Customer Reviews

Shadowrun #4: Drops of Corruption: A Shadowrun Novel (Shadowrun)

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

 

 

Jason Hardy does a great job in his first contribution to the Shadow Run series.
His unique twists make Drops of Corruption a must read even for the passive Shadow Run fan.

None of the previous reviews address this book's strengths. First, it is one of the better written Shadowrun novels. Second, it's very, very funny. Consider the following: "He jumped into the sidecar just as the box of caviar fell into his lap. 'Hold on to it this time! No using it as a weapon!'" or, "He turned to Stephen and Bruce. 'Thank you gentlemen. Let's have a chat tomorrow about ways we can avoid me being held prisoner in my office for six hours while you play dice with my captors, hmmm?'" Third, I disagree that the book doesn't deal with what makes Shadowrun unique; the book just connects those difference with the human drama that makes all stories work, and in a more subtle way than the regular Shadowrun formula of "inexperienced but good-hearted neophyte with increadible potential comes into his/her powers and saves the world." In this case, the source of the drama is something as base as the will to power. Bannickburn isn't concerned with losing his magical ability, he's concerned with losing the ability that magic gave him to awe, intimidate, and generally get some respect, and he'll take stupid risks to feel the buzz of power again, however he can. The book shows that the path of the burnout is not unique. It's very much like the path of the decker hobbled by psychotropic IC, the path of the street sam whose implants are no longer SOTA, or the path of the corporate Johnson who gets eased out of the most important jobs and gets stuck in a branch office--everybody who runs the shadows wants to be on top, sooner or later they get too old or push too far. Characters really get interesting when they've been knocked off the top, and are out of their element. While it may not appeal to munchkins who want to see a superpowerful mage toss fireballs that level buildings, this is a book I would give to friends who have no interest in Shadowwrun at all--its just a very fun read. I would recommend it to seasoned Shadowrun players interested in how to build psychological depth into characters--and not just add dice to spellcasting rolls--over time. This is a better novel than Born to Run, Poison Agendas, or Fallen Angels. This is Shadowrun at its most interesting.

After the first three books in the revived Shadowrun series something seems to have gone awry. This volume and the next (Aftershock) lack the intensity which I have come to associate with people who like against the grain of a society which is equally composed of magic and technology and controlled by huge corporations that have no regard for human life. Instead of counter culture heroes, this book presents only the seedy side of the seedy side of life in the 2060's, i.e., people who you feel little sympathy for and only get what they deserve.

Bannickburn used to be an elf mage. Now, thanks to one challenge match too many, he's just an elf with a Scots accent. A poor elf with a Scots accent, at that. He does have a high opinion of himself, but he really is just a moocher who lives off his girlfriend Jackie and spends what cred he has in the casinos. When he gets an in to do some work for one of the big mafia gangs he grabs the opportunity and gets a 'run' to embarrass the boss of the other big gang in town. Unfortunately for Bannickburn this works and he gets steady work. But just when he wants out he discovers that there is no going back. Under threat of exposure to the man he embarrassed Bannickburn is blackmailed into making a run into Portland and Tir Tairnegire. A big risk even if you are an elf.

The remainder of the talk is double cross after double cross with a healthy dose of betrayal. All carried out in monotone by people from whom you wouldn't by a used car. Put simply, Drops of Corruption never manages to take off, reading more like a series of Chinese fire drills than a coherent plot with some drive and intensity. This irritates the heck out of me because ShadowRun is one of the best gaming worlds in the business, and I would really like to see it take off again. So Grrr! Wake up Roc - get some more serious writers on board.

Shadowrun books have never been a big hit with me but this one is a huge step above the others. Many times the books get so wrapped up in the matrix and the idea of computer jacks in people's heads that the characters and plot line suffer terribly. Not so with this book. Jason M. Hardy goes out of his way to provide both a good plot and excellent characters in a genre where previous writers have rarely bothered.

I really enjoyed this novel, much more so than the other Shadowrun book I have read. The author really did a good job with the characters, developing them enough that I still liked them despite some of the things that they did. He made the story more 'real' to me. He is obviously an excellent writer.

While I give Hardy props for confronting an awkward subject - what happens to a mage who burns out? - his answer doesn't feel right.

Maybe I'm spoiled by Gibson's Neuromancer, but it feels like the burn-out for Bannickburn is almost a side-issue, like him being an elf or having nice sideburns. Bannickburn refuses cyberware because it would destroy his magic-using abilities, but there is no hope or implication that his magic can or will be recovered.

I've read fiction and nonfiction where the protagonist was crippled in some way, but there's typically some kind of moralistic ending - proof in deeds that an obvious shortcoming merely compells the resilient hero to grow in other ways.

However, Bannickburn survives mostly by luck, and the skill of his teammates. His most striking characteristic is his naivete. Every antagonist in the novel presented in enough detail to be given a name plays him like a lute, with the exception of the one he defeats using a near-deus ex machina during the story's climax. Bannickburn's gloating, at the end of the novel, of his defeat of his heavily cybered opponent stands in stark contrast to his constant mistakes and errors in judgement. Since Bannickburn is supposedly a living lesson in humility after his defeat - and maiming - in the Scottsprawl, this inherent contradiction makes the character unsympathetic and unapproachable emotionally.

The story could have moved into the themes of duty and responsibility, since the code of honor is a staple of the SR universe - hence "street samurai," rather than "cyberthug." However, rather than Bannickburn being impelled to greater efforts or heroic undertakings to correct the mess he's made by involving his allies with a mob turf war, Bannickburn uses the lethal danger of their unwitting early involvement to blackmail them into continued assistance.


I can't help but think that perhaps Hardy was just over-ambitious. There's a lot of ... busy ... plot work in this book. Jackie's new digs after Fallen Angels; the mess that is Bannickburn - his background, his drug addiction, his desire to return to his former glory without changing his essential self-identity and code of conduct, his fragile ego, his romance with Jackie; the mob turf war; the internal struggle in the mafia family Bannickburn works for; the magic/chemical water that is the holy grail of this clusterbomb. Of the "bad guys," some get killed and replaced by nastier guys, some get away with no more than bruised pride. The mafia still has a threat hanging over Bannickburn's head, Jackie's new safehouse is compromised - hell, they're not even sure if the other mafia family didn't get a chemical readout of the merchandise before Bannickburn swiped it.


This novel, in the end, functions best as a character study for why experienced - but injured/crippled - shadowrunners are best served by becoming fixers or Johnsons. It might also have offered a better shred of continuity with the previous three novels than the almost token inclusion of Jackie, showing, on a smaller scale, the kind of operation hinted at by the conclusion of Fallen Angels.

I recently picked up the 6-pack of 'new' Shadowrun material. The first three novels, centered on Kellan Colt, were average. I looked forward to something w/o her as a main character but was disappointed by 'Drops of Corruption.'
First, there is really no shadowrunning in this shadowrun novel, hence the name of my review. I feel that the reason for this may be a lack of knowledge of the Shadowun universe on the part of the author. Now, I'm all for exploring the little explored side of things, but there was little that tied this story into the setting.
Second, I did not feel the plot was fully developed and well tied together. Without spoiling, the retrieval of the main item in the story from a difficult area works out to not much more than random chance. None of the 'jobs' in the book are that interesting or have fully developed plans.
Lastly, character development was minimal. The author had some very good ideas and an excellent basis to start from. The burnt mage concept could be taken far and further explored, but was almost a side-note to the story. Little more than 'remembering his former power' ever comes into the story.

On a positive note the author did try to introduce us to some new concepts and also tied in characters from the previous three novels. I just feel the author should have taken his simple concepts, expanded and delved into them more. Instead, we wind up with a sprawling story with a large cast of characters we care little about.

I am a huge fan of Shadowrun. Have all the books and have read many of them more then once. As a result, I had this book pre-ordered as soon as I heard about it.

Many of the other books are about successful runners or beginners that become successful. This story started with an interesting idea: A successful runners that had fallen and was now living at the bottom.

Unfortunately, it had very little to do with the Shadowrun universe. The items that make this story setting unique are missing. Very little magic used, almost zero cyberware and very little matrix running. 90% of this story could have easily happened in modern day.

The funny thing is, the author claims to have done research into SR yet seems to have missed the whole essence of what makes this setting interesting.

Overall I am disappointed. As a die hard fan I would still buy this book for no other reason then to show demand for Shadowrun products, but if I could do it again I would leave the book on a shelf unread.