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A review by jaredkwheeler
Eaten Alive by John Whitman
3.0
Star Wars Legends Project #249
Background: Eaten Alive was written by [a:John Whitman|5782|John Whitman|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and published in January of 1997. This is the first of the Galaxy of Fear series, all written by Whitman. In addition he wrote about a dozen other Star Wars books for kids.
Eaten Alive takes place 6 months after the Battle of Yavin. The main characters are Tash and Zak Arranda, their adoptive Uncle Hoole, and their droid caretaker, DV-9. There are also brief appearances by Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Darth Vader. Most of the story takes place on the planet D'vouran.
Summary: It's been 6 months since Zak and Tash Arranda's lives were turned upside-down by the loss of their parents when their planet was destroyed. Now they travel the galaxy with their anthropologist uncle, whose latest expedition takes them to the newly-discovered planet D'vouran, a seeming paradise inhabited by hospitable natives and a brand new colony of off-worlders. Tash has a terrible feeling about the whole place, but everything seems fine . . . until a Hutt gangster from her uncle's past appears with an offer he thinks they won't be able to refuse. But according to the wild-eyed warnings of a half-crazed ship captain who was among the first off-worlders to discover D'vouran, murderous criminals are the least of everyone's worries.
Review: I won't say my expectations were necessarily low for this book. I've certainly enjoyed some Star Wars YA series in the past, though they can be hit-or-miss and have to be appreciated on their own terms. But everything about this series concept sounds like a marketing ploy to ride the lucrative Goosebumps wave (which I never caught), so I was definitely uncertain.
For the most part, this was a pleasant surprise. The characters are likable and the story never drags. Calling the planet "D'vouran" was pretty on-the-nose, but the book is already called Eaten Alive so it's not like the direction the story is going is supposed to be a big surprise. The book strikes a good balance of thrills and chills without tipping over into traumatically scary. Still, the situations are legitimately more frightening than those faced by the usual Star Wars YA protagonist . . . who also, come to think of it, tend to be Jedi.
Actually, that's another nice change of pace. Tash Arranda, the book broadly hints, is definitely Force-sensitive, and I expect that to be a recurring plot element. But she's not a Jedi and doesn't have any of that skill set that would likely make it never feel like the characters are in serious danger. In general, those kinds of details, which might normally annoy me, didn't bother me here. Of course there's a character who's Force-sensitive. Of course the main characters are from Alderaan. Of course the main heroes put in an appearance out of nowhere. Actually, as far as that goes, I really enjoyed that brief cameo. It didn't overwhelm the story, it just felt like when you're watching a spin-off show and they launch it with the characters from the main show doing a walk-through in the first episode.
The one detail that really bothered me is that Tash and Zak's uncle is a Shi'ido, which is an alien shapeshifter. They handwave that by saying he's an uncle "by marriage." No idea how that's supposed to work, but it's obviously not important. The main thing is, he's not a shape-shifter in any reasonable sense of the term. He can literally morph into anything and gain special abilities accordingly. He can turn into a little rodent and weigh next to nothing or squeeze through small spaces. He can turn into a muscular Wookiee and gain super-strength. Like . . . what on earth. But once you accept that as a plot device, it's not overused or abused to resolve every conflict. It's silly, but it's fine.
This could very well end up being a good series, definitely worth checking out.
C
Background: Eaten Alive was written by [a:John Whitman|5782|John Whitman|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and published in January of 1997. This is the first of the Galaxy of Fear series, all written by Whitman. In addition he wrote about a dozen other Star Wars books for kids.
Eaten Alive takes place 6 months after the Battle of Yavin. The main characters are Tash and Zak Arranda, their adoptive Uncle Hoole, and their droid caretaker, DV-9. There are also brief appearances by Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Darth Vader. Most of the story takes place on the planet D'vouran.
Summary: It's been 6 months since Zak and Tash Arranda's lives were turned upside-down by the loss of their parents when their planet was destroyed. Now they travel the galaxy with their anthropologist uncle, whose latest expedition takes them to the newly-discovered planet D'vouran, a seeming paradise inhabited by hospitable natives and a brand new colony of off-worlders. Tash has a terrible feeling about the whole place, but everything seems fine . . . until a Hutt gangster from her uncle's past appears with an offer he thinks they won't be able to refuse. But according to the wild-eyed warnings of a half-crazed ship captain who was among the first off-worlders to discover D'vouran, murderous criminals are the least of everyone's worries.
Review: I won't say my expectations were necessarily low for this book. I've certainly enjoyed some Star Wars YA series in the past, though they can be hit-or-miss and have to be appreciated on their own terms. But everything about this series concept sounds like a marketing ploy to ride the lucrative Goosebumps wave (which I never caught), so I was definitely uncertain.
For the most part, this was a pleasant surprise. The characters are likable and the story never drags. Calling the planet "D'vouran" was pretty on-the-nose, but the book is already called Eaten Alive so it's not like the direction the story is going is supposed to be a big surprise. The book strikes a good balance of thrills and chills without tipping over into traumatically scary. Still, the situations are legitimately more frightening than those faced by the usual Star Wars YA protagonist . . . who also, come to think of it, tend to be Jedi.
Actually, that's another nice change of pace. Tash Arranda, the book broadly hints, is definitely Force-sensitive, and I expect that to be a recurring plot element. But she's not a Jedi and doesn't have any of that skill set that would likely make it never feel like the characters are in serious danger. In general, those kinds of details, which might normally annoy me, didn't bother me here. Of course there's a character who's Force-sensitive. Of course the main characters are from Alderaan. Of course the main heroes put in an appearance out of nowhere. Actually, as far as that goes, I really enjoyed that brief cameo. It didn't overwhelm the story, it just felt like when you're watching a spin-off show and they launch it with the characters from the main show doing a walk-through in the first episode.
The one detail that really bothered me is that Tash and Zak's uncle is a Shi'ido, which is an alien shapeshifter. They handwave that by saying he's an uncle "by marriage." No idea how that's supposed to work, but it's obviously not important. The main thing is, he's not a shape-shifter in any reasonable sense of the term. He can literally morph into anything and gain special abilities accordingly. He can turn into a little rodent and weigh next to nothing or squeeze through small spaces. He can turn into a muscular Wookiee and gain super-strength. Like . . . what on earth. But once you accept that as a plot device, it's not overused or abused to resolve every conflict. It's silly, but it's fine.
This could very well end up being a good series, definitely worth checking out.
C