I’m tired of reading books that are somewhat cyberpunk or kinda cyberpunk if you squint your eyes just right. I’m in the mood for something that’s more unapologetically cyberpunk. So what Shadowrun novels are worth reading?

I’m a total beginner when it comes to Shadowrun novels and there are way too many to pick one on my own. I picked Dark Resonance at random since it involved a technomancer and I really enjoyed that one. But then I tried Never Deal With a Dragon because it seemed the most well-known and I just found it boring. I don’t think the issue was with the book’s age, I think I just prefer more Matrix-heavy stories (with hacking and everything).

So has anyone here read a bunch of these Shadowrun novels? Are there any you would recommend? I know I’m not looking at high art here, I want a fun novel with hacking.

  • @Pillagenplunder
    7•9 months ago

    2xs is probably my favorite, but haven’t read it since like '97 so take that as yiu will

  • @[email protected]English
    6•9 months ago

    I really enjoyed Nigel Findley’s books. 2XS, Lone Wolf, House of the Sun.

    I haven’t been able to find them online, and I have no idea how well they’d hold up.

  • @[email protected]English
    4•9 months ago

    I forget the trilogy / book names, but the ones dealing with Dunklezahns assassination were pretty great, from what I recall.

    I enjoyed a lot of the novels. I should really check out the newer ones. Have almost all of the originals in storage.

  • @[email protected]English
    3•9 months ago

    Oh my god I almost forgot.

    Wolf and Raven. And a few other books and novellas that involve the crew.

  • @[email protected]
    3•9 months ago

    I think the only one I’ve read was Run Hard Die Fast, which I probably bought for the cover. I remember it being fun and exploring a wide range of locations, including some more rural areas, which I always like to see in cyberpunk.

  • @Zanshi
    2•9 months ago

    I read Never Deal With s Dragon as my first ever cyberpunk/Shadowrun book and it made me a lifelong fan of the genre, so there’s that. Maybe I should actually re-read them now as an adult, since I mostly really remember the first one, and a bit from the third.