I was thinking about the new novels that we're starting to hear something about, and wondering if we've got something already in progress, or if they're beginning to put things together. This got me thinking about who we might see coming back, and who we might see in the new blood for authors. So I put together a list of the previous shadowrun authors just to see who people wanted to see more of based off of past writings. Share your thoughts, expecially on what sort of things you'd like to see. I do hear that these are supposed to be new books circa 2070. That's got me excited. Personally, I'm hoping we don't have to deal with any more novels geared toward younger readers, but that might be just me.

Here's a couple of quick link for previous novels incase you've all forgotten who wrote what.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Shadowrun_books

http://www.i-m-t.demon.co.uk/books/shadbook.htm

A couple of authors didn't fit on there, so I went with my personal bias (so sue me). If you have others you want to add, feel free to post them.

"Ya said Tom Dowd Twice"
"I Like Tom Dowd"

Burning Bright was always my favorite, so I voted Dowd. After that, I like Mel Odom's Jack Skater stories.

Yeah apparently I did list Tom Dowd twice. Edited and replaced Tom Dowd #2 appropriately with Mel Odom.

You missed off all of us authors from the tisoz fiction competition. There's a load of talent there and if you went with an anthology of short fiction, zero risk in trying to engage some new talent (I'd probably be up for it as I'm sure others would be).

Regarding the actual poll though, I null voted as I'm not familiar with everyone's work so didn't think it would be fair to pick a known one over an unknown. I will say that I don't really like Stephen Kenson's work (at least the little I've read). I notice Robert N. Charrette is not there. Is he still going? Never Deal With a Dragon was the first Shadowrun fiction I read and I liked it.

All the novels I'd seen credited to him (Secrets of Power Trilogy, Never Trust an Elf, Just Compensation) were all quite some time back. I left him off simply because I thought it unlikely at this point. But hey, that's why I said to add any you feel should be noted. Same goes for anyone specific that hasn't been published yet.

Go Nyx Go!

I put that one on there just for you. Stupid elf.

Us! (spin off thread).

-Khadim.

Nigel Findley

Seriously I haven't read all the books, but so far the only ones I enjoyed as Shadowrun books were Findley's.
The others were either badly written or had little to do with my Shadowrun.

I don't want to be harsh on past Shadowrun books authors, but I'd rather have books than fanfictions, if you get what I mean.

Why not Nicholas Pollotta?

/ducks.

-Frank

You know exactly why, Frank. Else you won't be ducking.

For a more serious answer, modern Shadowrun books would want to be based on the 4th edition rules. So it would make sense to get prominent flavor text writers from the current edition and have them write books or fractions of books. Dowd was a game writer first, as was Kenson. It would make sense to take someone like Demonseed Elite who has written popular flavor sections in published game books and get a story out of him. That plan has been reasonably successful in past editions.

-Frank

Yes but the selected flavor writers should also be good fiction writers as well. I'd like my books to be enjoyable as books, not only as fluff. As of now, I prefer reading good cyberpunks books rather than most of the Shadowrun books and I'd rather introduce someone to Shadowrun with a good cyberpunk book rather than with a shadowrun book, except for a few good ones.

I'd agree with that. The SR4 flavor segments are often essentially short fiction. It can be hard to judge how someone will handle a 100k word book on the basis of a 500 word flash fiction sample, but if someone can write a good flash fiction sample and has a good grasp of Shadowrun storyline and mechanics, you're on much more solid ground soliciting a novel than any other cross section of humanity you'd consider recruiting from.

Whipping out a Shadowrun rulebook and finding pieces of flash fiction that you find especially nice is probably at least as good a method as any to select a next book author as any other.

-Frank

Dowd, Smith, Odom and Stackpole . . because the novels were better back then i think *g*

Nigel Findley was a major influence on how I based my own writing. Nigel Findley, RIP.

But I voted, those are my choice.

With a new SR novel announced I thought I'd resurrect this thread and voice my hopes and dreams of it not being written by either Kenson or Smedman. Someone like Mel Odom or a completely new writer would be my top preference.

Of course, who am I kidding? I'll probably read the novel no matter who writes it.

I have some experience writing Shadowrun. *Looks Hopeful For No Reason*

I'd pick you over Kenson and Smedman any day of the week. At least I would be able to pick up it up without that gut wrenching feeling that I was about to waste 5 hours of my life.

Echo the sentiment.

I am more concerned with the question if the novels will be stories about Shadowrunners, and not spotlights for some freak Uber-NPC.

No more "special cases", no more IEs, no more drakes, no more "exception to the game world" stuff please.

And no "Let's copy the Forgotten Realms line and put a World-shaking event in every other book!" please.

Pretty please.

Just Shadowrunner stories.

So say we all.

I've really enjoyed quite a few of Michael Stackpole's novels before, so I voted for him. But honestly, just give me some good novels, and I'll be a happy little consumer. Just happy to hear there are new SR, CBT, and MW:DA novels on the way.

I loved the original Shadowrun anthology back in the day and would love a new 2070 era anthology book covering all the major archetypes.

One more minor request: when the novels are written, can they be regular adult length novels? The Young Teen reader set (i.e. the latest SR novels) are just way too short (and simplified IMO). I usually read novels during lunch at work, and those SR books didn't last me a week. Wasn't worth my $7 American to get them. But it was SR, so I did, and I enjoyed them as Shadowrun books, but I would have liked them better as standard pocket book size novels (about 350 pages or so in my definition)

Stackpole has done a lot of cool stuff. I'll take it.

-Frank

Has Peter David ever been approached about writing Shadowrun?

Admittedly, I voted for Michael Stackpole (met him once, nice guy), but can I say 'all of the above'?
and YES, I have ALL the SR novels.

I'd go for all the above, and double that for Peter David!

tom dowd's buring bright was the best shadowrun novel me thinks. he should come back

Agreed. I also very much like how Burning Bright featured typical shadowrunner characters (not IEs or drakes, etc.) stumbling onto a much bigger conspiracy, but without ruining that material for the game players. Nothing in Burning Bright infringed on any GM running Universal Brotherhood or Bug City. It just complimented the material.

Does Nigel Findley have a spiritual successor? That's the only way you would get me to read a Shadowrun novel. I found a copy of 2XS in a used bookstore and it was as enjoyable to read as an adult as a junior-high geek. But I also flipped through the stilted prose of other old FASA novel publications and... ugh.