With his sister Tash and his Uncle Hoole, Zak lands on the planet Necropolis, where he hears constant talk of graves, witches, and cemeteries and finds evidence that the dead are coming back to life.

A visit to Hologram Fun World turns deadly when Tash and Zak discover that the Nightmare Machine--a game that scans the brain for nightmares then reveals them in holographic form--is part of a larger plot to take over the galaxy.

Having landed at the evil scientist Gog's headquarters on the deserted planet Kiva to make sure that his Project Starscream has been destroyed, Zak and Tash find strange shadow creatures and hidden danger.

Zak Arranda and his family are swarmed by beetles on the planet Sk'rrr when Zak accidentally kills one of the batlike creatures called shreevs and sends the whole ecosystem out of balance.

Zak and Tash ignore the meltdown warning and decide to stay aboard the luxury space yacht, until all the doors of the ship suddenly lock, and they find themselves trapped inside and must devise a plan to get free.