Shatterpoint (Star Wars: Clone Wars)
by MATTHEW STOVER
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Book Summary Information
Author: MATTHEW STOVEREdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-04-27
ISBN: 0345455746
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: LucasBooks
Book Reviews of Shatterpoint (Star Wars: Clone Wars)
Book Review: Heart of Mace Windu's Darkness
Summary: 4 Stars
Ever since watching Star Wars - Episode I, The Phantom Menace, I've always found it a bit difficult to take Mace Windu's character seriously. Nothing with the acting so much as seeing a noted celebrity like Samuel L. Jackson in Jedi robes. I found I could accept him a bit more as Windu played an increasingly prominent role in Star Wars - Episode II, Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, but he was still always the "Hollywood" Jedi.
Matthew Stover's Shatterpoint is perhaps the first real in-depth look at Mace Windu's character, and it turns out he's one of the more interest prequel characters. Shatterpoint is a retake on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, but starring Mace Windu, and like that novel it explores the depths and darkness of the human character. In this case, Mace Windu goes to his homeworld, Haruun Kal, to track down a rouge Jedi, and former padawan, Depa Billaba. During his quest, he becomes embroiled in a nasty civil war.
There are few points I really like about the book. First, Stover goes to great lengths to explain Mace Windu's Force powers and how he uses them. Usually, the Force is almost treated like mysticism or magic, but Stover makes it a bit more tangible. In particular, Mace can identify "shatterpoints," or the breaking point of opponents or the center of gravity of certain situations. For example, he (correctly it turns out) identifies Palpatine as a man of central importance to the future of the Republic.
Second, Shatterpoint takes Star Wars to a darker place, almost as dark as Heart of Darkness itself. The civil war resembles the kinds of ethnic conflicts found in central Africa rather than the good-versus-evil sterilized conflicts of much of Star Wars. Mace Windu often finds himself preaching restraint and for humane treatment of the enemy, only to have his morals questioned. The "Truth" he discovers in the jungle is both disturbing and turns out to be profoundly accurate.
One of my favorite features of Stover's Star Wars novels is how he incorporates "ordinary people" and their views into what are usually epic plots. For example, in Star Wars: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor, Luke vents his frustration with holodramas (essentially tabloid films). In Shatterpoint, Mace Windu meets kids who argue over whether Jango Fett was the greatest bounty hunter ever and whether he was actually dead - just the sort of hero worship sports stars or politicians might receive today.
Furthermore, Stover writes some sections of the book as entries in Mace Windu's private journal, giving us a glimpse into his mind. I love some of the subtle detail about Mace's personality, such as his claim that he hadn't smiled in 10 years. Not surprisingly, it turns out Mace Windu is not dissimilar from Samuel L. Jackson's other tough-guy roles, but wit a few twists.
The only aspect of the book I didn't like was the abundance of "impossible situations." It seems like Mace Windu encounters a situation he can't possibly escape from every 50 pages, but of course he usually manages to find a shatterpoint. I think if the earlier battle scenes had been toned down a bit, the later ones would have felt all the more intense. The final quarter of the book reverts to the more typical Star Wars fare of massive battles and constant action. It's well done and takes interesting turns, but isn't nearly as interesting as the earlier portions.
At the end of the day, Shatterpoint brings Mace Windu out of Samuel L. Jackson's Hollywood shadow and reveals a deep, sophisticated, and occasionally dark character. It's certainly one of the better Star Wars novels and will force readers to think deeply on the nature of the Force, morality, and war.
Summary of Shatterpoint (Star Wars: Clone Wars)
?The Jedi are keepers of the peace. We are not soldiers.??MACE WINDU
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Mace Windu is a living legend: Jedi Master, senior member of the Jedi Council, skilled diplomat, devastating fighter. Some say he is the deadliest man alive. But he is a man of peace?and for the first time in a thousand years, the galaxy is at war.
Now, following the momentous events climaxing in the Battle of Geonosis, Master Mace Windu must undertake a perilous homecoming to his native world?to defuse a potentially catastrophic crisis for the Republic . . . and to confront a terrifying mystery with dire personal consequences.
The jungle planet of Haruun Kal, the homeworld Mace barely remembers, has become a battleground in the increasing hostilities between the Republic and the renegade Separatist movement. The Jedi Council has sent Depa Billaba?Mace?s former Padawan and fellow Council member?to Haruun Kal to train the local tribesmen as a guerilla resistance force, to fight against the Separatists who control the planet and its strategic star system with their droid armies. But now the Separatists have pulled back, and Depa has not returned. The only clue to her disappearance is a cryptic recording left at the scene of a brutal massacre: a recording that hints of madness and murder, and the darkness in the jungle . . . a recording in Depa?s own voice.
Mace Windu trained her. Only he can find her. Only he can learn what has changed her. Only he can stop her.
Jedi were never intended to be soldiers. But now they have no choice. Mace must journey alone into the most treacherous jungle in the galaxy?and into his own heritage. He will leave behind the Republic he serves, the civilization he believes in, everything but his passion for peace and his devotion to his former Padawan. And he will learn the terrible price that must be paid, when keepers of the peace are forced to make war. . . .
From the Hardcover edition.
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