A review by fandom4ever
Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Star Wars: Death Troopers is a great choice at Halloween time. The first time Star Wars ventured into the horror genre, this book is so different but at the same time has that familiar Star Wars feel. I love it. Listening via audiobook is the ultimate way to read this. This was my second time listening to Death Troopers and I really couldn’t imagine reading it any other way. The way each chapter is announced with different voices to start setting up the spooky atmosphere which get crazier as the book progresses to the fabulous use of sound effects (screams, crunches, slobbering, etc) is just perfectly done. 

As the story progresses, you think everything is going horribly wrong because everyone drops dead so quickly but then you realize it’s about to get so much worse once the dead wake up. I really like that this is a virus able to cross the boundaries of species but at the same time infects each kind differently. We get a decent amount of information about the virus, enough that you’re sated. But I feel that it didn’t go into immense detail on purpose, same with the brief glimpses into the characters we meet. It’s a horror story after all; they don’t often have huge explanations before the bodies start dropping. It’s more about the fear and the characters knowing they can do nothing to stop it. Too much information takes away that fear. 

I didn’t mind that a well-known duo shows up in this book. While yes, you obviously know that they’ll make it out alive, I don’t think it really takes away from the tension. After all, you still don’t know how they’ll get out of this dangerous situation. And seeing whether they’ll band together with the other survivors or choose to trek out on their own really adds to their characters. 

Overall, I would recommend this book, particularly in audiobook form. It was so interesting to have a book set in the Star Wars universe that is so unlike anything else in Star Wars! 
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