The Shadow Runners

This book is the third of the 2176 series. The first is The Legend of Banzai Macguire followed by Days of Fire (both are great reads). Overall, the series is awesome and should not be missed by any fan of sci fi romance! The futuristic world created by Maverick is fascinating. Australie has reverted to a penal colony and is isolated off from the rest of the world. Drug-addicted thugs acting like ancient British nobility rule the continent. The other prisoners must survive under their corrupt rule. The background is so interesting, I wish the story could have been longer to learn even more about it. Jenny Red, the heroine of the story, is a strong heroine, both physically and mentally. I appreciated the fact that the can take care of herself, and did not need the hero to rescue her. Deck, the hero, is not as developed as the heroine - my only complaint about the story. It is not always easy to understand his actions or motivations. What I loved about this story is the conflict between the two characters. Jenny loves Deck but thinks that he betrayed her. The internal conflict within Jenny about Deck, and the drama, as the story plays out, is rich and fascinating. A very refreshing read from the typical sci fi romance of psychic healers and starship captains. Great characters, great background, great story - what else do can you ask for in a book? Don't miss this book or this series!

Ok, so I normally read regencies and historicals. I picked this one up because I am working on a kick-ass heroine of my own. (yes I write but I am not published)The back blurb promised a helluva a ride and the author totally delivered. I will look up other books in the series, but I will most definitely search for other books by Liz Maverick. Jenny Red instantly engages you. She grabs you by the heart and thrusts you into her world. Then when Deck hits the scene or the scene hits the Deck, all hell breaks loose. It's a wild ride from that time forward. The story gripped me by the throat and didn't let go. I highly recommend this as the perfect book for anyone who doesn't like to be bored when they read.

THE SHADOW RUNNERS ranks without a doubt as one of the best books I've read all year and will certainly live on my keeper shelf with the likes of such "goddesses" as Catherine Asaro, Mary Jo Putney, Jacqueline Carey and others who can weave romance with fantasy and science fiction elements so seamlessly, which is, to me, the PERFECT reading experience. And, hey, I write the stuff; it makes sense that I'm very picky about what types of action and sf romance books I'll read. Some in this genre I can't get through, but the authors I do read and love, I come back for time and time again. Newcomer Liz Maverick (that's M-A-V-E-R-I-C-K) is now one of those on my short list.I would humbly suggest that some readers may have missed a few key points of the story. For the sake of any buyers on the fence after reading those comments, I'd like to address those errors. I should know; I came up with the concept for this series and created the bible for "2176" and its 5 books. This is such a fantastic book that I'd hate for anyone to miss buying it because they were misled. It was PRINCE KYBER who sentenced Jenny Red to Newgate; HE was the ruler, not Deck. HE had the authority, not Deck, a second-born son with no true power, and now a bastard son at that. Due to the deceit of their mother, Empress Corrine, who was looking to cover her royal butt and her affair after it's discovered years later, lets Deck take the fall for her duplicity...until guilt overtakes her and she pleads with Prince Kyber to set Deck free, which Kyber ultimately does. The brothers remain bitter with each other--understandable, yes? I know I'd have been pissed. Deck did not have the authority to sentence Jenny to anything. He was never a freedom fighting rebel until discovering the group while in prison, where he began to hate his brother, the ruler. Some men when incarcerated find God. Deck found the Shadow Runners. Deck ASKS Jenny to go back, to help him. She has HUGE second thoughts, but she loves him. How many lovers have done things for each other that they'd rather not, but do because of the feelings in their hearts. Jenny makes a SACRIFICE for a man who means a lot to her, even at the risk of her own life. *Sigh* don't you love that kind of tension in a book, that kind of conflict? Jenny's sacrifice for Deck, considering her dark past and trust issues, was what made this love story so gut-wrenching, so endearing and memorable. It is one of the most original and un-formulaic books I've ever read. I heartily recommend Shadow Runners. I hear that Liz Maverick's got a really cool paranormal action romance series starting next summer. I, for one, will be first in line to buy the books! All hail action-adventure's newest "goddess". :)

Liz Maverick had the Third book in the series of Five 2176 for Dorchester Publishing. And she has a hard row to hoe, as they say. Being the middle child is always considered being a pain. In Yank baseball, batting third is, I believed, called hitting clean-up, meaning not only are you expected to hit as well as the two batters before you, but are expected to drive them home. That is Maverick tough task.As I looked at the other writers of the series, you see them shining. Grant, the creator of the concept, had the task of selecting the other books in the series - and she chose well! She is a strong Sci-Fi Romance writer and she kicked 2176 off in hi-flying fashion in April with The Legend of Banzai Maguire, giving her fellow writers a standard to hit. And boy did Kathleen Nance rise to the occasion with Day of Fire in May. Nance, always a beautiful writer, kicked a*** with this Canadian saga in the cycle. Book Four, The Power of Two is coming up in August under the skilled hand of a new voice in Romance, Patti O'Shea. I am looking forward to it her because her debut novel Ravyn's Flight was such a strong book I have no doubt she will score a hit. So, Maverick was not only in the hard spot of book Three, having to follow in the path of the two super books, she is more of an unknown factor. I interviewed all the ladies for a feature article about the series and found Maverick's enthusiasm very refreshing, but this book was coming from a writer that had never written a full Romance novel! Could she do it? She had written short stories for the saucy, spicy Red Sage's Secrets and she had a Sex in the City style Chit Lit novel What A Girl Wants (March 2004, New American Library), but could she really do a full Sc-Fi Romance? Could she step up to the plate and hit a home run, reaching the quality of Grant and Nance, seasoned writers?Well, stand back, Liz Maverick proves she can do anything thing she wants! This book rises to Grant's and Nance's challenge and proves she has a power to write whatever strikes her talented fancy! The same energy that came through to me in our interview, imbues her character Jenny Red with life. Jenny vibrates with savvy, with a highly charged sense to stay alive. She had to because she faced the cesspit of Newgate and lived. Once in history Australia was a penile colony. So it is again, but just not for England, this time it serves as the dumping ground of every criminal, every miscreant that does not fit into the well order world in 2176. Jenny was an innocent, but that did not stop Prince Kyber (the bad guy, who is just an arrogant, misunderstood good guy from Grant's lead novel) from sending a young woman who had done nothing to Newgate. Her father was accused of killing Kyber's father in an attempted taking over of the royal ruling house of new Asia. The fuss saw Jenny condemned for her father's actions, as well as Kyber's half brother D'ekkar Han Valoren. Jenny never knew what D'ekkar went thro

This is the first book by Liz Maverick I have read. It is the 3rd in the 2176 series, it is wonderful.THE LEDGEND OF BANZAI MACCGUIRE sets the stage and begins the saga. DAY OF FIRE starts to give us a feel for this world and the need for freedom. The rallying point The Shadow Voice and the Shadow Runners. Both books were awesome.THE SHADOW RUNNERS does not let you down. You barely have time to breathe. This book is action from start to finish. Deck is the illigetimate son of the Emperor of Asia. As such he is Kyber's half-brother. Accused in his father's death, he had been sent to prison by Kyber. There he found something to believe in, The shadow runners. They helped him escape.Jenny Red is the daughter of the man who killed Kyber's father. She was deported to Australia, which is now a toxic waste dump for the world's toxic waste and criminal elements as well as unwanted human beings.The Shadow Voice has been halted. Now Deck needs Jenny who is one of the few to escape from Newgate. Only she can help him find his way into Newgate and out into the Outback, where the hidden base of the Shadow Voice is located. Togather they face many varied obstacles, to bring the Voice of Freedom back to the world.I'm not going to ruin it for you with too many details. It would take a long time. But this is a very exciting book. The romance is very intertwined with the story, and yet it is still about love and trust between a man and a woman.I can hardly wait for the next installment by Patti O'shea in August, THE POWER OF TWO.