We don’t talk a lot about books here at FSR, due mostly to the fact that at least half of our staff are illiterate bastards. But once in a while some literary news comes along that’s too good to pass up without sharing. So it is with the latest novel set in the Star Wars expanded universe…

“Deathtroopers” is an upcoming Star Wars horror novel by Joe Schreiber. No, that’s not a misprint… a Star Wars horror novel is due out October 27th of this year. Are you smiling as broadly as I did when I first read that phrase? There’s currently no plot synopsis of any kind, but Schreiber has a few things to say about it on his blog, including the fact that it takes place immediately before A New Hope (aka Star Wars Episode IV).

I had the time of my life on this one, I have to say. I’m doing the final edits now, and I’ve tried to make it into exactly the kind of book you’d want to read if you were a child of the 70s who grew up with the original Star Wars trilogy and really digs horror in the vein of The Shining and Alien, with a little dose of William Gibson mixed in.”

The cover has recently been made available and it’s the sweetest piece of Star Wars-related news I’ve seen in decades. Check it out. (And thanks to Twitchfilm for the heads up.)

What do you think about Star Wars horror? Is it possible not to love this idea?