Shatterpoint and Glass Abyss: for folks who read and enjoyed both, what do you think?
I know they are by different authors, written in different decades, and not even necessarily part of the same "universe," but to me there were some very big differences and similarities in the stories.
In Shatterpoint, Mace goes to fetch Depa Billaba from Haruun Kal, a planet where the indigenous humanoid population happens to be force sensitive and has their own traditions and culture around using the force. Depa has gotten so personally invested in the local conflict (and the rebel leader) that she's no longer a neutral intermediary, and has instead become a co-leader of the Korunnai fighters. Alongside this transformation, she has succumbed to despair as a result of exposure to all of the destruction, suffering and violence. She has lost faith in the Jedi way and thrown away a lot of its principals yet remains conflicted, as shown by her deteriorating mental and physical state. Mace goes through similar challenges due to the ruthless environment, and a big point of his journey is maintaining who he is and what he believes in despite all of the violent challenges around him. He also experiences personal development in relation to his identity as a Jedi who is also Korun.
In Glass Abyss, Mace accepts a mission passed down from Qui-gon and goes to Metagos, a planet where the indigenous humanoid population happens to be force sensitive and has their own traditions and culture around using the force. Completing this mission requires him to get personally invested in the local conflict (and with its eventual rebel leader) to the point that he's no longer a neutral intermediary, and instead becomes a co-leader of the rebellion and about as enmeshed with the locals as one can get. He goes through mental and physical suffering (insomnia) as a result of self-doubt, but instead of succumbing to it, overcomes with the help of the connections he's made with locals (also a part of his identity now, as he has become one of them). Mace's understanding of the Jedi way isn't challenged directly but it does alter slightly. His understanding of the force is expanded, and he also is forced to confront doubt around his past, specifically regarding what it meant for the Jedi to take him from his home as a child. As part of making peace with that, he reconnects with some of the more Korun parts of himself and his history.
I liked both of the books a lot and I'm not going anywhere particular with this, but I felt it was interesting that this character appeared in two books with similar topics but very different worldviews. I feel like if Glass Abyss!Mace tried to get away with the same shenanigans in the Shatterpoint universe, he would have gone back to Coruscant and been tried. Meanwhile, Shatterpoint seems to have a bleaker outlook in general, with the one thread of hope offered in the final paragraphs equally bleak. It's like, "you cannot stop the violence, and if you try to mitigate it your attempts will just make it worse, but that doesn't mean you should ever stop trying. The only victory is to not lose yourself." Conversely, Glass Abyss just seems to have a much more hopeful tone all around. While both books demonstrate that it's never entirely possible to be a neutral bystander, I think Glass Abyss goes a step further in having Mace actively make some big decisions about the future of Metagos, and then be a driving force executing those decisions without feeling any kind of internal conflict. It's just a different kind of message.
In the end, it's just kinda funny to think of him in a universe where both of these things might have happened, chasing after Depa like, "do as i say not as I do!!"
What do others think?