Over the last 20 years or so, about a million different Star Wars books have been written. The've covered everything from thousands of years before Episode IV: A New Hope to well over a hundred years after the film and everywhere in between. The books have been written in many genres such as action, adventure, comedy, young teen novels, etc. Recently a three part series came out that was sort of in the vein of the noir crime novel genre. But never, ever, in all these years has a single Star Wars book come out that was written to be a horror story.
That is, until now.
Deathtroopers is an upcoming novel by author Joe Schreiber that will be the very first book to ever mix elements of the Star Wars universe with horror stories like those you'd find in monster movies or slasher flicks. Think of it like Star Wars meets Alien or Friday the 13th or something like that.
Details of the book's story are sketchy at best right now. The only things I could find out were that the book will take place right before Episode IV, it comes out this year on October 27th (just in time for Halloween), and it's supposed to be pretty bloody and violent. I have no idea what the plot of the book will be.
I can't say that I've ever heard of the author Joe Shreiber either, so I looked him up too. It turns out he's a horror writer who's previous works include the novels Chase The Dead and Eat The Dark. His books seem to be fairly well regarded based on the reviews from people on amazon.com, but other than that I can't really judge the guy because I've never read any of his previous works.
Personally, I find this move suprising but at the same time I am hopeful that the book will be good. As a fan of Star Wars, sci-fi in general and horror films, I can't help but enjoy the prospect of a really good sci-fi horror tale set in the Star Wars universe. Also, speaking as a fan who has longed for Star Wars stories to branch off from always being PG rated tales meant for general audiences into darker stories that focus on the seedier side of the galaxy, I for one am really hopeful that this is the beginning of a new trend for the expanded universe. If this sells well and is well regarded by fans, maybe Lucasfilm and the Lucasbooks company will realize there is a strong market for adult centered Star Wars tales that focus on darker topics that the kids and family based books don't cover.
Just imagine a Star Wars book that really delves into the evils that a person who has fallen to the dark side commits. What falling to the dark side truly means and how it changes a person. Speaking as an adult fan, that is the stuff I want to read. I enjoy a cheery and happy story where the Jedi always win just as much as the next guy does, but I also want to see stories that focus on the opposite end of that spectrum . . . . . . where evil wins or good is corrupted. It's time that the Star Wars universe grew up a little bit to appeal to the wants and needs of its grown up fanbase. Hopefully, this new novel will be the first step in that direction. Sure, the name of the book is kind of stupid, but the cover art is wicked cool. I can't wait to read this one.
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