SHADOWRUN 2XS BY NIGEL FINDLEY

Copyright 1992

Dirk Montgomery is a private investigator in Seattle. One day a beautiful woman comes to his apartment. She wants to kill him for killing her sister. Dirk manages to convince her she is mistaken. It seems that someone has framed Dirk for the murder of Lolly Yzerman. He teams up with her sister to find the real killer. The investigation leads to a corporation and the illegal chip 2XS. an addictive chip that causes euphoria in the user. He also has to rescue his sister who has been kidnapped by the corporation to be used by an evil wasp shaman.

This is the first standalone book in the series after the Secrets of Power trilogy. Findley gives us basically a noir crime drama. Montgomery is cut from the same mold as Sam Spade/Humphrey Bogart. There is a femme fatale. An evil powerful enemy and cast of colorful supporting characters. This really, I think helped to cement series for me. Findley was one of my favorite authors and would continue to write three more excellent books in this series until his untimely death.

SHADOWRUN FIND YOUR OWN TRUTH BY ROBERT N. CHARRETTE

Copyright 1991

Sam Verner is looking for a magical way to save his sister from her wendigo curse. He travels to Australia and at Ayers Rock manages to get a powerful crystal. Only this crystal was imprisoning the evil spider totem. Now it is loose on the world and planning to acquire nuclear weapons to destroy humanity. He must now find Howling Coyote the leader of the great Ghost Dance that defeated the United States and gave back the western lands to the Native Americans. He must now do another Ghost Dance to defeat the spider totem.

The final in the Secrets of Power trilogy. This one has Sam Verner embracing his shamanic magical abilities. He goes on an epic quest first to save his sister but eventually to defeat a great evil. Sacrifices are made. I think that this trilogy did an excellent job of introducing the series of books based on this role-playing game. You get to understand all the various magic and technology that fills this future where magic and technology coexist. I loved his characters in Sam Verner the reluctant shaman. There was a good variety of supporting characters both good and bad. Charrette would go on to do two more books for this series.

SHADOWRUN CHOOSE YOUR ENEMIES CAREFULLY BY ROBERT N. CHARRETTE

Copyright 1991.

Sam Verner has now become a shadowrunner and also starts to learn magic. He gets involved with the Druids in Great Britain. The Druids are kidnapping people for ritual sacrifices. The Druids want to use the magic generated to fix the polluted land that most of the British Isle has now become. He also has to deal with the Elvin leaders of Ireland who want him stopped because the Druid’s plans serve their own purpose. He finds out that the movement is being controlled by a Wendigo that wants to destroy humanity. He also finds out his sister has turned into a Wendigo and must somehow rescue her and stopping the evil plan.

The second in the Secrets of Power trilogy now has Sam Verner learning the shadows. He has friends and connections. He is also learning magic and finally embracing shamanic magic and his dog totem. He is developing a romantic relationship with the elf mercenary Hart. The woman who originally set him up after his escape from Renraku. A subplot has the decker Dodger meet an A.I. construct that helps him.

This book does a good job of continuing to introduce the reader to the Shadowrun universe. This time we spent time in the British Isles with a brief stop in Hong Kong. We get the magic and technological stuff that goes on in this future. Including that there are awakened beings that are malevolent. I enjoy Charrette’s writing and characters. This was a strong start to this series.

SHADOWRUN NEVER DEAL WITH A DRAGON BY ROBERT N. CHARRETTE

Copyright 1990

It is 2050 and Sam Verner works for the Renraku corporation. He is transferred to Seattle just as his sister has goblinized into an Orc. This future magic returned to the world in 2011. Elves, Orcs, Trolls, Dragons and other magical creatures have returned to the world. Sam wants to escape the corporation and help his sister. He manages to find someone that will help him escape. Only his escape was a cover by the dragon Haesselich for his nefarious plot. Left for dead he finds out that he is a Dog shaman with magical powers. Now he must learn magic if he hopes to survive in the shadows and bring the dragon to justice.

Back in the 90’s a roleplaying game called Shadowrun was made. It combined elements of cyberpunk with dungeons and dragons. That magic would return and with it all the creatures that were associated with it. There would also be international corporations with extraterritorial power. The Matrix which was their vison of the internet. Cybernetics were also common, and this mixed with wizards and dragons that ran corporation. A fun idea that they also did a successful series of novels.

This is the first and was part of a trilogy called Secrets of Power. Charrette did the trilogy, and I loved his writing. He did a great job of introducing this world. It had the right mix of corporate intrigue. A quest as he discovers his magical powers and becomes a shadowrunner. A person who lived outside of society and took on dirty jobs for individuals and corporations. This book got me hooked on the series.