On the dangerous jungle planet of Haruun Kal, Mace Windu is on a desperate mission to find his lost former apprentice, Depa Billaba, when he comes face to face with the true horrors of war and its casualties, in the latest Legendary Adventures: Shatterpoint!
Days before the onslaught of the Battle of Geonosis, Jedi Master Mace Windu tells Chancellor Palpatine that the Jedi are peace keepers, and not warriors. Days later, Mace fights on Geonosis, brandishing his saber, threatening to behead a bounty hunter. Hours later, he leads a clone army into battle against Separatist battle droids in the plains of Geonosis. Funny how time changes things, eh? The Jedi have never been generals before, which means the Clone War is a catalyst for major change for the Jedi.. How do the Jedi adapt? Does their mission change, or could the Jedi find a way to say that this charge to war consists as part of their mission? We don’t get many stories exploring that in novel form, but thankfully, we see this challenge played out personally in the life of Mace Windu. Can we reconcile the “we are not warriors” line with his role in the Battle of Haruun Kal?
First, some backstory. Two months after the Battle of Geonosis, Jedi Master Depa Billaba was sent on a mission to Haruun Kal, Mace Windu’s home planet. In lieu of clone support, Depa was to raise a revolution of natives against the newly in place Separatist leadership of the planet. Unbeknownst to her, the planet was full of dangerous militias and soldiers, all adept in the Force, both the light and the dark. The darkness brings out the worst in people. Their impulses toward destruction are encouraged, and they bring others into that violence. Even children are conscripted into this war. (there’s analogy here for the situation the Jedi place families in, but Shatterpoint is already heavy enough without worrying about more!) Somewhere in her mission, Depa comes across militia leader Kar Vastor, who tempts Depa into joining the Dark Side. Auditory proof of her fall leaks to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, six months into the war. In response, Mace is sent to Haruun Kal to bring her back.
The planet itself is somewhat of a microcosm of the battle between the Dark and Light side of the Force. The Haruunai are descendants of the Jedi, which Shatterpoint hints at as having higher significance than just their family line. The Haruuani are imbued with the Force, to a varying degree. But, having descended from Jedi, they feel a pull to fend off the darkness and defend the planet from a growing level of destruction. Unfortunately, at this point in the local civil war, the darkness seems to be winning, both at the behest of Kar Vastor, and influencing the loss of Depa.
Depa represents something special, but dangerous, to Mace: a strong connection. Her views her as a daughter at times, which as we know for Prequel Jedi, is a dangerous relationship to have. This almost familial connection is not the only thing that brings Mace in dangerous connection with the Dark Side. Mace is famed for his creation of the seventh form of lightsaber combat, Vapaad. Vapaad draws on the inner darkness of the fighter, bringing out their passion and bloodlust. This puts him in a precarious position as he heads for Haruun Kal. If Depa has already fallen to the darkness there, Mace is at extra risk. A lot of this novel centers on what challenges Mace directly as a Master and a Jedi, and offers uniquely tempting calls to the dark side.
Most of this novel centers on Mace’s reaction to the local war on Haruun Kal, and how that war is a microcosm of the larger Clone War, as said before, the larger cosmic balance of the Force. Of course, we get glimpses into his mind when he’s working on the mission, but that’s not the only window we’re given to his mindset. We get an especially intimate look into his reactions by getting a glimpse into the journal that he keeps while on the planet. This journal is filled with the angst that comes out of being a part of war at all, his relationships with Depa and the soon to be introduced Nick Rostu, and his confrontation with the man who turned his apprentice. This is comparable to Kenobi’s meditations with his master in Kenobi, offering self-reflective insights that only masters of prose like Matthew Stover or John Jackson Miller could provide.
As he approaches the capital of Haruun Kal after being dropped on the planet, Mace is detained by a security guard named Geptun. Geptun releases Mace to meet with Mace’s contact, but the contact is subsequently killed by local Haruunai. Nick Rostu, the assassin and a Haruun Kal local, reveals that she was actually a Separatist agent, which would have put Mace at greater risk. Mace is introduced to Rostu’s companions, Besh, Lesh, and Chalk. These side characters offer some insight on the story, but mostly serve as victims for the escalating violence and warfare. This gives the violent conflict a more personal touch as people that we like are taken out as Mace continues deeper into the jungles.
Rostu and his gang bring Mace into the jungles, where they last heard that Depa was at large. As they venture out into the jungle, Rostu explains the planet’s current situation. They are in the middle of a Summertime War, a seasonal conflict between the native Haruunai and offworlders known as the Balawai. The problem of a continually cyclical war is compounded when Rostu reveals that the Balawai are now associated with the Separatists. This makes the fight against the Separatists personal for Mace: his home planet is now under fire from the Separatists. This also signals a break in the war, of sorts. It is no longer a personal civil war. In an effort to unseat the Republic’s power from more systems, the Separatist are developing a new tactic. First, Jedi Killer Droids; second, nanoviruses targeting clones; now, local militias will do their dirty work for me. The Republic responds in kind, sending Jedi and clones to help deescalate the fight.
After a scuffle with a Balawai gunship, Mace comes in direct conflict with Kar Vastor. Vastor is the leader of a volatile group of warriors known as the Akk Guards. They are powerful in their own right, but that power is compounded by their control of vicious akk dogs. Vastor is known as the lor pelek, or lord of the jungle, a title he earned for both his abilities in the Force and his leadership power. Vastor provides Mace with a stunning mirror image of himself. What happens when Mace is caught up in the darkness, in the joy of the fight? He’s in danger of turning into Vastor. Vastor recognizes this in Mace, using it to his advantage. As Mace calls upon Vapaad to fight Vastor, Vastor teases him about much he likes fighting, telling him to give in to these impulses and let himself go. In the end, Mace rejects this offer and pushes back to best Vastor. By overcoming his desire to kill Vastor, Mace is able to keep the darkness at bay. It also subjects Vastor to true justice, coming to trial in front of a Republic tribunal.
This mission starts to shake Mace to the core of who he is as a Master. Vastor teams up with Mace and Nick to bring the group to Depa Bilaba. Mace arrests her, soon learning that she truly has fallen to the dark side, committing huge atrocities on the planet. This also shakes Mace, realizing more and more how close he was to falling to the dark side. It also challenges him, making him ask if he did something, or didn’t do something, that helped push her this way. As he worries about a former apprentice, he takes a mentoring role to Nick. Nick’s personality mixes his headstrong attitude toward combat and his general anxiety about living under fire all the time, a dangerous mix on a planet embroiled in war. Mace wants to help mold him into a strong warrior and leader, for both his own people and the Haruunai in general.
After an explosive final battle, Kar Vastor is severely injured, Nick is instated into the Republic Army, and Depa is put into stasis in the Jedi Temple. I wish Mace would’ve struggled a bit more with the amount of wanton destruction his visit caused. That’s not to say he doesn’t deal with it at all, and I hope that I have pointed out before how this novel challenges Mace across the role as a Jedi, a Jedi Master, and a warrior. How about this: Mace Windu is my least favorite Jedi for at least two dozen reasons. Shatterpoint made me a bit sympathetic to his cause, which is saying quite a bit.
This is due to the incredible prose writing of Matthew Stover. Quick: think of your favorite Saga novelization. For good reasons, probably everybody said Revenge of the Sith. Stover also wrote Traitor, a fan-favorite installment of the New Jedi Order series. Stover has an incredible ability to reach into the deepest parts of the character he is writing and get to their heart. He then takes this heart and puts it through the grinder, imagining them in the worst case scenario that would challenge them the most. Not only does Stover balance his character work and plotting, he is a poet when it comes to prose writing. This helps boost Stover as one of the best Legends writers of all, and I desperately hope to see him in a canon novel soon!
At the end of the day, Shatterpoint is a fantastic novel, for fans of Legends novels, fans of novels, or fans of Star Wars writ large. Even those who hate the Jedi, Prequel Trilogy, or Mace Windu will find something to love here!
Legendary Travel Tips:
-This novel is preceded by Star Wars Insider Presents: Duel and is followed by The Clone Wars: No Prisoners.
-The Legends paperback features a short story Equipment. This short story follows a clone trooper in the jungle of Haruun Kal.
-Mace has two visions of the future in the jungle. The first is a vision of Order 66, where he sees the Temple on fire and the smell of corpses rotting. In the second vision, he sees a Vong-terraformed Coruscant, linking this novel with previous hints of the Yuuzhan Vong in both Rogue Planet and Outbound Flight.
You can follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisWerms, and of course, you can follow the Manor on Twitter @MynockManor and Instagram @mynockmanor!
Essential Legends Collection: Revan | The Old Republic: Deceived | The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance | The Old Republic: Annihilation | Darth Bane: Path of Destruction | | Darth Bane: Rule of Two | Darth Bane: Dynasty of Evil | Darth Plagueis | Shatterpoint | Kenobi | Rogue Squadron | Rogue Squadron: Wedge’s Gamble | Rogue Squadron: The Bacta War | Heir to the Empire | Dark Force Rising | The Last Command | Yoda: Dark Rendezvous | Dawn of the Jedi: Into the Void | Republic Commando: Hard Contact | Republic Commando: Triple Zero | Republic Commando: True Colors | Outbound Flight | | Survivor’s Quest | Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter | The Courtship of Princess Leia | I, Jedi
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