Star Wars Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss Book Review

The Glass Abyss explores the events in the life of Mace Windu after Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. A request from an old friend leads Windu to face one of his biggest challenges.

The Glass Abyss is written by Steven Barnes. It is available in audio, physical, and digital formats. It was released October 2024.

This is not an illustrated novel. So, most of the images you’ll see below are from other Star Wars projects, used to expand the context.

The article contains a few very light spoilers from the book.

Star Wars Mace Windu The Glass Abyss Book Poster

Honoring a friend’s promise

The book begins right after the funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn. We never saw Mace and Qui-Gon interact for more than a couple of minutes but this story dives deeper into their relationship as friends more than colleagues.

Qui-Gon received a call for aid during his mission on Naboo but he obviously didn’t leave the planet alive. In case anything happened, he recorded a message and sent it to a droid that would deliver it to one of his closest friends in the Jedi Order.

Qui-Gon's funeral as shown in Tales of the Jedi — Qui-Gon’s funeral as shown in Tales of the Jedi

As we know, Qui-Gon was always considered a “rebel” among the Jedi. He constantly defied the will of the Council, not because he enjoyed it, but because his heart was always in the right place.

The Jedi gradually became more of a political entity rather than true protectors of the peace. I can’t tell for sure if that is good or bad. The Republic and Jedi worked closely for so many years that it almost became a symbiotic relationship, especially after all the calamities that happened during the High Republic Era.

Destruction of the Starlight Beacon during the High Republic

We can’t deny how that union shifted the vision and priorities of the Order. Qui-Gon was always very vocal against this, and while it may have been the reason why he was never asked to join the High Council, it is also why many Jedi admired and respected him.

This mission wasn’t particularly important in terms of politics, but it was a desperate call for help from someone who saved Qui-Gon’s life years before The Phantom Menace and he would do his best to return the favor, even after becoming one with the Force. With Qui-Gon gone, the task fell on the shoulders of Mace Windu.

A little bit of everything

Mace Windu is a strong-willed, powerful and some could even say scary Jedi. His wisdom and experience are second to none while his very aggressive Juyo and Vaapad combat forms make him extremely deadly in combat, even by Jedi standards.

Windu beheads Jango Fett in Star Wars Episode 2

Windu might not share all of Qui-Gon’s opinions, but he would never refuse to help a close friend. As I just mentioned, Windu is everything but an ordinary Jedi. Tactics that others could consider dangerous or too confrontational are second nature to Mace.

The Glass Abyss highlights this very well. It’s very interesting to see Windu work, think, and fight like an experienced fighter years before The Clone Wars even began. Jedi Knights can be quite predictable in combat when they’re in “standard” situations, but what Mace experiences here is everything but standard.

Mace Windu in a scene from Tales of the Jedi animated series — Windu in Tales of the Jedi

This book includes many elements that are well-established in the collective conscience of Star Wars fans but it makes it in a way that makes it feel fresh, even if the entire story isn’t something ground breaking.

Criminal syndicates, communities, power struggles, mysticism, lots of action, love, and even horror are just some of the things that are present in the story. Individually they make decent plots, but combined they create a whole new thing that still maintains that sense of familiarity that, as a Star Wars fan, I usually need.

The story takes place on a planet called Metagos, located in the Outer Rim. This planet is home to crime lords and many species of all kinds; from humans to Colicoids.

Colicoids' appearance in Star Wars The Old Republic — Colicoids’ appearance in Star Wars The Old Republic

This desert planet is inhabitable due to the extreme solar flares so the population lives under the ground. Imagine Tatooine but much worse. There are different levels and each level houses different people, depending on their social status. Similar to what you can see on Coruscant.

Metagos is ruled by two criminal groups that terrorize the civilian population. A place where those without honor or morals can thrive without anyone stopping them.

Mace Windu has to find a way to free the people of Metagos from their cruel rulers without raising suspicions of him being a Jedi. All of this while having an internal battle that is triggered by deep disturbing dreams.

A different side of Mace Windu

Samuel L. Jackson as Mace Windu is one of my favorite casting choices in Star Wars. He is one of the most imposing Jedi in the Order with a stoic expression, a deep voice, and most importantly, impressive lightsaber skills.

Mace Windu with clone troopers in a scene from Tales of the Jedi

I believe that many people, including myself, could describe him as a badass character just because of what he did in the movies and the actor who plays him. However, The Glass Abyss exposes Mace Windu’s more vulnerable side.

Fear, doubt, and vulnerability at a deep emotional level is something that has been more explored in recent years of Star Wars media but I would have never thought that Mace Windu would join the roster of characters who we get to know more with this type of perspective.

Some moments are very cool, he is a great character and I always enjoy it when the lore of an important character is expanded. But there is one particular scene that feels forced, it doesn’t make the story worse by any means, but it doesn’t make it better either.

If this appeared in a series I firmly believe that it would cause an online debate that would last for weeks on the internet but since it appears in a book it won’t have that much relevance to the bigger part of the fandom.

To me, it feels inconsequential to the story but at the same time, I understand that only that approach would work naturally to explore that side of Windu’s human nature. Even if I’m not the biggest fan of the decision, I like that they take those risks with small stories.

Listening to the audio version

As with every Star Wars book, I always get the audio version for a more immersive experience. It makes everything more fun and easier to imagine. The Glass Abyss is one that I definitely recommend experiencing this way. It lasts a little over 13 hours assuming you listen at normal speed.

William DeMeritt does a very good job at recreating Samuel L. Jackon’s voice. The intonation, rhythm, volume, tone, and accentuation of specific syllables is very spot on.

There were many moments where he sounded more like Samuel L. Jackson than Mace Windu. But that is mainly because of how the book is written and not something forced by the voice actor.

It might not be the most immersive thing but I can’t deny that I got a lot of good laughs when I heard Windu saying “What the hell is that?” in the most Samuel Jackson way.

A popular meme that is depicting Samuel L. Jackson's unique and very specific way of expressing himself when talking

The music choice was odd. It felt repetitive and sometimes it didn’t fit the scenes. I don’t know if they are limited to a specific number of tracks, but this is the first time that I get this impression with a Star Wars audio book.

Final Thoughts

The Glass Abyss is a fun, easy-to-read book that lets us find out more about Mace Windu’s history and character. Learning more about his weaknesses was the thing I enjoyed the most from this book.

The characters are simple but that’s all they need to be for this story. The same goes for the plot. Not every Star Wars book needs to be as complicated as the High Republic novels.

Everything is very well described. I had a very easy time picturing the environment, characters, and action scenes as if I was watching an episode of The Clone Wars.

Mace Windu leads army in the Clone Wars — Mace Windu leads an army in the Clone Wars

If you are not too open to the idea of learning a very different side of Mace Windu you could find this book a little disconcerting.

Altering the concept of a character that has been embedded in my mind for more than twenty years is something that I am struggling with because it’s hard for me to separate Samuel L. Jackson from Mace Windu but eventually, I will learn to accept it.

This is a good book for anyone who wants to have an entertaining time reading an easy-to-digest story with few main characters, good action sequences, and fun one-liners. We definitely need more Mace Windu stories in the future.

This entire review as well as the summary in the review card below are all based on our own opinions as fans of the franchise. We would love it if you shared your thoughts.

Full Title:

Mace Windu: The Glass Abyss