Shadowrun

Shadowrun is set on earth, a little ways into the future. Somehow or other, elves, trolls, goblins, orcs, dragons, and other mythical creatures have reentered the world as we know it. Magic works. So do computers. Shadowrunners are people who skirt along the edge of the law. I stumbled into the Shadowrun series completely by accident. I saw a book at the bookstore with a really cool looking cover, and decided to buy it. I didn't read it right away, because it appeared to be the 8th book in a series, and I wanted to find book number 1. Eventurally, I decided I didn't want to wait any longer, and read it. I loved it. Reading that book is how I discovered Mel Odom, who is now one of my favorite authors. He has another Shadowrun book, as well as a few books that are not part of the series, so I ordered them and read them. I loved them, too, as you've probably guessed from the statement that he's now one of my favorite authors. Eventually, I decided I should try some other Shadowrun books, since I enjoyed the two written by Mr. Odom so much. Well, I can happilly say that I have not yet been disappointed by a Shadowrun book.

Shadowrun Books I've Read

Jonathan E. Bond and Jak Koke

• The Terminus Experiment
  

  I really enjoyed this book. The star of this book is Martin de Vries, an undead vampire hunter. He is trying to shut down a secret laboratory where a certain Dr. Oslo Wake is trying to design vampires that can walk in the light of day. Mr. de Vries sees this as a bad thing. Find out why. From the back of the book: Will vampires rule the night and day? A NEW STRAIN OF VAMPIRE In the violence-ridden city of Seattle, a secret conspiracy arises to spread a plague of vampirism. They now prowl the night, but plan to take their nightmare into the light of day. Soon no one will be safe.... Warren Storey has vanished without a trace. His girlfriend is then convinced by famous vampire-hunter Martin de Vries that Warren's life--and even all of metahumanity--is in danger. With a group of seasoned Shadowrunners at their side, the battle is taken to a secret laboratory where they uncover something much more terrifying than a simple kidnapping. An experiment run by Dr. Oslo Wake has created genetically altered living dead--infected metahumans who are not just vampires, but something much more deadly...something that doesn't have to live only in the night. But the experiment isn't perfected. The next test subject is Warren. And time is running out.... (from the back of the book)

Nigel D. Findley

• House of the Sun
  

  THE BRIGHTER THE SUN THE DARKER THE SHADOWS DIRK MONTGOMERY IS BACK Dirk Montgomery, former Lone Star cop turned shadowrunner, knows the dark byways of Seattle and the Amerind city of Cheyenne. He knows when to take chances and when to take cover. But when a megacorporate exec demands payment of an old debt, Dirk finds himself where the familiar rules don't apply any more. The Kingdom of Hawai'i is a tropical playground...with a sinister underside. Dirk must navigate its treacherous paths as he tries to stay one step ahead of all the factions battling to control the islands: the megacorps, the government, the rebels, and the yakuza. Not to mention dragons, elves, new friends...and old enemies. (from the back of the book)

Mel Odom

• Preying for Keeps
  

  This is the book got me started on Shadowrun and Mel Odom. This is what happens when a mobster decides he wants to go legit by pitting two biogenetic engineering corporations against each other. Can you say epidemic? You can if this group of Shadowrunners can't get the job done in time. Here's what the back of the book says: A deadly genetic secret threatens Seattle... PLAYED FOR A SUCKER When ace shadowrunner Jack Skater leads his team of commandos in a raid on an elven ocean freighter, things get a little sticky. Yakuza hitmen crash the party, and a Japanese shamen whips up a titanic sea creature just to make sure nobody gets out alive. Now, having escaped with his troops by the skin of their teeth, Skater wants to find out who set him up. But it isn't going to be easy. Because the runners are stuck up to their pointy ears in a sinister super-scheme that involves Skater's ex-wife, two elven gene corporations, a druthless mafioso named McKenzie, and stolen data disks containing secrets worth killing for. It's a high-tech mega-mess with no way out. And as a ghastly virus hits Seattle, unleashing hordes of homicidal cannibals onto tho streets, Skater and company have to bring some heavy artillery just to stay alive.... (from the back of the book)

• Headhunters
  

  All they have to do is steal a corpse from a funeral home. Sounds easy, doesn't it. But if that were the case, they wouldn't have been hired in the first place. Or, as the back of the book describes it: A DEAD MAN CAN STILL BE A WANTED MAN NEVER TELL A DEAD MAN YOUR SECRETS Somebody aced the dragon Dunkelzahn, and one of the mysterious links to the assassination is flat on his back in slab city: a double agent with two identities--both out of commission. Now he's the most-wanted carcass in Tacoma. Jack Skater's mission? Sleaze past the high-tech funeral security, outwit the Knight Errants, cop the stiff, and keep it on ice long enough to get the answer to the shadowrunners' life-and-death question: what's so hot about a stone-cold corpse? And that isn't all that's dropped Skater elf-deep in drek--the UCAS Secret Service is also after the dead man's secret--and the government blue crews are prepared to liquidate anything in sight to get it first.... (from the back of the book)

• Run Hard, Die Fast
  

  Argent gets hired by his former lover to get her out of the Pueblo Corporate Council lands, where she is being hunted by more than one corporation because of the information she has. he assembles the best team he can think of to get her out. But with a situation this hairy, there's no telling if he'll succeed. Here's the synopsis from the back of the book: There's nothing more deadly than a shadowrunner with a chip on his shoulder. A MEGACORP BACKSTAB! Argent is the best shadowrunner in the biz...with one flaw: he's got a conscience. That's why he can't leave a chummer hanging. Only Andi Sencio is more than just a friend. She's his former partner--and lover. And now she's in the deepest drekpot of her life. Heading an op on a datasnatch turned bad, she's been stranded by the megacorp she works for--and targeted for flatlining by two more. Unles Argent gets to her first.... Recruiting a top-notch team for the exfiltration shadowrun, Argent is risking it all--his money, his reputation, and his life--for the woman who once walked away from him. It's a suicide mission through high-caliber hell. But that's never stopped the steel-armed, street samurai before.... (from the back of the book)

Carl Sargent and Marc Gascoigne

• Streets of Blood
  

  RAZORS IN THE FOG London, 2054. Shadows dance in every fog-bound lane and alley of the historic city--shadows that hide a sadistic murderer, somehow summoned from Victoria's reign to kill once more. An uncertain alliance of shadowrunners is thrown together by violent death and corporate intrigue. Geraint, noble lord from the Principality of Wales, Adept, politician, bon vivant. Serrin, renegade Elf mage from Seattle, in search of vengeance or forgetfulness. Francesca, high-class decker for hire, haunted by blood-drenched nightmares. Rani, Punjabi Ork, street samurai, a true shadow-dweller from the lowest level of British society. All are drawn into a web of death and deceit; a conspiracy which reaches to the highest powers of the land; an intrigue built upon murder and manipulation. When death stalks the dark streets of London, no one will be safe from the razor's kiss. (from the back of the book)

Lisa Smedman

• The Forever Drug
  

  Romulus, a shifter who works frelance for the Lone Star police department in Halifax, stumbles across some gang members attempting to get high. Only, they're not using drugs, they're using a potentially lethal magical creature that, if not properly controlled by a mage, will suck away their life force as it provides them with euphoria. The creature is not being properly controlled. Thus starts Romulus' search for the people bringing this creature into the country and selling it as a drug. I enjoyed this book, but it had some fairly far-fetched plot twists. And here's the back of the book: First you get high. Then you die.... The Biggest--and Last--High of Your Life There's a new "drug" on the streets, promising a phenomenal--and deadly--high. But this time the dealers aren't selling a substance. They're working with a creature called a "corpse light"--a creature of pure magic that gives the customer a euphoric rush...as it drains the poor sap's life away. Romulus was the first to see this new scourge in action. As a shapeshifter, he's a freelance agent to the Lone Star police department. His wolfish strength and sense of smell keep him useful--and keep him from being admitted into the regular force. So when Jane, a beautiful, amnesiac woman, is caught in a dangerous web with the dealers, there's no way for Romulus to be assigned to the investigation. But that won't stop him from trying to save her, and to discover how she is tied into this case.... (from the back of the book)