Star Wars: Red Harvest

Author: Joe Schreiber

Bibliographic Info:

Schreiber, Joe. (2012). Star wars: Red harvest. New York:

Ballantine Books.

Descriptive Summary:

A Sith Lord intent on creating a formula that grants immortality steals a rare orchid from the Jedi and in doing so unleashes a cannibalistic zombie plague on the Sith academy and hundreds of dark side apprentices. A bounty hunter and a Jedi horticulturalist are all that stand in their way in this prequel to Schreiber's Death Troopers - the first Star Wars horror book since the Galaxy of Fear series.

Evaluative comments (rating):

3/5 TVs - Worth reading instead of watching the Phantom Menace

Schreiber spends a lot of time jumping around from character to character without ever giving the reader much of a chance to care about them before they inevitably end up dead. The book suffers from a lack of familiar characters and settings — there really isn't much to connect for newer Star Wars readers (no primary, secondary, or even tertiary characters from the films make an appearance).
The concept is great and the writing is suitably creepy, but whereas Death Troopers featured Han Solo, Chewbacca, and 21B, Red Harvest doesn't have much beside a nod to the 'fake' working name of Return of the Jedi (Blue Harvest - used to confuse curious onlookers looking for a sneak peak at the then new Star Wars movie). Red Harvest is good, but it could have easily been so much better.

Suggested Audience (age range): 12-16

Readers’ advisory notes:

Appeal factors: Action-packed, fast-paced, bleak, creepy, menacing

Readalikes: Marvel Zombies series, World War Z - Max Brooks, Death Troopers - Joe Schreiber, The Keep - F. Paul Wilson, The Enemy - Charlie Higson

Booktalking hook:

Show any kid with a pulse this cover and tell them it's about zombies with light sabers and watch their brains explode.

Reason for inclusion: 

Eyecatching and somewhat graphic cover coupled with a soft spot for the Star Wars series.

Category: Science Fiction/Horror