Reviews Books The JC Lit Reviews Special: SHATTERPOINT (SHATTERPOINT spoilers)

I give Shatterpoint a definite 8 out of 10.

And that may seem harsh for a book I deem one of the best I've read in the Star Wars Universe.

I have to say that I'm not overtly fond of the war within a war scenario BUT that doesn't mean I totally get the point Stover is trying to make. That even though there maybe a Big picture War, the Smaller picture's own grievances still go on and those who have fought each other for decades continue to do so no matter the change in circumstances.

And the characterisation of Mace Windu, though again not overtly liked on my part, is quite satisfying adding something to the lack of characterisation from the films. Stover's take on Mace is, to say the least, unique but not unwarranted.
So Matt, kudos to you, I'm glad you gave this new characterisation to the Jedi of the Windu

Nick Rostu, wow, another great character and someone I really felt for. It was amazing to see this young Korunnai change not only his perception of Master Windu, but also of the fight his own people enjured (sp?) and the Republic's role in the change of Horuun Kal's problems.
And it was touching, at the end of the book to have Nick make that final shot.

The final battle was very exciting and ultimately what swayed me in really liking this book. It was fascinating seeing Mace as a General and how he showed himself a worthy Jedi, in the end, by fighting till the end.
Sorry if thats vague but pretty much all the battle has just sunk in from reading it and it was very absorbing.

Now on to the bad news.
As I said earlier I wasn't too fond of the whole Korunnai vs. Banawai, I did feel early on in the book quite confused with the events going on and although the two sides were clearly marked I was uncomfortable with the story that was being told.

Depa & Kar Vastor are probably my biggest gripes with this book.
Its their characterisation, especially of Depa a Jedi Master, which was rather annoying to me.
I'm fed up with all these PT Jedi (in the Clone War series - meaning comics and now a novel) suddenley going dark on things. Stop with that! Yes I can understand the Jedi question themselves, especially there is war which makes you question what you are truly doing, but please can we just have 2 Jedi becoming Dark (Dooku & Anakin)?
Kar Vastor annoys me in a different way.
I don't like how he can exude such influence over someone like Depa but I guess I don't like this idea of there being Force sensitive beings who are not Jedi, using the Force in a different way, kinda takes away the speciality of the Jedi if you ask me.

But these negatives are really not all that important, I can certainly live with them, especially since I'm gonna re-read this book within a day or two (need to relax a bit first )

But I want to say to Matt Stover: Well done. Fantastic book, story, characters and a wonderful beginning to the Clone War series of novels.
If you do do another SW book, you'll be pleased to know I'll take a look at it.

NB.
Palpatine brilliantly subtlety there Matt

"A shame he can't touch the Force. He might have made a fine Jedi.

Anything we learn about what might cause one to fall is incredibly important.

These two quotes just crack me up. If only the Jedi realised what that "mild mannered Politician" was upto

 

It's definently a book to re-read a couple times

 

I finished shatterpoint yesterday. It is an awesome novel. I'm not going to go into a long review of the book, but i do want to point out a few things about Deppa and Kar. People have been saying that Kar was too powerfull. I disagree. Kar had home field advantage. Mace didn't have the experiance with the jungle that Kar did. Kar physically beat mace, but he didn't have the insight into the force or the intelligence that mace had. These are also componets of power. I don't find Depa's charater unbelievable at all. Mace could feel the jungle's darkness pulling at him throughout the book. Depa had been on the planet far longer then he had. As Mace states in his journal everyone has a shatterpoint, even jedi. Anyway i give the book a 9.

 

I'll write a review later, too tired now. Let's just say: Possibly my favorite SW book ever. 10/10.

-Paul

 

Is there some magic rule that ALL force users out there MUST be Jedi or Sith?

 

In the EU? Not at all. And Kar is a shining example of this; while not a Sith and certainly not a Jedi, he is one of the more powerful Force users we've met.

-Paul

 

Is there some magic rule that ALL force users out there MUST be Jedi or Sith?

No of course not. But if you're referring to my opinion, then I guess I don't like it that there are Force users outside the Jedi and Sith Order, personal preference I'm afraid.

 

Finished it last night. I will give it a 9 out of 10, and it has gone into my top 10 Star Wars book list. (Bounty Hunter Trilogy tops it due to Boba Fett being the main character). I liked this a lot more than I have liked any of the NJO books, and I would welcome any more with Mace as the main character if they are as exciting. It's nice to see Star Wars literature aimed at the more mature audience and I'd like to see it continue.

 

Counting 10 votes: 87.2/10 = 8.72/10

 

Okay, i finished this book yesterday and i have become a huge fan of Stover's work. First, i don't like Jacen. Throughout the NJO, he has seemed whiny and typically an unjustified "hero" of the Series. However, the character transformation that he goes through in Traitor is very, very well written and made me actually respect and like, just a little, the character. Unfortunately every author has weakened the character that Stover created in Jacen, but that is for another thread. As far as Shatterpoint and Mace Windu go, this is one of the more entertaining SW novels i have ever read, and i think i have read them all.

The characters are the highlight for me in this novel, they all have huge personality differences which causes the interactions and conflicts between characters to be so memorable. Mace is a Billy Bad Ass. Everyone knows this, but you really get to see it in this novel. Not just for his fighting ability, but also for his ability to see the shatterpoint of people, the fight, and the universe that he is in. Kar was a great character in that all he had to do was be the physical equal and moral opposite of Mace. This is done to highlight the danger of even the smallest slip into the dark by Depa. Think about it, she trained with Mace for hown many years and years, but she is with Kar for only a few months and look how that wasted her. Her Fall could also be as a result of her mastery of Vapaad and its resulting mastery over her. Nick was a fun character, and i for one am dang glad that someone besides AA is putting humor in a SW book again. It just makes them all the more fun to read.

I really enjoyed reading this book, but the thing that made me sad was the realization that this book should have been published now, but the NJO shouldn't have been. Now let me explain, you have a finite resource in authors and their skill and if you spread it out over too much material then you are going to get reduced returns, and bad publishing. How much more popular would the NJO be if it were released say starting the year after Episode III came out. You would have all these authors working in one timeline at a time and not split the attention and confuse that vast majority of readers out there who are not as learned when it comes to the GFFA as we who read here are.
I know this is a topic for another thread but it struck while reading i was reading Shatterpoint, so that's my story.

Great book, 9.5/10

 

Counting 11 votes: 96.7/11 = 8.79/10

 

Solo, this is about shatterpoint, not the NJO

 

I don't have time for the explaination now, but my score: 10/10.

I've never given this score before. Only SbS can match it because of its scale, importance and excitment. I still slightly prefer SbS, but Shatterpoint is so well done, it deserves higher than a 9.5.

More later.

 

Counting 12 reviews: 106.7/12 = 8.89/10

 

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Looks like it's a hit.

 

I give Shatterpoint 9.9/10 simply because I want a e-book detailing Depa's insertion into Haruun Kal and the events leading to her "breaking."

The scenes with Palpatine are similar to a Greek tragedy. The reader knows there is a double entendre to EVERYTHING Palpatine says. I get the feeling Yoda KNOWS the Jedi are on the brink of destruction yet realizes the necessity of the birth of a new Jedi Order. The man is DEVIOUS and has a TWISTED sense of humour/irony.

 

I thought this book was fantastic. I was really wondering, after watching Ep.I and II how the Jedi would deal with making war instead of keeping the peace. In Depa's case, she broke.

I found the descriptions vivid, the action exciting, and the characterizations believable. I really enjoyed reading a book from the PoV of a Jedi Master trained in the Old Republic, as opposed to Luke, who often had to find his own way due to a VERY short training. It was a very different read because of it.

I would like to point out that I saw some similarities between Depa and Vergere. Both were thrust into situations that their Jedi training didn't really prepare them for mentally, and IMO both were scarred because of it. Some of Vergere's quirks were due to her alien nature. Other parts were, I think, due to the fact that she was not quite sane anymore. I also did not read Stover attempting to push Vergere's theory of the Force on the readers, showing that it is just that, Vergere's theory, not necessarily the truth.

Back to the book...

The scenes with Palpatine did make me want to scream at Yoda and Mace, "Don't trust him! He is not your friend! He is SITH!!!" Unfortunately I cannot talk to paper and get my point across. And the part where he asked them to find out how exactly Depa went insane, what string of events would push a Jedi Master over the edge...(shudder). Just gave me a bad feeling.

The only time I noticed Mace acting un-Jedi-like was when he was undercover (such as the shower scene). Yeah, he is, in general, tougher than most Jedi we have been introduced to (in the attitude sense, not in normal "toughness"), but all his thinking, all his actions, even when he was being tempted with the Dark Side, just screamed JEDI. He said the pleasure he gets from fighting was a fault that he has struggled with. I doubt Shaft or Jules ever had any difficulties with that. Mace was shown to care about people, his friends and enemies both.

Mace's "shatterpoint" gift was very interesting and original (at least to me).
In my opinion, this novel had some of the best lightsaber fight scenes in all of EU. They were easy to visualize and just plain amazing.

I would have liked to see a little more in the prologue from after the battle. And I would have liked to have had a little better set up of the book and characters at the beginning. Generally, I dislike single-planet SW books, although I didn't mind so much in this one. Those are the only criticism's I can come up with.

All in all, an outstanding book. I have to say this is one of my favorite SW novels, and hands down the best prequel novel to date. I give it a 9.8/10

 

Counting 14 votes: 126.4/14 = 9.03/10

 

I have to agree that the scenes with Palpatine were classic and look forward to similar scenes in the lit to come. I really enjoyed this novel; from the writing, to the characterizaton, the action and the themes, it all worked for me. I think Mace acted just right, he is a bad mammajamma. And if you need proof, he took out Jango Fett, the most dangreous man in the galaxy. Anyhow, I really enjoyed this book and it made me want to buy the Clone War comics to get some more Clone War action. I give Shatterpoint a 9/10.

 

Wow. This book absolutely blew me away. Once again Matthew Stover goes above and beyond, weaving a tragic story of darkness and warfare. The violence quotient disturbed me at first but I realize how necassary a plot device it was. For the first time the Clone War finally seems real to me, not some abstract, meaningless conflict used as a set-up for Anakin's eventual fall and the OT. Stover's brutally realistic depictions of the horrors of war make the NJO look like a trifle, a mere walk in the park.

This book doesnt necassarily have that SW feel, but it is still an important book. It is easily the best prequel book to date, IMO, miles better than either Cloak of Deception or Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter(both very good books), and is quite possibly my favorite SW book to date, neck and neck with Traitor.

Thank you for an amazing read, Mr. Stover. Once again you've shown me how very much can be done with SW, if only one dares...

9.8 / 10

 

Counting 16 votes: 145.2/16 = 9.08/10

 

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[ bumped ]

 

Did anyone NOT like it?