Profil

As I was reading this book, the memories came back. After the rather disappointing second book in this trilogy, I was preparing for the worst. But I turned out to be pleasantly surprised. The book was a very quick read and I liked the ending in particular. The writing was basically the same as in the previous book, meaning it had its flaws but was OK overall. A good ending for the trilogy and a good Shadowrun book.

Phew, this was a more difficult read than I remembered. Sam Verner is an annoying character, I had forgotten about that or not experienced it that way on my first read, 25 or so years ago. He feels very much like a self-righteous, "holier than thou" asshole. I know that the author tried to not have him be like that, but I still feel that way. His support characters, however, are what I am looking for in Shadowrun books. I love the Dodger and Hart, Willie is fun too, although her role is sadly very small.

The story itself was nice, the stakes certainly were high. There was sufficient tech-y action too. But overall I had to downgrade my rating from 4 to 3 stars.

As I re-visit the Shadowrun series I continuously have to re-evaluate my initial assessment from my first read-through in the mid-90s. Well, at least the assessment I remember. Back then I was a teenager and the whole mix of cyberpunk and magic was awesome. I still think so. Unfortunately particularly the tech stuff in Shadowrun has not aged well. It has a very 1980s vibe to it and considering that Shadowrun is set in our future it just feels odd.

This particular book inspired part of the amazing game Shadowurn Returns. Reading just the book I felt disappointed. The writing is terrible, like some young guy's attempt at writing hard-boiled cyberpunk. But I guess I only have myself to blame. You shouldn't return to stuff you liked when you were young.