Death Troopers - Book Review

“Whoever’s left alive, they’re already gone, they just left us here. We’re going to die in here, too.”

Joe Schreiber in his second Star Wars thriller, Death Troopers, provides the perfect balance of new and engaging characters along with beloved, familiar faces to create a novel that is fresh yet authentically Star Wars. Unlike Schreiber’s Red Harvest which was set in the time of the Old Republic and featured a new cast of characters, Death Troopers occurs shortly before the events of A New Hope. The inclusion of Han Solo and Chewbacca elevated the novel, as it not only made the terrifying events aboard the prison ship Purge more relevant in the greater Star Wars timeline, it also added depth to everyone’s favourite scoundrel.

Whether you are a fan of Han Solo and his lovable walking carpet Chewbacca, you cannot deny that he is one of the most complex and interesting Star Wars characters, whether you’re looking at canon or Legends material. The Han Solo of the Expanded Universe ultimately becomes a remarkable father figure for many, not just his biological children. Schreiber gives us some foreshadowing to this aspect of Han in Death Troopers via his interactions with the orphaned Trig Longo. The development of character relationships in this novel was without a doubt the most enjoyable aspect. Although the plot was fast paced and filled with action sequences, Death Troopers was ultimately highly character driven.

Schreiber, like many Star Wars authors before him, elected to tell his horror story from multiple points of view. While this is a bold tactic, which does not always equate with literary success, Schreiber really nails it on the head in this novel. Typically, writing from multiple perspectives results in a weaker storyline or subplot which fails to steadily hold the reader’s interest. However, readers will eagerly await the unfolding trauma and terror for all of the narrators. This in part is due to Schreiber’s ability to seamlessly weave the various plots together in a way that is distinct yet harmonious. The complex characters, especially Doctor Zahara Cody and prison guard Jared Sartoris were also a key factor in the success of Schreiber’s narrative, providing a balance of optimism and cynicism.

Despite the thoroughly admirable characters and pacing of Death Troopers, the premise for the story was ultimately somewhat redundant in nature. While the plague aboard the Purge was a biological weapon designed by the Empire in order to theoretically wipe out entire populations as opposed to the sickness introduced in Red Harvest the end results were too similar in my mind. Although Schreiber does not necessarily refer to the infected beings in either story as zombies, the victims exhibit many of the same characteristics: reanimated corpses who feed on the flesh of the living. However, the notion of a biological agent designed by the Empire felt far more fitting in the Star Wars universe than that introduced in his previous novel.

If you are on the hunt for a delicious combination of horror and the quintessential Star Wars adventure then Death Troopers is the book for you. Schrieber creates a near flawless mixture of unnerving and mysterious moments coupled with the emotional bonds and bravery that we have come to know and expect from Star Wars of any medium.