SHADOWRUN STREETS OF BLOOD BY CARL SARGENT MARC GASCIOGNE

Copyright 1992.

Geraint is a noble from Wales and in the House of Lords. A rich and power man of influence in 2053 Britain. He finds himself part of a group of diverse individuals. Serrin an elf mage from Seattle on a quest for vengeance. Francesca a high-class decker from California. Rani a Punjabi ork an eighteen-year-old street samurai from the lowest level of British society. They have to join forces to stop a modern-day Jack the Ripper who is killing prostitutes with the same names as the original ripper.

This book in the series gives us a view of British society in the Shadowrun universe. We did have a book set in England in the second one. That one though didn’t really give us a good view of British society. This one does. The authors have a very good understanding of Britain and give us a very authentic feel of the world. It is a country with lots of pollution and a heavily stratified by class. The story builds up slowly with exploring the various characters and their stories. I especially liked Rani the young ork. She had an authentic wide-eyed innocence about her but a fascinating story. The story came to an exciting conclusion and ended though with very ambiguous victory.

The two authors would go on to write two more novels for the series.

SHADOWRUN #7 INTO THE SHADOWS EDITED BY JORDAN K. WEISMAN

Copyright 1992

A Plague of Demons by Tom Dowd

Brandon Cross is hired to find a missing daughter. He discovers insect spirits taking over some women.

Graverobbers by Elizabeth T. Danforth

Two hackers go into Natural Vat HQ to hack the computer of a recently deceased executive.

Tailchaser by Paul R. Hume

Thorn is hired by Cortez an exec from Natural Vat to steal data from United Oil. He hires some top-notch mercenaries and Shadowrunners for the job.

Striper by Nyx Smith

Striper is a weretiger and assassin for hire. Someone has put a contract on her life, and the trail leads to an executive at Natural Vat.

Whitechapel Rose by Lorelei Shannon

Jack the Ripper is a decker hired to steal information from Natural Vat.

Turtle in the Tower by Ken S. Andre

A tarot reader hooks up with a mysterous man named Jaxxon. They get involved with a ninja attack on the warehouse of Bob’s Cartage and Freight which handles food for Natural Vat.

Free Fall by Tom Dowd

Two simsense stars want to escape their contract with MegaMedia and get help from the President of Natural Vat.

Would It Help to Say I’m Sorry? by Michael A Stackpole

Two street samurai Tiger Johnson and Iron Mike are hired to lean on someone to pay back their loans. Only the apartment turns out to be a setup and the two have to escape being framed for an explosion and killing of a Lone Star cop.

It’s All Done with Mirrors by Michael A. Stackpole

Raven and Wolf rescue the two from the last story. They get involved with helping Nadia Mirin who escaped an attempt on her life. Raven helps her with a plot by the Yakuza to get the shipping contract for Natural Vat.

This is an anthology to the Shadowrun series. It is a mixed bag but most of the stories are good. It does have a theme with Natural Vat that links well with the final story. Some of the characters used in this would surface in later books. Most notable the Striper character. Also included is a glossary of slang and a timeline of this fictional future.

SHADOWRUN #6 NEVER TRUST AN ELF BY ROBERT N. CHARRETTE

Copyright 1992.

Kham is an Ork living in Seattle and a shadowrunner. He is hired to guard some elves as they retrieve a crystal from a cave in the countryside. Soon after Kham and his family are attacked by mysterious men. They were sent by the elves to get rid of the witnesses to the theft. He has to fake his death and find out why the crystal is so important. He soon finds himself in the middle of a fight between powerful elves and the dragon Lofrywn. A plan that wants to bring the elves to domination of the world.

This book was written by Charrette who did the first trilogy for this series. He brings back some minor characters from the trilogy and gives them more prominence. Kham now is a central character, and he gives us a good perspective on Orks. We find out they age quickly and have short life spans. Elves apparently have been born before the return of magic, and some are immortal. Other characters from the trilogy are Neko and the evil elf Urdli. Dodger and Laverty make a short appearance as well as Sally Tsung and Ghost. The story was fun and filled with plenty of action. I think that Charrette is my favorite writer for this series. He would only do one more in the future.

SHADOWRUN #5 CHANGELING BY CHRIS KUBASIK

Copyright 1992

Peter Charris is a young 15-year-old who has above average intelligence. Only he goes through the goblinization and turns into a troll. His father a cold doctor treats him as someone who will be a child for the rest of his life. Peter rejects this and runs away vowing to find a cure to this change. Only the streets of Chicago are not a safe place, and he runs into the discrimination that metahumans face in society. He eventually gets in with a local mobster and becomes a hitman. He works at finding a cure and soon comes up with one. A hit against a woman who is a CEO that is working with his father forces him to make a choice. He turns against his employer to help her. On the run with a pregnant woman, he must find a way to rescue his father.

This entry in the Shadowrun series deals with someone going through the goblinization transformation. It shows us the life of these metahumans and their place in society. Peter struggles with his new lot in life. He eventually comes to accept the change and work toward a better life. Kubasik wrote an enjoyable book, and this is his only one in the series.