The Hunger (Star Wars: Galaxy of Fear, #12) (2024)

Pretty good! Definitely the strongest of the second half of the series I think. Some really groan-worthy movie callbacks, but if you were writing a middle grade Star Wars novel in the 90s, you'd probably do the same thing. I actually felt a sense of dread at some points too!

Star Wars Legends Project #270

Background: The Hunger was written by John Whitman and published in September 1998. It is the twelfth (and last) in the Galaxy of Fear series, all written by Whitman.

The Hunger takes place 1 year after the Battle of Yavin, shortly after Clones (my review). The main characters are Tash and Zak Arranda and their adoptive Uncle Hoole. There are major appearances by Platt Okeefe, Boba Fett, and Yoda. The story takes place on Koaan and Dagobah.

Summary: Determined to find the perfect place to hide out from the Empire, Hoole returns to the Galactic Research Academy and enlists the help of DV-9 to search the database and then delete his choice from the archive. Unfortunately, as he does so, a smuggler crew with the same idea steals his find. Threatening to expose them to the Empire, Hoole forces the smugglers to bring him and the Arrandas along to this remote planet: a forsaken, swampy place called Dagobah. When the ship crashes on arrival, the crew is at first grateful to receive unexpected help from the descendants of a Republic survey team who were stranded there decades earlier. But the group harbors a dark secret that may doom all of the new arrivals to a fate worse than death.

Review: This ending is a bit bittersweet. Although Galaxy of Fear could be uneven at times and certainly wasn't my favorite series, I have become attached to the characters. And I'm sad to see that, despite ending at a point where they have huge potential for future appearances, no one considered them a resource worth tapping in the remainder of the Expanded Universe. This series was being published concurrently with the Young Jedi Knights series, and it would have been great to see Tash Arranda (in her mid-30s) as a small presence at the Jedi Academy, or failing that, to give her some kind of passing mention during the New Jedi Order. There are definitely shades of what Jaina Solo would later become, and it would have been great to see that developed more. Alas, this is the end of the road.

That aside, this is a very strong conclusion, maybe the closest this series has come to actual genuine horror. There are parts of this book, or at least implications within it, that are legitimately stomach-turning. I like that Tash gets to encounter Yoda, and in general he was used really well here (I was a bit skeptical about that, going in). I wasn't sure for a bit there that this second half of the series really justified its existence, but there are some solid entries in it after all, and this is one. Way to end things on a high-note.

B-

A disappointing end to the series. The Galaxy of Fear series has been pretty good considering they are youth novels, but I'm not sure how this story made it past the editors. While it was written just as well as the others, the topic was simply disgusting. The epilogue at the end was a bit of a let down as well, since there's no real closure as to what happens to these characters in the long term.

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.

Well, my hope for the series to end on a strong note was dashed. This final book takes us to Dagobah, where we (of course) meet Yoda, and even have a run-in with Boba Fett while we're at it. I don't think that's a spoiler, though, since the two characters are featured on the cover of the book. This time around, Zak and Tash have to survive in the harsh jungle setting of Dagobah, while Tash finally gets a chance to understand her Force sensitivity.

I've like the way the books go back and forth between Zak and Tash being the heroes of the books. They even work together in some books to solve the mysteries, and I like that the stories give readers different people with whom to identify. Plus, it was nice to see DV-9 return, since his character development was interesting in the first six books. I'm not quite sure why Whitman decided to take him out of the story, but if anything indicated this was the last book in the series, Deevee's return was it.

It's funny to think that I started reading this series three days ago, and have finished all twelve of them in that time. I guess it helps that I was on vacation at the time, and the stories were short and easy to read. I wouldn't be opposed to reading more of Whitman's work in the Expanded Universe, but it looks like these are the only books he wrote for the license. Oh, well.

The final entry in Galaxy of Fear isn't awful, but I found it immensely underwhelming. Maybe that's on me, as the various loose threads at the end of previous books had me convinced that Whitman was going to pull everything together in an intricate, dazzling finale. What we got is...fine. Business as usual for the Arrandas, but no grand sendoff. Spooky times on Dagobah.

At least, as a Game Master, all the loose ends give me some potential plot hooks...

A rather good and surprisingly peaceful conclusion to the entire Galaxy of Fear series. Even though one can already guess what is happening in the story already in the middle of it, there is still a good level of mystery and suspense regarding how would it all play out in the end. And although there is no proper conclusion to the overall journey of the protagonists, the author has hinted to a more or less satisfactory fate for the adventurous children and their uncle.

The Galaxy of Fear series may no longer be canon as of the 2014 reboot, but I think the stories are still worthwhile (and could more easily be reintegrated than most). Galaxy of Fear is good children's horror, I think. This particular book has some interesting ideas, and uses the concept of toxic nostalgia to great effect.

I was in second grade when I first read this book.

Hate the twist ending. Star Wars (especially Disney canon, which I realize this is obviously not) has a huge problem with acknowledging that characters can be smart, capable, talented, and interesting without every damn one needing to be Force-sensitive, and this is unfortunately a great example of that.

And so the series ends. Im sad to see them go. I wish we had more of these characters in future books, but unfortunately that just didn't happen. This is perhaps not the most exciting book in the series but it's a fun pleasurable red none the less.

Better than the previous version, but again the same recipe. Good for an easy read.

This was a mediocre end to the GOF subseries. Its saving grace was that it really showed how we are all shaped by our past circ*mstances and that teaching others (instead of fearing or hating them) is the only way in which we can all be stronger (and healthier) denizens of the world. Of the galaxy.

Tash, Zak, and Hoole hope to find an uninhabited planet, discovered by surveyors but not really known. Then some smugglers break into records and take the trio with them. That was utterly ridiculous. Fett follows them to Dagobah, there are cannibal youngsters, and Yoda teaches both children different (yet similar) lessons.

Fett was the best written, IMO.

This, the last of the Galaxy of Fear novels, has always been my favorite. I remember how horrified I was the first time I realized what the Children were hungry for. Excellent stuff. I wish the series hadn't ended here.