In the early 2000s, it seemed like zombies were everywhere. Books like World War Z, movies like 28 Days Later, and video games like Left 4 Dead pushed zombies to the front of the cultural miasma. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before someone asked, “What happens when you combine zombies and lightsabers?” The result: Red Harvest.
I picked up this book as part of my read-through of the entire pre-Disney canon. Honestly, I am not sure I would have chosen to read it otherwise. As much as I like zombie tales (I reread The Zombie Survival Guide so many times as a teenager), I thought that Star Wars zombies would be a bit too tropey. Regardless, I read it, and you can enjoy the review here.
Red Harvest was written by Joe Schrieber (author’s Amazon profile showing his other books). It was published on June 28, 2011 and is 246 pages in its hardcover format. That makes it a fairly quick read–even compared to other typically-short Star Wars books
“Every so often, the universe must just get bored and decide to really cut loose.”
**Quick note** This post will be the first of my new “quick reviews”. Rather than breaking down the book into detail in the different categories like worldbuilding and characters, I will write general overall impressions. Doing a quick review does not mean the book was automatically terrible or great; it just means that I felt that the short format worked better for that book.
When reading Red Harvest, I got the distinct impression that Schreiber recognized how ridiculous his subject would end up being if he did not lean into the absurdity. It feels like he added every zombie trope in the book–the guy who hides his wound thinking he will be fine, the gruff guy who ends up being shockingly helpful to the main character, the zombies which appear to find ways around every barrier created (somehow), the excellent fighter who is eventually taken down in a wave of bodies, and many more. Schreiber even included a quote at one point that was oddly reminiscent of the famous quote delivered by Liam Neeson in Taken, obviously trying to connect with the culture of the time.
Because Red Harvest is so trope-laden, the characters and setting are largely forgettable, and it does not have any surprises for anyone familiar with the general plot trajectory of zombie stories.
It also does not expand the Star Wars universe much. If the characters were lacking lightsabers and a connection to the Force, you would have no idea it was a Star Wars book. However, I can praise here the creative manner through which Schreiber introduced the zombie-fying agent. I am not going to spoil it, but I will say that I thought the zombie source was a fairly interesting concept that had a pretty decent in-universe explanation. I was worried going in that the zombie source would be something super generic (like a virus), but it does have its roots in a unique Force power/connection. The biggest tragedy here is that I am unaware of the concept being applied in any way elsewhere in the Star Wars canon.
Ultimately, Red Harvest‘s strengths are its weaknesses (and vice versa). If you want a pulpy, trope-filled zombie romp in the Star Wars universe, this book scratches that itch perfectly. If that is not your thing, steer away. I found it to be a fairly light, fun, and quick read. It was not high literature, did not expand the Star Wars universe in any significant way, and did not provide any great sense of suspense, yet Red Harvest is still a decent read when you want to blow through a non-challenging book in 4 hours or so.
You should read this if …
- You love zombies. What could be more fun than combining zombies and lightsabers?
- You want a lighter read and do not care about being challenged or thinking deeply about your books
