I’m thrilled about this recent announcement, and couldn’t wait to share this in case you missed it. We’re finally getting a canon Mace Windu novel! I’m always up for more Star Wars prequel novels, but a Mace Windu novel that also heavily features discussions of Qui-Gon and contrasts him with Mace? Yeah, I’m going to read this day one. The author of the book, Steven Barnes, has written for a ton of fandoms, including original Star Wars Legends books, which has me especially excited to see his work here.

Coming August 6, 2024, in Hardback, Audiobook, and E-Book.

Amazon / StarWars.com / PRH Pre-Order Page

Synopsis:

Jedi Master Mace Windu travels to a dangerous, remote planet on a mission that challenges even his deadly prowess—all to fulfill Qui-Gon’s last request. 

The Jedi are reeling from Qui-Gon Jinn’s sudden death at the hands of a Sith. Jedi Master Mace Windu’s feelings about Qui-Gon have always been complicated, and have not been made any simpler in death. While they often disagreed, Mace valued Qui-Gon’s unique perspective, and their shared dedication to the Force made them allies. Without Qui-Gon and his unorthodox views, Mace feels out of balance. 

While considering his fallen friend’s legacy, Mace is surprised to receive a final message from Qui-Gon, marked to be delivered to Mace on the event of Qui-Gon’s death. The message contains a last request: a plea to help the Outer Rim planet of Metagos. 

Many years ago, a violent solar flare transformed the surface of the desert planet into a landscape of irradiated glass—as beautiful as it is dangerous. Now most of the surviving inhabitants live underground, where rival clans fight to control the planet’s limited resources. As a young Jedi, Qui-Gon protected the Sa’ad farming clan from the planet’s less scrupulous factions. The Sa’ad practice the art of dream-weaving, retaining their waking minds upon sleep in order to communicate and coexist with the wild creatures around them. Qui-Gon vowed to return if they ever required his aid, but now it falls to Mace to fulfill that promise. The Sa’ad’s leader, KinShan Nightbird, has begged for the Jedi’s help in freeing Megatos from the crime lords who threaten to eradicate her people’s way of life. 

Intent on fulfilling Qui-Gon’s final wishes, Mace travels to Metagos and infiltrates the enemies of the Sa’ad. But as the Jedi Master investigates the intricate web of adversaries and allies, Mace finds himself pushed to the boundaries of the Jedi code, challenging his beliefs and his relationship to the Force itself.

Author: Steven Barnes (born March 1, 1952, Los Angeles, California) is an African American science fiction writer, lecturer, creative consultant, and human performance technician. He has written several episodes of The Outer Limits and Baywatch, as well as the Stargate SG-1 episode “Brief Candle” and the Andromeda episode “The Sum of its Parts”. Barnes’ first published piece of fiction, the novelette The Locusts (1979), written with Larry Niven, and was a Hugo Award nominee.

Thoughts? I’m beyond excited, and can’t wait to see who narrates the audiobook! I’m also thrilled to have an OG Star Wars writer and an #ownvoices author on this Mace Windu book.

This new post format is how I plan on featuring recently announced books, graphic novels, and other sci-fi, fantasy, and fandom projects I hear about. I’m still planning to mostly keep these posts on Wednesdays, with the odd one out here and there, so I’ll still be linking these posts up with Wishful Endings for Can’t Wait Wednesday!