[X] My Assistant

[arenn]

Aftershock is the fifth installment in the new series of Shadowrun novels, and the first of them which is set in the 2070 universe.

I never thought the old Shadowrun series was high art, but there were some pretty good books in there. The setting was great, and as the series unfolded you were introduced more and more to the underlying mythology of the series, pincipally the war against the Horrors. After the Dragon Heart Saga brought that thread to a conclusion, and the original series writers faded away in favor of Stephen Kenson and Lisa Smedman, the series had basically exhausted its creative energy. Quite frankly, I just wasn't looking forward to the books anymore.

Still, I was glad to see the series revived. Despite never having been a Shadowrun gamer, I maintained a soft spot for the series and even periodically re-read many of the books. But I was very disappointed in the opening trilogy. Kenson was never my favorite old-school Shadowrun author, but still, I don't blame him entirely for the trilogy. Rather, its the fact that it seems to be targeting a young adult audience and designed specifically to promote Shadowrun Duels. Personally, I think those books would have better remained unpublished.

Drops of Corruption was a definite step up. However, this book still did not engage me in a serious way. It was fairly episodic, had no big conspiracies or connections to the mythology, and lacked deep engagement with most of the unique elements of the Sixth World: magic, cybernetic enhancement, and decking. It's difficult to judge how I might have liked the book were I a Shadowrun gamer, but as someone who is reading it for the novel itself, it was, though competently executed, not the type I prefer.

At this point I will confess to having been a bit anxious in buying Aftershock. However, I'm pleased to say that with this novel, Shadowrun is back. Aftershock would rank in the top third of Shadowrun novels in my opinion and is exactly what the series needed at this point in time. A few reasons why:

1. An integrated, conspiracy theory plot. I'll admit, I prefer these to simple gaming scenarios. We've got multiple parties - in this case Hood and his team of runners; a mysterious rich guy on a plane, corporation A (Plantech, the victim of the run), corporation B (anonymous through much of the story), and various Lone Star groups - all of whom seem independent, yet we know there are connections. All they are all heading for a big showdown. We've got a run gone bad and a mystery as to what is really all behind it, with the clock winding down on our runners as both the corps and the cops close in. As our team is trying to figure out what is going on, so am I.

2. Good use of magic, metahumanity, and decking.

3. Good action scenes

4. A whole "who can you trust" aspect as even the team of runners don't trust each other. Needless to say, you can't trust Mr. Johnson either.

What's missing is any mention of an underlying series mythology or "key personnel" (e.g., Lofwyr, Harlequin, Damien Knight, etc. from the old series). That's ok though.

I've had no real exposure to 2070, so I was interested to know more. Interestingly, I didn't feel the world was all that different. A few things that jumped out at me:

- I hear that decking is now hacking again, and that the matrix is accessed through wireless networks instead of decks. I'll have to re-read the book to cover more details on how the team hacker did things, but it seemed she still needed access to some sort of power source. I don't know if this is a real limitation put in as a way a way to avoid making it too easy to get matrix access or creative license. Also, I'm interested in learning more about jamming tech, etc. It's also interesing that hackers now can participate in runs directly, instead of sitting back and running matrix overwatch from a secure location.

- Again, I'm not sure if this is a game aspect or creative license, but a shaman calls up spirits out of various objects, which can invariably tell the entire history of what happened on that spot, and also unfailingly track the people who were once there. This struck me as ridiculous. It's far more powerful than even ritual magic in the old series. Hopefully this is not a legitimate part of the universe, because it gives mages far too much power.

- In a terminlogy point, the various apartments visited were referred to as "so and so's place". I didn't see the old school word "doss" anywhere. Again, not sure if this is an SR4 change or just the story.

Overall, I was pleased. I could critique some aspects of the plot, but won't to avoid spoilers. But overall it was very enjoyable. We definitely need more stories like this if the series is going to survive. But I also think that whomever is running in the show on this series also needs to do what was done in the last series to create some threads linking to the underlying mythology running through the series, and also give us more exposure to key personnel. A mixture of those type of novels, with the Aftershock type, and a few pure gaming scenarios mixed in would be ideal in my opinion.

[SL James]

[eidolon]

A few random thoughts as I read your review:

(All quotes arenn.)

[Jrayjoker]

I'm reading it now, I think it is an imrovement over the Kellan Colt stuff, but I am not far enough in to get a real feel for the tailchaser aspects described above.

The action scenes are good so far, and the concept of a team that refuses to kill is interesting. I am eager to see if they can stick to their self-imposed restrictions in the future.

[Kalvan]

Who says that team has a future?

At the end it looked like a one run and done team.

[Skarn Ka]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0451461010...603#reader-link

I'm a bit confused, as Amazon's preview of the book's backcover states it takes place in 2063.

Can anyone confirm this is actually set in the 70s, and/or have an explanation?

[Grinder]

The troll looks really elvish. Somehow gay. :D

[MacMoney]

Jean Rabe? She did some pretty bad Fifth Age DragonLance books. *shudder* I could hardly finish the first one.

[Oracle]

The date on the first page of the first chapter reads 9/17/2070, 2:50 A.M.

[Skarn Ka]

Right, and the fiction is definitely SR4-SR.

Must've been a mistake on the backcover then.

[Jrayjoker]

Th emissed date on the cover led me to believe that it was set in SR3-world, but As soon as I read it I noticed the SR4 mechanics being described. Shrug, I guess the editors of the text didn't do the covers.

[Neverborn]

I have to say i really enjoyed this book since it was actually in fourth Edition, plus nice little double cross's and tons of mystery

[ShadowDragon]

You said it's book in a series. Could I pick up this book having never read the other books in the series? Is the story linked to previous books (as in the LotR trilogy is linked to each other, or Harry Potter), or is it a losely linked stand alone story (like the Final Fantasy RPGs)?

[Jrayjoker]

I don't think it is intended to be part of a series per se, but more a continuation of the universe, and a look into SR4. I would have preferred the novels following drops of corruption to have been an exploration of the crash and the ensuing $h!7storm, but who am I?

[Jrayjoker]

[Grinder]

[Jrayjoker]

Damn that amnesia flaw! Thanks for reminding me, lol!

[Grinder]

No problem, Brother! :D