Fandom Apocalypse: Spreading the Star Wars Word

 

Remember in 2014 when #FANDOMPOCALYPSE was posted all over the internet social media sites ranging from Twitter to Facebook, to Pinterest, Instagram. Sort of crazy and lots of fun. Well, the creators of the FandomApocalypse site went all in by hosting the first ever Star Wars Fansite Seminar on Twitter. It was a 24 hour event. Everyone was invited to join and participate in the seminar, simply use the hashtag #SWFS in their tweets. The idea behind this seminar was simple: Star Wars fans worldwide, with years of experience running Star Wars fan websites, wanted to share the tips, tricks, and secrets that they’ve learned to help fans that are looking to jump into the world of Star Wars fandom. However, several years later fandomapocalypse.com disappeared from the web. It’s domain registration had expired. I’d like to know the story behind that.

Recently I discovered that the domain for fandomapocalypse.com was available, so I bought it with the goal of recreating some of its content from its archived. I definitely didn't want someone else purchasing the domain and re-purposing the site for something that had nothing in common with Star Wars. Your site was great Austin Blankenship and Chris Carey.

Content from the site's archived pages.

Consider the information on this site for its historical value and a nostalgic stroll back to #FANDOMPOCALYPSE.

"But...." fans of the orignal website will say, "This site doesn't visually look like the old site." Well, that's true, but the ambiance projects the mood I wanted to establish, so please be indulgent.

I showed this site to some of the folks who work at the same progressive software development firm as I do. We all work on a specialized web app development team that helps our clients integrate all their multiple COTS programs. What happens is the client or their customers have needs that their existing software can’t meet. Many off-the-shelf programs rarely integrate with each other. When integration with existing software is important custom software development is usually the best option in the long run. Well, my techie cohorts are all StarWar fans. They thought it was cool to recreate this site with archived content. I hope you all enjoy remminiscing and reading this content. And now let's plunge into FANDOMPOCALYPSE!

About

Founded 2013, We generously share our Star Wars knowledge with you through the Fandom Apocalypse.

The word apocalypse comes from the Greek term apocálypsis, meaning to uncover. The apocalypse is the end of the world to many, but to us it represents knowledge revealed.

Alert the masses to our own opinions on Star Wars. Build bomb shelters. Save the hot chocolate.

Specializing in Star Wars related opinions, thoughts, analysis, and clever remarks. Featuring people who write, laugh, and dance.

We seek to spread the truth to fandom.

Austin Blankenship – Twitter
Austin is the founder of Fandom Apocalypse – he received his great revelation for the site on the floor of his bedroom. Not as epic as the island of Patmos, but more cozy. He also runs SoloSound.net, is the former Sultan of EUCantina, and kindly begs you to consider visiting the photography portfolio of his best friend.
Austin works at his local library, spending his evenings in the company of Patterson, Seuss, and books for dummies. When he isn’t working or attending college, Austin tries to find time for basketball and this website.

Chris Carey – Twitter
Chris does undercover senior investigator government work in Washington D.C. He’d tell you more about it, but then he’d have to kill you. And he is not a violent man.
Chris has written for several Star Wars fansites over the years, and holds a degree in journalism. You’ve probably read his work before. Chris enjoys films, games, and jokes. Other than that, we don’t know much about him.

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Fandom Apocalypse Posts

 

Darth Vader and the Big Three

February 4, 2013 8:15 pm ⋅ Austin

No, I’m not talking about Han, Luke, and Leia. Darth Vader appears with perhaps the most famous Big Three from reality: Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. I’m not sure the leaders of the Allied Powers of World War II ever faced a villain quite like the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Leaders of four of the most powerful empires in history.

Imagined by Agan Harahap, this picture is part of a fun series of images that allows legendary (but fictional) heroes and villains to time travel into iconic war photographs. It also presents a question. If the Big Three from Star Wars were to expand and include a fourth member, who would it be? Lando? Jaina? R2-D2?

 

My Favorite Links of the Week

January 31, 2013 11:46 am ⋅ Austin

Enjoy some of my favorite Star Wars posts from around the web this week!

Profiling the New Boss -The Hollywood Reporter has a FANTASTIC article on Kathleen Kennedy, with details on her career and her pitch to J.J. Abrams.

“Kennedy, Abrams and the writers met secretly for about three hours Dec. 19, and “J.J. was just on the ceiling when I walked out the door,” she recalls. But still, she says, Abrams had “very genuine concerns” about his obligations elsewhere and the impact on his wife and three kids, given the likelihood that the film would not be shot in Los Angeles. And then there was the unique nature of the franchise. “If there was any pause on J.J.’s part, it was the same pause everybody has — including myself — stepping into this,” she says. “Which is, it’s daunting.’”

I’ve said before that the three people most responsible for the success of the original Star Wars trilogy were George Lucas, John Williams, and Ralph Mcquarrie. I think this new era of Star Wars will be led by a new Big Three, featuring Abrams and Kennedy – the third spot should be reserved until Episode VII has been released.

• Is Hitchcock Influencing Next Arc of The Clone Wars? - Pete at Lightsaber Rattling takes a look at the titles for the final four episodes of the season, and finds they are unmistakably tributes to Alfred Hitchcock films. The descriptions for the episodes even seem to match different storylines from the Hitchock movies.
• A Trekkie Perspective - Not a big Star Trek fan? Didn’t see J.J. Abrams’  2009 Trek film? Never fear! Tosche Station gives us a Star Trek fan view of the Abrams news.
• The Clone Wars Q&A - Big Shiny Robot has a transcript of the first part of the Q&A session from the USO Clone Wars screenings, while Club Jade has the second. As a fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender, I found Dave Filoni’s remarks on working for that show and his transition to The Clone Wars particularly interesting.

“I was like, “Nothing is going to get me out of here – I love Nickelodeon.” We were joking one day at lunch, “What would it take to get you off the show?” “If George Lucas called and offered me a job, I’d go do that.” and we were all “Ha.. that’s so funny. He doesn’t even know you’re alive, haha.” and then they called the next week, and I thought it was a joke and I almost hung up on him, and I don’t know where I’d be now. But luckily, I took that call.”

Another neat note? Dave and George sat down and finalized the future of Ahsoka before Lucas retired. So that’s settled. Q&A sessions with Filoni always produce the most information about the show, so if you’re a fan, I’d highly encourage you to read these transcripts.

• And Finally - Knights Archive has posted the preview for Saturday’s new episode of The Clone Wars. I love the humor in the elevator scene. And remember, this is the final episode of the Darth Maul arc. It’s kind of a big deal.

Posted in: Episode VII, Fun News, The Clone Wars ⋅ Tagged: Episode VII, Star Trek, The Clone Wars

Rebels Under the Radar – Spotlighting the New Series

January 29, 2013 3:03 pm ⋅ Austin

The Expanded Universe spotlight is currently set on John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi, a Sword of the Jedi trilogy featuring Jaina Solo, and novels from other familiar faces like Troy Denning and Joe Schreiber. Dawn of the Jedi, by Tim Lebbon, and the next EU release, The Last Jedi, share the spotlight as well. Even a Paul S. Kemp duology, which might be withered on the vine, sits in the rafters, ready to drop down to center stage if it’s as big of a showstopper as rumored.

My mock teaser poster for Rebels

But the Star Wars: Rebels series – featuring a three standalone novels that give full attention to Luke, Leia, and Han back in the good ol’ days – hasn’t sniffed the spotlight. In fact, the series isn’t even present in our metaphorical EU theatre.

I’m going to take control of this show for a moment. Today, I’m pulling back the curtain on Star Wars: Rebels. Here’s what you need to know, and why you should be excited for the upcoming series.

What We Know So Far 

Rebels is a sub-series of novels placed in one era – between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back – and focusing on the early adventures of the Big Three. It should be noted that this is not a trilogy – the books are simply set in the same general time frame. Think of the The Old Republic novels as a comparison. All of those stories play out in the same period under a larger series name, but each individual book is considered a standalone. The same idea is being used for Rebels.

The series brings three (technically four) authors to the table who are all new to Star Wars fiction. Veteran scribes Martha Wells, Kevin Hearne, and James S.A. Corey will each pen three separate titles. There has not been an official release date announced for any of the novels, but Martha Wells has “late 2013″ listed on her website.

Shelly Shapiro, Editor at Large at Random House and the woman behind Del Rey’s Star Wars material, said this to me about the series:

“With the recent exciting news of a new Star Wars movie in the offing, we expect there will be a lot of attention focused on the classic era and the original Star Wars heroes–a perfect time to share some new adventures set in that era and to excite even more fans to become readers.”

While Del Rey has remained vague on details from the start (and with publication still very far out, who can blame them?), further digging can tell us more about the novels and the authors involved.

The Leia Novel  – by Martha Wells

The novels will involve all of the Big Three, but it seems like each is being written with a focus on one character more than the other two. Martha Wells’ book is 75-80% Leia’s point-of-view, and the first complete draft was finished on January 16. Wells spoke to me about her excitement for the story, and part of it comes from her long love of Star Wars: “I grew up with these characters, they were my introduction to media and SF/F fandom, and I was very happy to write this book.”

Martha Wells has been nominated for the Nebula Award and several other fantasy writer accolades. She has penned eight fantasy novels and is experienced with tie-in material; she has written two Stargate Atlantis novels. Wells has an academic background in anthropology.

A Leia novel is something that some fans have been clamoring for recently, and while Luke and Han have headlined stories many times, Leia hasn’t been given the same treatment. Wells has a fantastic opportunity to really please Leia supporters and Star Wars fans in general.

The Luke Novel – by Kevin Hearne

Kevin Hearne has turned in a funny outline, and he told me that his excitement ”about writing a Star Wars novel in the Classic period is on the asdf;lkj level”.

The asdf;lkj level, folks. That ranks pretty high in the echelon of excitement levels. It barely comes below “I’m going to need a new pair of pants.”

While this has been billed as a Luke-focused book, Hearne reminded me that “It’s not just Luke—it’s an adventure starring Han and Leia and the whole gang, and it’s tremendous fun.”

A New York Times bestselling author, Kevin Hearne grew up as a gigantic Star Wars fan. Seriously, just read the second paragraph of his About page. There is some major Star Wars love going on. Hearne’s story of becoming a published author is rather inspiring, and it makes me root for the guy. I’m happy that his nerd dreams have come true. I think I would have more interest in Leia or Han as central characters (we get a lot of Luke), but Kevin Hearne is the author that has intrigued me the most. And like he said, it’s not just about the farmboy.

Hearne has written five novels in his series The Iron Druid Chronicles, with plans for several more. By at least January 17, he had sent in the outline, and had planned to start the draft when he heard back. We know that at least one of his editors was impressed!

The Han Novel - by James S.A. Corey

James S.A. Corey is the pen name for a team of two authors: Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. Writing under the James S.A. Corey pseudonym, the pair have published novels in a series called The Expanse (Tracy at Club Jade recommends the first two books). Hugo and Locus award nominations litter the past of their separate works.

The Han Solo novel was announced at the NYCC in October (the other two titles were announced at Celebration VI), but an outline has already been approved. The collaborating authors have been learning some new things while writing the novel:

 If someone has a good idea, it’s Leia. Han is always always always wrong when he makes a plan or predicts the future, but man does he improvise gracefully.

Han seems to be present everywhere, even making surprise appearances in books that he doesn’t star in, but it’s always nice to get a fresh take on the character – especially from such celebrated authors.

Be Excited

Why should you be interested in this series?

Is there a better group of characters than the classic trio of Han, Luke, and Leia? And there seems to be a major attraction to adventures set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back lately. Brian Wood’s Star Wars comic, placed in the same era, has been immensely successful. These novels are being composed by bestselling authors, and most importantly, big Star Wars fans. Anyone involved in the project that I’ve spoken with is extremely enthusiastic. The more I hear about it, the closer I get to that “peed my pants” excitement level. That’s a good place to be.

The EU spotlight might be pointed elsewhere for now – but Rebels has the potential to steal the show.

Pre Vizsla is the Fruit Ninja

January 26, 2013 8:32 pm ⋅ Austin

Last week’s episode of The Clone Wars showed some great Pre Vizsla moments (though nothing compared to today’s episode), but one darksaber sequence in particular made me realize an obvious truth:

Pre Vizsla is the Star Wars Fruit Ninja. Just watch the scene:

We now need two things. A Fruit Ninja app that features the darksaber plus guards from Jabba’s Palace, and a live action version set to dubstep, like the game has.

Oh, Pre Vizsla. Keep your head up, guy.

J.J. Abrams Confirmed to Direct Episode VII

January 26, 2013 7:26 am ⋅ Chris

J.J. Abrams has been confirmed as the director of Star Wars: Episode VII.

Although the details of the movie are still tightly guarded, the choice of J.J. Abrams is highly interesting. No doubt there will be endless speculation in the coming days with regards to what Abrams brings to the table. Abrams, of course, has spent the last few months denying any involvement or desire to work on Star Wars. This, despite the heavy influence that Star Wars has had on Abrams’s film career. Abrams is now, of course, at the helm of the rebooted Star Trek film franchise. How his involvement in Star Wars will affect Star Trek (or vice versa) is currently unknown, but with Star Trek Into Darkness hitting theaters this summer, expect that question to be answered sooner rather than later. Abrams also has a very strong relationship with composer Michael Giacchino, who composed the music for (among other Abrams and Disney productions) Disney World’s Star Tours.

Abrams is perhaps best known as being the co-creator of the television shows LOST and Fringe. As for his directing credentials, Abrams has directed only a handful of feature films. His directorial debut was Mission Impossible III (perhaps the best of the series, thus far). In addition to the two Star Trek films, Abrams also wrote and directed Super 8, which follows a group of children attempting to make a movie while a dangerous monster threatens their small mid-West town. Abrams also produced the found-footage horror film, Cloverfield.

Abrams has been an unabashed lover of Star Wars, and has often spoke of the influence it has had on him. Just a few months ago, he told Entertainment Weekly:

“As a kid I was always a fan of special effects. Watching movies I was constantly trying to figure out how they did it, whatever the effect was. Star Wars was the first movie that blew my mind in that way; it didn’t matter how they did any of it because it was all so overwhelmingly and entirely great. It was funny and romantic and scary and compelling and the visual effects just served the characters and story. It galvanized for me; not for what wasexciting about how movies were made, but rather for what movies were capable of.”

Now that the director has been decided, Star Wars: Episode VII will finally begin to become a reality in the minds of many. Are you happy with the choice of Abrams? Let us know in the comments!

Post Navigation: A Revelation for Star Wars

Taken from the Greek word apocálypsis, the apocalypse is a lifting of the veil - a revealing of hidden knowledge to the masses. We alert the masses to our own opinions on Star Wars. We build bomb shelters. We save the hot chocolate.

The sky is only falling if we say so.

On Spoilers and Warnings

January 19, 2013 7:38 pm ⋅ Austin

We have an unfortunate nature as humans that we can never seem to get past. It is our nature to be defensive. After all, the ultimate instinct is to survive, to last, and if we give in and abandon the desire to defend ourselves, there must be a consequence, right?

Wrong. There is a time and a place for everything. Sometimes it is good to stick to your guns, to protect your values, and to stand your ground. You can be in the right and defend yourself with your last breath and that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad decision. There are other times when you should just lay down your arms, put up your hands, and give in. It’s not a motion that we naturally want to make, but there are certain circumstances where it is the best choice that we have. It appears at first glance to be a sign of weakness, but oh my word, can it be a powerful display of strength.

This is always the correct choice when spoilers are involved.

It’s a situation we are all familiar with. Unsuspecting, as your guard is down, a spoiler appears. You are upset and disappointed, but the worst part might be that the guilty party is so often defensive of their actions. They don’t personally consider it a spoiler, it isn’t a spoiler to start with, and after all, you shouldn’t be reading anything online if you don’t want to be spoiled. These are the defensive tactics we see all of the time.

The Internet has never been a more dangerous place for those wishing to avoid spoilers; you can thank social networking for that. Live feeds like Twitter and Facebook present a format without room for spoiler-warnings. One Tweet you’re reading about a friend’s dinner plans, and the next you’ve accidentally discovered the ending to Fringe. There simply isn’t time or space to realize that what you’re reading is going to ruin some plot point. This means that, far more frequently than we want, we’re being spoiled before we can watch that movie we’re really excited about, or finish the final chapter of that bestselling book.

Can/should spoilers be stopped? And who is really at fault when the situation described above plays out?

Answer Number One: No.

Spoilers can not possibly be stopped. Even before the dark times, before the social media, we’ve dealt with the persistent and unsolvable problem from which all spoilers are born – that guy. That guy who was honestly oblivious that he was sharing a spoiler. That guy who decided to be a jerk and send the spoiler as the subject of an email just to force you to read it. That guy who shared a spoiler and didn’t care if you saw it or not: he just wanted to express his emotion over the death of _________. As long as that guy exists, spoilers will too. And hey, there’s no law against divulging the information. If you want to share the most important plot twist from the summer’s blockbuster with everyone on your Facebook page, nobody can stop you, and they shouldn’t either. That’s your call to make. But keep reading, because there are a few things to consider before you make that call.

Answer Number Two: Both parties.

Have you ever played the blame game? It’s quite simple. We get in a circle. I’ll start. I point my finger at the person to my left, and blame them for our undesirable predicament. That person then points to their left, blaming the next person. This continues all the way around, over and over. For a fun variation, reverse and blame the person on your right!

When we have a spoiler problem, we start to play the blame game, and this goes back to our defensive instinct.

“How dare you mention the death of that character? I haven’t watched the episode yet!”

“I couldn’t know you didn’t already know that they died! You should not have read my post!”

“I had no idea that your post would contain that information. Spoiler warning, please?”

“The episode aired two weeks ago! It’s not even a spoiler.”

Wait, pause. Timeout. This might be a good time to bring in the definition of a “spoiler”. Let’s examine the third definition, shall we?

Just consider that. Did the information just ruin the viewer’s sense of surprise or suspense? If so, Merriam-Webster calls it a spoiler! Still, the definition is so vague. Shouldn’t there be a time frame on spoilers? How can we know if our particular detail would have been surprising to anyone else, since it wasn’t to us? I have a golden rule for spoilers that I think we should all consider, and then a few tidbits of advice that might help in the future.

The Golden Rule for Spoilers - If a person considers something to be a spoiler, regardless of what you think, it is a spoiler to that person. Period.

Don’t defend the action of spoiling it for that person.You can’t possibly claim to know if you really spoiled something or not. If they said you did, how can you argue? Maybe it wasn’t a spoiler to you, and maybe you think it is rather silly that they are upset, but guess what? You just spoiled something for them. Stop fighting for a second and apologize. And if your pride won’t let you do that much, at least resist the nature to defend your actions. It won’t help, you won’t unspoil them, and you won’t look any better for it.

Some tips for those dealing with spoilers:

• Think before you speak. Before you post something, seriously consider if the information is well-known to the general public. You’ll occasionally have somebody upset that you unveiled the secret that Vader is Luke’s father, but most spoilers really do deal with recently released material. And in the case of the thirty-year-old-spoiler (isn’t that a movie?), you are still better off to just follow the Golden Rule.
• Let us know. Feel like you have no choice but to post something that you know would be considered a spoiler by most people? You are always free to utilize an extraordinary new invention – the

SPOILER WARNING

• Play nice. If you do have something spoiled for you, you don’t have to point it out to the guilty party, and you certainly should not be rude about it. It was most likely unintentional, and one day you are going to slip up too. I know I have.
• Better to be safe… When it comes to really important things (times when you would actually die if you knew), it really is better to be safe than sorry. Just stay away from the Internet or other sources until you’ve had time to experience the material spoiler-free.

It’s a tricky topic. There is no predetermined set of rules on what is and isn’t a spoiler, and on how to treat the little buggers. When it comes to posting, just use common sense. When that still results in someone being upset… just follow the Golden Rule.

Spoiler Warning: it will help.

Celebration Europe II – Make Us Proud

January 18, 2013 10:16 am ⋅ Austin

Tickets for Celebration Europe II went on sale yesterday. I do wish that I could go, because I’m pretty sure that you’ll see things like Darth Vader playing the bagpipes in a kilt while riding a unicycle. All day long. Even Orlando didn’t give us that (of course, the strict weapons policy kept all bagpipes out of the convention center).

Congratulations to our European pals! Celebration is the ultimate Star Wars party, and if you missed out on the first Celebration Europe, don’t make the same mistake this time. It’s worth going for Dave Filoni alone.

I have a request for those who will be there. Since very few members of the American fan sites will be attending, the burden of bringing Celebration Europe to everyone who can’t make it falls on you. The folks over here worked very hard to make CVI come to life on your computer screen. Now it’s your turn. We want pictures. We want video. We need information! Be on Twitter at all times (if you’re attending, leave your username in the comments so we can follow) and make  YouTube your new best friend. The Celebration VI coverage from fansites blew me away, but anything we can do, you can do better. It’s up to you.

Thanks in advance.

The Darth Maul Arc… I Know What Happens

January 17, 2013 10:23 pm ⋅ Austin

I am ashamed of myself.

I have done this more times than I care to admit. I will come across spoilers for something that I’m planning to watch or read, and instead of waiting for the actual product, I devour the information. This must be what it’s like to have a chocolate addiction. There it is in front of you, and you know you shouldn’t, but great Scott, it is just too good to resist.

When I found the plot for the next three episodes of The Clone Wars online, with every mouth-watering secret revealed, I couldn’t stop myself from taking a little bite. And then another. And another. And eventually I just shoved that entire chocolate bar in my mouth and swallowed it whole.

I now know what happens in the Darth Maul arc. It is amazing. It is jaw-dropping. It is everything that I had hoped for and more. And I wish I didn’t know. All of this could have been new to me on my television screen. I would have sat, completely oblivious, enthralled by every twist and turn. Instead, I know what happens. I read the end of the book.

I’ll add a few words of advice before we get this thing started on Saturday morning.

You need to either watch or read up on every episode of The Clone Wars that includes Mandalore (yes, even the handful in Season Three that we promised to never speak of again), Darth Maul, and Savage Opress before you start this arc. I would advise you to be seated when you watch, and don’t be drinking anything – no need to risk any spit-takes. Be ready for an emotional roller-coaster. Try to prepare yourself for the most satisfying story we’ve seen on the show. Five seasons of building up, of establishing characters and details, all come together. If you aren’t a regular viewer, become one for the next few weeks.

But most of all: don’t read any spoilers!

Stunning Cover for Dawn of the Jedi Novel

January 17, 2013 2:28 pm ⋅ Austin

Hollywood.com revealed the cover art for Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi – Into the Void today. The novel will tie-in to the popular Dark Horse comic series.

I think I’m in love. This is a beautiful cover. As someone who sees thousands of books every day, I know what stands out on a shelf and what can be easily passed over. This thing will catch your eye. The colors, the sword, the pose of the character – what terrific art! The lettering is perfect. And hopefully, people will judge this book by its cover and grab it for that reason. I don’t think the idea of “Je’daii” and a story 36,000 years before the Star Wars that most people know will be a must-buy for the casual fan. That’s not the approach Del Rey should take to market Into the Void. You can sell three things with this novel, and they’re capitalizing on all of them from the get-go.

1. Tim Lebbon – already a New York Times bestselling author. His previous bestselling work was an adaption of a comic – so he’s succeeded in this realm before.
2. A female protagonist. Lanoree Brock will make her first appearance in Star Wars as the main character of this novel, and having a clean slate is always a good thing. Lebbon has a chance to make her a real fan favorite – as long as the fans give her a chance. Don’t shrug this one off because of the era! There is potential for the fantastic heroine that we’re looking for in Into the Void - I think she deserves a chance. This is the most exciting aspect for me.
3. The cover! Every casual reader, semi-interested fan, and completely hardcore EU follower will see the cover before they ever have a chance to read a word in the book. This art pops and stops, and heads will turn.

Del Rey is marketing all of these points wonderfully. Lanoree is in the spotlight on the cover and in the official summary. Lebbon’s first name has been legally changed to “New York Times bestselling author”. And did I mention that the cover absolutely shines?

OUT: Genre Novels. IN: Fan Service.

January 17, 2013 11:52 am ⋅ Chris

There are some big changes coming from Del Rey this year

In 2009, Del Rey began publishing books that were, in essence, genre novels. A Star Wars genre novel is simply a Star Wars book that doesn’t feel like Star Wars, because it’s designed to pull readers that enjoy other genres into the Expanded Universe. Probably the most recognized example of this is Death Troopers, a horror-themed Star Wars book that featured a zombie outbreak. The book, frankly, sucked. It also sold a gazillion copies because zombies are IN right now, and even those who weren’t regular EU fans were picking up the book to see how well Star Wars and zombies could coexist (the answer, of course, being: poorly). When Red Harvest hit shelves a year later (and missing the crucial October street date), it landed with a thud – readers were, for the most part, unimpressed and far from scared. Setting the book thousands of years before Death Troopers and making it a weird prequel-that-isn’t-a-prequel probably didn’t help much either.