Death Troopers 1st (first) edition Text Only - Star Wars

I really enjoyed this book. It has just about everything I look for in a good read, suspense, action, horror,SciFi and a little humor. Its definitely not something I was expecting from a star wars novel but it was a great surprise. I loved how dark the content got as the story progressed. Definitely a great read and I would absolutely recommend this to anyone that's a star wars/SciFi horror fan its a great blend.

This was an interesting book. The story was really good, but it didn't seem to fit well into the Star Wars universe. I like horror but usually when I'm reading horror I'm not coming across the familiar names of the Star Wars universe. With the expanded Star Wars universe I usually try to conceptualize the events actually happening to the characters either before or after the movies.. this book is one that I can't imagine actually happening with any stretch of my imagination. Again, the book was good but the marketing side of me thinks that it's a horror story only wrapped into the Star Wars universe to sell it. George Lucas said that he originally came up with the movies for children "it's fun to make a movie for children." You don't want your children anywhere NEAR this story. It's classic zombie-land with blood and gore... again... I like zombie stories/movies but this book just didn't seem right to me. At times I'd have to remind myself that I was reading a Star Wars novel.

A decent zombie survival/horror novel, unnecessarily set in the Stars Wars universe. The elements from that universe appear to have been shoehorned into this novel, which was perfectly fine and could have stood alone without it. Quick read, and entertaining. Don't know about $7.99 worth of entertainment, but at half the price would be a bargain,

This book sucked. The fact that the author tried to make it better by putting Han Solo and Chewy in it...nah. Good try...but it still sucked. I don't care if it relates to other stories from the Old Republic time or whatever. It was a waste of whatever I paid for it on the Kindle. You can totally not read this and get by in the Star Wars universe. I can't believe I wasted money and two days of my life on this book. I can't believe I even finished it. The only thing that kept me from giving this only a 1 star was that Han Solo was in it and let's face it...Han is a BA! Otherwise...this book is only good for fire kindling while camping. Blah...I'm done talking about this.

I chose this rating because the book was perfect. The descriptions of everything helped you picture what was happening ,and made you feel like you were there. It was very suspenseful and very scary. I would recommend this to all star wars fans ,or anyone who wants to read a scary and well written book. I hope this book becomes a movie because it was great. 10 out of 10 would recommend

Being my first Star Wars book after growing up with Star Wars and only watching the movies, I thought this book was good. I think its a bit of a niche because it's more a zombie story and less Star Wars, but I do have to say it was a pretty good idea to have troopers as zombies. It also had parts where I was on edge. So yeah, it's a good book if you like Star Wars and zombies.

Not as intricate as some other Star Wars titles I've read and the horror aspect was not as pronounced as I would have thought. A quick read overall and adequate for reading enjoyment especially when someone special from the Star Wars universe makes an appearance.

I greatly enjoyed this book, well written and perfect for those who enjoy horror and sci-fi. When I first started reading I was very sceptical of the idea of Introducing zombies into the star wars universe, however I was very pleased with the outcome. Would highly recommend to anyone, the book is hard to put down!

story makes you feel attached to the characters then plays with your emotions as they expierience death, fear, and struggle for their lives. Thoroughly enjoyed it. one of the first books i've finished in a single day in a long time.

An amazing book. The author takes Star Wars to a very scary place. This book is actually an intense story. I have been listening to the audio book and would suggest that maybe some consider this version. The narrator is spot on with his voice acting and the special effects added make this feel like a drama. I want to go on and on but I also don't want to spoil it for anyone. If you are a fan of scary things and the original Star Wars films you will love this.

The "Death Troopers" mix the classic terror clichés to an amazing sci-fi story. The interaction between new characters and the classic duo formed by Han and Chewie was beautifully constructed. This book really worth every cent, and will to be put in the top 10 gallery of best star wars books.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a little suspensful which really helped me get hooked. Starts off getting to know some of the main characters which took me a couple days to get through. Once the other star destroyer was found and people started acting weird, I read the rest of the book in one day.

Stunningly; Schreiber has managed to introduse zombies to the Expanded Universe in a way that leaves no doubt that; The horror genre works in the EU as well!

I really enjoyed this book. It paints a picture both beautiful and macabre. It combines the two in a way that leaves you with shivers down your spine. Whether from disgust or from delight is hard to say.

I urge you to read this book, and enjoy the sensations that comes.

Star Wars and the Undead, with bunch of cannibals thrown in for good measure! What an interesting combination. I hope there is a sequel to this book because it left several loose ends that beg for following-up. Can't say much more because it would ruin the story for anyone who has not read it yet. Sufficed to say that I did not put this book down until I had read every page!

For the most part I agree with the previous customer reviews about this book. The purpose of my comment is to alert potential customers to some sexual content in the book. I wish that more people would warn others about the subtle influence of sexual suggestions in entertainment targeted at the childrens market.

On page 23 there is a lewd remark about a woman being the lust object of a hundred emotionally frustrated prison guards and deprived stormtroopers. Frankly, the sentence doesn't help the story and could have simple been left out. Why introduce children's minds to such depraved thoughts?

The Imperial prison barge Purge breaks down and its only hope is to scavenge a nearby ghost ship Star Destroyer. However, the boarding crew brings back something truly terrible. I won't go into too many spoilers, but this book was a quick and gruesome Star Wars zombie story. It's very fast paced and has a couple of familiar faces. However, the book has faults. I had a hard time imagining the characters as they weren't fleshed out and the pacing was a little too frantic. Details were seriously lacking. (The Star Destroyer was never even given a name!) I enjoyed the concept but the execution could have been better. Horror is one of my favorite genres and I had high expectations for my first Stars Wars horror book. Sadly, they were mostly unfulfilled. If this is was not a Star Wars book, it probably would have been just two stars but I'll give it three for concept and speed.

I'd heard Star Wars: Death Troopers described as Dawn Of The Dead onboard an Imperial Star Destroyer more than once before reading it, and now see just how accurate the description is. The elements of classic zombie horror are melded seamlessly into the Star Wars universe for a tale that will not only appeal to fans of both sources but could make a convert of a reader who's heretorfore only been into one of the two.

Set approximately two or three years before the original movie, Death Troopers sees the crew and convicts onboard the prison barge Purge stranded in deep space when their ship suddenly and inexplicably drops out of hyperspace. Fortunately, or so they think, the ship comes across a Star Destroyer in the near vicinity, and makes its way to it on regular engines. Strangely, the seemingly functioning ship is idle and seems nearly abandoned, with scans turning up only a few scattered lifesigns and with no response to attempts at communication. Wanting to know what's happened - and also needing to get to the ship for the parts necessary to repair their own barely functioning vessel, a crew heads over. Onboard the ship the crew is still present, but dead and unmoving, though the last part of that isn't permanent. And when some of the Purge's crew return to their own ship, they're carrying with them something their Imperial Navy training never prepared them for.

The book is told from several different perspectives, including an idealistic young female doctor and two teenaged smugglers who are among the lesser offenders who really don't belong on the ship among all the hardended killers and madmen being transported. I always like it when a Star Wars book picks some lead characters who aren't from the 'main groups' - Jedi, Sith, bounty hunters, emperors and princesses and the like. Don't get me wrong, I like having those characters too, but sometimes it's good to see the Star Wars galaxy through the eyes of some of the trillions of sentients who aren't 'big players'. There's a good mix of species in here too; one of the many good things about the Expanded Universe has been its taking species who in the movies may have been represented briefly by one or two bit-part characters (such as patrons of the Mos Eisley Cantina or spectators at the pod races in Episode I) and filling out those species by letting them have characters with much larger roles.

The book is fast-moving but author Joe Schreiber manages to give a good sense for characters with relatively few words, and a good, easily visualized sense of place with similar skill. In other words, it gets all the benefits of a fast, rapid fire mover without losing a fullness of story or a sense of getting to know the players. It's not long before diverse characters are thrown together to face a threat not commonly seen in the Star Wars universe: ravenous hordes of the undead. The zombie action is swift, savage and surprisingly gory, with a few real surprises along the way.

Star Wars: Death Troopers succeeds on all three levels. It succeeds as being among the best of the Star Wars novels, it succeeds at easily being one of the best zombie novels, and it succeeds at mixing the two to full effect. Definately recommended.

Before I start, let me make a few statements about myself:

1. Like most straight males, I enjoy Star Wars. I've never been a crazy fan-boy who can argue about the "Old Republic" or that rabbit Jaxxon, but when it comes to the original 6 films, I can stand on my own pretty good.
2. I also like zombies. The old-school, George Romero, shuffling kind. I've been a fan of that genre for years, even before the whole "Walking Dead" craze and this sudden resurgence in the undead.
3. While I do like to immerse myself in lengthy, 500+ page, deeply epic, story-telling novels, once in a while, I like to sit back, take it easy, and try a story that is written just for fun and doesn't ever try to preach at you.

Lucky for me, "Death Troopers" managed to hit all 3 of those.

I know this seems a hokey premise and I'll be the first to admit that Star Wars and zombies seems like a very odd marriage. They're 2 completely opposite ends of the literary spectrum. Sci-fi vs. horror. I know it's been done before in films ("Alien") and video games ("Dead Space"), but never have I seen zombies paired with the likes of Darth Vader and the other characters we have grown to love. How could it even possibly make sense or work?
The answer to that is this: very well. I was shocked how seamlessly these 2 categories melded together and made a totally addicting story.

I can say that most of that falls pretty much on Joe Schreiber's shoulders. It really doesn't take a ton of originality to write a zombie novel (look at all the self-published stuff on here if you don't believe me), and with the Star Wars universe that grows more and more bizarre with each new book, its easy to see how this could have been a lackluster attempt at something new, put together under the zombie/Star Wars tagline for a quick buck. However, Schreiber's literary voice is bold, inventive, and, most importantly, a hell of a lot of fun. You can tell by reading this that Schreiber was having a total blast writing this. Never is the novel overly preachy or confusing. There isn't any Jedi's or the Force or mention of anything like Medichlorians, Jar Jar Binks, or even the Death Star. And when Han Solo and Chewie show up, it's as if they were take right from the brain of George Lucas himself. They are spot-on representations of the film's characters. This is written for total enjoyment's sake and that's exactly what it is: enjoyable.

I could go on and on about Schreiber's attention to detail, but what I found best about "Death Troopers" was how dark and gory it was. Star Wars is awesome and exciting, but as any fan knows, it's never been exceptionally violent or bloody. Think about Darth Maul getting chopped in half with a light saber: nothing. Or when Obi Wan just disappears into thin air. This book, however, doesn't ever seem to back down on the violence and carnage that a horde of zombies would bring about. Lost limbs, torn out throats, entrails, it's all here in vivid detail. I won't even get into the body pile chapter: totally disgusting and perfectly gross. I honestly can't believe that this one was officially licensed by none other than LucasArts itself.

So, is "Death Troopers" any good? No, it's better than good. It's freaking fantastic. Unlike a lot of wannabe fans out there, Schreiber not only knows how to write, but he knows the exact words, details and tones to use in a story of this category. There were times this novel could have stood out on its own as just a sci-fi horror without the Star Wars element(s) within and it still would have easily been a 5 star rated book. The fact that many of the familiar Star Wars tropes make an appearance is just the (pardon the cliche') icing on the literary cake. Look, I read this cover-to-cover in under 48 hours, and would have completed it even sooner had I not had other responsibilities in my life to attend to. There aren't many novels that can suck me in so quickly, nor leave me never wanting it to end.

A friend recommended this book to me nearly three years ago. I finally picked up a copy, and it was a blast! Oh, the days when you could throw iconic characters into any situation you wanted! As long as Han doesn't die in the end, you could write just about any kind of story.

Thus we have zombies in spaaaace! And Star Wars! It was a fun and a quick read. For those who like this kind of thing, you are likely to enjoy it as much as I did. Things moved along quickly, sufficient explanations were offered, and our heroes escaped to return to the canonical Star Wars universe. Although I have to think Han might have ended up with PTSD from this one.

Two geek empires collide and Death Troopers is born. Star Wars, one of the geekiest properties ever to grace the multimedia age and zombies; which have built up quite a bit of steam in the past decade or so. It's a unique mish mash; taking something that's very kid friendly and throwing in a genre that is about as mature as you can get on the mainstream side of things. Which is why I was looking forward to it. I like to see chances taken with the property, a little bit of trying something new.

The setting and the atmosphere draw you right in with the creepiness. It's well set up and Schreiber has a way with words that really put you into the mindset of unsettling horror. The first half of the novel sets up everything so well. An Imperial Prison barge breaks down in the midst of a drifting seemingly abandoned Star Destroyer. A group goes over to investigate and brings back a virus. Typical zombie stuff, but made to fit into the Star Wars universe in a believable way. I really, really liked the writing here. Schreiber paints a bloodily vivid portrait of what is slowly happening to the crew and inmates. I would call the prose flowery, but calling it flowery brings to mind great descriptions of rainbows and unicorns. There are no rainbows or unicorns to be found here.

It's a classic tale of survival as the living members of the barge attempt to live through an onslaught of the unliving. The tropes are all there and perhaps that's part of the problem I did end up having with it. It was all very familiar. Familiar enough that, while creepy and atmospheric, wasn't quite as suspenseful as I was hoping it would be. Sure, there were scenes here and there that brought goosebumps (zombie Wookies are a fantastic idea), but overall didn't feel very scared throughout. If blood and gore are your thing, there is plenty of that and then some more. There is some stomach turning stuff in here for you gore hounds.

While not as successful as I was hoping it would be, I still enjoyed the read. It was a nice change of pace and well written with great atmosphere. I would certainly love to see more of these types of chances taken on the Star Wars property.

And props to the cover. If ever I would grab a book based solely on its cover, it would be this one (as well as Timothy Zahn's Scoundrels).

I gave it the the store.com three stars, but in actuality, it would be more of a 3 1/2 stars for me.