What do you think?
Shadowrun Novels #51
Karmesin
WHERE NO ONE KNOWS YOUR NAME...
Thanksgiving, 2075. Shadowrunning vampire-mage Rick “Red” Lang used to make his living hunting dangerous insect spirits and twisted mages, but when he awakens after twelve years of involuntary hibernation, he finds the rest of the world has gotten even stranger.
Red begins piecing together what had happened during his lost time—and who put him under in the first place. But as he journeys through the neon-drenched ruins of Chicago and its augmented facades, Red uncovers an even larger plot involving eldritch forces seeking to invade from beyond our reality. He teams up with the few allies he can trust—Pretty, a beautiful ghoul, and Slim, a hacker extraordinaire—as they head into the middle of multiple schemes and power plays surrounding a dangerous new conflict threatening to shatter the uneasy peace into all-consuming chaos.
Thanksgiving, 2075. Shadowrunning vampire-mage Rick “Red” Lang used to make his living hunting dangerous insect spirits and twisted mages, but when he awakens after twelve years of involuntary hibernation, he finds the rest of the world has gotten even stranger.
Red begins piecing together what had happened during his lost time—and who put him under in the first place. But as he journeys through the neon-drenched ruins of Chicago and its augmented facades, Red uncovers an even larger plot involving eldritch forces seeking to invade from beyond our reality. He teams up with the few allies he can trust—Pretty, a beautiful ghoul, and Slim, a hacker extraordinaire—as they head into the middle of multiple schemes and power plays surrounding a dangerous new conflict threatening to shatter the uneasy peace into all-consuming chaos.
280 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 3, 2015
I truly enjoyed this work and would take the time to read it again. Great job on this one!
January 20, 2018
This is a very good book especially if you want to understand Chicago and the Ghoul Population or if you just want to see what life as a Ghoul is like in the 6th World.
Word is that Kevin has written a sequel.
Word is that Kevin has written a sequel.
August 7, 2025
Do you love Shadowrun, and have a deep understanding of the lore?
If so - skip this. We have a hipster vampire mage protagonist who just ....
Nevermind, if you got past 'hipster vampire mage' and still want to read this, that is what you will get.
If so - skip this. We have a hipster vampire mage protagonist who just ....
Nevermind, if you got past 'hipster vampire mage' and still want to read this, that is what you will get.
June 11, 2020
A little too rambling at the start.
The story tightened up in the last third of the book. I liked the ending, and would read about this character again.
The story tightened up in the last third of the book. I liked the ending, and would read about this character again.
April 27, 2021
Enjoyable exposure to ghoul rights. Not all "monsters" are the monsters
December 2, 2024
Didn't finish. Das wars nicht. Bei der Hälfte war mir immer noch nicht klar, was eigentlich die Handlung sein soll.
April 24, 2016
Very enjoyable Shadowrun novel about a vampire shadowrunner who gets caught up helping out with some local ghoul homesteaders. As a story, it's probably not for total newcomers to the Shadowrun universe, because it does touch on some jargon and lore without ever explaining any of it. I can imagine a reader being very lost at several points.
I'm not a huge fan of vampires as a literary device; I don't find their plight (too much immortality..?) interesting, I don't love their superpowers, but I actually really enjoyed the vampire lead in this book. He's a down-to-Earth guy who just happens to regenerate his wounds away; it really works well in this setting. The ghouls he befriends are interesting and likable, and their daily struggles are VERY easy to relate to.
The plot meanders a lot, but it's entertaining and eventually does find a clear path. I had no idea if it would ever find a point, but it does, and I really liked the way it developed. I do wish that had a better resolution for Pretty, Slim, and Needles, but you have to admit that sometimes life doesn't work that way.
If you like Shadowrun, and you want to explore the fringes of the lower classes, this might be a book to check out.
I'm not a huge fan of vampires as a literary device; I don't find their plight (too much immortality..?) interesting, I don't love their superpowers, but I actually really enjoyed the vampire lead in this book. He's a down-to-Earth guy who just happens to regenerate his wounds away; it really works well in this setting. The ghouls he befriends are interesting and likable, and their daily struggles are VERY easy to relate to.
The plot meanders a lot, but it's entertaining and eventually does find a clear path. I had no idea if it would ever find a point, but it does, and I really liked the way it developed. I do wish that had a better resolution for Pretty, Slim, and Needles, but you have to admit that sometimes life doesn't work that way.
If you like Shadowrun, and you want to explore the fringes of the lower classes, this might be a book to check out.
May 19, 2015
Great Shadowrun novel. The author posted a short Valentines Day story - the day the book was to be released - which whetted my interest in the book. Unfortunately, the release date was pushed back, and I didn't stumble upon it until the other night. Immediately bought and downloaded it, then proceeded to read it in one go. It is that good. But do yourself a favor, and pace yourself - once you hit the last page, there is no more (yet - fingers crossed that the author is writing more about Red). Nice to know new Shadowrun novels are being produced - I read the older ones years ago, and I blame the long drought on drinking this one down so quickly!
May 27, 2015
Caricature made "real"
Light and enjoyable read, probably only for those already invested in the mythology. The main character is a "pink-mohawk" shadowrun caricature who is thrust forward into a modern shadowrun world where he is confronted with a grittier realty for the infected. The underlying story is about a pack of ghouls living in a Chicago that is being rebuilt, and how that effects their survival as their territory is steadily squeezed by encroachment from the human predator. Sadly the climax of the ghouls story reverted back to pink-mohawk territory.
Pink-mohawk refers to an over the top, high octane, Michael Bay-esque version of the shadowrun game world.
Light and enjoyable read, probably only for those already invested in the mythology. The main character is a "pink-mohawk" shadowrun caricature who is thrust forward into a modern shadowrun world where he is confronted with a grittier realty for the infected. The underlying story is about a pack of ghouls living in a Chicago that is being rebuilt, and how that effects their survival as their territory is steadily squeezed by encroachment from the human predator. Sadly the climax of the ghouls story reverted back to pink-mohawk territory.
Pink-mohawk refers to an over the top, high octane, Michael Bay-esque version of the shadowrun game world.
August 31, 2015
Cleverer Blick in die Chicagoer Untergrundgesellschaft der 2070er. Ordentliche Charakterzeichnung und gut geschrieben. Allerdings kein wirklicher Bogen über den kompletten Roman, eher die Auswahl eines bestimmten Zeitabschnitts des Protagonisten. Intelligentes Erschaffen von Tiefe durch die ständige Referenz auf die Vergangenheit, so als wenn dies der zweite Teil einer Trilogie sei.
May 16, 2015
A decent story that focused on the Infected in Chicago.
March 31, 2017
Pretty good, extremely easy read. Who would think that ghouls and a vampire in Shadowrun would be so fun. The ending was very open ended and I look forward to more adventures with "Red" :)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews