Thanks for clearing that up. Sure sounds like bull .

I have read the newest two book by SK and while I think they are a good instruction manuals for noobies, as books they left me feeling cheated.

Not enough about the characters are known so that you can get a good feel for them and it all feels rushed.

And I think for the price you pay for those books you get robbed. The printing is larger then normal and the space between the lines are pretty large which probably added another 40 pages to the book that it should not have.

Paid full price for what amounts to a book that is just larger then a short story.

For SR books one of my favorit series (I forget the titles) was written about this guy Sam looking for his sister and he ended up being the golden boy for the totem dog and ended up with the babe Heart.

But you got to meet all sorts of charcters and see alot of how the shadows worked on small and grand scale.

THAT was a real series.

I think that's the novel Lone Wolf by Nigel D. Findley.

wrong, that series is the Find Your Own Truth series. One of the first srun novels if I recall. NOT written by Nigel D. Findley. Lone Wolf is about an undercover LS cop who gets hung out to dry and he must find out why.

Sam "Twist" Verner appears in the Secrets of Power trilogy.

oops, that's what I meant, the secrets of power. where the heck did I think of find your own truth? Ah well, it's past midnight and I'm at work trying to complete deadlines, that's my excuse... yeah...

I stand corrected. i think i need caffeine right about now...

edit: Ahhhh, now I know where I got the whole find you truth thing from, it's the name of the third book in the series... duh. And to make it exhaustive, the Secrets of Power series, for those who want to reminded are 'Never Deal with a Dragon', 'Choose Your Enemies Carefully', and 'Find Your Own Truth' by Robert N. Charrette.

Shadowplay by Nigel Findley (the novel's plot is heavily referenced in Corporate Shadowfiles, which he also wrote).

Again I'll post the thing that killed the whole story for me. Trust.

Your team should trust each other enough to take a gun from your teammate and know it is loaded, cause he said so. You should true your team mates with your life,cause if you don't you will get dead. Each and evrytime you go ona run you are putting your lives on the line based on the trust of your teammates. This kind of trust is not earned over night,over a fist fight with a bunch of ganger that could have been easily staged.

You do not trust you Johnson.No mater how many times they hire you.You look them in the eye and nod, but you don't take their word that water is wet without tuching it. any and all info you get from them has to varrified form another source. Yes Johnsons do bad things.Yes they lie. Get over it. Get over the fact they are highering you do bad things.Get over the fact they will use and throw you away when it suits them.If you can't deal witht aht level of pragamtic people, you shouldn't be a runner.

Ah, got it, thanks PHBT & hyzmarce.

Well, the book's finally finished. Not bad, keeps the story going. Can't wait for the next.

wow, 300 some-odd pages, and that's all it gets. Man, a review with that little to say says very little for the book. I may acutally skip this one. Now i can't wait for May. X-Men comes out, Hardy's book comes out, wife's birthday.. err wait... that just makes me spend more money. May sucks!

Seriously BW, that's all you've got to say for it? I've had more to say about salt on snails.

I didn't want to spoil it for anyone else. The toxic shaman seemed a little....tame for my taste, his description being something akin to a Cenobite. And it's written as an introduction for new players/readers to the SR world. Stephen Kenson pulls this off very well, but I'd rather wait until the trilogy is done to give a full review.

That still seems to sum up my problems with the first one (still haven't found the second novel locally). It just seemed to tame. Like something a GM that was new to the game would do. No real embellishments, nothing out of the ordianry or particularily exciting. Oh well.

Fistandantilus, try ordering it through a local Barnes & Noble or Borders. My local ones have not let me down. Of course, I order my RPG stuff through Previews & my local comic shop, but all my novel needs are met by either one.

my lovely wife just got me the membership thingy through them, plus I 've got a spare gift card sitting around here somewhere. I'll probably look for something else, and then pick that up if I can't find anything. I'll probably get the Special Edition of Snatch first though. Priorities and all that. The reviews I've seen so far haven't really pushed it to the top of my list.

Besides, I still need to order Cara Fahd, and Crystal Raiders of Barsaive. So much to do...

True, true. It should stay available for order for a while yet.

OK, novel 3 (Fallen Angels) is out, because I picked up mine one Friday the 10th. I'm only a few chapters in, but I'll report after I'm done.

Steven, if you're seeing this, keep the good works coming, brother.

I'm not familiar with Kenson's previous Shadowrun material. I did, however, buy Born to Run and Poison Agendas recently, because I'm a big fan of his Mutants and Masterminds work.

From what I know of his writing ability, Born to Run was certainly disappointing. But then, I was expecting a novel. This is, I think, intended as a promotional tool to get kids to play Shadowrun. Which is cool. It's written at about the reading level of your average "Young Adult" novel, features the stereotypical young, gifted, good-natured, naive-yet-somewhat-worldly protagonist that tends to occupy most of these books. I found some of the plot points interesting, but the issues surrounding the amulet, Kellan's mother, etc. were mostly ignored, in favor of introducing Kellan (and the reader) to the general flavor of Shadowrun Seattle, as seen by Steve Kenson. I mostly saw the "people should be trustworthy" theme as being a reflection of the youth and naivete of the protagonist...and it should be noted that by the end of the novel, she is witholding information from Lothan, considers killing him in cold blood, and then lies to her "friends" (including her pseudo-love interest, Orion) about Lothan nearly killing them on behalf of Ares Macrotech. And by the time we hit Poison Agendas, she's doing the exact same thing to her 'team' that Lothan did to her in the first book - keeping information away from them that she feels they don't need to know yet, if ever. It's a growing up story; she starts out as basically an SR-flavored Luke Skywalker, and by the second novel she's packing a machine pistol and holding gangers at gunpoint.

The second novel, speaking of which, is a slight improvement. There's still way too much exposition and description of the Shadowrun setting, but the intrigues hinted at in the Epilogue of the first book are finally starting to take hold, and Kellan's lack of guile has gone from being something glossed over by deus ex machina (having the other runners watching her back so she doesn't get in trouble) to something that actually serves a purpose in the story. She foolishly swallows Midnight's story as soon as the words "I knew your mother" are spoken, and basically starts trusting an elf she just met a day ago more than the mage who's been teaching her and watching her back when he could have easily fried her and taken the amulet for further study. Again, the writing style is a bit juvenile in its simplicity, but Shadowrun has been needing some young blood for a while...I can't blame them for wanting to aim the novels at a younger set.

Overall, not a bad way to kill a lazy sunday, but not really worth the price of a paperback novel. Good for what it is, for sure, and I have a sneaking suspicion that using the iconic characters from the action figure game (G-Dogg, Midnight, Liada, Lothan) wasn't Kenson's idea. Taking the constraints of work-for-hire writing into account, Kenson can be forgiven a few more of the book's faults. I'd have preferred something with the depth and imagination of Kenson's work on the Freedom City sourcebook, but nobody has a perfect record. Every writer has their lesser works. And for what it's worth, even Kenson's C-work is reasonably entertaining.

Alright, I finished Poison Agendas...it took a serious turn for the worse towards the end, going from a Shadowrun novel to a book adaptation of a summer blockbuster (chemical weapons in downtown Seattle! And only a ragtag team of misfits to stop the unthinkable!) Seriously disappointing.

I'd have to agree with you, Jonathan, it appears that SK was indeed 'suggested' (in the broadest sense) to use the action-figure characters, but I have not been disappointed in his works yet. Check his site for a listing of his books, or over on the official site for a complete listing.

Just saw Poisoned Memories on the shelf today . FIrst time I've seen it out here in Utah. Of course, I'm at work and my wife is at home reading it, so I still have no idea what it's about. I'll post my two cents when I two. Johnathan's review has me a bit worried now, but , hey , I'll check it out with an open mind. kind of like all the Batman movies after the first two. If you go in to it expecting something serious, you're oging to be dissapointed. I'll just look at it for what it is, and take in to account Johnathan's POV that Kenson is/was working with constraints. Just thank god Crimsondude isn't around to write a review.

OK, so I just finished reading it through, over all, not a bad book. Definitely an improvement over the first one.

The good stuff: Lots of double dealing, back stabbing, and lieing between shadowrunners. Lots of different agendas.
Had more interesting descriptions of the mechanics of magic, some cool spirit stuff, and a litte t-bird chase that I enjoyed.

The bad: Like was said before, you need some hand waiving to take the end of the book. The shadowrunners are the ones to save the city from a toxic attack, after an Ares Firewatch team drops them off. riiiiight. Then the Mr Johnson goes with the team after the big bad guy, toting an SMG. sure. Then they don't call LoneStar because mr Johnson doesn't want his name connected to it, then they make a publicity thing ot of it afterwards between KE and LS. Now I could take hat if they'd planned it that way, but they didn't.

And the dwarf. Bad dwarf.

The rest: It wasn't a really engaging book. It didn't draw me in and force me to turn the pages. But it was interesting, it did a good job of depicting Seattle and the SR world and some places in it. It works pretty well as continuing to be an introduction to the SR world.

The villian tended to monologue and say some cheesy, cliched lines like "you're supposed to be dead" and "But you're no match for me" right before he dies, that sort of thing. But at least he visual description of him was pretty neat.

All in all, I think I'll go ahead an finish the series when the next book comes to my area. Not really "the explosive new saga continues..." but it's a story at least.

It suffers from an excess of exposition, just like the first book. But again...I think the purpose of the book is more to introduce the setting to brand-new players. Assuming you knew nothing about Shadowrun, after reading these books, you would know:

1. Your average SINless has probably never eaten "real" food as we know it. Everything they eat is made from soy or something similar.

2. Stuffer Shack™ is a cheap way to feed yourself.

3. Encounters with gangs are a constant when travelling through Seattle. The highways are patrolled by them, they infest the barrens, and once you piss them off, they will actually come looking for you, even if it means leaving their territory. This is actually a useful detail, as I've been in (and run) SR games where gang run-ins were almost nonexistent.

4. How sorcery works, how conjuring works, and the difference between hermetic and shamanic varieties thereof. Also, some pretty good basic examples of what it looks like to describe for your players.

5. Toxic Shamans hate everybody.

6. Sometimes things will go wrong. LoneStar will come after you, it will seem as if someone sold you out, and really...you may never figure out who it was. Even people who are scheming behind your back may still act on your behalf and look out for you. Likewise, the people who seem nicest to you may well be responsible for the bulk of your problems (Jackie Ozone being a prime example).

7. Metahumans hate it when you compare them to fantasy books. But then, some of them really do fit the stereotype. On the other hand...what the frag was that Dwarf doing on that team? He contributed almost nothing.

8. In Shadowrun, the "good guys" (players) do not always win. Failing a run is part of the game sometimes.

9. Using a fireball in close quarters is a good way to end up frying your melee combatant allies. Mages need to use common sense.

10. As a matter of course, there is no such thing as a "milk run". If it went well, you were being set up. If it looks like it's going well, you're about to get royally fragged. Nasty surprises during runs are the bread and butter of Shadowrun.

Now, if you *are* familiar with Shadowrun, this stuff is old hat and boring, and being beaten over the head with it for two books will annoy you. But if you sit back and enjoy the book, there's a decent enough "growing up Shadowrun" story in there.

Glad you agree. Again, I would definitely hand these books to new players if they expressed an interest in learning more about the setting...I've had many games of various systems go south because the players didn't really comprehend the "flavor" of the game.

The dwarf just came across as convenient cannon fodder to me. I didn't really see a point to him being there. I don't see how he would really be useful in an urban run except as a slow moving target. Even wit ha big target just sitting there (the wolverine) chewing on someone he was pretty damn innefective. I liked the rest of the characters , although I'm still a little unsure about how to feel about Midnight. Maybe that's how it was intended.

But I didn't get any strong attachment to the main character[s], although it was interesting to watch Kellan start acting how she hates having Lothan act, and feel smug because of it. I think I liked the shaman the most. I wondered of he was supposed to be an conjuring adept until he cast a manaball there near the end.

Well, i have all the previous SR novels, so I Have to have the new ones...

I couldn't find them anywhere, so I finished paying $24.00 for all three on the internet...

I hope they are good...

Can't... breath...

I seemed to have missed this one. or maybe I was just lucky.

I was htinking of Born to Run by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon. That actually would make a good SR run even htough not an SR novel it is cyberpunk.. Set in current day Savanah it tells of a conflict between a human mage and his allies, elves who enjoy road racing and a group of evil elves who are into kiddy porn and snuff films.

The battle ground being a teen runaway.

sounds twisted

Yep. "Fallen Angels" is out.

Is it worth getting? I'm kind of curious about it since I already read the other two, but on the other hand...I'm not sure I want to punk down another 7 bucks.

Fallen Angels is more of the same. I'd rate it as the strongest of the three, but this isn't a quantum jump in enjoyment.

It's obvious Kenson was hemmed in by the tie-in with Shadowrun Duels and the target age group of the book. I don't think we'll be able to fairly judge the new Shadowrun novel series until actual new material starts coming out.

Well, there is a central plot and a central set of characters to the Shadowrun setting its just that the cast is very big and the plot simultaneously is enormous and vauge with very strong connections to a fantasy world that is currently owned by a completely different company.

The metaplot really revolves around the Great Dragons, Immortal Elves, and a handful of mortals who could be classified as either prime runners or wealthy businessmen such as Ryan Mercury and Damien Knight.
The problem is that most runners (and dragons for that matter) do not play at this level and probably never will so a novel like this seems far removed to the overarching longterm plot.

This isn't a bad thing at all. Even the people who love the metaplot and the Immortal Elves and the Earthdawn connections need a break from it every now and then. The realy epic Shadowrun novels are filled with superpowered characters who simply do not belong in most Shadowrun campaigns.

At any rate, welcome to Dumpshock. Here is you dikoted AVS ally spirit and yes you can have sex with it.

Some of my favorite books ever were Steven Brust's books with Vlad Taltos, where he never explained anything. It didn't help that I read them completely out of order, but it was neat figuring out what the hell he was talking about. But in hind sight, it would be very annoying if you weren't familiar with the SR world to go "Toxics ..ooooohhh" followed by "what the hell's a toxic?!"

Something toxic?

There are really two different things you can be looking for in a novel: relevance to Shadowrun gaming or quality as a standalone novel.

I've never gamed Shadowrun (though I'd like to try it) though I do own every novel. In that light, I care principally about whether or not the book is any good, not whether it fully follows the rules or otherwise sheds light on game scenarios. It also makes me more interested in novels that advance the mythology of the series versus those that are just plain shadowrunner shadowrunning.

The first run of books did a great job at first of slowly revealing the overarching plot structure of the horrors, the dragons, Immortal Elves, etc. You learned more about the world and it seemed to be leading somewhere. Alas, somewhere around the Dragonheart Saga, which seemed to represent some sort of a conclusion, this basically ended and you ended up with lower quality plots by Lisa Smedman and Stephen Kenson.

This new trilogy, unlike Secrets of Power for example, takes us nowhere really in the Universe. That to me is the greatest disappointment.

Now that there is a new Shadowrun in the 2070's with presumably a more well advanced core story arc, the novels to come will engage with that and be more enjoyable on a purely literary standpoint.

Personally, I'm salivating at the imminent arrival of the new 4th edition novels set in 2070. I'm enjoying Kenson's trilogy, but it seems a little like a "blast from the past" to me rather than something new.

Just putting in my 2 cents....
I feel that the three books are while perhaps not the strongest work from the author, they are a decent (and much needed) addition to the SR library. A lot of people have noted that they're effectively a good introduction for people who don't know the game and in that I believe they succeed admirably. The feel and some of the mechanics/background of the game are dealt with here in these three novels much better than in some of the shadowrun novels I've read (some of which have been pretty poor). Let me put it this way, I'm fairly regularly wanting to introduce new people to shadowrun, and this is a pretty good way to do it. That said, not perfect by any means.
I also think that looking at these three books more as one book split into three parts is a better way to think of it. In fact I'm pretty certain that many of the issues (character depth, etc) would be solved had these books been compressed into one volume.
In all, i'm pretty happy to see new Shadowrun novels coming and want to see more.
(that said, no more Kellan Colt books, at least for a while okay, there's many amazing possibilities for characters so let's explore those a while shall we).