Another 'Stranger Things' Tie-In Book Will Focus On The Origins Of Chief Hopper

The first Stranger Things tie-in novel arrived in stores this week, and Netflix is wasting no time promoting the next book linked to their hit sci-fi series.

The first book, Suspicious Minds, focused on Eleven's mother, Terry Ives, and how she got caught up in the experiments of a secret government organization in the 1960s. But the second book will shift the focus to Eleven's surrogate father, Chief Hopper (played by David Harbour on the series). Darkness on the Edge of Town will follow the earlier years of Hawkins, Indiana police chief when he was a homicide detective in New York City in 1977.

Stranger Things marked the first time Chief Hopper had ever encountered anything you'd consider sci-fi or supernatural, so this won't reveal anything about the mysterious forces at the center of the Netflix series. But that doesn't mean it won't tell a significant story. Let's not forget that Hopper has been greatly affected by the death of his daughter, which makes his connection with Eleven that much more important to him. Perhaps we'll find out more about Hopper's daughter in this book.

That being said, it's hard to get invested in tie-in novels like this, especially when these are stories that aren't important enough to tell in the Stranger Things series itself. While it might add layers of detail for fans hungry for something new, it's still tangential to the series itself. It's the kind of thing general audiences won't need to know about in order to enjoy the series, which makes it a little less meaningful.

Then again, there have been countless side stories for major franchises like Star Wars that are extremely popular. The big difference is Star Wars allows for a much wider variety of stories since there's a whole galaxy where stories can unfold. In this case, the arena for possible stories is much smaller. So unless Chief Hopper had some kind of Die Hard moment during his homicide detective career in New York, this likely won't be something you'll need to speed read through.

Coincidentally enough, since the novel takes place in 1977, maybe Chief Hopper will take a trip to the theater to watch Star Wars. Maybe a big chunk of the novel will just be a short novelization of Star Wars as he watches it. Maybe he'll be so profoundly moved by Star Wars that this is what inspires him to leave the city and move to Indiana.

Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town will arrive on June 4, just before new episodes arrive in July of 2019.