Star Wars: Hiding from the Dark: A Star Wars Horror Novel
Explore the darkest corners of the Star Wars galaxy in this chilling horror-themed middle grade novel by New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White.
Pursued by Imperial forces, a young girl named Bia must flee her home planet of Coruscant and find her mother. All the time, she is hunted by a figure in black, a presence more horrifying than she has ever encountered before.
Can Bia escape—and what does she have that the Empire wants so badly? Horror readers and Star Wars fans of all ages will thrill to this fright-filled middle grade novel.
Author: Kiersten White
Cover artist: Hugo L. Cuellar
Release date: September 1, 2026
Pages: 240
ISBN: 9780736447027
The second book in Star Wars publishing’s new genre initiative puts a horror twist on the latest middle-grade book. While it brings some interesting ideas, the chills/thrills leave something to be desired. Let’s dive into it.
Hiding From the Dark puts the focus on Bia, a young girl born and raised on Coruscant, who must embark on a perilous mission to track down her mother. She went missing mysteriously and despite working for the Empire, Bia finds herself all alone and unwilling to ask for help. Things get worse when she returns from school to find strange men ransacking their apartment, and somehow even more terrible when a monstrous agent of the Empire bursts in and begins chasing her.
Using the hidden ship her mother prepared, she escapes the planet in hopes of figuring out a way to find her mother, while avoiding the dark “shadow” plaguing her. When she ends up on a planet from her past, thinking it’ll offer a clue to her mother’s whereabouts, the Empire manages to find her. As she struggles to remain hidden, unsure who to trust, and realizing her mom has a secret life of sorts, Bia must gather her courage if she wants to survive.
Though I’m not sure there are necessarily a lot of specific things to spoil, in the interest of keeping things vague for everyone else, I’ll leave it at that. Suffice it to say, there’s more going on in the story than the simple run-and-hide horror adventure. Having grown up only knowing the Empire and thus been fully impacted by their propaganda. As such, Bia’s journey is as much about coming to understand the true horror of the Empire as it is having to grow up and find a way to rely on herself/instincts.
Hiding From the Dark marks Kiersten White’s second Star Wars novel (third outing overall if you include the short story in the Empire Strikes Back FACPOV) and it’s very clear she has a solid handle on the franchise elements. Despite the changes in perspective and approach, this fits very well within the Star Wars universe and hits all those aesthetic elements you could want.
I love how she positions Vader as a boogeyman. Something more akin to Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees in that he’s less of a character and more of an ever-present—relentless—threat. Treating Vader as a source of fear isn’t exactly new, but how White approaches it in this story gives him a fresh feel. Something not at all easy with such an iconic, and well-used character.
I also greatly enjoyed how White centers the story from Bia’s perspective. It’s very much getting to view the galaxy far, far away through her eyes. That means even as we encounter familiar Star Wars elements (Vader, the Force, angry looking creatures, and various technology), it feels vastly different coming from her POV. It’s a great balance that offers an accessible entry point for the target audience, who may be just getting started in the wider Star Wars universe. But also offers enough nods/references to keep long-time fans immersed.
Safe to say that White’s writing style is in great form here and easily the highlight of the book. The problem is…it just doesn’t feel much like an actual horror story and tends to play with the genre a little too safely. Kind of like the last genre specific Star Wars novel, the romance book Eyes Like Stars, the biggest problem Hiding From the Dark has, is it doesn’t lean into things enough. It’s more horror-lite than anything genuinely chilling. Don’t get me wrong, there’s solid atmosphere and overall tone, but it doesn’t do a whole lot with them. Instead it veers more into action/adventure territory than scares.
Being billed as “A Horror Novel” in this new genre initiative, I was hoping for something with a little more oomph. I get this is a middle-grade book (another strange decision given this first horror outing), but even in this context it doesn’t push as hard as it could. Just look at the old Goosebumps books. They were in the same target reader range, but featured some genuinely chilling stories that offered legit scares.
Hiding From the Dark suggests at its horror roots, setting a strong tone without the chilling payoff to bring it home. It’s frustrating, as White’s prose is dynamic and flowing, with great character beats. Her style is what kept pulling me through the story even as you begin to get an idea of how it’ll all shake out.
Hiding From the Dark has some good bones, and I’m hoping to see more of Kiersten White in the franchise, but it struggles to earn that “Horror Novel” moniker. There’s fun to be had and readers certainly won’t feel like they’ve wasted any time in reading it. It’s just hard not to look at the missed potential.