phungus's Full Review: Joe Schreiber - Star Wars: Death Troopers
I am a sucker for all things Star Wars, even if about half the books I've read weren't all that great. When I heard about this new Star Wars novel, Death Troopers, I was too intrigued to pass it up. This is perhaps the first horror novel set in the Star Wars universe, and it features a couple of familiar characters. It's definitely the goriest Star Wars book I've ever read. I liked it, but some fans are going to be turned off by this one.
The story takes place on a giant prison transport called Purge. The ship starts having mechanical problems and winds up broken down and floating through space. When they make contact with an Imperial Star Destroyer, they connect with the ship in the hopes of finding what they need to repair the Purge and be on their way. Things start getting weird when scanners only report a handful of life forms on board the Star Destroyer. You'd think a ship that big would need a lot more people to run it.
When the Purge finally docks with the Star Destroyer, the prisoner transport unleashes a virus on board that turns its victims into maniacal, flesh-eating killers. Although the Z-word is never used, at least not that I recall, the virus turns people into zombies. What happens next involves a handful of survivors trying to find a way out of the ship before the infected get to them, and there's a lot of in-fighting going on at the same time.
The main characters in this are two brothers who are already at odds with another inmate, so there's sort of a gang war going on. The author spends some time building up the tension between them, then all hell breaks loose and it gets even more complicated. A couple of familiar characters from the Star Wars universe also appear and take on substantial supporting roles, so that was kind of fun. There's a little bit of character development, but it's new characters so you probably won't care that much.
I can see a lot of Star Wars fans not liking this book. There are no Jedi and the whole thing really isn't Star Wars except in name alone. If it weren't for the fact that one ship was a Star Destroyer or that a couple of well-known characters are in it, this book could have just been a science fiction horror novel about zombies in space. Adapting it to the Star Wars universe would not have taken much effort, and I wonder if maybe that's how it developed.
This book reminded me a lot of the recent movie Pandorum, which was a little sci-fi gem that fell under the radar and didn't do too well at the box office. There are some similarities, although this book was published about the same time that the movie came out. It's very unlikely that either writer lifted from the other, but it's an interesting coincidence.
This was written by Joe Schreiber, who previously wrote a few other thrillers, but nothing in the Star Wars universe. According to what I read online about him, he works as an MRI tech. I suppose writing is his side job. That's kind of sad to think you can get something published that becomes an official part of the Star Wars canon, but you still have to work a day job to support yourself.
Death Troopers was published in October 2009 and is currently available in hardcover and audiobook. I recommend it more for horror fans than Star Wars fans, and it is probably too rough for younger readers.
A deadly virus turns its victims into the vicious undead when an Imperial prison barge breaks down in deep space with its load of prisoners--criminals...More at Buy.com
General Fiction - When the Imperial prison barge Purge temporary home to five hundred of the galaxy s most ruthless killers, rebels, scoundrels, and t...More at Barnes and Noble
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