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Title: Shatterpoint: A Clone Wars Novel (Star Wars) by Matthew Woodring Stover ISBN: 0-345-45573-8 Publisher: Del Rey Books Pub. Date: 03 June, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.28 (32 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Beyond Any Previous Star Wars Title
Comment: Shatterpoint. Holy [smoke]. This wasn't just a typical Star Wars novel. This wasn't just a good Star Wars novel. Instead, it was truly great literature. Matthew Stover tells a dark and convincing tale of war. Not Star Wars war, but realistic war. Stover's story is more than pure narrative--it is a sophisticated philosophical and sociological examination of human behavior under stress, using the darkness of the jungle, of the force, and of those scarred by conflict as complex and powerful metaphors for one another. Written without moral absolutes, Shatterpoint had me constantly reevaluating my own sense of right and wrong. One character's troubled rejection of moral relativism is set against a backdrop where no person, place, or action is untarnished by the darkness.
The narrative shifts back and forth between third person action and first person journal entries recorded by Mace Windu. Windu himself grows out of an essentially empty character from the movies to become interesting and thoughtful. The differences between his philosophy and that of the NJO era jedi is compelling. One major difference between the this book and the NJO era is the realism in which their conflicts are written. Mace Windu is shockingly powerful but is defined by his ever present limitations. The "minor" war seen in Shatterpoint scars everyone involved, creating a planet full of morally bankrupt, dangerously callous men, women, and children. By contrast, the NJO war, in which the Yuuzhan Vong have conquered half the galaxy, seems to be a walk in the park in comparison, with the unconquered half still operating essentially as it did before the Vong arrived. I'm not saying that the NJO story isn't still mostly good. Shatterpoint is just much more mature, thought provoking, and worthwhile.
Three days after finishing Shatterpoint I'm still haunted by its images and meaning. Star Wars has never felt so real or been so significant. If George Lucas were able to bring this kind of story to the prequels they would be infinitely better.
Rating: 4
Summary: A extremly entertaining entry to the Extended Universe
Comment: THE GOOD: This is a telling tale of Mace Windu. Yes, writen well for the older audience, (finally!). The Carectors are well drawn, and developed. The story is fast paced. The action sequences are overall well done. The thing this book acomplished the baest was to make the invincible action Hero, and jedi counsil member Mace Windu, much more human.
THE BAD: Continueing with the idea of the action. A lot of time there was too much deatail, and not enough explainaition. I felt like i lost track of what was going on, and somtimes i just felt it was time for the plot to go on. Finally,there wasn't as much dveoping of the clone war on a lager scale as i had hoped.
THE UGLY: This is a story of a genocidal war that has been going on for years. Be warned some scences are particularly grusome, not what you would expect from the PG rated Star Wars Universe.
---Don't get me wrong this was a wonderful read. I would recomend it to any Star Wars fan, even if you have never read any Star Wars fiction before!---
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent and well thought entry to the star wars saga
Comment: Shatterpoint is what Star Wars is all about. It is entertaining, immersive, and creative. But furthermore, it successfully uses the escapist sci-fi universe of SW as a vehicle from which to examine philosophical issues of life, morality, etc. Shatterpoint is the only star wars novel I have read, other than Timothy Zahn's work, that adds real depth to the star wars vision.
I think that the central theme of the story has to do with the conflict between the morality/compassion/order of civilized humanity (exemplified through the way of the Jedi) and the cold moral ambiguity of nature itself (which leads to the passion and cruelty of the dark side). The story explores the role of the Jedi as keepers of peace and guardians of moral civilization, and then challenges it by forcing the Jedi into a situation of chaotic and brutal war. In war, the only rules that apply are "survival of the fittest", and "kill or be killed". War occurs when the instruments of civilization fail to resolve conflict. Shatterpoint examines the struggle and dilemma of being morally good in a situation where the rules of civilized society no longer apply.
The issues and themes examined in this book are serious and mature. I would not recommend it to younger audiences. This book makes somewhat of a departure from the usual feel of a star wars story in that war and battle are not portrayed as thrilling adventure, but rather as brutal/painful/dark. there is more reality and maturity here than in the usual star wars fare. The book also does a good job of fleshing out the character of Mace Windu, making him much more human and fallible than the nondescript invincible Jedi master that we've seen in the films. At the same time, the Mace we see in this book does complement his onscreen portrayal very nicely. The personality brought to the character by Samuel L. Jackson does shine through in Shatterpoint. The entire story is pretty much Mace's show. Anyone wanting a story where all of the prequel's main characters are involved should look elsewhere. Yoda is present only briefly, Anakin and Obi-wan are only mentioned a couple times, and Padme is completely MIA. There are a couple appearances by Palpatine, and although they are brief, they emphasize just how successfully Palpatine has pulled the wool over the Jedi's eyes. Mace has nothing but respect and admiration for the future emperor, and both he and Yoda show absolutely no indication of suspecting Palpatine of being a villain. Their ability to see into the Force is clearly diminished, and the chaos and hopelessness faced by the Jedi in Shatterpoint is a fitting prelude to their coming defeat.
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Title: The Unifying Force (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 19) by JAMES LUCENO ISBN: 0345428528 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 04 November, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
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Title: Tatooine Ghost (Star Wars) by Troy Denning ISBN: 0345456688 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 04 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: The Final Prophecy (Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Book 18) by Greg Keyes ISBN: 0345428757 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 30 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Survivor's Quest (Star Wars) by TIMOTHY ZAHN ISBN: 0345459164 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 03 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Cloak of Deception (Star Wars) by James Luceno ISBN: 0345442970 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 25 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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