Shadowrun: Mercy Street

by Bryan Young

HELP FOR ALL—RUNNERS, CHUMMERS, AND DREGS…

Nestled in one of the worst parts of Seattle is a place where anyone can go to get patched up, no questions asked. They call it Mercy Street and it’s a practically free clinic run by a drunk old troll named Shimura, who’s seen a lot in his years.

When a decker named Lockdown Paradox shows up bleeding on his doorstep, it’s just an average Tuesday, but when corporate stooges looking for her show up and try to shake Shimura down for information, he wonders just what this kid hacker’s gotten herself into. But he's not the only one wondering…Paradox thinks there’s more to the ol’ whiskey doc than meets the eye, wondering if he might be a legendary shadowrunner that might be able to help her.

When she turns up missing, Shimura is forced to go far deeper into the sleaze and sprawl than he ever wanted to...and return to a part of his past he’d sworn to leave behind if he wants to get both of them out alive…

92 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 27, 2022

About the author

Bryan Young (he/they) works across many different media. His work as a writer and producer has been called "filmmaking gold" by The New York Times. He's also published comic books with Slave Labor Graphics and Image Comics. He's been a regular contributor for the Huffington Post, StarWars.com, Star Wars Insider magazine, SYFY, /Film, and was the founder and editor in chief of the geek news and review site Big Shiny Robot! In 2014, he wrote the critically acclaimed history book, A Children’s Illustrated History of Presidential Assassination. He co-authored Robotech: The Macross Saga RPG and has written five books in the BattleTech Universe: Honor's Gauntlet, A Question of Survival, Fox Tales, Without Question, and the forthcoming VoidBreaker. His latest non-fiction tie-in book, The Big Bang Theory Book of Lists is a #1 Bestseller on Amazon. His work has won two Diamond Quill awards and in 2023 he was named Writer of the Year by the League of Utah Writers. He teaches writing for Writer’s Digest, Script Magazine, and at the University of Utah. Follow him across social media @swankmotron or visit swankmotron.com.

Support Bryan on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/swankmotron

Reviews

[Apryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cyberpunk is one of my favorite genres though I hadn’t read any from the Shadowrun universe until now. The only negative experience I had with this story was the shortness - because I wanted to know and experience more and join the Doc throughout his adventures jacked in and on the streets (once his grumpy ass was stoked enough to bring the pain beyond his dingy little clinic). That’s the thing about stories that are so rad, you get to join an adventure party, and this one was so damn interesting for me having played the original video game on a console in the 90s and then the beautiful new computer games that have come out recent years. Doc’s a great party leader: he’s gruff but caring, keeps a clean mental space while his kitchen gets all crusty with used dishes, and like a good reluctant hero he doesn’t like to get all flashy with his skills. I love big grumpy softies - and Doc was intriguing cause he was such a renaissance ma- troll! That felt rare so that made for a damn entertaining experience joining a healer, street samurai, and decker through multiple environments. Boy I love me some multi class players and exploring a wide variety of environments.

So now I want to join his next adventure! Keep it coming Bryan Young!

[Lee Fent · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short simple story with lots of Shadowrun flavor. Main character felt interesting but a bit OP.