Star Wars: Red Harvest [Hardcover]

Joe Schreiber (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 28, 2010

The era of the Old Republic is a dark and dangerous time, as Jedi Knights valiantly battle the Sith Lords and their ruthless armies. But the Sith have disturbing plans—and none more so than the fulfillment of Darth Scabrous’s fanatical dream, which is about to become nightmarish reality.

Unlike those other Jedi sidelined to the Agricultural Corps—young Jedi whose abilities have not proved up to snuff—Hestizo Trace possesses one extraordinary Force talent: a gift with plants. Suddenly her quiet existence among greenhouse and garden specimens is violently destroyed by the arrival of an emissary from Darth Scabrous. For the rare black orchid that she has nurtured and bonded with is the final ingredient in an ancient Sith formula that promises to grant Darth Scabrous his greatest desire.

But at the heart of the formula is a never-before-seen virus that’s worse than fatal—it doesn’t just kill, it transforms. Now the rotting, ravenous dead are rising, driven by a bloodthirsty hunger for all things living—and commanded by a Sith Master with an insatiable lust for power and the ultimate prize: immortality . . . no matter the cost.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Joe Schreiber’s Star Wars: Death Troopers
 
“This is the Star Wars of every horror fan’s dreams—gory, funny, and brimming with a blood-spattered cast of swashbucklers and space-zombies.”—Seth Grahame-Smith, author of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
 
“Brilliant . . . This book combines two of my favorite things on earth: the Star Wars universe and the undead.”—Tommy Wirkola, director of Dead Snow

About the Author

Joe Schreiber is the author of Star Wars: Death Troopers, Chasing the Dead, Eat the Dark, and No Doors, No Windows. He was born in Michigan but spent his formative years in Alaska, Wyoming, and Northern California. He lives in central Pennsylvania with his wife, two young children, and several original Star Wars action figures.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: LucasBooks (December 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345511174
• ISBN-13: 978-0345511171
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 1 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (140 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #456,800 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in Michigan in 1969 and lived all over: Alaska, California, Wyoming, all before age 10. The restlessness sank in -- after graduating from the University of Michigan, I just kept moving. I've lived in LA, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Oregon, and Martha's Vineyard. Constant relocation forced me to be creative in my employment: I've been a pet-sitter, an office boy in a DC law office, waited tables and worked at something like six different Borders Bookstores...which has to be a record. These days I work as an MRI tech at Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Teenage Sith Zombies = Garbage October 10, 2012

By zombie phreak

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Zombies and Star Wars, two of my favorite genres in the world. But when you take two things that are amazing and put them together, you don't always get Reese Peanut Butter Cups. Sometimes you get an unholy abomination that never should have made it past an editor's desk.

Not only is this concept just utterly stupid, but the characters are just so bland and one-dimensional that you don't even care when they get killed. Heck, some of them aren't even dynamic enough to call them one-dimensional. Sometimes the only thing they have that sets them apart from other characters are their physical appearance. One guy has red hair, one guy is short, one is a girl, etc. When these characters got killed in the book I had to look back in the front at the Dramatis Personae just to check who they were. Even then I was scratching my head wondering just who the character was that died.

I mean it! There is NOTHING that makes these characters memorable! Also never once did I feel a sense of urgency or concern for the safety of these characters. Even the main character Hestizo Trace is just so dull that I didn't even care when she was being chased by zombies or when the room was on fire around her or when she was taken prisoner.

Now let's get onto the specific parts of the book that just irked me.

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS***

Okay first of all, the members of the Agricultural Corps, are NOT Jedi. They are people who had Jedi training but weren't good enough to be chosen as an apprentice to a master. Okay, now that we got that out of the way, every time I saw someone calling the main character a Jedi, I was digging my nails into to the table or chair I was sitting at while I was reading.

Throughout the entire book the author has screwed up the HK droid's speech patterns. If you've played the Knights of the Old Republic 1 & 2 you know what I'm talking about. The droid starts his sentences with "Query," or "Statement," "Response," etc. He ALWAYS talks like that, but the author just decides to write the character's dialogue like this when he feels like it. Lazy writing.

Page 53 The author flat out plagiarizes the speech Liam's character gives in Taken when he's talking to the kidnappers who have taken his daughter. Plus the Jedi who is talking to the bounty hunter that has his sister tells the bounty hunter that he: "Will make him pay." First of all, Jedi do not have family. They are taken from their family at infancy so they have no family attachments to cloud their judgement with emotions. Second of all, the Jedi do not seek revenge. George Lucas himself, the creator of the the Star Wars universe, established this by stating in dialogue that anger and fear are forbidden emotions. Also he changed the title of Episode 6 from "Revenge of the Jedi," to "Return of the Jedi," to drive home the point that the Jedi do not seek revenge.

Page 90 One of the Sith masters has gathered hundreds of the Sith apprentices to tell them not to panic and to try to keep a lid on the fact that we have a rage zombie outbreak. But only ONE of them sees the Agri-Corps worker (I refuse to call her a Jedi!), that is peeking around the corner watching them? On top of that NO ONE sees when this Sith apprentice uses the Force to leap like 50 feet away, grab her, and yell, "What are you doing here Jedi!" Plus NO ONE sees when he is grabbed by the Whipid bounty hunter and is killed by him? Seriously! There's a Sith master and hundreds of Sith apprentices standing RIGHT THERE and NOBODY sees this!?!

Also throughout the book, why is the entire Sith academy falling apart? I understand some people will say it's to toughen them up and to make them ready to face the Jedi no matter where they are even in ruins, but come on! Also, the library is falling apart! If you want to keep the Sith knowledge around so the students can study it and grow more powerful, you'd want those books, discs, scrolls, etc, in a dry building that is climate controlled and isn't falling apart!

If that's not bad enough, these zombies can apparently function when their heads are cut off. No I don't mean the head keeps working, their bodies can apparently still walk around without their heads attached. This is just biologically impossible! Without a brain to send electrical impulses to the limbs, there is no way in hell the body could continue to move!

Page 108 Lussk, the star duelist of the academy sees the zombies coming and he decides that he can become more powerful if he becomes one of these zombies. So he slits his wrists and yells at them to come and infect him. Come on! He was the one character I actually liked! And now I find out he's dumb as a box of rocks! What a waste of a potentially interesting character. Plus through him we find out these zombies can communicate through screaming and they can use the Force as well. This was just ridiculous!

Page 182 The use of the phrase "Achilles Tendon" should not be in this book. Achilles was a mythological person from our planet that is not in Star Wars. So honestly using this term doesn't make sense. If anything instead of saying these tendons were severed, it would make more sense to say the character was hamstrung.

Page 217 Rojo finally catches up to the Sith Lord who is about to kill his sister to complete a Sith ritual that will give him eternal life but Rojo busts in and stops him. Rojo and him fight for a while and Rojo is about to deliver the killing blow, but the Sith lord gestures with his hand and hits the button that turns off Rojo's lightsabre. Why doesn't he just turn it back on? Seriously! It still functions just fine later and it's not damaged in any way shape or form. Once the Sith lord turns it off, Rojo just discards it as if it's useless.

***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS*** ***END SPOILERS***

There are other problems with this book, plot holes, continuity errors etc, and I could go on but I think I got my point across. This book is just plain awful! It's just a book that didn't need to be written and was just published because the author knew all the Star Wars fans and zombie fans would buy it and he could make a quick buck.

Avoid this book and the prequel, "Death Troopers" at all costs!

34 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sith zombies! December 22, 2010

By Dusty VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Okay, okay, I hate revealing ANYTHING about the story you are about to read, but if you are buying this book and can't tell by the cover that there will be zombies (and Sith), well then I am sorry to spoil the surprise, but it should be rather obvious.

So, a Star Wars zombie book with our favorite bad guys. But is it any good? Yeah. It is a fun ride, and while I would be tempted to give it 4 stars, there are certain aspects to the Star Wars universe that are introduced that struck me as new and different. Some books are fun to read (like the first Thrawn) because they completely change everything you thought was cool about Star Wars. Other books are worth reading because the story is solid--but the real beauty is the implications the story leaves behind; the questions it raises. IMHO this book falls in the second category.

The plant life in this story is food for thought when you extrapolate that into the overarching SW universe and the Jedi order. Much room for growth, here there is! I like the main Jedi character. I think you will like her as well. She opens up the world of the Jedi past the hack and slash we see in the movies. It shows a much deeper understanding of the Force--something that would be interesting to see explored more deeply in future novels. I think that's what I really liked most about this book. It is less "Luke Skywalker/Han Solo Star Wars," and more "a day in the life of the supporting cast." It adds to the scope of the world of Star Wars but it feels like a behind the scenes story that shows us how things can go wrong in the very places that create heroes and villains, not just on Death Stars and in capitals like Coruscant.

Is it safe for kids? Hmmm... I would put the minimum reading age at 14-15, keeping in mind that it's almost impossible to reach that age without seeing at least one zombie movie or playing a zombie video game, or some other shooter game with gore and blood. While there are moments of descriptive mayhem, it was pretty tame considering this is supposed to be a horror novel. I enjoyed the story, I was deeply afraid my favorite characters would die (you will have to read the book to see if they did), and the villains were villainous to say the least, but it is not a book that will give you nightmares or send you into therapy. It is about as scary as a Victorian horror novel. Like I said--I liked it, but it wasn't Stephen King scary.

If you must know the basic details of the, keep reading; but if not, just now that it is a very dark story with lots of unpleasant surprises and some very "not nice people." I feel as if we are being set up for a larger story, as if this is the beginning of a new area of problems for both the Republic and the Empire. Just for that reason alone it is worth reading.

Okay--so some of the basics of the story without revealing the plot. The story takes place for the most part at an outlying Sith academy where young men and women are trained in the ways of the Force; the dark side of course. In a school like this there is no room for weakness. You fail, you die. It is a much purer way of understanding nature than we see in the mamsy-pamsy Jedi academies where we get to play with flowers and bunnies. The teachers are a bit less forgiving and a bit more exacting in their instruction methods. It would have been nice to see more of this though, as it takes something of a backseat to the real action. The beauty of the Sith students is that the biggest do well but not necessarily as well as the smaller, more determined ones. This educational facility is really all about who can survive by any means at their disposal, not just who is "stronger in the Force." This is good soil for future Sith stories.

Fortunately for us though a lot of that goes out the window with the zombies show up. Zombies present a problem unseen before in the SW universe: You can shoot them with a blaster, you can chop them with your lightsaber. Um...okay, then what? And what would happen if a Jedi, or worse, a Sith were infected with zombie powers? Well, I guess you would have to read the book to find out.

Please note: As of this time I have not yet read Death Troopers. That will be next on the list, even though it seems to go backwards in time. Nonetheless, this novel stands well on its own and definitely sets us up for a future story where we will DEFINITELY see gruesome carnage.

In any case, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy it.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible February 17, 2012

By Robert Quattrocchi

Format:Hardcover

I can keep this one short, this is one of the worst, most uninteresting Star Wars novels I've ever read. The story is bland and very boiler-plate, drawing "inspiration" from standard zombie fare, "The Shining" (allegedly the setting is based on a combination of the planet Hoth and the setting from The Shinning) and the movie "Taken". I honestly considered putting the book down after early on in the book the character Rojo Trace (red trace?) says almost verbatim Liam Neeson's "I will find you" speech from the movie Taken. One of, if not the most disappointing Star Wars novel I've ever read.