Customer Reviews

Find Your Own Truth (Shadowrun)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The story begins in the Australian outback. Sam Verner aka Twist enlists a group of Shadowrunners to help him find an artifact that would possibly 'cure' his sister Janice of her Wendigo nature. Upon finding the artifact, Sam unleashes a powerful spirit totem that was meant to be enthralled by the artifact in question. What happens from there is a story woven by Robert N. Charrette that serves as a nice conclusion to the Secrets of Power Trilogy and a nice introduction to the Shadowrun world.

As a previous reviewer stated, Charrette has polished his writing ability in this book and it shows. The scenes and dialogue have a better flow to them when compared to the previous two novels in the trilogy. Also his characterization has improved and he does an excellent job builiding the story up, making references to the Never Deal with a Dragon and Choose Your Enemies Carefully. Serving as a Catch 22, if you never read the first two books, you will not enjoy this novel as much. Janice, Hart, and Dodger remain my favorite characters from this series. Hart with her exotic professionalism along with her extreme love and loyalty towards Sam. Dodger with his intelligence and old English dialogue, and then Janice, the tragic figure whom Sam is attempting to save, the younger sister. But it all comes down to Sam.

I found myself liking "Sir Twist." as Dodger would refer to him as. Sam does remain whiny, and consistently questions people who could blast him away with a mere thought, but there is a sense of altruism to him that I cannot explain. As a reader, you know that Sam has only the best interest out there for everyone, and he is attempting to do the right thing all the time. He is a moral character, and in the world of Shadowrun you want to root for them because the world is so dystopian in nature. He becomes that friend who you find annoying at times, but challenges you in a good way. The villains in the story (whom shall remain nameless at the moment) are not as strong as the villains in the first two novels. The motives behind good and evil in the story are black and white. There is an cameo by Striper, main character of Nyx Smith's two novels, which long time SR fans should find enjoyable.

Find Your Own Truth is a good book and a fun read if you have been following the series. On a personal level I found this book the least enjoyable of the three of them, but that is because I have particular taste. If I had to rank the books in terms of quality level it would have to go Never Deal With A Dragon, Find Your Own Truth, and then Choose Your Enemies Carefully.

I found this, the third book in the Secrets of Power series, to be the best. Although I enjoyed all three they did get progressively betters. As to the ending, it was excellent because it answers the question being posed. What is the secret to power? The answer is, knowing when to wield it and when to let it go. Check out the series, the best of the Shadowrun novels.

This book could not have been better written, nor could there have been a better finish to what has to be my favorite trilogy of novels. Robert N. Charrette has a great perspective on the Shadowrun world and should be held in high esteem if you are a player in the RPG. I would recommend the reading of this series to anyone who is interested in the Shadowrun universe.

Enjoyable read.
Enough to have gotten me into 26 of the books so far!

Book three to Robert Charrette's Secrets of Power trilogy is easily the best novel in the series. Like the previous two novels the only character that I really cared about was Dodger, the elven decker. Charrette's main character Sam remains whiny and obtuse, unable to inspire me with any interest in his fate.
Charrette's writing style has improved slightly in this third book. Though it is still of junior high reading level, his technique is getting slightly more polished. The ending is a little odd, and leaves Sam's fate unclear. Having burnt out his magical powers correcting the problems his own stupidity caused, he is left with a good singing voice and lots of fringed leather jackets. Oh boy, what a trade. It would have been a lame end had I even remotely been interested in the character of Sam. I did like the ending with Janice.
If you like Shadowrun, read the books. If you like pulp science fiction that doesn't require a large intellectual commitment, read the books. If you are looking for deep thought provoking science fiction, move on to Asimov, Heinlein, or Niven and let these slide. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy these books. Every couple of years, when I need something to read that is light and undemanding I dust these off and have at them again.

If you are happy with entertaining pulp then this is for you.