Army of Terror

Star Wars: Galaxy of Fear #6

by John Whitman

Journeying to the Outer Rim world of Kiva, Hoole, Tash, Zak, and Deevee come face-to-face with a horrifying new creature that represents the first soldier in Gog's Army of Terror. Original.

Genres: Star Wars, Science Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Childrens, Juvenile, Fantasy

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 1997

Reviews

[Branden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another excellent outing in this series! It felt like the conclusion to the first arc as well, which is nice. As cool as the Project Starscream storyline was, I don’t know it could’ve lasted another six books, so I’m glad we’re going to move onto something different - presumably - in book seven.

This was - by far - the darkest book in the series, and I loved it! We get out main Star Wars heroes making a return to the series, but playing a much bigger role, which was so much fun to see. Whitman writes them believably, as well, which is really important to someone who spends a lot of time with the franchise. The Force plays a big role here as well, and I love how they’re developing that across the series. It was interesting to see that Whitman didn’t really do his normal thing here, which is how he likes to rotate his main character. Typically, odd numbered books have Tash as the main POV, and even numbered are Zak. This book, though (#6), was again mostly from Tash’s POV. It makes sense, though, given what this story was about and how the last one played out.

This is just an excellent middle grade series. I was able to find book seven, but these are getting more expensive the later in the series I get, so I’m not sure how many more books I’ll be able to complete in the series, but I’m going to try to do as many as I can.

4.5 stars

[Graff Fuller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Star Wars: Legends: Galaxy of Fear 06 Army of Terror by John Whitman
adventurous reflective sad tense

Fast-paced

Plot or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0 Stars

I'm not having the most fun with Galaxy of Fear. One, it is geared to Middle Grade (Junior) readers, which I am not (being in my late 50s). I have a deep love for the franchise, and so far in this series...it has done an okay job of shoe-horning these stories in between the major events of the movies, but this was seemed "a poor entry" which only gets a by, by being not horrible.

I really enjoy Tasha and Kaz, and the brief times that we have our heroes (Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie) most of the time seem like a happy coincidence, unfortunately...this time just was meh to poor writing.

I am marching from the chronological beginning of the Extended Universe/Legends timeline, to the most recent. I just need to get through this series...to get the books that will actually inspire me, and make me feel good about Legends (which I love).

BTW, I also love what Disney/LucasFilm have recently been doing in the novels (less so in the movies...also a spotty record with the TV series). But the novels, especially The High Republic have been good (IMO).

Okay, now back to the grindstone, with Galaxy of Fear 07 The Brain Spiders. Ugh. Will this be better, or worse. We shall see.L

[Alyce Caswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Ben Briles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one gets four stars based PURELY on the fact that the monster on the cover is truly horrifying and has stuck with me since I was a small child. Coming back to the book as an adult, it has a telegraphed and tropey plot like all of the others in this series, but sometimes you're just gonna be in the mood for campy horror that also happens to take place in space.

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the culmination of the first story arc of this series. We learn more about Hoole's mysterious past, and we finally discover what project Starscream is all about.

I have a question. Why does John Whitman kill so many children.

So this book is pretty creepy and I think they do Okay with explaining how they get away from Vader.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

We now reach the end of this ripoff cycle as well as the end of the first arc of Galaxy of Fear. As noted before, it was only planned to be 6 books with this one storyline but it was popular enough that they made more. Thankfully they let the Project Starscream story end instead of stretching it out.

Anyway, we pick up soon from where we left off as the Empire is looking for the kids and Hoole. They have seemingly stopped Gog and his plan and end up on the Planet Kiva, which is seemingly deserted after its people were wiped out years ago. This seems like a fine hiding place but of course nothing as as it seems, plus Darth Vader might catch up to them.

As a finale to arc 1, it's pretty solid. There is plenty to nitpick, as with the series in general. This one highlights how silly it is that The Empire is being held back by actual children and all that. I get they have to do these important things but it is funny. While we get a lot of stuff in here, there isn't development between Tash and Zak. We get emotional stuff things are fine between them here and there's not much for them exactly.

I guess Brain Spiders gave them the chance to explore them more deeply than they could here, which is one positive to the series going on. It can seem plot-less at first, as it seems more like house cleaning at times. But as it goes on, things become clear and the plot has more to it.

I prefer the high concept ones but as it stands this does have plenty going for it. Luke, Leia, Han and Chewie show up here which does add enough to everything. The emotional element comes in with Hoole as they find out more about his past. It's pretty interesting and it does work. Nothing super amazing but it works to cap off his weird mystery.

Things tie nicely together and get pretty action-y. There's a side thing with a child they find and oh boy that went to a weird place. We also see the end product of Gog's project and is pretty wild. It also involves a solid body count with some dark stuff that was cool.

The ending generally works, although I do wish we had more of a wrapup. The final note works, it's the last bit with the heroes that feels a bit rushed. Still, it works fine as wrap up the Starscream stuff.

I can't say too much more with spoiling so there's that. Overall, this isn't my favorite in the series but it is pretty solid as a way to end the first arc. There's some good horror, action and story stuff that is mostly tightly done. You can pick at a few things but it's still a good package.

As for the first arc in general, it's good. It can get repetitive but I liked the different ideas for things for Gog to do. He was a fun villain and I liked what everything he did was leading to. It does feel like some of the lead in projects were bigger than what he was building to but I kinda get. He's an odd fellow, it's safe to say that.

It wasn't perfectly done but it was ambitious and John Whitman did a solid job here. I'm worried the rest series will just be filler stuff but Brian Spiders was quite good so here's hoping.

That's about it for this cycle. Next one should be in the summer, we'll see given I'm doing the camp thing again. Anyway, next read will be on Valentine's Day as we got a read I randomized. And oh boy it's interesting.

See ya then.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

Star Wars Legends Project #257

Background: Army of Terror was written by John Whitman and published in September 1997. It is the sixth in the Galaxy of Fear series, all written by Whitman.

Army of Terror takes place 8 months after the Battle of Yavin, picking up right where Ghost of the Jedi left off (my review). The main characters are Tash and Zak Arranda, their adoptive Uncle Hoole, and their droid caretaker, DV-9, plus the recurring villain Borborygmus Gog, and Darth Vader. There are also appearances by Luke, Han, Leia, Chewie, Artoo, and Threepio. Most of the story takes place on Kiva.

Summary: Still on the run from the Empire, Hoole and his wards race to the heart of Project Starscream to ensure that it has been completely destroyed. But they aren't the only ones on the planet . . . The Rebels are there as well, with the Empire hot on their heels. And there are other, even more sinister forces in play, as well, as Hoole's mysterious past returns to haunt them all. Project Starscream still has one last card to play, and the whole galaxy may end up with a losing hand.

Review: This really does feel like a fitting climax to everything the series has built up to this point. So much so that I even forgive them trotting out all the main movie heroes again for this big finale. I assume that this was the original planned end of the series, and its success was what led to further volumes, but I'm really happy they didn't keep dragging this particular arc out across several more books. This is a good conclusion.

I guess I don't want to say a whole lot more about it lest I spoil anything. I did accidentally spoil one major revelation for myself because Wookiepedia was a little too informative, but it was the sort of revelation that wouldn't have been that huge of a surprise by the time it was announced in-story anyway. Well, technically I also spoiled a second thing, but that's just because anytime a baby shows up in a story like this, I feel like as a parent I need to know right away how that's going to turn out so I can be mentally prepared. Not that I expect anything too traumatic from a YA series, but it's just purely reflexive.

Anyway, I was quite satisfied with the way this book tied up a lot of threads that have been dangling for multiple books now. I was satisfied with the level of thrills and chills. I was satisfied with the plot. Just really satisfactory all around, both as part of the series, and as a stand-alone story. I'm excited to see where the series goes from here . . . hopefully not straight into another multi-book arc. This one was fine, but I'd like to see something else.

B

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this series as a child. The characters of Tash, Zak, Uncle Hoole, and Deevee have stayed with me ever since.

I happened to track down a PDF copy of Army of Terror, the book I remembered most vividly, and reread it in an afternoon. The writing style is very juvenile, but I got used to it.

It was a nice trip down memory lane, and it reminded me of why I loved the series. This was its high point, when shit got real and consequences were felt. Hoole was my favorite character, and the revelation that he had worked with Gog on Project Starscream was electric. It was like when Tobias was revealed to be Elfangor's son in The Pretender, or when Edric started to get into the Dark Arts in The Enchanted Quest. Gnarly, man!

There are moments of tension-diffusing humor amid the body horror and mad scientist shenanigans. Characters from the movies make an appearance (as they often did throughout the series), and while it's just as hokey as I remember it being, I couldn't help but enjoy it now. It's Goosebumps-esque kiddie horror schlock, but it's damned good schlock.

Sigh... I wish the Disney movies had been like this.

[Noel Thingvall · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a culmination of the arc where are heroes are both fleeing from and investigating Doctor Gog and his Project Starscream, it's not bad. It's choppy, never quite has a scale to deserve the "army" of the title, but I like that everything unfolds in the midst of a clash between the classic heroes (Han, Leia, Luke, Chewie, etc) and their squad of rebels, with Vader and a squad of Storm Troopers. It adds a nice layer to the chaos, the unfolding reveal of the lab baby Eppon (which is a series of twists that's not hard to see coming, but is still adequately delivered), and finally uncovering and exploring the backstory of Uncle Hoole, and how he's tied to a vengeance-starved nest of shadows on a dead planet. It's as loose and brisk as Whitman's writing usually is, but it's exciting and entertaining, and never loses the focus of our lead kids despite everything flying around them. It's a perfectly fine finale to their series. Which is surprising given we're only halfway through their series, and I'm very curious to see what they build the next arc on.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Army of Terror brings to a conclusion the over-arching story that Whitman has been teasing since the second book. Each book up to (and including) this one has been about an experiment that an Imperial scientist has developed to take over the universe. Here, Zak and Tash stumble across the final experiment, which involves developing an army of ultra-strong warriors. Who the scientist is, and how he relates to them, is as surprising as the mystery itself.

Still, the mystery is self-evident. Anyone paying attention would know where the threat lies, and it's odd that Zak and Tash are oblivious to it, especially when you consider Tash's Force-sensitivity. Early in the book, I thought maybe Whitman was playing with the reader's expectations, and creating a red herring, but nope, what you see is what you get. I was a little disappointed, but it's my own fault; he hasn't taken that approach to a story thus far in the series, so I don't know why I would have thought he was starting here.

Whitman brings the larger story to a close here, which is odd since there are still six books left in the series. I'm curious to see how he approaches the final books. I wouldn't be surprised if he attempted another connection between the books, but since each book has still been an individual adventure, it would be better if he skipped that part all together. At least readers won't be distracted by their odd beginnings and endings.

[Alexandr Iscenco · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the part of the Galaxy of Fear trilogy, where some revelations about one of the protagonists are made. Although it was interesting to read about them, the revelations were still quite predictable. In addition, the actual manifestation of the Project Starscream turned out to be rather weak and somewhat disappointing.

[Matevž · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the previous two. At last we come to the disclosure of Hoole's past and see what was Gog up to. Also an all star rebel and imperial cast.

[S.J. Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoole's past comes to collect, and a familiar enemy returns...

I appreciate the depth to Hoole's story and the handful of twists that I didn't manage to see coming.

[Rocco Trapper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second worst of the series but still a good book

[Kai Charles(Fiction State Of Mind) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fast paced and had some great guest stars. The group travels to a planet that was once the home of deadly experiments. The kids also learn the full origin story of Uncle Hoole.

[Nate Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this book up at a used book store for nostalgia. It was a fun quick read, I’ll have to keep my eyes out for the rest of them.

[Jaime K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Everyone, including Vader, heads to Kiva, the headquarters of Project Starscream. The first hint of the planet's suspicious background is when Hoole gets angry that DV-9 tells the siblings about Kiva. A scientist named Mammon destroyed the inhabitants of the planet.

At first it doesn't seem like it had been less than 20 years between the accident and the current time (since it talks about Palpatine being Emperor), but that's later cleared - because it does fit in the proper timeframe.

Gog comes, the Rebels come and save the day, the kids & Deevee escape Vader and it's just a jumble of things that don't always make sense.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

The series is slowly getting better. This wrapped up the first story line, I just hope the next 6 books continue to improve.