Shadowrun 20: Black Madonna

This is one of my favorite stories in the shadowrun universe. What was interesting in the story is that it uses many of the elements the Dan Brown used later, Rossilyn chapel, Secret Societies, Mary Magdalien, even the use of the Da Vinci painting. But the story takes place in the future in the shadowrun universe. In the story; The is the second story with these characters, but not in trilogy format; which I will give a fast forward of the story, takes place in a mystery format, were they are trying to find out the mystery. at every corner the vatican sends agent to stop them. I do not want to tell the story but it is a real good story and was a fun read. But I do have to say this is not for everyone. The Vatican as bad guys and trying to find and kill a group of people does make this interesting but not for everyone.

i found this book to be very entertaining and in very much in the shadowrun vein. i loved the return of this particular set of characters.if you're looking for heavy reading, go check out some ayn rand,{"atlas shrugged", which i think every american should read) ,shadowrun books are supposed to be quick and fun. dont over-anylyze them.

As part of the Shadowrun-series, this book continues the adventures of some great characters who actually have brains instead of "absolute power". It is indicative of the rapidly increasing number of crossovers between Shadowrun and Earthdawn, but can still be read without insight into Earthdawn.One of the authors - Carl Sargent - is a professor at Cambrigde Univ. and clearly invested a lot of time and energy in investigating the plot ... which, no matter how far-reaching, is not just a figment of his imagination. For those who like to take an idea further, they should ckeck out non-fiction books like "The Templar Revelation" an "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" ... to get enough foor-for-thought to last months.

Short and sweet:Read the book just because of the character Streak - I ain't kidding, he makes the book worth reading.Character descriptions are vague. Interactions between main chars and 'enemies' are poor and confusing. The concept of 'shadowrunners' (which these guys definitely are NOT) living in luxury is a refreshing change from the 'live-in-squallor' standard of most runner-types. I hate the Vatican so I took some pleasure in the idea that they would flex their muscle in the world of SR just to prevent the masses from learning something OTHER than what has been spoon-fed to them by Christianity. The writing style conveys the sense of the dark and gritty world of London. This book would have rated a Five had the descriptions and interactions been better.

I am a huge fan of Shadowrun novels and sci-fi in general, and I've found this to be one of my favorite books. The authors (there are two) perfectly blended the ideas of the Shadowrun world with the concepts of Christianity. They also through in the twist of an immortal Leonardo De Vinci. The book is very hard to put down. I found myself reading the pages of Black Madonna into the early hours of the mourning. This is definitely a book for every sci-fi or fantasy fan to read. Black Madonna contains a lot of originality and creativity. Quite simply, this is a must-read. Don't miss it.