Customer Reviews

Shadowrun 17: House of the Sun

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Nigel D. Findley (who passed away while this book was in it's final stages of rewriting)was, and most conisder he will always be, the true visionary of the Shadowrun universe. Unlike the smug writers now who churn out nothing but hack pasted together from the sourcebooks, Findley understood, and developed a considerable amount of, the Shadowrun technology beyond that available to the players for game purposes. His clarity and creativity has never really been matched since his passing, and this book stands as the last testement to that real genius of intellect. Sadly, most of his plots and ideas have, since his passing, been turned into silliness and tripe by the authors FASA has hired out for its novel series. Get this book and Lone Wolf. Also get 2XS and Shadowplay if you can find them. Findley WAS Shadowrun, and with him gone the place is cold and hollow. Treasure these novels, they are all we have left of him.

Nigel Findley was always a creative and original writer, but this novel takes the cake. Nigel's Derek (Dirk) Montgomery character was his favorite, and shines as bright as the sun in this novel. Dirk has to pay a debt, and finds himself in constantly increasing trouble as the story progesses. House of the Sun was filled with action, fantasy, twists, and Dirk's trademark dry humor.

The last of the great Nigel Findleys novels where he takes his favorite character Dirk Montgomery a former cop who quits and works in the shadows and places him in his (Nigel) favorite place, Hawaii. Where he once again has to stop an unstopable force of evil to save the world. If your a fan of guns, magic and creatures of legend this is a book to read

What a fantastic novel. Dirk is back at it again. Building off the events from 2XS. The down on his luck Shadowrunner is now operating in Cheynne after having to be exiled out of Seattle. The book begins with a meeting between Dirk and another of Findley's characters, Sharon Louise aka Sly from "Shadowplay." Of course Jocasta is now married and with another man, and Theresa is slowly fading away from her BTL habit....everything seems normal until...

A major corporate executive from Yamatetsu calls in a favor from Dirk. Dirk travels to the Kingdom of Hawaii, to deliver a message for the local Yakuza Oyabun...from there all hell breaks loose. This is a story about politics, magic, deceit, and love. This novel had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. Findley's writing is top notch once again, as he describes the history of Hawaii in the year 2050. Harlequin appears in this novel, and the events which unfold in House of Sun serves a prelude for the Dragon Heart Trilogy and the adventure Harlequin's back.

There is one scene that I must mention in this novel. The conversation between Dirk and his sister Theresa in the middle of the book. It is a superb piece of writing, and displays Findley's versatility as a writer and a creator.

Sadly, Nigel D. Findley passed away before this book was published. He had finished writing it and it was in the process of being edited when he died. In the preface it states that Hawaii was his favorite place in the world, and that Dirk was his favorite character. Two things he had a passion for, it really shows in this novel.

this book along with nigels other shadowrun novels are what shadowrun is all about. nigel really made the world of shadowrun such a great and better place. me and close friends still roleplay the game and mention nigel every time. his stories and characters are the greatest. in his books he mentions about a 'kindred spirit'. nigel was one of these. i've reread his books many times to escape into his stories. i recommend this book and all his others.

Nigel Findley was one of the great pulp-writers of sci-fi/fantasy in the 90's, imho. He might have wrote what some would call "throwaway" fiction, but there was no one better at capturing the essence of the world of Shadowrun, and combining that with the feel of hard-boiled detective classics of the 30's and 40's. 'House of the Sun' is a good example of what made him such a unique storyteller.

Dirk Mongomery's been laying low during the four years since the events of '2XS,' living in Cheyenne instead of Seattle, in an attempt to "get away from it all." So when he's hired by Yamatetsu corp's Jacques Barnard, also from '2XS,' for what seems a simple courier job that would take him to the Kingdom of Hawa'ii, he's a little skeptical. Something doesn't smell right, but he decides that he doesn't really have a choice, since he's indebted to Barnard for the cyberarm he was given.

Of course he's shortly in way over his head....AGAIN, caught in the middle of political factions on the verge of war, with everyone from the yakuza to a "mystery elf" seemingly after him. <minor spoiler> Anyone familiar with the history of Shadowrun and Earthdawn will have no trouble figuring out who this elf, "Quinn Harlech", is. <end spoiler>

'House of the Sun' is a bit of a slow-burner compared to the previous Findley novel, 'Lone Wolf,' slowly building tension instead of all-out action straight through, much like '2XS.' The prose is much more fluid than the previous Dirk novel, though I'd still rank '2XS' slightly higher overall, as this one did seem to drag a bit in places with pages and pages of info-dumps and sometimes tedious descriptions of Dirk's thought processes. Still, this is one of the best in the series, and a must-own for fans of Shadowrun and Nigel Findley, who passed away while proofing this novel(which might explain the lack of editing in spots). He will certainly be missed.

4.0 stars as far as gaming-related fiction goes.

Ranking among Shadowrun novels, imo- 7th

For those interested, Mr. Findley had two more novels released posthumously: 'Lost Kaer' for the Earthdawn universe, and 'No Limits' for the Virtual World (Battletech) universe. Both are well worth tracking down, as they're two of his very best, imo.

I loved Shadowrun. the novels were sometimes good, mostly okay, and occasionally awful. House of the Sun was the only one that was knocked completely out of the park. This book really should be re-released as it should be on the top 100 list of sci-fi books.

Nigel D. Findley's last book is a very typical Findley book. That is, it is a one continuous explosion of guns, sun and high tecnology at it's finest. I have always enjoyed Nigel's books and will miss him dearly as an book and an Shadowrun accessory author. Solid Findley quality. Read it! (And the others.)
I'll go and have a good long cry now..