Rating: 
Summary: More a Jedi Story than a Clone Wars Novel
Review: 'Shatterpoint,' by Matthew Stover, tells the story of Jedi Master Mace Windu as he travels to Haruun Kal to learn what has happened to his former padawan, Depa Billaba. Haruun Kal happens to be Windu's home planet and the lifeforms there have a corrosive effect on technology if it is not properly taken care of. Windu's people are at war with a less indigenous people that have been armed by Count Dooku's seperatists. Windu arrives on Haruun Kal to find a mysterious plot afoot...
This novel is billed as a Clone Wars novel, and while it is set during the Clone Wars, and the War is the back drop, I felt that it really didn't educate the reader much as to what happened during the Clone War. Sure, the Clone Troopers play a role, albeit a small one, in the later stages of the novel, but this novel could have easily been set before or after Episode One before the Clone Wars begain.
Instead, this is more of a novel about the Jedi. One of the key themes is what it means to be a Jedi. It is also a novel about Mace and his own inner conflicts: what did it mean to kill Jango Fett on Geonosis? What would have happened had he struck Dooku down instead of deflecting Fett's attack? What should he do about his seemingly rebellious former Padawan? It is an interesting story, no doubt, but not quite the Clone Wars novel that is proclaimed on the cover of the book.
There is plenty to like in this novel though. The portrayal of Mace Windu is really quite good. You can see Samuel Jackson, who plays Windu in the movies, delivering many of the lines. Many of the action scenes would translate well into a live action film. Also, the force users on Haruun Kal make a nice contrast to the Jedi and demonstrate why the Jedi are so important to the Star Wars universe.
This really is a novel for Star Wars fans. Science fiction and fantasy readers might enjoy it as well. As mentioned earlier, don't expect any thorough discussion of the Clone Wars and concentrate on the Jedi story. Overall, I'd recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent addition to the SW universe
Review: - I thought this was going to be a mindless hack and slash Star Wars book. But it turned out to be much cleverer than I'd expected.
- Adds a good dose of grit into the otherwise clean Disney-like Star Wars universe.
- A very introspective book about the main character. It expertly weaves this even in the thick of a combat sequence.
- Concept of the Shatterpoint (the turning point or weakness in a tree of past and future events) works extremely well in the story- bringing elements from the beginning of the story to the end in a connected manner.
- Story poses points of view that would make you sympathize with both sides. And yet in the end you are still left wondering if the ultimate "answer" was really the "correct" one.
- Characters are engaging- even the minor ones.
- The language is a bit hard to follow at times and the final battle sequences got a bit confusing.
- Every bit of description about the world is necessary and serve as plot points for later.
- Final combat was very clever but I was pretty exhausted by the end of the book (probably more than Mace)- which I guess was the goal of the author.I will definitely look forward to future SW books that Stover writes.
Rating:
Summary: The SW book I've read.
Review: After years of waiting, I've found a Star Wars writer that I like, and much of it because the author is a martial artist who injects an authentic understanding of martial training to the character and background of Mace Windu, a character I disliked from the movies but now embrace in Stover's book. Just like the original Star Wars movie, Stover's Shatterpoint draws in the reader into a world that seems as real and authentic as our own, reflecting a universe that is complicated, confused, and often gray and illogical in its morality. (The story is partially modeled on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.) You have to try to understand many of the details and put them in context, yet the story is continually developing and evolving to an convincing and unexpected ending. The essence of a good story. And there's plenty of action (including clone troopers) to boot. Having written a book about the Jedi, I've been very critical of the way the Jedi have been portrayed in many novels as errant knights seeking the some "holy grail" of Jedi antiquity instead of accomplished fighters who change the direction of the universe, but Stover succeeds in crafting a story that justifies (indeed makes necessary) the Jedi in the Star Wars universe. And, in the whole scheme of things Star Wars, isn't that the whole point! Nick Jamilla, author of Shimmering Sword: Samurai, Western, and Star Wars Sword Fighting.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, one for the adults
Review: Apart from the excellent the New Jedi order series a lot of the SW books which have been written were mor or less kids books with a dash of adult themes thrown in here and there to make it appealing to all ages. With Shatter point this is not the case. This is what war is all about, death, despair and combat. There is plenty of action in this book and it is presented in a way that is realistic and without the sugar coating. Mace Windu returns to his home planet in search of the padawan which he had sent there months earlier to aid in the struggle against the separatists. When he arrives though all kinds of horrors awaits him. He lands in the middle of a bloody civil war and its a take no prisoners kind of battle. Throughout the many challenges he faces he must also reevaluate his own beliefs and ideals of what it means to be a jedi. It was a book full of the kind of plot lines and philosophy that befits a Star Wars novel. It also shows the beginnings of how and why the republic will eventually fall. A great addition to the Star Wars saga and a great new spin off sereies in regards to the clone wars. Can hardly wait for book II to come out. I hope in subsequent books Palpatine and Count Dooku play increasing bigger parts. this book contains 5 CDs and is read by Jonathan Davis who has become the new voice for the Star Wars audiobooks.
Rating:
Summary: Blew me away
Review: I actually didn't expect much of this book, but bought it anyway to have something to read. Boy, was I surprised. The book has all the usual action, but what makes it so good is that it has Jedi actually losing fights, getting injured, and best of all going deep within to question their ethics and way of life. There are a number of memorable quotes that I actually marked in the book to refer to afterward. Do yourself a favor and read this one. It will give you insight into the Jedi mind and ironic and painful views into the dark directions of the Star Wars universe to come.
Rating:
Summary: First half better than the last
Review: I don't often read Star Wars novels but have been more interested in the pre-quel era. Shatterpoint pulled me in from the first pages as few novels have recently! It provides an interesting and surprising exploration of Mace's character.
However, the last half, with its constant depiction of war, was hard to read. Someone with whom I dicussed the book compared the last half to "Apocalypse Now" and I agree. It has the dark, murky, "fog of war" feeling to it.
Rating: 
Summary: Similar to prequel movies
Review: I felt the book was similar in terms of the quality of the movie. A character you want to learn about during an interesting time period. And that ends the good part. I really couldn't get into it, I wound up skimming through it just to find out about the apprentice jedi and even then it was a disappointing read. I don't think I've come across a good prequel star wars book other than dark hunter (the one with Darth Maul) or a good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Best Star Wars novel I've come across
Review: I find the Star Wars novels to be usually brain candy to read in-between other science fiction novels, but this one surprised me. It's rough, violent, and takes extreme chances. Damn, it's good, and not just as a Star Wars novel. Stover comes highly recommended in the field because of his violent, "next-wave" style (read his novel "Heroes Die" for a really different brand of fantasy), and he doesn't disappoint in what must be the darkest, most brutal, tortured Star Wars novel I've read. Mace Windu takes center stage in a "Heart of Darkness" inspired tale on a war-torn planet (his birthplace) to find his vanished former padawan Depa Billaba, who might have gone insane from the hideousness of the conflict. The action comes almost non-stop, nearly reaching an overkill in the last third, but too much excitement is hardly a complaint, now is it? But Stover also confronts the basic Jedi conflict of keepers of the peace facing the horrors of war where 'good' and 'bad' no longer have much meaning. At every turn, Stover emphasizes the bleakness of warfare and retreats from the usual Star Wars black-and-white dramatics. It's a refreshing shift of view that sheds light on the prequel movies. Great stuff! If you've never bothered to pick up a Star Wars novel because you think they're only for teenage boys, this volume will change your mind. Apparently, Lucas Books was mighty impressed as well: they've signed Stover to write the novelization of "Episode III," putting him in the same class as R. A. Salvatore and Terry Brooks (who wrote the first two novelizations). It's an honor he certainly deserves.
Rating: 
Summary: This is painful to read!
Review: I have read no less than 70 Star Wars books and to some degree or another, loved each one until now. This book is so long winded! I'm on page 205 and can hardly stand it. 200 more pages of this? This book easily could have been cut in half.
Rating:
Summary: Great plot and style
Review: I haven't read many Star Wars books, so I wasn't expecting much, but this was a really good read. The action is fast-paced, the internal logic of the problem at hand made sense, and the characters were well conceived. I like too how the author made Mace's failures reasonable without dumbing or weakening him down. Mace is supposed to be a bad-boy, and he is, just sometimes the universe throws you more than you can handle.
My only problem with this book is the practically unending climax. This seems to be the thing to do these days, but the authors always lose me. Basically, if the climactic scene or set of scenes is so long I have to go to sleep and finish it the next day, I start skimming. Very little of actual import happens in the last hundred pages...endless dodging explosions and ducking blaster fire, and just a few easy plot twists you can pick up skimming at 4 pages a minute. Too bad, otherwise I would have given 5 stars.
For a worse book overall, but a better handling of pacing, try The Cestus Deception.
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