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Shadowrun Novels #64
Shadowrun: Shadow Dance
THE SHADOWS OF A MAN'S PAST ARE LONG… Cole Danvers is a small-time shadowrunner scratching out a living in the dangerous, divided sprawl of Denver, Colorado. But when a lucrative heist to steal an AmerIndian amulet goes terribly wrong, costing him both his teammates and nearly his life, Cole hits the streets intent on only one thing—vengeance. But as he tracks down the Johnson that sent him on this deadly mission, Cole quickly realizes he’s stumbled onto a plot much bigger than stealing a piece of jewelry—and that it’s somehow connected to his own shadowed past. Soon, he’s sucked into machinations that involve Native Americans, wily shamans, and impossibly, himself. And even sooner, Cole realizes he needs help to take down his enemies—before he gets killed for real this time. Assembling a motley crew of shadowrunners using every bit of guile and charisma he possesses, Cole sets out to solve the mystery of who tried to double-cross him and why…and what, if anything it has to do with his own murky background. But the answers may do more than just shock him…before it’s all over, they may just be the death of him…
- GenresFiction
260 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2020
20 people are currently reading
38 people want to read
About the author
Aaron Rosenberg
234 books118 followersAaron Rosenberg is an award-winning, bestselling novelist, children’s book author, and game designer. He's written original fiction (including the NOOK-bestselling humorous science fiction novel No Small Bills, the Dread Remora space-opera series, and the O.C.L.T. supernatural thriller series), tie-in novels (including the PsiPhi winner Collective Hindsight for Star Trek: SCE, the Daemon Gates trilogy for Warhammer, Tides of Darkness and the Scribe-nominated Beyond the Dark Portal for WarCraft, Hunt and Run for Stargate: Atlantis, and Substitution Method and Road Less Traveled for Eureka), young adult novels (including the Scribe-winning Bandslam: The Novel and books for iCarly and Ben10), children's books (including an original Scholastic Bestseller series, Pete and Penny's Pizza Puzzles, and work for PowerPuff Girls and Transformers Animated), roleplaying games (including original games like Asylum and Spookshow, the Origins Award-winning Gamemastering Secrets, and sections of The Supernatural Roleplaying Game, Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, and The Deryni Roleplaying Game), short stories, webcomics, essays, and educational books. He has ranged from mystery to speculative fiction to drama to comedy, always with the same intent—to tell a good story. You can visit him online at gryphonrose.com or follow him on Twitter @gryphonrose.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 28, 2020
About a month and a half ago, I went online to do my usual search of new Shadowrun books to read and was a little surprised to find that there had been three books released in that time I did not have. I ordered them through Barnes & Nobles and eagerly awaited for them to get here. Luckily, I did not have to wait long and Shadow Dance by Aaron Rosenberg ended up being the first one I decided to read.
Shadow Dance takes up the tale of a Cole Danvers, a petty thief who finds his world turned completely upside down after a heist of an ancient amulet goes way wrong where he loses his teammates and nearly his own life. Now he's got to track down and take revenge on those responsible and he's going to assemble a new team to do it.
The book is very easy to read, it has bite size chapters and handles at an excellent pace. It keeps the setting and story to a reasonable length and there are plenty of likable characters. It is the kind of writing that you would expect from someone who has written almost a hundred different tie-in type books. It's also an excellent book for someone who might not have read too many Shadowrun novels and wants to understand the world a little better.
However, in the same breath, it's also pretty darn paint by the numbers and clean. There is a chapter on getting a hacker , there is a chapter on getting magic help, then they need the muscle and so on and so forth. I feel like I'm filling out a scoresheet at times. It also ends a little too neatly and perhaps I've been spoiled by the Shadowrun novels of yesteryear (anything by Lisa Smedman is a great example) where they would leave the reader with just a little more before they go back into the deep dark shadows.
My trip back into the Shadows this time felt a little too neat and tidy. While I did enjoy the book as I have almost every Shadowrun tale, this one could have had a little more bite, a little more to touch the nerves of my broken Shadowrunning psyche. I do recommend this tale to those who need a good introduction to the universe similar to what the Wizkid novels did by Stephen Kenson. However, veterans of this world might be left wanting for more. Enjoy.
Shadow Dance takes up the tale of a Cole Danvers, a petty thief who finds his world turned completely upside down after a heist of an ancient amulet goes way wrong where he loses his teammates and nearly his own life. Now he's got to track down and take revenge on those responsible and he's going to assemble a new team to do it.
The book is very easy to read, it has bite size chapters and handles at an excellent pace. It keeps the setting and story to a reasonable length and there are plenty of likable characters. It is the kind of writing that you would expect from someone who has written almost a hundred different tie-in type books. It's also an excellent book for someone who might not have read too many Shadowrun novels and wants to understand the world a little better.
However, in the same breath, it's also pretty darn paint by the numbers and clean. There is a chapter on getting a hacker , there is a chapter on getting magic help, then they need the muscle and so on and so forth. I feel like I'm filling out a scoresheet at times. It also ends a little too neatly and perhaps I've been spoiled by the Shadowrun novels of yesteryear (anything by Lisa Smedman is a great example) where they would leave the reader with just a little more before they go back into the deep dark shadows.
My trip back into the Shadows this time felt a little too neat and tidy. While I did enjoy the book as I have almost every Shadowrun tale, this one could have had a little more bite, a little more to touch the nerves of my broken Shadowrunning psyche. I do recommend this tale to those who need a good introduction to the universe similar to what the Wizkid novels did by Stephen Kenson. However, veterans of this world might be left wanting for more. Enjoy.
March 2, 2020
Fast paced and action packed
Excellent tightly written novel with more twists than a pretzel and a satisfying ending. Delivers on the Shadowrun world and gives you likable characters to boot.
Excellent tightly written novel with more twists than a pretzel and a satisfying ending. Delivers on the Shadowrun world and gives you likable characters to boot.
December 7, 2024
The book read like a Young Adult novel. Unfortunately, it was very simplistic. It's almost like the author had ideas for situations and then mashed them together.
SPOILERS:
There's a scene where the runners use solar panels/mirrors to burn off a flash flood. Beside boiling themselves alive the scene was just silly.
In another scene the runners _fell into a pit_ and spent 10ish pages on trying to figure out how to get out of the pit. Something like an 8 or 10m pit. Oh, and the pit was a test set up by the bad guys. The bad guys knew where the runner team was going to camp and set the pit a bit outside their camp site.
The overall plot was an interesting idea, but the YA element killed it for me. I don't think it was intended.
SPOILERS:
There's a scene where the runners use solar panels/mirrors to burn off a flash flood. Beside boiling themselves alive the scene was just silly.
In another scene the runners _fell into a pit_ and spent 10ish pages on trying to figure out how to get out of the pit. Something like an 8 or 10m pit. Oh, and the pit was a test set up by the bad guys. The bad guys knew where the runner team was going to camp and set the pit a bit outside their camp site.
The overall plot was an interesting idea, but the YA element killed it for me. I don't think it was intended.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2020
Ich weiß nicht ob es an den aktuellen Romanen oder mir liegt, aber ich werde mich mehr ganz so warm mit den Kameraderie-und-Action-Geschichten. Wer sowas sucht ist mit dem Buch hier - mit dem ich trotzdem auch Spaß hatte - mehr als gut bedient. Etwas in Richtung Burning Bright oder der Story von Dragonfall wäre jetzt aber mal angebracht.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews