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Shadowrun Novels #41
Shadowrun Book #1: Born to Run
The year is 2053. The Earth has been reborn. Long-dormant magical forces have returned to the world, and the creatures of mankind's legends and nightmares have come out of hiding...
Megacorporations are the new world superpowers, ruling from the safety of vast arcologies. But outside the corporate enclaves, the dregs of society are at war. Organized crime gangs and other, more nefarious organizations struggle to carve out their own small empires. Sliding through the cracks in between are shadowrunners - professionals of the underworld who will do anything for a profit, and anything it takes to get the job done.
Kellan Colt has come to Seattle to make a name for herself in the shadows. But her first run proves that in her line of work, there's no such thing as a sure thing, and that in her world, there is only one law - survival.
Megacorporations are the new world superpowers, ruling from the safety of vast arcologies. But outside the corporate enclaves, the dregs of society are at war. Organized crime gangs and other, more nefarious organizations struggle to carve out their own small empires. Sliding through the cracks in between are shadowrunners - professionals of the underworld who will do anything for a profit, and anything it takes to get the job done.
Kellan Colt has come to Seattle to make a name for herself in the shadows. But her first run proves that in her line of work, there's no such thing as a sure thing, and that in her world, there is only one law - survival.
288 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
October 7, 2020
It's an easy and quick read, sure. But the tone and feel doesn't mesh with my vision of the SR world. The story feels like it was written in a way that's too accommodating to it's target audience; one not only unfamiliar with SR but with a reading level so basic and filled with low resolution thoughts. An audience with asperger's levels of fascination with traditionally fantasy archetypes, magic and "cool" stuff. This is a book for an immature mental constitution, one that can't handle the imposing and domineering force of the megacorporations, so it doesn't mention them because it can't communicate them in a way that would engage it's targeted audience.
I'm sorry, but the thing that has any consequence in the SR world are the megacorporations. But this book is about the thrills, spills and chills of shadowrunners who seem to have victory handed to them on a silver platter, even when things go awry. And they don't go off-road for long because of the main character, Kellan Colt, who is laughably colloquial as a teenager with all their attendant self-uncertainty and verbal snappiness one moment and then split-second initiative and superior coordination skills the next. No one worth cheering for acts like this, and this is what I mean it's a book for people with low resolution thoughts and weak constitution, as if the short chapters weren't suggestion enough.
One could argue that game world fiction has never attracted great writing, and I think this couldn't be further from the truth. The first SR novel, Never Deal with a Dragon, is a better introduction to the SR world, even though it is somewhat dense and the terminology occassionally dated. The author of that novel, Charlette, was equal to the task of illustrating the scope of the WORLD of Shadowrun. I capitalised that word because that's what it felt like. Born to Run is a novel essentially about gutter rats. If people don't know already, shadowrunners are deniable and expendable assets, so... who cares about trash? I don't understand how some people have their imaginations taken hold of by power fantasies of action heroes when they're the ones who the powers-that-be don't care about. And rightly so otherwise they wouldn't be called powers-that-be.
I don't really want to go on any further. The book sucks but I gave it two because I had fun for the most part reading it, or at least I think I did.
I'm sorry, but the thing that has any consequence in the SR world are the megacorporations. But this book is about the thrills, spills and chills of shadowrunners who seem to have victory handed to them on a silver platter, even when things go awry. And they don't go off-road for long because of the main character, Kellan Colt, who is laughably colloquial as a teenager with all their attendant self-uncertainty and verbal snappiness one moment and then split-second initiative and superior coordination skills the next. No one worth cheering for acts like this, and this is what I mean it's a book for people with low resolution thoughts and weak constitution, as if the short chapters weren't suggestion enough.
One could argue that game world fiction has never attracted great writing, and I think this couldn't be further from the truth. The first SR novel, Never Deal with a Dragon, is a better introduction to the SR world, even though it is somewhat dense and the terminology occassionally dated. The author of that novel, Charlette, was equal to the task of illustrating the scope of the WORLD of Shadowrun. I capitalised that word because that's what it felt like. Born to Run is a novel essentially about gutter rats. If people don't know already, shadowrunners are deniable and expendable assets, so... who cares about trash? I don't understand how some people have their imaginations taken hold of by power fantasies of action heroes when they're the ones who the powers-that-be don't care about. And rightly so otherwise they wouldn't be called powers-that-be.
I don't really want to go on any further. The book sucks but I gave it two because I had fun for the most part reading it, or at least I think I did.
March 7, 2018
Like a lot of Shadowrun readers, reading the WizKids line was not a priority and I kinda saved it for when I've exhausted just about everything else. It's not the classic series of 40 books, it's not the new series either with the nice softcovers and more mature stories. It sits in the middle, it's 6 books, 2 of which are hard to come by (and fetch 2 to 3 times their cover) and the series doesn't have the greatest reviews.
The first book, Born to Run is the first book in the Kellan Colt trilogy. From the first page, it is clear that they were trying to do with this series. 1)Sell their toys. Yes you too can own your own Street Deacon and G-Dogg (go look on Ebay). 2)Provide a How-To on the world of Shadowrun.
A Newcomer comes to town looking for Shadowrun work and meets up with a bouncer named G-Dogg who does Shadowruns on the side. They have a master of ceremonies (a troll mage named Lothan) who sets up the job with Mr. Johnson and then G-Dogg goes and recruits various team members. Then the job takes place, and things happen. It reads like this to a tee and goes out of its way to explain things that most of us experienced Shadowrunners already know a thousand times over.
So, the story is simple because it was geared that way. I am very curious as I start the second book if this trend continues or if they amp it a bit now that the characters are introduced and everybody has had a run or two. I did find it odd that there are editing issues in this book as there are some grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. It's not hugely distracting just odd. Also, how many times can you describe an elf as pretty? We get it, he looks like a model and he shats diamonds, or something.
Despite all of this, it's not a bad book. I would actually recommend it on some level to complete newbie Shadowrun readers who have never touched a sourcebook in their life. It fills that void and I understand Penguin/Roc/Wizkids' position who were trying to sell some toys and some books. Now on to Poison Agendas, because one thing the first story also does well is set up some intrigue for the next chapter. Enjoy kids.
The first book, Born to Run is the first book in the Kellan Colt trilogy. From the first page, it is clear that they were trying to do with this series. 1)Sell their toys. Yes you too can own your own Street Deacon and G-Dogg (go look on Ebay). 2)Provide a How-To on the world of Shadowrun.
A Newcomer comes to town looking for Shadowrun work and meets up with a bouncer named G-Dogg who does Shadowruns on the side. They have a master of ceremonies (a troll mage named Lothan) who sets up the job with Mr. Johnson and then G-Dogg goes and recruits various team members. Then the job takes place, and things happen. It reads like this to a tee and goes out of its way to explain things that most of us experienced Shadowrunners already know a thousand times over.
So, the story is simple because it was geared that way. I am very curious as I start the second book if this trend continues or if they amp it a bit now that the characters are introduced and everybody has had a run or two. I did find it odd that there are editing issues in this book as there are some grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. It's not hugely distracting just odd. Also, how many times can you describe an elf as pretty? We get it, he looks like a model and he shats diamonds, or something.
Despite all of this, it's not a bad book. I would actually recommend it on some level to complete newbie Shadowrun readers who have never touched a sourcebook in their life. It fills that void and I understand Penguin/Roc/Wizkids' position who were trying to sell some toys and some books. Now on to Poison Agendas, because one thing the first story also does well is set up some intrigue for the next chapter. Enjoy kids.
January 15, 2021
The story was simple enough for me to finish in a couple sittings but wasn't memorable in any way.
The characters are not filled out in any way. There are no reasons to care for any of the characters. They all have vague backstories and no character development whatsoever.
The story was so simple, many times I felt like the writer was holding my hand as if I was his grandma and he was walking me across the street. I even felt at times like he was talking down to me. I was never immersed in the story and I was reading just to finish it rather than being entertained.
I was hoping for another great trilogy like Koke's Dragon Heart Saga or even a lesser, but quite enjoyable, trilogy like Charrette's Secrets of Power but was disappointed in this entry into the newer Shadowrun titles.
The characters are not filled out in any way. There are no reasons to care for any of the characters. They all have vague backstories and no character development whatsoever.
The story was so simple, many times I felt like the writer was holding my hand as if I was his grandma and he was walking me across the street. I even felt at times like he was talking down to me. I was never immersed in the story and I was reading just to finish it rather than being entertained.
I was hoping for another great trilogy like Koke's Dragon Heart Saga or even a lesser, but quite enjoyable, trilogy like Charrette's Secrets of Power but was disappointed in this entry into the newer Shadowrun titles.
July 5, 2022
I actually didn't bond with the protagonist Kellan until the very end but it's a good light adventure story to read in its own right if that's your cup of tea. Now I'm actually on to the rest of the trilogy because the epilogue did dangle this enticing bit of morsel for me to discover in the next book. Also, I was reading this because I intended to game next in the Shadowrun setting and my GM told us this is a good intro book into that setting. She's absolutely right.
August 31, 2017
Read it years ago. Rememeber really loving it.
November 13, 2024
Readed the German Version.
Born to Run is a Classic Schadowrun Story ( even useable for a Run in the RPG)
Its an easy to read Story.
Born to Run is a Classic Schadowrun Story ( even useable for a Run in the RPG)
Its an easy to read Story.
August 7, 2016
Other reviews on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ are not the most complimentary, so I was skeptical going into this. As with many other books (and other things in life), your expectations going in can shape your opinion in the end. My previous experience with the world of Shadowrun was limited to being an avid player of FASA Studio's 2007 Xbox360/PC online first-person shooter. I found the video game version of Shadowrun to be intriguing - while it was light on story, I really liked the idea of a tale taking place in a near-future world in which battles are waged using high-tech weaponry alongside "magic" of the kind more often seen in fantasy. Oh, and the inclusion of what Shadowrun calls "metahumans", e.g. Trolls, Orcs, Dwarves and Elves sounded like fun as well. I found out that this videogame was based off of a tabletop RPG game, and that there were also several novels penned in this universe.
That being said, as I already knew a little bit about the world of Shadowrun, and I was interested in experiencing it in literary form, the critical side of my personality went easy on this. Yeah, the title "Born to Run" is cheesy, IMO. The cover art is horrendous (good thing I don't judge books by their covers). There isn't much that could be said to be "deep" about the story either. That's ok though. Sometimes I want to eat a well-prepared meal of medium rare-prime rib, and other times I want a cheap, greasy hamburger. This is the cheap, greasy hamburger of my literary interests. The cheap, greasy hamburger is horrible food, but sometimes you just want a cheap greasy hamburger, and it hits the spot just right.
The story takes place in 2053, following a 20-ish girl named Kellan Colt as she arrives in Seattle, having travelled from her hometown of Kansas City. In a nutshell, she is a novice "Shadowrunner" - pretty much a mercenary for hire. Most of the book deals with her meeting others in the trade in the Seattle area and learning about some of her own magical ability, completing her first two "runs" in the process. The story is very much plot/action-driven, and there's not much depth to any of the characters in the 288 pages, but I did enjoy this, and I might even pick up the next book in the series - especially since it is written by the same author and follows the same protagonist.
That being said, as I already knew a little bit about the world of Shadowrun, and I was interested in experiencing it in literary form, the critical side of my personality went easy on this. Yeah, the title "Born to Run" is cheesy, IMO. The cover art is horrendous (good thing I don't judge books by their covers). There isn't much that could be said to be "deep" about the story either. That's ok though. Sometimes I want to eat a well-prepared meal of medium rare-prime rib, and other times I want a cheap, greasy hamburger. This is the cheap, greasy hamburger of my literary interests. The cheap, greasy hamburger is horrible food, but sometimes you just want a cheap greasy hamburger, and it hits the spot just right.
The story takes place in 2053, following a 20-ish girl named Kellan Colt as she arrives in Seattle, having travelled from her hometown of Kansas City. In a nutshell, she is a novice "Shadowrunner" - pretty much a mercenary for hire. Most of the book deals with her meeting others in the trade in the Seattle area and learning about some of her own magical ability, completing her first two "runs" in the process. The story is very much plot/action-driven, and there's not much depth to any of the characters in the 288 pages, but I did enjoy this, and I might even pick up the next book in the series - especially since it is written by the same author and follows the same protagonist.
July 27, 2012
Shadowrun's been around for over 20 years and has been the subject of dozens and dozens of novels from its earliest incarnations as a table-top role-playing game. This 2005 novel by Stephen Kenson is a sort of reboot of the Shadowrun universe fiction.
The good: it's a short, pulpy adventure with all the Shadowrun tropes where fantasy meets science fiction -- cyberpunk with orks, trolls, and magic.
The bad: Although you could probably assume some baseline knowledge of the Shadowrun universe of most readers, Kenson is obligated anyway to act as though the reader knows nothing, so he's forced to interject long passages of exposition, history, and world-building, but he does it a bit of a heavy-handed way. While not "encyclopedia articles fall out of character's mouth while everyone else sits and listens" bad (see Michael Crichton and Clive Cussler, e.g.), it's pretty close.
Questionable: The main character, Kellan Colt, is a shadowrunner (espionage mercenary for hire) from Kansas City relocated to the Shadowrun capital of Seattle, where she meets other runners and gets into hijinks. She discovers that she has a talent for Magic she's never known before, and is a rank amateur in every way that matters. It's never clear what benefit she brought to any shadowrunning team in her hometown, though she often reflects on those good old days gone by. She teams up with runners in Seattle based on the fluke of her sudden magical talent, but we don't know what, if any, skill she was supposed to be shopping around if that hadn't happened; she doesn't even seem to have her own gun.
Some more bad: Kenson's prose is workmanlike and if the About The Author didn't assert otherwise, I'd have guessed this to be a first novel. His style is generic, littered with gerunds and adverbs. Everything feels very by-the-numbers, which makes the book both accessible and familiar to readers of adventure fiction.
Once you get past the inherent silliness of the Shadowrun schtick (it's not for everyone; cyberpunk godfather William Gibson reportedly hates it), "Born To Run" is an inoffensive quick read. It sets up its sequel in the expected way (this is the first of a trilogy).
The good: it's a short, pulpy adventure with all the Shadowrun tropes where fantasy meets science fiction -- cyberpunk with orks, trolls, and magic.
The bad: Although you could probably assume some baseline knowledge of the Shadowrun universe of most readers, Kenson is obligated anyway to act as though the reader knows nothing, so he's forced to interject long passages of exposition, history, and world-building, but he does it a bit of a heavy-handed way. While not "encyclopedia articles fall out of character's mouth while everyone else sits and listens" bad (see Michael Crichton and Clive Cussler, e.g.), it's pretty close.
Questionable: The main character, Kellan Colt, is a shadowrunner (espionage mercenary for hire) from Kansas City relocated to the Shadowrun capital of Seattle, where she meets other runners and gets into hijinks. She discovers that she has a talent for Magic she's never known before, and is a rank amateur in every way that matters. It's never clear what benefit she brought to any shadowrunning team in her hometown, though she often reflects on those good old days gone by. She teams up with runners in Seattle based on the fluke of her sudden magical talent, but we don't know what, if any, skill she was supposed to be shopping around if that hadn't happened; she doesn't even seem to have her own gun.
Some more bad: Kenson's prose is workmanlike and if the About The Author didn't assert otherwise, I'd have guessed this to be a first novel. His style is generic, littered with gerunds and adverbs. Everything feels very by-the-numbers, which makes the book both accessible and familiar to readers of adventure fiction.
Once you get past the inherent silliness of the Shadowrun schtick (it's not for everyone; cyberpunk godfather William Gibson reportedly hates it), "Born To Run" is an inoffensive quick read. It sets up its sequel in the expected way (this is the first of a trilogy).
August 27, 2008
I picked this book up because my game group decided we were going to play Shadowrun 4th Edition. Knowing the system had an extensive world and back-story in place I wanted to become more familiar with it. I found this novel and began my journey into the Sixth World.
The journey of Kellan Colt (a newbie shadowrunner) and the people she meets along the way is a good one. It is full of uncertain turns and new friendships as well as betrayal and lethal adversaries.
In terms of the world itself, I would have expected more in some ways. My vision of the Sixth World (our future after a few key events including the awakening of the metahuman races: elves, dwarves, gnomes, orks, and trolls, etc) would be a more dark and visceral one, something the likes of Gibson's Neuromancer. I do not hold this against Kenson's depiction though.
The book does supply you with a substantial amount of spell-wielding, gun-fighting, street samurai action. If you are a fan of shadowrun then you will recognize the Seattle metroplex landmarks featured in past incarnations of the long-running tabletop game. My favorite being the club "Dante's Inferno".
The story plays out like a few nights worth of game sessions with memorable characters and interesting situations. I have to admit I wish the book had more substance and were a bit longer. I give it 4 stars despite its minor short-comings simply because I enjoyed reading it more than the usual sci-fi novel and it made me drive all over the city looking for book 2 in the series.
The journey of Kellan Colt (a newbie shadowrunner) and the people she meets along the way is a good one. It is full of uncertain turns and new friendships as well as betrayal and lethal adversaries.
In terms of the world itself, I would have expected more in some ways. My vision of the Sixth World (our future after a few key events including the awakening of the metahuman races: elves, dwarves, gnomes, orks, and trolls, etc) would be a more dark and visceral one, something the likes of Gibson's Neuromancer. I do not hold this against Kenson's depiction though.
The book does supply you with a substantial amount of spell-wielding, gun-fighting, street samurai action. If you are a fan of shadowrun then you will recognize the Seattle metroplex landmarks featured in past incarnations of the long-running tabletop game. My favorite being the club "Dante's Inferno".
The story plays out like a few nights worth of game sessions with memorable characters and interesting situations. I have to admit I wish the book had more substance and were a bit longer. I give it 4 stars despite its minor short-comings simply because I enjoyed reading it more than the usual sci-fi novel and it made me drive all over the city looking for book 2 in the series.
February 8, 2009
This book was a good re-introduction to the world of Shadowrun. While some readers of the genre may find it long (and slow) in the backstory descriptions, I found it helpful in re-emersing myself in the fictional Seattle of the 2050's. I read a few of the earlier books and played the game for short time in late 90's, so I had a feel for the background already. After moving to the Seattle area (and learning how to properly pronounce "Puyallup"!) the description took on a local feel for me - I could picture the runners traveling up State Route 167 with ease.
January 18, 2010
This one was a decent book... At first it seemed that this new line of novels was supposed to be supporting the 207X timeline (SR4), but in fact most of the dates listed on the books seem to jump back and forth between SR3 and 4 eras. As for the actual writing... not too bad. I was able to enjoy a lot of this book without having nagging thoughts in my head about plot holes, boring characters, and such. Looking back on this novel I think I would have been a lot happier had they done 4-6 books with these characters rather than just licensing off the stories to other authors / titles.
April 7, 2008
Unlike the original Shadowrun novels which seemed to be written by authors who were interested in the combination of cyberpunk and magic, Born to Run has the appearance of a novel farmed out to someone who wanted to push sales of the now defunct miniatures game. Like some other liscensed novels names recognizable from the game are peppered in in a lame attempt to draw in readers and the plot is little more than a vehicle for such references.
March 31, 2008
This was a very disappointing book. I very much enjoyed the Shadowrun genre and am something of a collector of their books. I was therefore thrilled when I found that a few authors were writing Shadowrun novels again. Unfortunately, this first novel of the re-release was awful. The writing was simply poor and uninteresting. Very disappointing.
May 26, 2007
Good pulp scifi but don't expect much else...
January 3, 2009
I am a Shadowrun fanatic. This was a fun book. But it isn't anything superb. Worthwhile if you like Shadowrun.
February 9, 2010
I can't stop buying Kenson Books.
February 17, 2010
First of a trilogy by the author. Young shadow runner Kellan moves to the Seattle area to find more about her mother. She learns her way around, discovers her magic useful in the business.
June 2, 2013
Good introduction to Shadowrun, but Kellan is the quintessential Mary Sue.
December 26, 2013
A short but enjoyable read
March 2, 2014
3.5/5
May 9, 2015
if you want to learn the lore of the shadowrun universe, this is the perfect primer.
June 15, 2015
Not remarkable as a science fiction novel, but a nice introduction to the Shadowrun game world.
Read
April 14, 2008Science Fiction
August 20, 2015
A good start to the campaign, you can tell who the GM's NPC was.
January 6, 2016
I loved this book. I played the RPG back in the day.
April 9, 2017
A difficult read in that it was so very cliched. The main character is sort of likable but the other characters try too hard to not be cliched. Decent but not great.
I did like the introduction of some of the characters such as G-Dogg, but thought that in some places too much explanation was given for actions while in others not enough.
I did like the introduction of some of the characters such as G-Dogg, but thought that in some places too much explanation was given for actions while in others not enough.
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