Customer Reviews

Run Hard, Die Fast (Shadowrun, FAS5741))

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

 

 

The plot elements were great, but the execution of these elements were poor, especially considering Mel's previous Shadowrun work. I guess the first problem was utilizing one of Nigel Findley's (RIP) most famous characters in a manner unlike before. He became a munchkinous character with too much coincidental training and unnecessary cyber for a character like he was before. Also, the irony of his mentor's situation was fantastic, but fairly useless and kind of stupid.

Argent. In the seedy and corrupt world of Shadowrun there are only a handful of heroes. Enter Argent an altruistic street samurai with a heavy conscience. He is the John Hartigan or Captain America of the 6th world, the epitome of the ideal Shadowrunner. Originally created by Nigel Findley, one of the pioneers of the SR universe, Argent is a character who is mentioned as a legend in various RPG source books and is someone who makes random cameos in the other Shadowrun novels. For years, fans of the Shadowrun were waiting for a stand alone book featuring Argent and in 1999 Mel Odom brought him to us in this excellent book.

The preface of the book makes mention of Findley and his contributions to the world which is a nice touch by the editors and Odom. Run Hard Die Fast features some of the hardest fast pace action you'll find in any novel. From start to finish there is constant fighting and descriptive battles. Odom depicts Argent as the best at what he does, which is fighting and running missions. Throughout the course of the novel Argent goes through a transformation. At the beginning we find Argent as a lone operative who runs with only one decker who goes by the moniker Peg. We find out that he has isolated himself from others and has pretty much turned into a lone wolf because of the death of two fellow Shadowrunners and the fact there was a falling out between his old mentor. Over the course of the novel, Argent accepts a job from an important figure in his past and in the process faces the demons which he left behind. He is surrounded by a wonderful cast of characters, particularly a elven decker that goes by the moniker of Archangel. Archangel was a character from Mel Odom's two previous SR books. The interaction between Archangel and Argent is some of the best dialogue that I have read in any SR novel. Also, the chapter where Argent goes to recruit Harrison Dane is hilarious!

Like I said in the previous paragraph, there is tons of action in the story, which at times overshadows a lot of the drama and solid dialogue that occurs in the book. At times I believe Odom over does it in some of the fight scenes. There is one particular battle which was fun to read, and that was the combat scene between Argent and Aaron Bearstalker. For those of you who are fans of the SR world, during that time Mel Odom knew the world and intertwines the SR vernacular, exhibiting that he conducted research on the world. He adds in little details such as the weaponry in which Argent uses such as the Salvatte Guardian, which was one of the best heavy pistols in the game at that time.

Fantastic characters (minus a few), deep dialogue, drama, non-stop action, little intricacies, Run Hard Die Fast is one of the best Shadowrun novels ever written. However, the book is not without a few flaws. Number one, the book can be a confusing read for those who aren't familiar with the SR universe. Two, at times there can be to much action and the fighting can become monotonous. Other then that, this novel is nearing it's 10 year anniversary from when it first hit the shelves of Borders and Barnes and Noble. If you are an old fan of Shadowrun or someone who is starting to understand the game, definitely attempt to purchase this item off of Amazon or even find it on ebay.

Where to begin, I have been playing shadowrun for many years, we will leave it at that. This was the first novel I have had the pleasure to read. Not truly knowing the character of Argent, I really enjoyed the plot and team development. They were strong and well thought out. The story was great for the subject / plot of the adventure. It shouldn't be passed up. I would recommend this book and have. I look foward to reading other titles.

I love the shadowrun books. I got hooked when i was going through some old books of my dads and found the first three shadowrun books. They looked good so I read them. They have kept me on the edge of my seat but this time I fell off of my seat because it was so boring. I couldn't finish the book!

Run Hard, Die Fast is a fast paced, action packed, juice pumping, hard hitting and spine chilling book. The characters are so in depth and mysterious that i wasnt able to put the book down. This is the first book of its kind that i have read, and i dont see how they can get better. Im going to buy more Mel Odum as soon as i can.

finally a look into the enigma that is argent. and mel odem is probably the first writer for shadowrun to acctually use some of the cybertech. grade A+ work and the characters were intreaging. he has yet again been able to bring that little something that all his books have back. a must buy!!

A amazing book. In my opinon the best Shadowrun book on the market