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Shadowrun Returns Anthology
**Available with the Shadowrun Returns Deluxe Edition or the Shadowrun Returns Deluxe Upgrade DLC. In PDF format**
Explore the world of Shadowrun Returns even more with an illustrated PDF of short stories written for the game and edited by Jordan Weisman, the creator of Shadowrun.
Explore the world of Shadowrun Returns even more with an illustrated PDF of short stories written for the game and edited by Jordan Weisman, the creator of Shadowrun.
194 pages, ebook
First published June 13, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 8, 2014
Awesome short-stories collection. It is true to the feeling of Shadowrun. Most of the stories act as prequels to the game, so if you have played the game prior to reading the book, as I did, a lot of questions get answered and you start to see the story and world with a more greyish view. All in all, perfect, by my standards.
November 1, 2015
Fun to read through having played Dead man's switch. It fills in a few spots in the back stories of a lot of NPCs. It reminded me how much I liked the world and prompted me to play through the game again on my phone.
August 14, 2019
This is the combo anthology/art book made for the backers of the Shadowrun Returns video game. The sixteen stories provide a thorough grounding in the gritty cyberfantasy setting and culture of the long-running Shadowrun RPG franchise. Though the quality ranges, I enjoyed most of the stories (total rating 3.25). The stories are followed by an interesting essay by game designer Weisman on how he and the other writers ingeniously fit the game's plot into the larger Shadowrun chronology. And then ensues lots of game art and backer appreciation.
The stories are more or less chronologically ordered. Some details differ from the game, like Cherry Bomb's profession, and the spelling of Dresden. (Weisman acknowledges and apologizes for this in his essay.) Characters from Shadowrun Returns are in italics:
"Locks and Keys" (2): YA story about one of the first elves, complete with terrible parents and peer acceptance issues. Key worldbuilding: physical mutations are happening around the world, giving us the beloved races of Shadowrun.
"No Sharper Spur" (2): Protagonist is a lying, racist, sexist, villainous bastard with no redeeming qualities. No character arc. James Telestrian III introduced.
"Belonging" (4): the diary of Jessica Watts, who runs away from home only to become a priestess in the Universal Brotherhood cult.
"Evolution" (3): Macklusky's origin story. This is the game's dirty tusker cop who attracts Telestrian's attention, and goes to work for him.
"The Road to Hell" (4): Background on Harkeem Marshall, aka the game's Baron Samedi. Also features Marie-Louise Telestrian.
"But Loyal to His Salt" (4): Basically one big battle. Orc Arik Schofield does a costly mission for his boss Alejandro Kylisearn, aka "Green Lucifer" of Shadowrun lore. But it is all for nothing, as his boss has lost clout.
"Dinner With a Friend" (4): Incognito meeting between Harlequin and Hans Brackhaus, a "Johnson" who works for Saeder-Krupp, owned by the king of dragons Lofwyr, who may or may not be disguising himself as Brackhaus. Confused? Anyway, Harlequin wants Lofwyr to back Marie-Louise over her father James Telestrian III. But thugs have tailed Brackhaus and want to kidnap him for ransom. So much intrigue! Story ends strategically, before combat.
"Cherry Bomb" (3): All about the Elf prostitute [sic] at the Seamstresses Union, and her demoted Telestrian wageslave client Andy White, who might be in love with her. Background on the Union and its owner Madame Sinful. Superb use of ironic twist, but White's characterization does a jarring 180 that broke immersion for me.
"Blowing Sky High" (2): Seamus, a low-power dwarf mage fixer with a penchant for explosions is helping out a fellow employee robbed by a hooker when things go south. Nice twist but predictable otherwise.
"Past Salvage" (4): Series of deals and runs revolving around a claw lost by the dragon Lofwyr. Gives an accurate feel for the Shadowrun Returns milieu, featuring the Seamstresses Union and Cherry Bomb. Fairly straightforward.
"Showtime" (4): Another angle on the plot of "Past Salvage". Elf decker Ratatosk and his young hired mage Elias steal data for Jessica Watts, who's investigating the death of her father (James Telestrian II) in an airplane that crashed due to a large dragon (Lofwyr) whose claw was found in wreckage.
"Dog Tags" (3): About Jake Armitage, who we played in the original SNES game! He's a temp bouncer at Seamstresses Union, on the lam from the Corp he raided, and abandoned by his astral spirit, a small dog. But who abandoned whom? Featuring Coyote Ugly, Sam Watts, and Dresdan [sic] from Organ Grinders.
"White Hat, Black Bag" (3): Wedge takes a job tailing his fellow runner Dodger, whom his handler Conspir-I-see thinks has gotten in over his head with the Telestrian corp, who will stop at nothing to keep James Telestrian II's death a mystery.
"Never Alone" (3): A young homeless elf is about to become the next victim of the game's serial killer (the mage elf Dr. Howard Henry Holmes) and his hulking ork assistant Pitezel, when her shaman magic manifests to lead her to safety. But then Jessica finds the girl and senses her magical potential. Uhoh. Neat that this all happens during the chaos of the player's storming of Mercy Mental Hospital.
"The Deep End" (5): John Dresdan [sic], coroner of the Redmond branch of Organ Grinders, tells stories at the Seamstresses Union about his day, but he will never tell Glint's tale. Powerful! Featuring the same sinister Dr. Holmes from the last story.
"A Night's Work" (2): A typical shadowrunner job goes south when the Lone Stars bring the magic.
The stories are more or less chronologically ordered. Some details differ from the game, like Cherry Bomb's profession, and the spelling of Dresden. (Weisman acknowledges and apologizes for this in his essay.) Characters from Shadowrun Returns are in italics:
"Locks and Keys" (2): YA story about one of the first elves, complete with terrible parents and peer acceptance issues. Key worldbuilding: physical mutations are happening around the world, giving us the beloved races of Shadowrun.
"No Sharper Spur" (2): Protagonist is a lying, racist, sexist, villainous bastard with no redeeming qualities. No character arc. James Telestrian III introduced.
"Belonging" (4): the diary of Jessica Watts, who runs away from home only to become a priestess in the Universal Brotherhood cult.
"Evolution" (3): Macklusky's origin story. This is the game's dirty tusker cop who attracts Telestrian's attention, and goes to work for him.
"The Road to Hell" (4): Background on Harkeem Marshall, aka the game's Baron Samedi. Also features Marie-Louise Telestrian.
"But Loyal to His Salt" (4): Basically one big battle. Orc Arik Schofield does a costly mission for his boss Alejandro Kylisearn, aka "Green Lucifer" of Shadowrun lore. But it is all for nothing, as his boss has lost clout.
"Dinner With a Friend" (4): Incognito meeting between Harlequin and Hans Brackhaus, a "Johnson" who works for Saeder-Krupp, owned by the king of dragons Lofwyr, who may or may not be disguising himself as Brackhaus. Confused? Anyway, Harlequin wants Lofwyr to back Marie-Louise over her father James Telestrian III. But thugs have tailed Brackhaus and want to kidnap him for ransom. So much intrigue! Story ends strategically, before combat.
"Cherry Bomb" (3): All about the Elf prostitute [sic] at the Seamstresses Union, and her demoted Telestrian wageslave client Andy White, who might be in love with her. Background on the Union and its owner Madame Sinful. Superb use of ironic twist, but White's characterization does a jarring 180 that broke immersion for me.
"Blowing Sky High" (2): Seamus, a low-power dwarf mage fixer with a penchant for explosions is helping out a fellow employee robbed by a hooker when things go south. Nice twist but predictable otherwise.
"Past Salvage" (4): Series of deals and runs revolving around a claw lost by the dragon Lofwyr. Gives an accurate feel for the Shadowrun Returns milieu, featuring the Seamstresses Union and Cherry Bomb. Fairly straightforward.
"Showtime" (4): Another angle on the plot of "Past Salvage". Elf decker Ratatosk and his young hired mage Elias steal data for Jessica Watts, who's investigating the death of her father (James Telestrian II) in an airplane that crashed due to a large dragon (Lofwyr) whose claw was found in wreckage.
"Dog Tags" (3): About Jake Armitage, who we played in the original SNES game! He's a temp bouncer at Seamstresses Union, on the lam from the Corp he raided, and abandoned by his astral spirit, a small dog. But who abandoned whom? Featuring Coyote Ugly, Sam Watts, and Dresdan [sic] from Organ Grinders.
"White Hat, Black Bag" (3): Wedge takes a job tailing his fellow runner Dodger, whom his handler Conspir-I-see thinks has gotten in over his head with the Telestrian corp, who will stop at nothing to keep James Telestrian II's death a mystery.
"Never Alone" (3): A young homeless elf is about to become the next victim of the game's serial killer (the mage elf Dr. Howard Henry Holmes) and his hulking ork assistant Pitezel, when her shaman magic manifests to lead her to safety. But then Jessica finds the girl and senses her magical potential. Uhoh. Neat that this all happens during the chaos of the player's storming of Mercy Mental Hospital.
"The Deep End" (5): John Dresdan [sic], coroner of the Redmond branch of Organ Grinders, tells stories at the Seamstresses Union about his day, but he will never tell Glint's tale. Powerful! Featuring the same sinister Dr. Holmes from the last story.
"A Night's Work" (2): A typical shadowrunner job goes south when the Lone Stars bring the magic.
July 17, 2021
Read this not only without playing any of the games, but without any real knowledge of the Shadowrun universe in general, and what I can say after reading is that I'd rather keep it that way. Not that I wasn't already leaning against even trying the games, despite getting them for free, just because I had the pretty clear impression that the world they take place in is an awful one that I want no part of, but these stories confirmed it.
About the stories themselves... Well, they're short stories and I don't really care for short stories in general, and the awful world definitely doesn't help, plus that the first impression was poor because the beginning of the first one struck me as poorly written. And the last one seemed to me to be the weakest. However, the others, and even the first one once you get past the beginning, are generally written well enough, connect in some ways and are likely to mean much more to those who know and appreciate this universe. While too much seemed to revolve around the Union, I did rather like the story titled Cherry Bomb. On the other hand, Never Alone also seems to stand out in some ways, but that one's so creepy that I shy away from it.
About the stories themselves... Well, they're short stories and I don't really care for short stories in general, and the awful world definitely doesn't help, plus that the first impression was poor because the beginning of the first one struck me as poorly written. And the last one seemed to me to be the weakest. However, the others, and even the first one once you get past the beginning, are generally written well enough, connect in some ways and are likely to mean much more to those who know and appreciate this universe. While too much seemed to revolve around the Union, I did rather like the story titled Cherry Bomb. On the other hand, Never Alone also seems to stand out in some ways, but that one's so creepy that I shy away from it.
April 8, 2025
This just isn't very good overall, not because of poor authorship but because the space allocations per contributor are so low. However, there are a few standout pieces in relation to Returns the game.
Some stories are worthwhile in the context of the game:
Belonging is material thats so good for the plot it should be in the game.
Dinner with a Friend is the best piece on its own merits- some fun banter here- and is very worthwhile both for Returns and Dragonfall.
Dog Tags is a very worthwhile direct prologue to the game.
The Road to Hell, Deep End and Never Alone aren't bad background on a secondary characters, but are firmly inessential.
Blowing Sky High is irrelevant to default Returns but essential reading if you play the Vox Populi version for Hong Kong (which you should).
The rest are either basically irrelevant to the games plot or like Locks and Keys and Evolution just do not mesh with the characters as they are in game; and as at the start, at 4-8 pages none are really worthy reads on their own.
Some stories are worthwhile in the context of the game:
Belonging is material thats so good for the plot it should be in the game.
Dinner with a Friend is the best piece on its own merits- some fun banter here- and is very worthwhile both for Returns and Dragonfall.
Dog Tags is a very worthwhile direct prologue to the game.
The Road to Hell, Deep End and Never Alone aren't bad background on a secondary characters, but are firmly inessential.
Blowing Sky High is irrelevant to default Returns but essential reading if you play the Vox Populi version for Hong Kong (which you should).
The rest are either basically irrelevant to the games plot or like Locks and Keys and Evolution just do not mesh with the characters as they are in game; and as at the start, at 4-8 pages none are really worthy reads on their own.
June 8, 2014
I read several of the stories while I was playing through Shadowrun Returns: Dragonfall. It was nice to read stories that fleshed out the storyline from Dead Man's Switch, but in the end they weren't interesting enough. They were also all over the map in terms of writing style. Some were obsessive about cataloging in-game items and brands, while others were more abstract stories in the milieu.
February 2, 2014
Nice set of short stories all related to the story of Shadowrun Returns.
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