Death Troopers: A Review by Misfitboy

Here is something very cool: a review of the Star Wars zombie book Death Troopers by my friend Misfitboy. I appreciate that he took the time to write this up! Enjoy.

A LONG, LONG, TIME AGO… IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY . . . George A. Romero and George Lucas intertwined like a bastardized Siamese twin. (Well, not really but if they did) the result would be STAR WARS – DEATH TROOPERS.

First off, I am a fan of the original Star Wars films but I have to admit, I was not a big enough fan to read all the books that followed the first 3 films. I first heard about this book on the Midnight Podcast and to be honest it didn’t really peak my interest much (big mistake on my part.) I read some reviews and a lot of people were saying “Oh, it’s not Star Wars, it’s too violent and gory for this type of book. Now that peaked my interest. So I was fortunate to stumble across the audio book. I was NOT disappointed! Zombies and Star Wars? I’m on board!

No Luke Skywalker or jedis in this book — as a matter of fact the only original characters in this book are Han Solo and his faithful sidekick Chewbacca. There are references to Darth Vader from time to time but that’s about it. My thoughts on that: “Who cares?” This book is a classic horror novel that peaks your interest around chapter 8, grips your ears and does not let go until the end! Anyway, the story.

2 teenage brothers, a female doctor, 2 smugglers and a sadistic imperial guard are on board the “Purge,” a prison vessel carrying the scum of the galaxy. It has thruster problems and is in need of desperate repairs. Out in space not far away is an abandoned star destroyer. A group is formed to board the vessel for much-needed parts for immediate repairs. There is no sign of life on board. While searching the vessel one soldier sees something on board but never gets the chance to tell anyone about it. Eventually on their return to the Purge it becomes clear that there was something on board, a deadly virus that the empire had been working on for some time that wiped out the entire crew of the destroyer. On their return to the purge, some of the men start coughing and become ill. Within hours the virus spreads throughout the ship infecting all species on board. Now, there is a slow build of characters at the beginning but that’s to be expected. Only a few are immune to the virus, and soon guards and prisoners start dying off quickly. The 2 teenage brothers are in a cell and are released by a guard who feels sorry for them due to their age. He dies shortly after. Dead bodies litter the ship, and it’s described in gruesome fashion at times. Eventually the bodies disappear. But not for long. The brothers make it to solitary confinement where they meet Han and Chewie. At this point death is just the beginning. The dead soldiers and prisoners come back to life hungry for flesh. And the battle for survival begins.

Now I don’t want to give too much away and ruin such a well-written story. But I will say the zombies in the book are like the ones in Land of the Dead. Eventually they start to learn, as in using weapons, climbing, etc. Don’t let this turn you off in any way! It really works for the book. Now my only problem with it is the end is a little weak, but when the dead eat people, it is described if full gory detail.

I really enjoyed this book. If you can find the audio book, it’s packed with great sound effects, ships soaring through space, blasters, etc. I would recommend the audio book with high ratings. It helps to picture a film inside your head and almost makes you feel like you’re on board with the survivors! So if I were to rate this from 1 to 10 I would have to give it a high 8. Thanks to Corey goes out (as always) for letting me ramble about one more little gem I came across. This is misfit boy and I’m out!