Nov
10
So I finished Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber yesterday. I’m normally disappointed by the standalone Star Wars novels, as I enjoy the grander more epic stories of the longer series, the best being New Jedi Order, but this was a fantastic read and I absolutely loved it! I’ve never read a horror novel before, and I was surprised by how tense I was able to feel while reading horror rather than watching it.
The story deals with a prison barge loaded full of prisoners who comes upon a derelict Star Destroyer. A team from the barge is sent to the Star Destroyer and brings back a virus that turns everyone into zombies. Our main characters include two teenagers, a prison guard, the prison doctor, and maybe even some people from the movies. I was surprised how emotionally invested I was able to get into the main teenager character, Trig, since I usually only read Star Wars novels because I love the characters so much, but I felt a strong connection with him the entire time.
The book was quickly paced, while taking it’s time to describe all the gory details. Skin falling off, cutting into flesh to get the virus out, super creepy cannibalism, among other gruesome things. The zombies themselves were also different from what we normally expect our zombies to be to reflect the nature of the Star Wars universe, and I thought it was handled really well. The mystery behind the virus wasn’t anything terribly new, but typical zombie fair, which works for the genre, since being in the Star Wars universe alone is enough to differentiate the book for me.
The one thing I was completely disappointed in was that the last thirty pages was an excerpt to the next book in the Fate of the Jedi series. Now, I don’t have a problem with excerpting upcoming books, but it was just so unexpected this time since they usually only do it for the books of the same series. Plus, take a look at that picture above. The bookmark is in the last page of the novel. Wouldn’t you think you have a whole lot more to read after that? So on Friday, I’m reading the exciting climax of the book, not realizing it was the climax, and then when I come back to it Monday morning I literally had 5 pages to read before the book ended. It just felt so anticlimactic.
But don’t let that dissuade you from reading this book! It really was a great read. Just be warned that it ends 30 pages before the last page.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:53 am
I’ve been caught off guard by those long preview excerpts, too. It really sucks when you’re getting on a train, thinking you *might* get done before work, only to find out you have a long, boring trip with nothing more to read.
November 10th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Looking at you makes it harder, but I know that you’ll find another… that doesn’t always make you wanna crrrrryyyy
November 10th, 2009 at 11:09 am
Enrico: “Looking at you makes it harder” I bet you say that to all the guys.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Hmm… I may have to pick this one up. I usually don’t like to read books from a series written by many different authors (Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.), however, since this is a stand alone novel, and it comes highly recommended, I will add it to my wishlist.
Cupcake: sexual innuendos on the third comment? You can do better than that, I know it’s hard to come up with good material using zombies but I expect more from you. Tomorrow, I want to see some sex starting at comment 1!
November 10th, 2009 at 11:46 am
I’m surprised there wasn’t a comment made about eating brains already.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Nico: Actually, I can’t do better. As much as I love Craig’s posts, I’m not going to wake up before five in order to get the first post.
Craig: I hadn’t heard that usage before. I don’t think I want to associate oral sex with flesh eating zombies.
I’ll keep this book in mind, but I have a backlog at the moment.
November 10th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
I COULD have had the first comment, and it would have been filled with disgusting necrophilical double entrendres, I assure you, EXCEPT, for whatever crazy insane reason, the blocker at work won’t give me access to Puntabulous comments until there are 5 of them. Prior to that time, I get blocked because of “Adult”, even if there’s NO comment yet. It blocks the comments, but doesn’t block the original post.
Pffft…idiotic technological advances…..
At ANY rate, Dave S. purchased this book when he was visiting me here, and read it on the train to and from NYC. I don’t know if he’s done with it yet. On your reccommendation, Craiggers, I’ll probably pick it up, but I’ll wait until it’s out in paperback. I much prefer them to hard cover (and yes, that does open the door to more potential sexual innuendos, but I’m not walking through it first).
HUGS….
November 10th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Polt: Books do take up a lot less room when soft.
If josh is the new Dave S. in everyone trying to sleep with him, I fear I may be the new Dave S. in having a large share of the comments. I’ve been posting a third of all comments in many posts.
November 10th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I’m actually going to take your advice and read this book. But it’ll take a while; reading more than 100 words at a time Hurts. I much prefer having stories read to me. But hopefully, it will give me some Restoril induced dreams.
November 10th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Zombies in space. What next. You crazy kids. I’m reading Fathom’s Five: The Cross of Sins by Geoffrey Knight. So far so good, I think it would make an amazing movie, leaping over boiling lava to save diamond statues, being chased by wacky underground religious sects, and speaking of sects, hot sex too. No zombies though but um, yeah, some “flesh eating” in the second chapter and beyond and 5 naked torsos on the cover. I think that trumps zombies.
November 10th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Tam: 5 naked torso trump damn near anything!
Since people are telling, I’m currently reading Torchwood: Into The Silence. It’s not too bad, but it’s not the best Torchwood book I’ve read. Still, anything with Ianto in it is a good read.
HUGS…
November 10th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Tam: Where is the Indian Chief and Motorcycle Leather Guy on that cover? Wait… that’s not a biography of the Village people?
November 10th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
If we are sharing, I am reading the final book in the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson; I highly recommend the series, it is very well done. I rarely buy hard bound books; unless it is one I really can’t wait the six months for it to soften (I just know there is a Viagra joke in there somewhere.) Right now I am anxiously awaiting First Lords Fury by Jim Butcher which is coming out later this month.
November 10th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Nico: The Indian Chief is here. (Which I have a feeling I might have stolen from Polt’s site at one time.) And here is the Motorcylce leather guy. Probably not exactly safe for work.
November 10th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
re: the Indian Chief…yeah, it’s from the Palace…good times, good times. I’m not into leather guys generally, but the guy in the photo isn’t wearing much leather, is he?
You have such interesting reading, Tam. Well, you have such interesting covers on the books you read, at any rate.
HUGS…
November 10th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Ooooh, but wait a minute…if Sassy josh is the new Dave S. AND Cupcake is the new Dave S. as well, can i be the new Dave S. too somehow?
Or maybe I can just be the same old Polt, which means the next time I stay in NYC, like the last time I’ll have to sleep in the same bed with Dave S.! Preferably the old one and the two new ones at the same time.
HUGS…
November 10th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
Polt: Craig, Jere, and Chris D. were pining for a Puntabu-orgy on Twitter just last night.
November 10th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Hmmm… Can’t partake of a Puntabu-orgy, but I am willing to be the cameraman. See how selfless I am? I will totally put myself out. For the good of Puntabulous
and my porn collection.November 10th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
This morning, there was a guy doing martial arts with a sword on the cliffs outside my office.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Ryan: Keep the doors and windows locked. Please.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
If M.Nico is the cameraman, I call Director or at least a gaffer.
November 10th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Don’t have any comments on the actual post. I am reading the House of Night Series, though.
So glad that comments take a weird turn. Now I can use this photo which didn’t make the cut in a project I went another way with (awkward sentence structure – yay)!
http://mmckee.net/pictures/Villagepeeps.jpg
November 10th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
If M. Nico is the cameraman, and john is the Director, I want to be Best Boy. Naturally.
HUGS…
November 10th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Polt: I would have thought you would have wanted to be the feature performer.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
Michelle: Amazing. Who’d have thought we could work the Village People into a post that started off Star Wars.
I still want to do costumes. I’ll make pants with velcro for dramatic ripping off moments when the passion is just too much to handle.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Or the fluffer
November 10th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
That is: I would have thought Polt would want to be the fluffer.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Michelle M.: proving yet again that The Ryan with the Cupcake is totally butch with a mustache
November 10th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
John: What the hell is a gaffer. Isn’t that something your Great-Grandpa calls his grandkids?
November 10th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
M. Nico: me wanting to be the fluffer was, I thought, assumed by all.
HUGS…
November 10th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
The book sounds interesting. Sarah Palin’s son was in it? I have only read one Star Wars book, I think it was the middle prequel. I have not read a SciFi/Fantasy book in a long time. A good friend of mine got me into some of that a while back. One day I would like to revisit those again. The next book I am reading is Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. I have loved all his books, and I am looking forward to reading it.
I have been asked to film an orgy twice. I declined both offers. I just didn’t think I could make a movie that would fulfill my artistic vision. I also assumed it was an attempt to get into the cameraman’s pants. My pants are rather hard to get into.
I have met Randy, the original cowboy from the Village People, a number of times at events in NYC. He is rather friendly.
He was a bit of a hunk back in the day, and has held up well over the years. I hope I look as good when I am his age.
Michelle M.: Love the photo! Start a blog.
November 10th, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Chris D.: “Sarah Palin’s son is in it?” “My pants are rather hard to get into”…you crack me up!
I saw Vonnegut in person at a nearby University less than a decade ago. Quite a funny man, with his observations. My friend and I actually waited in line afterwards to meet him. he shook our hands, and signed her copy of one of his books. I don’t recall what he said to us, but I do recall being awestruck that he talked to us.
“Start a blog” Brilliant idea! Why didn’t I think of telling her that?
HUGS…
November 11th, 2009 at 12:47 am
Chris D: I read “Cat’s Cradle” over the summer. It’s fuzzing weird [aka normal by Vonnegut standardz].
E. Copterz: Perfect couldn’t keep dis lurrrve alive?
November 11th, 2009 at 7:08 am
It looks like the last ninth of that book is advertising. Would it be better if they commingled the advertising with the main text? (e.g on page 143, they’d insert a chapter from a different book, then segue back to the main story) At least that way, you’d avoid the premature climax of the story, and the ensuing disappointment.
November 11th, 2009 at 10:14 am
re: your tweet – “I’m channeling Chuck Bass today with a crapload of purple on”
Ah, Craiggers, and here I thought you couldn’t GET any more attractive and desriable to me!
HUGS…