Shadowrun 04: 2XS (Shadowrun)

I'll admit, I stole this book. I saw it on the bookshelf at my Dormitory and thought, "Hey, I'm kinda board, this looks interesting." I never thought that this book would be so great. I've never read any Shadowrun books before, and all I know about it is that it was an old RPG campaign setting that never really took of. (That doesn't mean anything, Planescape is the best campaign setting ever, but they discontinued it for quite some time) It is supposed to be a blend of Sci-Fi and Fantasy... yeah I know their pretty much the same thing, but still, it's refreshing to see that if there were once elves and orcs and other creatures, what would happen if they were still living with us throughout the future? What's cool is the multi-genreness of this book. It's a basic hard-boiled detective novel, set in a dark future (i.e Bladerunner), with fantasy creatures and characters, (i.e Lord of the Rings). What else could you ask for? Character. Character is the most important part of the story, and if anybody's taken a writing class they would know this, that the characters are what mak the story. You have to care for the character, actualy care if they die or not, if they fall in love or not, if they make it out of this with sanity intact or not. Dirk Montgomery is a great character. From the mold of those Film Noir, Detectectives, which was then super injected with a tough, street smart, morally upright, drinker substatce, and painted with a broad spectrum of emotions. The Minor Characters are great, and I don't want any spoilers, but you will care when they die... or not die... or something. Yeah, pick up this book. It's a real good read that will have ou thinking afterwards, and looking for more.

You gotta read it, 5 stars, it goes really fast and it's so exciting. Big conspiracy in this one. A little scary in places, even. The author-to-reader dialogue of Findley is precious. Unfortunately, Findley died in his early 30s of a heart attack. Don't be mistaken -- his novels, placed in this "mass market series" are real art.

This is by far the absolute best of the Shadowrun novels. Non-stop action, adventure and a plot so full of twists and turns that it'll have you backing up a few chapters to try and find out where you've "heard that somewhere before".Every chapter of this book gives you a glimpse into the life of the most unusual shadowrunner to hit the streets yet. A man of complex history and complex ideals. The most amazing thing is that as the book continues, nothing happens that shouldn't. No cheap cop-outs to solve a complex situation. No easy victory. No characters begin to act in a way that is unlike their established demeanor. Everything is so well thought out and planned and executed perfectly. When you turn the last page, you'll know the smell of the every allyway and the sound of an HK Assault rifle fired from a moving vehicle. And you will miss reading about characters who are gone.I'm going to check to see if the follow up book, " House of the Sun" or something, is in stock. I've been told that it is almost just as good. If you can find a copy of 2XS, you will have found the best of a great thing.

This is the book that still hasn't been matched in the whole series, only House of the Sun came close, and who is the author of HOTS, coincidence? I think not. (though Mel Odom is pretty close)

This shadowrun book introduces Dirk Montegomery to us. He is a small time shadowrun in big mess. This book coupled with the sequel House of the Rising Sun makes for fast paced reading-lots of action and great one-liners