Riddick Series by Frank Lauria, Alan Dean Foster

A fantastic futuristic thriller of a deadly new frontier.A rogue comet spears an earth-bound commercial spacecraft, forcing it to plummet to the surface of an unknown planet. With the captain dead, a brave pilot performs a perilous crash landing. Other than three suns-which create perpetual light-and a slight oxygen deficiency, a search party discovers that the planet isn't much different from Earth.. moreA fantastic futuristic thriller of a deadly new frontier.A rogue comet spears an earth-bound commercial spacecraft, forcing it to plummet to the surface of an unknown planet. With the captain dead, a brave pilot performs a perilous crash landing. Other than three suns-which create perpetual light-and a slight oxygen deficiency, a search party discovers that the planet isn't much different from Earth...until they stumble across a ghostly settlement littered with the human remains of geologists who mysteriously perished exactly sixty years ago. And the most horrific discovery of all: below the surface of the soil, where darkness reigns, live hungry predators with a deadly appetite.Once every sixty years a solar eclipse darkens the skies and allows the blood-hungry creatures to escape from their underground tomb. With only hours before total blackout, everyone must unite in a race to raise the geologists' abandoned ship before becoming a long-awaited meal... less

May 2004 Del Rey mass market paperback, Alan Dean Foster (Splinter of the Mind's Eye). Richard B. Riddick has been in hiding for five years, evading bounty hunters and mercenaries sent to capture him. After killing a crew led by Toombs and stealing his ship he heads to New Mecca in the Helion System, after Toombs reveals his bounty originated there. Riddick is reunited with Imam, the man previously rescued... moreMay 2004 Del Rey mass market paperback, Alan Dean Foster (Splinter of the Mind's Eye). Richard B. Riddick has been in hiding for five years, evading bounty hunters and mercenaries sent to capture him. After killing a crew led by Toombs and stealing his ship he heads to New Mecca in the Helion System, after Toombs reveals his bounty originated there. Riddick is reunited with Imam, the man previously rescued. Imam believes Riddick is a Furyan, a race of warriors long thought extinct, and wants to know about his homeworld and if anyone other than himself is left. Imam believes Helion Prime is the next planet to be conquered by a mysterious force crusading across the stars. Aereon, an Air Elemental, identifies the army as the Necromongers, religious fanatics who seek to convert everyone and kill those who refuse. The Necromongers attack, and take control of the capital in a single night. In the battle, Imam is killed and Riddick escapes.- Wikipedia less