Jedi Master Mace Windu fulfills Qui-Gon's final request by traveling to the planet Metagos to aid the Sa'ad clan in freeing the world from criminal factions. Along the way, Mace navigates complex alliances, challenges his beliefs, and discovers new facets of his character, including a surprising romantic connection.

Reader Review Summary

"Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss" is a stunning achievement - an imaginative, deeply engrossing Star Wars tale that expands the mythos in thrilling new ways while providing an insightful character study of the enigmatic Jedi Master Mace Windu. Set shortly after the events of The Phantom Menace, the novel finds Windu embarking on a perilous mission to the remote planet Metagos at the dying request of his friend Qui-Gon Jinn. What ensues is a rich, multi-layered narrative that deftly blends gripping action, ingenious world-building, penetrating psychological exploration, and profound existential themes.

From the opening pages, author Steven Barnes' immense talents as a storyteller are on full display. His vibrant, lyrical prose transports readers to the vividly-realized world of Metagos, a desert planet transformed into a glistening crystalline landscape after a violent solar flare irradiated its surface. Beneath, an industrious civilization of humans and alien species ekes out an existence, their various competing factions and clans rendered with remarkable depth and texture. Barnes has created a fantastic realm that ranks among the most original and richly-conceived settings in Star Wars fiction.

At the heart of this wondrous new world is Mace Windu himself. Barnes pulls off an exceptional high-wire act, grounding Windu's characterization in his stern, intense persona from the films while opening windows into the complex inner life and motivations beneath his stoic exterior. Haunted by visions of his traumatic past, struggling with doubts about his Jedi path, and caught in an unlikely romance, Windu is portrayed as a profoundly human figure - one grappling with fundamental questions about identity, spiritual connection, and the line between light and dark. His arc is utterly compelling, a thrilling exploration of a fan-favorite character that both enhances and deepens our understanding of him.

Barnes' dazzling conceptual imagination introduces myriad inventive elements that expand the Star Wars universe in exciting directions. From the Sa'ad clan's mystical dream-weaving abilities to the grotesque yet fascinating villain Chulok, a nightmarish fusion of two beings into one supremely deadly entity, "The Glass Abyss" brims with imaginative ideas and concepts that will delight long-time fans. Yet the author skillfully folds these into the core themes and established mythology, creating something that feels both bracingly new and utterly true to the spirit of Star Wars.

Indeed, one of the book's great accomplishments is how it distills and ruminates on the saga's fundamental precepts - ancient mystic orders, cycles of violence and corruption, light contending against darkness in an eternal struggle. Beneath the gripping planetary opera of intrigue and combat raging on the surface lies a profoundly meditative,philosophical work exploring venerable Star Wars concepts through an invigorating fresh lens. Scenes of Windu communing with the Force, rediscovering his youthful idealism, and confronting the demons of his past possess genuine spiritual heft and resonance.

The kinetic lightsaber battles and exhilarating action set pieces expected of a Star Wars adventure are all here, staged with cinematic flair. But it is Barnes' skill in weaving these thrilling moments together with the deeper moral, existential undercurrents of the story that elevates "The Glass Abyss" into something truly transcendent within the canon of Star Wars fiction. This is a novel that not only expands and enriches the universe, but burrows into the saga's metaphysical essence in an utterly captivating way.

In the end, "Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss" is that rarest of achievements - a masterful blend of pulse-pounding entertainment and resonant mythic storytelling. From its ingenious world-building to its penetrating character insights to its overarching meditation on spiritual enlightenment amidst darkness, chaos, and moral complexity, Steven Barnes has created something truly special. A visionary journey to the heart of the Force and the essence of the Star Wars mythos, this is a novel that will stick with you long after its shattering final images. For long-suffering Mace Windu fans who have craved deeper insight into this fascinating, underexplored Jedi, their saga has finally been told - and it was well worth the wait.