The story is about a young kid and his brother heading towards a penal planet on an Imperial prison barge.  Seems that they and their father were small time grifters that the Empire is tired of dealing with.  The vessel is a flying haven for all kinds of scum and villainy (sorry couldn’t help myself) representing the races we are familiar with.  And yes there are even Wookies!  Because of a mechanical malfunction they loose their thrusters, but luckily find an abandoned Star Destroyer they can scavenge parts from.  But they bring more then just parts back as a sickness takes hold and prisoners and guards start dying.  Before you can say “Han shoots first!” most everyone is dead and those left alive (including the two brothers) find that the bodies of the dead get back up and are kind of hungry.  Time to use some blasters on the undead…

This is a pretty typical zombie story where we follow a group of survivors trapped in an enclosed space with hordes of the undead.  Though instead of a farmhouse or underground medical facility this time it is a Star Destroyer.  I have to say that the first third of the book is pretty interesting.  The characters are interesting and there is some foreboding and atmosphere built in finding the abandoned ship in space.  This part of the book I was really getting into.  Then suddenly it went right to hell…

After creating all the new characters the author decides to inject (or maybe in his defense it was required) a couple of familiar characters from the franchise.  I won’t spoil who it is because I think it is supposed to be a surprise.  I mean they aren’t mentioned or portrayed on the cover so that is my guess.  Anyway after they are added to the story the other characters begin to take a backseat to them.  The story of the brothers was just starting to build some momentum when it suddenly just stops (literally for one of them!).  Not only is that bad but I grew up watching and reading other books that featured these characters (again trying to be careful to not spoil it) and the author just doesn’t capture them.  You need to be on your “A” game when writing for such beloved and well-known members of the franchise.  He just doesn’t get it done. 

Now if this weren’t bad enough the book’s ending leaves a lot to be desired.  The story is rolling along and then as if the author had run out of ideas they rush off to a ship and make a getaway.  Even a twist that I thought was going to require some kind of dogfight in space doesn’t pan out.  Oh and don’t be fooled like I was with the size of the book.  A big chunk of the “novel” is a generic discussion about the other novels that have been written about the Star Wars universe, as well as a preview of another book.  The zombie story takes up just a bit more then ½ the pages . 

Star Wars Death Troopers started out with such promise but ended up disappointing.  I can’t recommend this one as either a Zombie or Star Wars fan. 

© Copyright 2011 John Shatzer