes which lure people to the surface so the world can eat them, then are fed themselves by plunging their hollow tongues into the dirt.]]
48	* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Averted. Surprisingly for a kidlit book (especially one set in the ''Franchise/StarWars'' universe), TheEmpire isn't all evil. Led by an evil Emperor, yes, and there's a high number of evil plots rooted in it, but at the same time, it's stressed that it is a government.
49	--> "I know how you feel about the Empire, and you have a right to be angry. But you have to understand that the government has officers, soldiers, and fleets of ships all across the galaxy. Most of the time they are just beings going about their daily business. If you think that every time you see stormtroopers you have uncovered a wicked Imperial plot, you will go insane with worry."
50	%%* BlatantLies: Spore's villain will say anything to get people to join it.
51	%%* BlobMonster: The... blobs in ''Planet Plague''.
52	%%* BondingOverMissingParents: The Arrandas and Luke.
53	%%* {{Bookworm}}: Tash.
54	* BrainInAJar: As with their portrayal across the old expanded universe, the B'Omarr monks achieve enlightenment by putting their brains in jars and allowing spider droids to ferry them wherever they need to go.
55	%%* BuriedAlive: ''City of the Dead''.
56	* CallingCard: A serial killer in ''The Brain Spiders'' carves a "K" into the foreheads of his victims.
57	* TheCameo: Oh, loads of them. Even aside from the [[HeroOfAnotherStory main characters]] listed above, more minor ones frequently play roles. Doctor Evazan is the villain of ''City of the Dead''. Dengar has an extremely fleeting role in ''The Nightmare Machine''. [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Dannik Jerriko]] is in ''Ghost of the Jedi''. Even when he doesn't meet the heroes, Darth Vader often appears in the VillainOpeningScene.
58	* CareBearStare: Tash uses TheForce to reach out to [[spoiler:Eppon, who had just awakened his true nature as Gog's LivingWeapon]] and bombards him with memories of their brief but happy time together. It works.
59	* {{Cliffhanger}}: Every book, several times. Daniel Wallace lampshaded it.
60	--> Every single chapter of those books had to end with a cliffhanger. It was the law. A chapter would finish with "Tash stepped off the spaceship and heard a blood-curdling scream!" Then you'd read the next chapter and it would say "But apparently it was just a bird."
61	** DV-9 also lampshaded it. ''Death in the Slave Pits of Lorrd'' has him leaving a lot of comments in red on the essay.
62	--> "I must object to the false jeopardy and melodramatic suspense at the end of every section. This is an informative essay, not a holodrama."
63	* ClosedCircle: Several of the books start with the characters' ship being rendered nonoperational for one reason or another.
64	* ContinuityNod: Many of them, to the movies and the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse. In ''The Planet Plague'', DV-9 chatters about the Massassi of Yavin Four and the [[ComicBook/DarkEmpire Ysanna of Ossus]]. ''Death in the Slave Pits of Lorrd'' is [[http://web.archive.org/web/20090629180129/http://blogs.starwars.com/taloncard/12 absolutely thick with them]].
65	** Hoole mentions in ''The Brain Spiders'' that he's done research on Tatooine and Jabba's palace before. A couple years before the series began, a book called ''Literature/TheIllustratedStarWarsUniverse'' was published, in which Hoole was first introduced as the "author" of the Tatooine chapter.
66	** ''The Hunger'' mentions a failed survey expedition to Dagobah - which was also featured in ''Literature/TheIllustratedStarWarsUniverse,'' with expedition leader Halka Four-Den serving as the author of an ApocalypticLog that eventually becomes the Dagobah chapter. [[spoiler: ''The Hunger'' also features an unnamed cameo of Halka Four-Den recording her final ApocalypticLog on her deathbed.]]
67	** In his last appearance in ''The Hunger'', Yoda mentions that he has to prepare for the arrival of a student....
68	* CoolStarship: ''The Shroud''.
69	* DangerousDeviceDisposalDebacle: While the Arranda's efforts in the first five books put a stop to the different parts of Project Starscream, Gog relies on this trope to preserve bits of his experiments to integrate into his final project.
70	** ''Spore'' has an entire plot like this: it took centuries for the Jedi to contain Spore but the Ithorians just locked it up because they're too peaceful to destroy anything, including their most dangerous creation.
71	* DebtDetester: In all fairness, owing ''Jabba the Hutt'' an unspecified favor is never good.
72	* DefangedHorrors: The zombies in ''City of the Dead" are [[OurZombiesAreDifferent different]]. Sure, they're mostly ugly and many of them are decayed, and they are super strong and able to shrug off injuries, but they're also not infectious, don't bite or scratch, follow their {{Necromancer}}'s commands completely, and some remain their own selves with intelligence.
73	* DefusingTheTykeBomb: [[spoiler: Tash uses her Force powers to communicate with Eppon. This works until Gog sets off a device that [[YourHeadAsplode makes his head explode]].]]
74	* DisneyVillainDeath: During ''Ghost of the Jedi'' Gog is burned and [[ShapeshifterSwanSong can't hold on to any shape but his own]], and falls into a seemingly bottomless pit, where he's assumed dead. Vader, passing through after the heroes leave, also assumes he's dead, but Gog stirs as soon as he leaves.
75	* DissonantSerenity: Uncle Hoole is calm in crises. He's less so when dealing with Tash and Zak. When the kids meet Thrawn, they note he's the same, if in a colder way.
76	* DoomedPredecessor: In ''Ghost of the Jedi'', as the main cast explore the space station, they find the dead body of a man they chatted with earlier on, and later they find many more bodies of treasure hunters said to have vanished over the past few months. [[spoiler:In a twist, none of them are dead, but they look dead due to the MadScientist and his essence-stealing machine, with the victims recovering after the machine is deactivated]].
77	* DwindlingParty:
78	** Often, a group of several minor and often largely unnamed characters (including treasure hunters in ''Ghost of the Jedi'', Rebel commandos in ''Army of Terror'', AsteroidMiners in ''Spore'', Captain Hajj and his repair party in ''Doomsday Ship'', and Platt's smugglers in ''The Hunger) face the same dangers as the main cast and any previously established guest stars. They inevitably gradually experience misfortunes that remove them from the main action until there are few if any of them left. [[DownplayedTrope Sometimes, they are only injured or incapacitated]], but usually, at least some of them are killed by the main threat.
79	** In the BackStory of ''Eaten Alive'', Captain Bebo and the other nineteen survivors of a starship crash began vanishing in groups of one to three at a time. About a quarter of them lasted long enough to take refugee in an abandoned laboratory that provided some safety, but some of them left to check their distress beacon and never came back. By the time of the book, only Bebo (the only one who can safely go outside thanks to a protective amulet) and his NotSoImaginaryFriend Lonni are left of the original twenty. [[spoiler:Neither of them makes it to the end of the book]].
80	* EvilAllAlong:
81	** It's eventually revealed that the benevolent and helpful [[spoiler: [=ForceFlow=], previously known as Tash's online pen-pal and suspected Rebel spy]] is actually just Gog in disguise.
82	** In ''The Brain Spiders,'' [[spoiler: Grimpen]] appears to be the nicest of the B'Omarr Monks. Turns out he's been running a brain-switching scam to allow criminals to escape justice in new bodies, not only breaking the rules of the B'Omarr Order but gladly using Tash as a donor body.
83	* ExplosiveBreeder: Droog beetles. Hatchling to sexual maturity in a day, laying ten eggs a day.
84	* FaceDeathWithDespair: In ''The Hunger,'' the dying expedition leader's final ApocalypticLog features her breaking down in tears, convinced that she's failed in every way that matters [[spoiler: in the knowledge that she's been reduced to feeding the children the bodies of the dead.]]
85	-->''May the stars forgive us...''
86	* FictionalDocument: Tash cites several of them at the bottom of ''Death in the Slave Pits of Lorrd''.
87	* FictionalSport: Tash looks back on playing speed globe with her friends on Alderaan. She still has the ball and it still works - when activated it speeds away from people - but she doesn't have a team anymore.
88	* FingerTwitchingRevival:
89	** Despite [[DisneyVillainDeath falling down a very very deep pit]] and being assumed dead, Gog eventually stirs, fingers twitching, and opens his eyes. He's fine in the next book.
90	** After being [[spoiler:killed by Gog, a headless Eppon's finger twitches]]. The narration states that it might be the wind. Then the novel ends.
91	** ''Body'' Twitching Revival in ''City of the Dead,'' where uncontrollable spasms serve as a RedRightHand for those who have been [[spoiler: reanimated by Dr. Evazan's serum.]] The end of the book suggests [[spoiler: Zak himself might have been reanimated]].
92	%%* FinishingEachOthersSentences: Tash does this a lot.
93	* TheForce: Being attacked in ''Eaten Alive'' triggers something in Tash, and never really leaves her.
94	--> She forgot about her fear. A warm tingle spread through her body. She imagined the energy field expanding, driving the shrieking creatures farther and farther away. As she did, the tingle in her body grew into a strong electric current, running from the top of her head down to her toes. For just an instant she felt a sense of connection with something larger than herself, larger even than the planet on which she stood.
95	* GeniusLoci: [[spoiler:D'Vouran is a living planet... one with an ''appetite.'']]
96	%%* GenderBender: [[spoiler: Karkas.]]
97	%%* GhostPlanet: Kiva.
98	* GoodShapeshiftingEvilShapeshifting: Uncle Hoole and Borborygmus Gog are both Shi'ido shapeshifters, but though their secretive natures both inspire mistrust in the Arranda siblings, their morality is ultimately revealed by how they use their powers. Hoole shapeshifts for utility and combat, almost never assumes the identity of another sentient being, and often wraps up each novel by [[BigDamnHeroes using his powers to rescue the Arrandas]]; for good measure, he prefers using relatively benign forms like Wookies. By contrast, Gog firmly establishes himself as a ShapeshiftingTrickster by constantly assuming pre-existing identities, playing his enemies against each other rather than getting directly involved in the conflict.
99	* GooglingTheNewAcquaintance: Tash meets a man [[YouHaveToBelieveMe who everyone agrees is crazy]]. She's told he's the sole survivor of a ComingInHot situation, his mind snapped, and if he leaves [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace D'vouran]] he'll be apprehended by the authorities. She accesses the Holonet to look up records on him and finds that they match what she's been told, but notices a program attached to the records that alerts someone that she's accessed them, and naturally Tash finds this suspicious.
100	* GreaterScopeVillain: The Emperor only appears once, in the VillainOpeningScene of ''Planet Plague''. Gog is cowed at the transmission of him.
101	--> He [Gog] could order the deaths of hundreds if he wished. With his terrible knowledge he could engineer nightmares. But as powerful as the scientist was, the Emperor could snuff him out with little more than a thought.
102	* HoldYourHippogriffs: Zak calls a somewhat deranged-seeming man "a few starships short of a fleet".
103	* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: Sometimes Tash can tell if someone really is good and trustworthy even if they're acting sketchy, and likes them without quite knowing why... but she also has no idea when someone helpful and friendly is out to get her. [[spoiler: Case in point, her relationship with [=ForceFlow=], who turns out to be a disguise for Gog.]]
104	* {{Humanshifter}}: Borborygmus Gog, like Hoole, is a Shi'ido and can assume all kinds of shapes, but aside from his ShapeshifterSwanSong he seems to prefer humanoids and identity theft.
105	* HowDoIShotWeb: Tash was never given instruction on TheForce.
106	* IconicOutfit: On the cover of ''The Swarm'', Captain Thrawn is wearing [[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/File:TheSwarmCover.jpg his white Grand Admiral outfit]], despite only being a Captain at this point.
107	* IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace: D'vouran, a planet that [[spoiler:eats people]] and Necropolis, a planet with [[spoiler:zombies]].
108	%%* IKnowWhatYouFear: The Nightmare Machine.
109	* IJustWantToBeSpecial: Tash idolizes the Jedi and wants to be one of them; however, during a visit to Tatooine, the enlightenment offered by the B'Omarr Order also fascinates her, to the point that she even considers becoming one after she learns some of their special techniques. Unfortunately, this results in her becoming an easy mark for a criminal in their ranks.
110	* KarmicDeath:
111	** [[spoiler:Vroon killed by the drog beetles he worshiped.]]
112	** [[spoiler: Gog killed by the wraiths of people he slaughtered en-mass.]]
113	* LifeEnergy: One of Gog's interests.
114	* MadScientist: Borborygmus Gog and [[spoiler:Mammon Hoole]].
115	* MasterPoisoner: In ''City of the Dead'', a handful of swallowed cryptberries will kill someone almost instantly. After doing this to one twelve-year-old boy, the better to [[TestedOnHumans test his zombification serum]], Dr. Evazan injects another with ''diluted'' cryptberry, which puts him into a deathlike coma for long enough that he can [[AttendingYourOwnFuneral have a funeral]] and be BuriedAlive.
116	* ManEatingPlant:
117	** The alleth plant in ''Spore'' is more like the carnivorous plants of Earth than most instances of this trope. No mouths, no sounds, they usually don't move much, and the insides of their leaves are bright red. A sproutling will sting a hand that touches it, and grown samples are large enough to kill and eat small rodents. Scary! [[spoiler: Don't worry, there are [[WhenTreesAttack more fantastical]] dangerous plants later in the book.]]
118	** The meat flowers of Dagobah in ''The Hunger'' have toothy petals and bite passersby, though if they've been fed they will only bite if bothered.
119	* MeaningfulName:
120	** Gog and Mammon are names from Literature/TheBible often associated with evil people or demons. [[spoiler: However, it actually turns out that Mammon Hoole is an otherwise decent guy who simply failed to stop a tragedy.]]
121	** Eppon's PokemonSpeak ("Eppon!") [[spoiler:is merely stating his purpose: ''Weapon''.]]
122	** The planet D'vouran; say it aloud and what does it sound like? [[spoiler: The planet devours people standing on it.]]
123	* MoreThanMeetsTheEye: Luke says he knew Tash was this, to her pleasure.
124	* MuggingTheMonster: In ''The Brain Spiders,'' [[spoiler: Grimpen]] makes the mistake of trying to use Hoole as a donor body in his brain-switching operations, clearly not knowing about his ability to shapeshift. He isn't even concerned when Hoole wakes up on the operating table... right up until the "victim" shapeshifts out of the restraints and goes on the offensive.
125	* MythologyGag: More than what would reasonably expected for a kids horror series. Thrawn and Jerec show up in different books.
126	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: Karkas. See, it sounds like "carcass".
127	* {{Necromancer}}: The legendary Sycorax. In a sense, [[spoiler: Dr. Evazan]].
128	* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: Tash and Zak are kids from ''Alderaan''. The fact that they never got a chance to say goodbye to their parents weighs on both of them, but particularly Zak.
129	%%* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Pretty much word for word.
130	* NoPartyLikeADonnerParty: In "The Hunger," it's revealed that [[spoiler: an ill-fated expedition to Dagobah survived long enough to produce numerous children... but didn't have the provisions to feed all of them. In the end, the explorers only guaranteed the survival of the children by feeding them the bodies of the dead.]]
131	* NostalgiaFilter: In-universe, this is why [[spoiler: The children of the exploration team that crashed on Dagobah]] don't realize that [[spoiler: it's wrong ToServeMan]] until shown otherwise by [[spoiler: Zak Arranda]].
132	* NotMeThisTime: In ''Ghost Of The Jedi,'' Dannik Jerriko - an Anzati SerialKiller and part-time bounty hunter - is left in the awkward position of trying to explain that he isn't actually responsible for the deaths that are occurring on Nespis VIII, even though they technically fit his modus operandi. Also, when he's caught murdering an Imperial assassin that was sent after Zak and Tash, things only get even more awkward.
133	* NotNowKiddo: Initially, Hoole will usually respond to warnings from the twins with polite dismissal. As time goes on and he learns to trust in his niece and nephew, he learns to avoid doing this.
134	* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Hoole is normally a stoic and level-headed professional. As such, when he attempts to downplay the situation by trying to crack a joke, it's a good indication that the situation has him more worried than he's prepared to let on.
135	** Lando also pretty well describes this trope, telling the kids that if someone's acting out of character they'd better pause and pay attention.
136	* OrphansOrdeal: Hoole is not a very good primary guardian at first. Tendency to be distant and refusal to talk about himself aside, he drags the children along on his work across the galaxy, not telling them what he's doing and becoming irritable when they demand to know where they're headed. He warms eventually, but by then they're wanted by TheEmpire and on the run. Inevitably they end up wandering into hazardous and terrifying situations.
137	* PapaWolf: Initially rather distant, Hoole gradually becomes a more devoted guardian to the kids, and it becomes increasingly common for him to swoop in to deliver a shapeshifting smackdown to whatever threat might have tried to hurt them.
138	* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Tash has abandonment issues and knows it. Her parents left her and her brother in the care of strangers and died; whenever Uncle Hoole leaves her and Zak to go do whatever, she becomes antsy and anxious.
139	* PlotRelevantAgeUp: [[spoiler: As he eats people Eppon grows up ''very'' rapidly.]]
140	* PokemonSpeak: "Eppon! Eppon!" That's all the odd baby Zak and Tash take to says, so that's what they call him.
141	* PrecautionaryCorpseDisposal: The planet Necropolis is said to be {{Curse}}d by an ancient {{Necromancer}}, forcing people to pay DueToTheDead or suffer [[ZombieApocalypse their vengeful return]], so they have massive gated cemetaries and rigid burial customs. Zombies do start to show up when outsiders trespass on the cemetery, due to [[spoiler:a MadDoctor experimenting with a "[[ImmortalitySeeker cure for death]]".]]
142	* PrecociousCrush: Tash, who is thirteen, towards Luke, who is nineteen or twenty. Tash would argue that [[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend she has outgrown crushes]], she's just fascinated by his Jedi connections, but it certainly ''looks'' like a crush, being bold around most people but shy around him and feeling tingly when he shakes her hand.
143	--> Something about him made her feel strange. Not "strange" like the crushes she'd had on boys back on Alderaan - [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial she had outgrown crushes anyway]]. This was a sense of... relief. Tash felt as if she'd been waiting to meet someone like Luke Skywalker all her life.
144	** Later:
145	--> He winked at Tash, and she felt the Force flow between them, just as she had during their first meeting. It was a warm, electric tingle, as though she were on one end of a wire with Luke at the other. Together, they made a connection.
146	* PseudoCrisis: Constantly. If a chapter end isn't a real cliffhanger, it's this.
147	* PunnyName: The [[AC: Don't Go Inn]] on D'vouran. [[spoiler:And of course, D'Vouran itself.]]
148	* PutOnABus: DV-9 leaves after ''Army of Terror'' and takes a less stressful stationary research position. Hoole has fully defrosted and come to care about Tash and Zak, so DV-9's reluctant, dutiful caretaker functions aren't required. He's BackForTheFinale in the final book, but only long enough to provide them with the coordinates of a planet where he thinks they can hide out from the Empire for a while: Dagobah.
149	* QuicksandSucks: ''Eaten Alive'', though it's not ''quicksand'', exactly. [[spoiler: It's the living planet sucking people down.]]
150	* TheScapegoat: The Emperor and Gog made [[spoiler:Mammon Hoole]] the scapegoat for the destruction of Kiva. [[spoiler:Hoole]] did start the experiment, but Gog was the one who told him that the experiment was safe when he knew that it would kill everyone on the planet.
151	%%* ScarecrowSolution: [[spoiler: In ''Ghost of the Jedi''.]]
152	%%* ScarsAreForever: Even for droids, apparently.
153	* ShapeshifterDefaultForm: Shi'ido have these. Hoole suggests that having his own form and identity keeps him from a ShapeshifterIdentityCrisis.
154	* SharePhrase: Tash has a bad feeling about this. Lampshaded by her brother at the start of the series, who scornfully says she always has bad feelings. By the end of the series he's started having them himself.
155	%%* SiblingYinYang: Tash and Zak, a little.
156	* ShoutOut:
157	** The ''Don'tGoInn'' is a reference to Creator/TerryPratchett's vampire count, who calls his lair on the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' '''Don'tGoNearThe Castle'''.
158	** The phrase "MoreThanMeetsTheEye" is used on three separate occasions. Combined with Project ''Starscream'' being the brainchild of a scientist who's [[TheStarscream planning to backstab his overseer]] Darth Vader and take his place, both are almost certainly a {{Franchise/Transformers}} reference.
159	** "[[Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey I'm afraid I can't do that, Zak.]]"
160	* ShoutOutToShakespeare: The history/mythology of Necropolis involves a witch named [[Theatre/TheTempest Sycorax]].
161	* SpaceshipSlingshotStunt: Han uses one to escape the GeniusLoci, [[LampshadeHanging calling it "the oldest trick in the manual."]]
162	* SpiderSense: Tash is Force-Sensitive. She knows when she's BeingWatched.
163	* SpookySilentLibrary: ''Ghost of the Jedi'' has one of these, stocked with books that are dangerous to touch.
164	* StrangerSafety: Force-Sensitive Tash Arranda gets feelings around some people. Some of the people she meets, she just feels like she can trust, though sometimes she has to struggle with whether she should or not since some of them appear sketchy. Most of these people are the [[HeroOfAnotherStory Heroes of Other Stories]], like the Heroes of Yavin, Wedge Antilles, Lando Calrissian et cetera. It gets to the point where her companions just sort of shrug and assume anyone she likes will be helpful and valorous. However, she can't always sense if someone ''isn't'' trustworthy, so if they are a BitchInSheepsClothing she will [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter assume the best]], which her companions ''also'' fall afoul of.
165	* StylisticSuck: ''Death in the Slave Pits of Lorrd'' contains some drawings by Tash of some of the people and things they find. They look like they've been scribbled with colored pencil. Well, she ''is'' thirteen and never stated to have an interest in art.
166	* TheSwarm: The beetles in, well, ''The Swarm''.
167	* TaeKwonDoor In ''The Doomsday Ship'' the doors are science-fiction things that slide open, and when Dash starts to pass through a doorway [[spoiler: SIM slams it shut]]
168	* TakingOverTheTown: The planet Ghobindi is found to be blockaded, with only Imperial ships able to come in or go out. There's only one settlement there, clustered around an elaborate medical clinic. The Empire is actually [[spoiler: testing TheVirus on it.]]
169	* TitleDrop: ''Eaten Alive'' has this.
170	--> "Aaiiiiii!" the Gank screamed. It was terrifying to hear that sound come from the battle-scarred thug. "It's hurting me! It's hurting me!" His eyes were alive with terror. "I'm being eaten alive!"
171	%%* ThinkNothingOfIt
172	* TomatoInTheMirror: In ''Clones'', some characters wonder if they are actually clones. In ''City of the Dead'', Zak may or may not be an intelligent zombie now.
173	* ToServeMan: [[spoiler: The natives in ''The Hunger'', the planet D'vouran in ''Eaten Alive'', and Eppon in ''Army of Terror''.]]
174	* TykeBomb: [[spoiler:Eppon was designed to start off in baby form, the better to be underestimated and taken in.]]
175	* UndeadChild: [[spoiler: Kairn]] in ''City of the Dead'', who was killed for this very purpose.
176	* UnfinishedBusiness: The wraiths of the ravaged planet Kiva cannot find rest until they get revenge on the MadScientist who destroyed their world [[spoiler:Mammon Hoole]]. When they learn that [[spoiler:Gog was the one who deceived Hoole and allowed the experiment to go forward knowing it would destroy Kiva]], they pounce on their murderer as he screams for mercy. Only then do they vanish.
177	* VineTentacles: Vesuvagues are carnivorous trees that grab unfortunate passersby with their prehensile vines, wrap them up so they can't move, and then squeeze them to death.
178	* TheVirus: ''The Planet Plague'' and ''Spore'' have two very different applications of this. ''Planet Plague'''s seems like a relatively normal disease [[spoiler: until it turns its victims into {{Blob Monster}}s]], while Spore is a sentient hivemind that really wants new bodies.
179	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Nearly every book ends with a suggestion that the book's threat hasn't been entirely resolved - an anomalous planet appears, Zak displays the twitch the zombies had, Gog has a new deadly virus, Gog survived his DisneyVillainDeath, [[spoiler: Eppon's body twitches]], some drog beetles got onto the hero's ship, [[spoiler: Spore can survive dormant in space and wait for someone to pick it up]], SIM has jumped into the holonet and is free to go elsewhere, Vader has clones of all the heroes and the quick-cloning tech. Except for Gog surviving a great fall, none of these come up again in the series. The quick-cloning tech is arguably a prequel to a more refined version used in Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy.
180	%%* YouAreNotAlone
181

Context Literature / GalaxyOfFear