Galaxy of Fear : City of the Dead Galaxy of Fear : City of the Dead is the second young reader ' s novel in the " Galaxy of Fear " series . Publisher ' s summary . Welcome to the city of the dead … " When Hoole , Tash , and Zak stop on Necropolis to look for a new starship , Zak immediately makes friends with the local kids . And he ' s willing to pull a crazy stunt — like going into the Necropolitan cemetery at midnight — just to prove he ' s as tough as they are . " " The cemetery is silent as death and full of white , wriggling boneworm s . And maybe Zak should have thought twice before accepting this dare . Just because the bodies are buried doesn ' t mean they ' re dead . " Plot summary . Aboard the " Millennium Falcon " , Zak Arranda awakens from a horrific nightmare in which he , in a version of his bedroom from Alderaan floating in space , witnesses the corpse of his mother outside his window , asking why he had " left [ them ] behind " . His cries awaken his sister , Tash , and startle Han Solo , Chewbacca and DV - 9 ( " Deevee " ) . The nightmare awakens a sense of survivor ' s guilt in Zak . At Hoole ' s insistence to find a new starship after the demise of the " Lightrunner " , the Arrandas and their uncle are dropped off by the Rebels on the planet Necropolis ( in real life , a Greek word meaning " City of the Dead " ) . The planet is noted for its massive cemetery , as well as their traditions and superstitions regarding proper treatment of the dead , which includes physical burial ( a practice stated by Deevee to have become outdated on many other worlds ) . Upon landing , the family is greeted by several Necropolitans dressed as mummies , although Zak is unnerved by this and shoves one of the greeters . They are introduced to the Master of Cerements , Pylum , as well as a Necropolitan named Kairn , who strikes up a quick friendship with Zak . The Arrandas are led to a local hostel , but are intercepted by the bounty hunter Boba Fett , who announces to the denizens of Necropolis that he is seeking out Dr . Evanzan , who is wanted in 12 systems for illegal medical practices and the torture of his victims , among other crimes . Fett is especially suspicious , as a former target he had eliminated on Necropolis had somehow revived , and believed that Evanzan was responsible for this reappearance . Pylum instead insists that , rather than Evanzan , the dead are rising due to a curse placed centuries ago on the inhabitants of the planet . Kairn explains that Necropolis had been home to a witch named Sycorax , who claimed to be a necromancer . The disbelieving people of the planet cruelly killed her son to force her to prove her power , but the loss instead caused the death of Sycorax herself . With her dying breath , she is said to have cursed the Necropolitans to observe the rites of the dead , or suffer their vengeful return . He also adds that the power of Sycorax was reputedly so great that it was possible , even from beyond the grave , for her to resurrect the dead loved ones of someone who visited her tomb . Zak is fascinated with the story , hoping to find a way to bring back his parents and apologize to them , but Tash disagrees with his belief in the possibility of the legends having any truth to them , and adamantly tells Zak they never left their parents behind . Zak suffers another nightmare , but is awakened in the middle of the night by Kairn and a group of local boys , who want Zak to join them . After climbing out of his room , Kairn informs Zak that he and the others want their new friend to prove his bravery by entering the cemetery of Necropolis , an action considered taboo as the cemetery is thought of as " sacred ground " . They want Zak to go to the center of the graveyard , to the Crypt of the Ancients , and stand on one of the graves , marking it with a knife to prove he had been there . To dismiss their belief that he is scared and to test the legends , Zak agrees to the dare , taking a glowrod for light and Kairn ' s cloak for warmth . Upon reaching the center of the cemetery and the Crypt , Zak implores Sycorax to return his parents to life , but he is met with silence in spite of his heartfelt pleas . As Zak goes on to complete the dare issued by his new friends , to his horror a corpse actually does rise from its grave and begins to attack him . After a second one also rises , Zak manages to flee from them , but becomes lost among the maze of headstones . He calls for help , and is answered by Kairn , but his shouts also attract Dr . Evanzan . Evanzan quickly grabs and poisons Kairn with cryptberries , a toxic fruit found in the cemetery . He attempts to do the same to Zak , but is prevented by Boba Fett , who tricks and executes the murdering criminal . The bounty hunter and Zak are found by Hoole , Tash , Pylum , and several of the Necropolitans , but Pylum is insistent that Evanzan and Kairn both be buried on Necropolis , against Boba Fett ' s inclination to take the body of Evanzan with him to collect his bounty . Fett agrees to it , but warns Pylum that if he cannot collect the bounty without a body , he will return . Zak tries to explain what he had seen , but is not believed by Tash or his uncle , and like the Necropolitans they assume Kairn ate the cryptberries on his own . The next day Kairn and Evazan are given funerals and buried in the Necropolitan cemetery . Afterward , Hoole and the Arrandas go to find a new starship . However , as Zak decides to look at a ship that is not yet ready for sale , he witnesses the same Dr . Evanzan who was killed the night before rush off the ship and escape . Once again , his accounts fall on deaf ears . He begins to think that perhaps the legends and his nightmares are affecting his mind , but Zak is alarmed to discover strips of dead flesh on his window from the night before , from a rotting corpse he had thought he ' d dreamed had tried to break into his room . He alerts Pylum , who tells Zak that he will send someone to him to discuss the matter . Despite this , Zak is waylaid by Tash , who has overheard part of a conversation between Hoole and Boba Fett , involving a " proposal " . She insists that they follow Fett to gain more information about the Shi ' ido , but , as they do , the siblings are separated . Tash is found by Boba Fett , and is coerced by him into revealing Zak ' s accounts of Evanzan ' s return . However , when Tash asks about her uncle , Fett will not tell her about their discussion , instructing her to mind her own business . As Zak continues on , to his shock , he runs into Kairn , who is alive despite looking sickly and sluggish . Kairn recognizes Zak and confirms that he had in fact been dead ; he agrees to show the astonished Zak the secret of his revival . Zak follows Kairn back to the cemetery and to Sycorax ' s tomb , hopeful now that the witch ' s power was real , but is horrified to learn that the truth is far more sinister : he is brought before the revived Dr . Evanzan , who orders Kairn to restrain Zak . Evanzan explains that he has developed a serum that can reanimated dead tissue , creating powerful zombies with superior strength , resistance to pain , and the penchant for obeying orders without question . The serum is activated once the corpse has been buried and exposed to boneworms , wormlike creatures that eat the bone marrow of bodies in the cemetery . The slime of the boneworms allows the serum to work , but a notable side effect is an uncontrollable twitch , and in the case of older corpses clumsiness and awkward movement . However , Evanzan proudly proclaims that with a fresh , minimally damaged corpse , his improved serum works far better , preserving the former memories of the body it ' s used on and allowing the zombie to speak , as seen with Kairn and himself . He intends to use Zak as his next subject , but without killing him : he injects Zak with both the serum and a diluted cryptberry juice to paralyze him , mimicking death . Zak awakens in a coffin at his own funeral ; after being gone for several hours , Deevee finds his " body " holding cryptberries , and it is assumed by all that he has actually poisoned himself . Despite his frantic efforts , Zak ' s body remains frozen , and he is buried in the Necropolitan cemetery . He begins to reminisce about his parents , and remembers his mother telling him that they will never be gone so long as Zak keeps them in his heart . As the boy realizes that he should have looked for them inside himself , Zak regains the ability to move , but this unfortunately happens as the boneworms begin to gnaw their way into his casket . Zak attempts to stop them , but is rescued by Deevee and Boba Fett . Having been sent by Hoole to pick up their purchased ship , Deevee was instead compelled to take the ship Zak had seen Evanzan on earlier : this turns out to have been Evanzan ' s own ship , " The Shroud . " Scanning the memory banks of the vehicle , a horrified Deevee realized what the doctor had been doing and that Zak had been buried alive . Surprised by Fett , Deevee convinced the bounty hunter to save Zak , as the boy knew where Evanzan was hiding and how he had returned from the dead . Tash , meanwhile , cannot shake the feeling that Zak would never have killed himself , and insists to Hoole that they investigate whether or not Evanzan is really dead . Surprisingly , Hoole agrees to exhume the body , against the laws of the planet . However , at the cemetery , they are attacked by a hoard of zombies , barely escaping with their lives . At the cemetery gate , they are met by an angry mob , led by Pylum , who demands that Tash and Hoole be punished for their desecration . They are dragged back into the cemetery , now devoid of zombies , and thrown into the Crypt of Ancients , followed by Pylum . Here , the Master of Cerements is revealed to have been Evanzan ' s partner , having become disillusioned by the legend of Sycorax once he ' d found the actual , frail corpse of the witch . He and Evanzan unleash the zombies on Hoole and Tash ; despite their efforts , they are outnumbered and soon captured . Fortunately , Boba Fett , Zak , and Deevee arrive ; Fett fights the zombies while Zak and Deevee , using the boneworm slime , are able to quickly concoct an antidote to the reanimation serum from Evanzan ' s own research . Evanzan attempts to stop them by sending Kairn over , but Zak manages to break through the doctor ' s mind control , getting Kairn to work with them to stop the zombies . Zak ' s friend takes the antidote and splashes it on each corpse , returning it to its original state as Fett holds them back . Kairn , unfortunately , is also splashed with the antidote as he takes down the last corpse , but Fett is able to take the very last of the liquid and use it on Evanzan , who dies for the final time . As they depart , they notice Pylum ' s own dead body at the foot of the stairs leading into the crypt ; although Hoole posits that the Master of Cerements had died trying to open the heavy tomb door and had slipped down the stairs , Deevee tells them the door had been open , leading Hoole to state that perhaps Sycorax did have some power after all to punish those who disrespected the dead . Hoole asks Fett whether he will accept the Shi ' ido ' s proposal ( the nature of which is yet unknown ) , but Fett leaves , telling Hoole that " only a fool would take that job " . The Arrandas and Hoole purchase " The Shroud " and , after reburying the dead and giving Necropolitans the antidote in case the reanimation serum was administered to others , Zak finally makes his peace with the memories of his parents , finding closure in what he has learned and experienced . Hoole insists on taking Zak to a medical facility , as it is unknown what the serum might have done to his nephew ' s body , but Zak laughs it off , telling Hoole that he ' s just fine . At the end , however , aboard their new starship , Zak ' s body gives an inexplicable twitch . Cover gallery . This is a gallery of the different cover variations of " Galaxy of Fear : City of the Dead " .