Book Review: 'Star Wars: Shatterpoint - A Clone Wars Novel'
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| (C) 2003 Del Rey Books, Lucas Books, and Lucasfilm Ltd. Cover art by Steven D. Anderson |
Pros: Good prose, nifty concept, and features a
kick-butt character: Mace Windu
Cons: Slower pace than most novels, might be too
intense for some readers
The Star Wars saga, like the English
language, is what I call the great "borrower." Even though when it
came out in May of 1977 and everyone thought it was a very original and
contemporary story, it was seen by savvy film buffs and experts on mythology as
a very traditional myth that was inspired not only by such classic tales
as Beowulf and the King Arthur legend, but also Oedipus, the
fall of Lucifer from Heaven to Hell, and such "heroic" epics as the
story of Perseus and the "quest" tale featuring Jason and the Argonauts.
Matthew Stover, author of several Star Wars novels - including the novelization of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - no doubt knows that George Lucas was one of the filmmakers involved in the creation of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, a re-visualization of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, for that's the well where Star Wars: Shatterpoint - A Clone Wars Novel seems to have drawn its basic premise from.
Set six months after the Battle of Geonosis (the climactic skirmish that kicks off the Clone Wars and seen in Episode II: Attack of the Clones), Shatterpoint starts on an ominous note reminiscent of the start of Apocalypse Now, with Mace Windu, senior member of the Jedi High Council, recording an entry in his journal regarding his regret about not having killed Count Dooku at the Geonosians' arena. In his dreams, he says, Mace always strikes Dooku dead even though it means dying at the hands of the infamous bounty hunter Jango Fett.
In my dreams, the purple flare of my blade sizzles the gray hairs of Dooku's beard, and in the critical semisecond it takes Jango Fett to aim and fire, I twitch that blade and take Dooku with me into death.
And save the galaxy from civil war.
I could have done it.
I could have done it.
Even though Mace is still haunted by his failure to destroy the Separatist movement before the war kicked off, the will of the Force, or Fate, has worse in store for him. At a hastily arranged meeting in Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's office, Mace and Yoda are shown evidence that Depa Billaba, a member of the Jedi Council and Master Windu's former Padawan, has gone rogue while leading an anti-Separatist guerrilla campaign on a jungle planet called Haruun Kal.
Mace is chosen to go to Haruun Kal in part because that's the Jedi Master's home world, but mostly because - just as in the case of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker - he feels a strong attachment to his erstwhile apprentice. His mission is two-fold: stop Depa and her guerrilla band from committing war crimes, and determine if the Chalactan Jedi Master has fallen to the dark side of the Force.
Shatterpoint eerily mirrors Apocalypse Now in many ways, even though there aren't any Republic clone army leaders that resemble Robert Duvall's Col. Kilgore of "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" fame. The closest parallel is the young Korun (uplander) named Nick Rostu, a young man who has known war far too long and seems to thrive in it far too much to suit Mace.
Yet, the parallels are there, with Haruun Kal clearly standing in for Coppola's mythical vision of Vietnam and with Depa serving as a Star Wars version of Marlon Brando's Col. Kurtz, even paraphrasing the famous line The horror...the horror... in a sequence in which she tells Mace that the Jedi Order is simply not prepared for what a war is truly like.
Of the long list of Star Wars novels on my bookshelves, Shatterpoint is possibly one of the more psychological and philosophical ones I've read. While, of course, we are treated to many exciting sequences with Mace Windu using the Force and his lightsaber, Stover also takes us on a more introspective journey as he explores the nature of Windu's Force talent to "see" weaknesses or "shatterpoints" in his foes or the nature of war, particularly guerrilla war, pitting unprepared Jedi peacekeepers against dedicated insurgents willing to use any means, even terror, to prevail in a protracted asymmetrical struggle.
By blending in first-person entries from Mace's private journal and conventional third-person narrative, Stover not only echoes the tone of Apocalypse Now but also gives the reader some insights into one of the Prequels' more interesting supporting characters. It's perhaps a bit more demanding to read than, say, one of the X-Wing novels, but it does have a true Star Wars feel to it.
Matthew Stover, author of several Star Wars novels - including the novelization of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - no doubt knows that George Lucas was one of the filmmakers involved in the creation of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, a re-visualization of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, for that's the well where Star Wars: Shatterpoint - A Clone Wars Novel seems to have drawn its basic premise from.
Set six months after the Battle of Geonosis (the climactic skirmish that kicks off the Clone Wars and seen in Episode II: Attack of the Clones), Shatterpoint starts on an ominous note reminiscent of the start of Apocalypse Now, with Mace Windu, senior member of the Jedi High Council, recording an entry in his journal regarding his regret about not having killed Count Dooku at the Geonosians' arena. In his dreams, he says, Mace always strikes Dooku dead even though it means dying at the hands of the infamous bounty hunter Jango Fett.
In my dreams, the purple flare of my blade sizzles the gray hairs of Dooku's beard, and in the critical semisecond it takes Jango Fett to aim and fire, I twitch that blade and take Dooku with me into death.
And save the galaxy from civil war.
I could have done it.
I could have done it.
Even though Mace is still haunted by his failure to destroy the Separatist movement before the war kicked off, the will of the Force, or Fate, has worse in store for him. At a hastily arranged meeting in Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's office, Mace and Yoda are shown evidence that Depa Billaba, a member of the Jedi Council and Master Windu's former Padawan, has gone rogue while leading an anti-Separatist guerrilla campaign on a jungle planet called Haruun Kal.
Mace is chosen to go to Haruun Kal in part because that's the Jedi Master's home world, but mostly because - just as in the case of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker - he feels a strong attachment to his erstwhile apprentice. His mission is two-fold: stop Depa and her guerrilla band from committing war crimes, and determine if the Chalactan Jedi Master has fallen to the dark side of the Force.
Shatterpoint eerily mirrors Apocalypse Now in many ways, even though there aren't any Republic clone army leaders that resemble Robert Duvall's Col. Kilgore of "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" fame. The closest parallel is the young Korun (uplander) named Nick Rostu, a young man who has known war far too long and seems to thrive in it far too much to suit Mace.
Yet, the parallels are there, with Haruun Kal clearly standing in for Coppola's mythical vision of Vietnam and with Depa serving as a Star Wars version of Marlon Brando's Col. Kurtz, even paraphrasing the famous line The horror...the horror... in a sequence in which she tells Mace that the Jedi Order is simply not prepared for what a war is truly like.
Of the long list of Star Wars novels on my bookshelves, Shatterpoint is possibly one of the more psychological and philosophical ones I've read. While, of course, we are treated to many exciting sequences with Mace Windu using the Force and his lightsaber, Stover also takes us on a more introspective journey as he explores the nature of Windu's Force talent to "see" weaknesses or "shatterpoints" in his foes or the nature of war, particularly guerrilla war, pitting unprepared Jedi peacekeepers against dedicated insurgents willing to use any means, even terror, to prevail in a protracted asymmetrical struggle.
By blending in first-person entries from Mace's private journal and conventional third-person narrative, Stover not only echoes the tone of Apocalypse Now but also gives the reader some insights into one of the Prequels' more interesting supporting characters. It's perhaps a bit more demanding to read than, say, one of the X-Wing novels, but it does have a true Star Wars feel to it.
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