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Shadowrun Novels #58
Shadowrun: Sprawl Stories: Volume One
MEAN STREETS? YOU HAVE NO IDEA…The Sixth World is a dangerous place, and nowhere is that more obvious than in Seattle, the so-called Emerald City. Surrounding its neon-drenched heart is kilometer after kilometer of Sprawl, where millions of people scratch out a living among hazardous, slowly decaying neighborhoods and even more dangerous neighbors.Sprawl Stories contains four Shadowrun novellas that explore Seattle through the eyes of the people who live there every day. A burned-out mage detective tackles a missing person case that threatens to spiral beyond his control. A reporter goes on the ride-along of her life with a high-octane DocWagon team, and uncovers a conspiracy on live trideo. A young ex-wageslave is caught between powerful forces while investigating his uncle’s death. And a shaman must deal with a serious injury that threatens his very way of life—but not before taking vengeance on those who double-crossed him.So take a walk on the true wild side of the Seattle Sprawl. If you’re good—and lucky—you might even come back out in one piece…Sprawl Stories contains the following Shadowrun “Neat” by Russell Zimmerman “DocWagon 19” by Jennifer Brozek “Big Dreams” by R. L. King "Blind Magic” by Dylan Birtolo.
- GenresScience Fiction
319 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2017
30 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 25, 2019
Good, quick read
Good stories, nice to have them together. I'm not a fan of reading novellas but put three together and you have a book.
Good stories, nice to have them together. I'm not a fan of reading novellas but put three together and you have a book.
July 25, 2021
The weakest anthology of Shadowrun stories to date.
March 12, 2019
It had been a little while since I had read an actual new Shadowrun book so I was naturally excited when this collection hit my doorstep. Since I still can't get into digital books, I was happy to see that these four novellas (previously only available in digital form) make the physical world. After taking a couple of weeks to really enjoy the stories, I can easily say that I hope a Vol 2 comes sooner than later.
Neat by Russell Zimmerman -
The return of P.I. Jimmy Kincaid (of Shaken: No Job Too Small fame) takes us into an awesome adventure of a missing person case with a healthy dose of noir to set the scene. Shaken was my second favorite Catalyst novel (behind Dark Resonance) and this only made me crave more stories featuring the Shadowrun gumshoe.
DocWagon 19 by Jennifer Brozek -
My favorite story of the four, mostly because it was completely different from what usually SR books are about. Sure, it is still has some of the familiar tropes but wrapped up in a expose newscast is a great way to present it. I also liked that it dealt with a side of Shadowrun that is often glossed over in DocWagon services. It felt fresh and original and the advertisements were a nice touch. If I ever were able to put all of my Shadowrun thoughts into a novel, I can't say I wouldn't slide a few advertisements in there as well.
Big Dreams by R.L. King -
I had read Borrowed Time by R.L. King a while back and many will be happy to know that some of the characters from that novel make their way into this one. Still a strong story, but I found the scope of this one bigger than the story itself. So many events occur within a span of fifty pages and deaths are thrown aside with hardly the time to invest in the characters. I think I just wanted it to be longer so the events could be fleshed out.
Blind Magic by Dylan Birtolo -
Probably the most surprising story of the bunch in the aspect that I'm not familiar with Dylan's work at all but this was still very impressive and engaging. This one I would still like to see in a longer story but the adventure is suitable for the length and he creates very likable characters. It is also well written and creates tension at the right moments. I would like to see more from this author, even outside of the SR World.
Miscellaneous Notes:
1. If I did have one negative I could really find with the book (and it certainly was not the stories), it was the quality of the paperback. The book's cover really gets curved after some minimal use. I'll have to try and flatten it out some now that I'm finished with it but the previous newer Shadowrun books did not have this issue so I was somewhat disappointed this one did.
2. Kudos to whoever thought it was a good idea to put the entire list of Shadowrun books (including ones from other publishers) in the back. Thankfully it matched up with my list I found on the webs and I'm not missing any ;).
Neat by Russell Zimmerman -
The return of P.I. Jimmy Kincaid (of Shaken: No Job Too Small fame) takes us into an awesome adventure of a missing person case with a healthy dose of noir to set the scene. Shaken was my second favorite Catalyst novel (behind Dark Resonance) and this only made me crave more stories featuring the Shadowrun gumshoe.
DocWagon 19 by Jennifer Brozek -
My favorite story of the four, mostly because it was completely different from what usually SR books are about. Sure, it is still has some of the familiar tropes but wrapped up in a expose newscast is a great way to present it. I also liked that it dealt with a side of Shadowrun that is often glossed over in DocWagon services. It felt fresh and original and the advertisements were a nice touch. If I ever were able to put all of my Shadowrun thoughts into a novel, I can't say I wouldn't slide a few advertisements in there as well.
Big Dreams by R.L. King -
I had read Borrowed Time by R.L. King a while back and many will be happy to know that some of the characters from that novel make their way into this one. Still a strong story, but I found the scope of this one bigger than the story itself. So many events occur within a span of fifty pages and deaths are thrown aside with hardly the time to invest in the characters. I think I just wanted it to be longer so the events could be fleshed out.
Blind Magic by Dylan Birtolo -
Probably the most surprising story of the bunch in the aspect that I'm not familiar with Dylan's work at all but this was still very impressive and engaging. This one I would still like to see in a longer story but the adventure is suitable for the length and he creates very likable characters. It is also well written and creates tension at the right moments. I would like to see more from this author, even outside of the SR World.
Miscellaneous Notes:
1. If I did have one negative I could really find with the book (and it certainly was not the stories), it was the quality of the paperback. The book's cover really gets curved after some minimal use. I'll have to try and flatten it out some now that I'm finished with it but the previous newer Shadowrun books did not have this issue so I was somewhat disappointed this one did.
2. Kudos to whoever thought it was a good idea to put the entire list of Shadowrun books (including ones from other publishers) in the back. Thankfully it matched up with my list I found on the webs and I'm not missing any ;).
October 6, 2017
A collection of previously released Shadowrun short stories. They are decent stories that show the world of Shadowrun.
October 18, 2019
I totally enjoyed this for what it is. A great look into a week developed game world.
I I especially enjoyed the docwagon story.
I I especially enjoyed the docwagon story.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews