Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss

I was very excited for Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss, but after finishing it, I have to say it was a bit of a letdown. It had a bunch of excellent moments, as well as some cool ideas, but the majority of the plot is fairly predictable, and there is never any fear that our protagonist will lose since we know that he is around after these events (the book takes place right after Episode I). 

The book takes place almost immediately after the death of Qui-Gon Jinn. His last wishes were for Mace Windu to head to Metagos and to fulfill a promise he had made to KinShan Knightbird. The planet is unique in that it is routinely hit with powerful solar flares, and the people live underground. The Sa’ad farmers raise some kind of work creature that produces a fiber that is the strongest in the galaxy, but the planet is ruled by two crime syndicates, and Qui-Gon was going to help them free themselves of the syndicates. 

There will be spoilers from here…

What I Liked:
-I loved Mace having a struggle with the way he became a Jedi. The Hillian (I have no idea about spelling) Mother messes with his dreams, and he questions whether or not he ever had a choice to become a Jedi or not. At the end he has a good conversation with Master Yoda. I liked that kind of introspection.

-Also, Mace describing his lightsaber form, Vaapad, and a little bit of the pride he has in his lightsaber, and his own athletic prowess (he kind of brags early on in the book that he entered an Olympic style competition and won without using the Force–it was an interesting quirk of his character, and he acknowledges that his attachment to his lightsabers is something he should not have). 

-Mace having a love interest. It continues with the idea that Jedi are not emotionless, and that they are not unwilling to open themselves up to love. But, a master like Mace (or Obi-Wan) realizes the danger of that love. A difference between these characters and Anakin. More on Mace’s love in a second.

What I Disliked
-The whole mushroom angle. It feels like someone said “hey, what if we did a Star Wars version of The Last of Us?” Every time they mentioned the mycelium network, I expected the USS Discovery to pop up somewhere.

-ChuLock was an interesting villain, and I was hoping for a better fight scene at the end between them and Mace. It ended up being just meh. 

-The book just went on for a bit too long. The middle of the book just drags on and honestly, it was not very memorable. That is never a good sign, but the ending picked things up.

-The ending itself. I thought for sure we would learn that ChuLock was a Force user, or sensitive. I expected Darth Sideous to show up and consider the dual being as a replacement for Darth Maul. Or that Sideous was manipulating events on Metagos.

-The book ends with KinShan Knightbird teaching the young Sa’ad, and telling the story of the Great Mace Windu. I half-expected for it to end with her going to her room, and Mace saying something about her exaggerating his role in things, and then she mentions his wounds, and they hug or whatever. It would have been the perfect way to confirm to fans that Mace Windu survived his fall after Anakin and Palpatine tossed him out the window in Revenge of the Sith. He was badly wounded, knew the Jedi had lost, and decided to heal with the woman he loves. But nope, we do not get that ending. Wasted opportunity.