THE DEAD TIMES

RATING:

ZOMBIE RATING:

DESCRIPTION:

Before Luke Skywalker's journey to become a Jedi began, when the Empire was at the height of its power - its reign supreme and exhaustive - the universe was a much darker place. Rebel sympathizers were caught and shipped to Imperial prison camps on massive barges, floating prisons whose occupants cared little about the well-being of captured inmates. One such barge, Purge - home to 500 of the galaxy's most ruthless killers, scoundrels and thieves - breaks down in an uninhabited part of space. Thankfully, a Star Destroyer is found drifting nearby though, when scanned, no life signs are present, the bulky ship presumably abandoned and forgotten. However, when the crew of Purge board the wayward Star Destroyer on a simple salvage operation, they find more than just the spare parts they were looking for.

MY VERDICT:

There are a few good things going for this book; it is based in the epic Star Wars universe - always a plus, it is a horror story showing that Star Wars is more than just the freedom fighting Rebel Alliance taking down the evil galaxy-enslaving Empire, it has good pacing - starting with the genre-required tense period without boring you with irrelevant details. It is also very direct and I really like this in stories - there are no sub-plots or shifting points-of-view, from the very first pages the story focuses on the breakdown of the prison barge and the terror that follows. The one big disappointment for me was the inclusion of Han Solo as a central story character. It kind of spoils the sense of dread knowing that at least one character (and his buddy Chewbacca) must make it out alive. The author really should have kept this totally separate from the main Star Wars saga instead of trying to weave in one of the saga's most loveable heroes.