Shadowrun Neat eBook Russell Zimmerman
Download As PDF : Shadowrun Neat eBook Russell Zimmerman 
The Meanest Streets
James Kincaid is the type of guy who might be described as down on his luck, if only he’d had some luck to begin with. Like so many people in the shadows of Seattle, he’s trying to get by with what he has. In his case, that includes a lively spirit, a sadly diminished magical talent, quick wits, and good knowledge of the twists and turns of Seattle’s dingy streets and back alleys. He puts all that to the service of whatever clients he can dig up, solving whatever cases they’re willing to pay him to take on. With any luck, he’ll scrape up enough nuyen to buy a few rounds of his favorite drink—whiskey, neat.
His latest case seems simple enough—find a girl who’s gone missing. But throw in a couple of feuding megacorporations, a few organized crime families, and a full selection of the odd denizens of Seattle’s streets, and you’ve got a case that’s anything but easy. It’s up to Kincaid to see how many people he can keep alive—including (and especially) himself.
Neat is a brand-new Shadowrun novella plunging readers into the cold, sharp environs of the Sixth World. Elves, trolls, orks, and dwarves mix with humans in the shadowy streets of a near-future world altered by magic, trying to survive on the crumbs dropped by the megacorporations that dominate the world. Whether you’re new to Shadowrun fiction or a longtime fan, Neat is your ticket back to the Sixth World in all its dark, desperate glory.
Shadowrun Neat eBook Russell Zimmerman
I'm new to Shadowrun, only recently coming off the exceptional RPG SHADOWRUN RETURNS with a kind of excitement for a pen and paper setting I haven't felt in years. Take NEUROMANCER, BLADE RUNNER, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and FORGOTTEN REALMS, mix vigorously, and you get Shadowrun, a kind of sci-fi/fantasy blend I never knew I wanted until now. Naturally, I went to see what kind of fiction was available, and was disappointed to see the series had hit a bit of a dry spell until recently, only releasing the newest stories in the form of short stories or ebook novellas. So, while I'm waiting for the old, out-of-print ROC novels to arrive, I downloaded NEAT, which seems to come just as recommended as Nigel Findley's novels these days -- and even for being a novella, I can see why.Zimmerman has done a fantastic job of channeling the world of Shadowrun while creating a grittier, edgier tone for the series going forward. The story makes good use of its short page count, providing a hardboiled detective narrative, but never losing sight of the fact that it has to be a Shadowrun story first, a detective story second. Zimmerman is obviously someone who knows the setting very well, and I don't think a single page went by that didn't evoke the setting in some way.
But if I had some criticisms, I would have to agree with a few other reviewers who state that everything wraps up a little too nicely. It's a more-than-common occurrence in detective stories, and NEAT is not the exception. Additionally, none of the characters really speak with the vernacular that seems to be common throughout Shadowrun stories; whether this was intentional or not, the little colloquialisms were always a charming part of the setting for me, and they were sorely missed.
All in all, NEAT is a fun, albeit brief, Shadowrun story that's surely worthy of being counted among the best. Most of the stories I've read so far either get the setting right or make the plot interesting, but never really accomplish both. Shadowrun seems to be making a bit of a comeback in recent years, and I really hope Zimmerman sticks around to help bring the setting back to fighting strength.
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Shadowrun Neat eBook Russell Zimmerman Reviews
As like many reviewers have written it is great to see this resurgence in cyberpunk/shadowrun fiction as i have been a fan for many years. Russell Zimmerman's Neat reads fast, and efficient like a perfect Shadowrun should.be and though i am more in the Cyberpunk camp rather than the Shadowrun camp that does not make these books hard to follow. We all know that books in this genre have always been a little hard to follow at first. They have their own established timelines, slang, and feel to them. We want to live in these worlds, meet and mingle with the residents of these worlds, and partake in the lives they lead. Neat is no different.
Our hero the Gumshow just trying to keep the lights on for another month with a job to do. Takes the job pays the price, and so our story unfolds. The atmosphere is rich and deep. You can nearly smell the smog, and ever present Washington state volcanic ash. Mafia clash with Yakuza, and the ancient races watch and interact with our hero. A loveable PI that anyone would love to play or have in their party around the gaming table. The nostalgic feel that pervades this genre is present here in his dialogue, and set pieces. Our hero uses a 150th anniversary Colt 1911, Nice touch sir. The cyber in the book is good and represented well without being overwhelming. I love a good monoblade in cyberpunk even if it feels completely impractical.
Neat reads fast, and the price is excellent for the new to the genre fan, or the slightly older, and more responsible fan of years gone by. If you enjoy it then by all means please try the Shadowrun collection of stories entitled Spells & Chrome which was my first dive into the Shadowrun pool, and LOVED it. Hope to see more from this author in this world.
For those not familiar with Shadowrun, you may not understand why this novella is such a big deal. Let me enlighten you.
Once upon a time, back in the 90's, Shadowrun was a pretty big deal in the fiction department. There were multiple releases each year. All told, Baen books released 40 novels between 1990 and 2001. For a series of novels based on a roleplaying game, that's amazing! And the fans were happy. We got a lot o great support for our favorite game.
When Shadowrun's original publisher FASA closed their doors, the game moved over to WizKids. They started out well, and cranked out six novels between 2005 and 2006. Flash forward, Shadowrun is now being managed by Catalyst Game Lab. The game has never been better, but we've only had a few small fiction releases, and none of them got much attention or traction. For all intents and purposes, the fiction line of Shadowrun has been stagnant, if not outright dead.
So to See Russ Zimmerman's new story "Neat" get released got a lot of old school Shadowrun readers pretty excited!
And the story lives up to all my hopes. Neat is written by someone who understands the Shadowrun universe. This isn't a generic pulp, noir, cyberpunk action story with some "Shadowrunny elements" bolted on. From start to finish this story immerses the reader in the rich, quirky environment of the Shadowrun world.
How you ask? By perfectly capturing the feel of the setting. Zimmerman has distilled more than 20 years of setting material into a tightly packed, fast-paced story that could only happen in Shadowrun.
Jimmy Kincaid is a character that could only exist in the Shadowrun universe. A Puyallup street kid who grew up to work for the private police force Lone Star. Kincaid used to be a powerful mage, but some minor cybernetic implants, abuse of mind-altering "Better-Than-Life" simsense chips, and having part of his soul devoured by a vampire have left his magic powers crippled, changing him into a down-on-his-luck private eye. Kincaid is the spiritual successor of Sam Spade, but with enough twists to make him uniquely a product of Shadowrun's year 2072.
Zimmerman knows his inspirational material well. Not just Shadowrun, but the noir detective stories as well. All the tropes are here. The femme fatale, the voiceover narration, the cynical worldview - Neat is filled with these, and they give the fiction a great flavor. Best of all, the characters of Neat aren't the cardboard cutouts you see in a lot of other gaming fiction. Kincaid makes some hard choices throughout the story - things that will affect him permanently. Even the supporting cast is well fleshed out. Skip & Trace were especially well done. A pair of bounty hunters, one a tough, hard hitting ork, the other a human hacker, the relationship between this unlikely pair of partners was a fun addition to the story.
In summary, I'm giving this novella five stars, and I want you to know that means something. I am a die hard Shadowrun fan from day one. It's not an exaggeration when I say that I own EVERYTHING that has ever been published for this game, including all the novels ever released. Neat sits alongside those stories with nothing to be ashamed of. Russell Zimmerman has crafted a tight, enjoyable tale that is the equal of any published Shadowrun fiction in the last 23 years. If you've been waiting for Shadowrun fiction to reappear, you will not be disappointed by Neat. I just hope we see more of Zimmerman's work, and more Shadowrun fiction from now on.
I'm new to Shadowrun, only recently coming off the exceptional RPG SHADOWRUN RETURNS with a kind of excitement for a pen and paper setting I haven't felt in years. Take NEUROMANCER, BLADE RUNNER, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and FORGOTTEN REALMS, mix vigorously, and you get Shadowrun, a kind of sci-fi/fantasy blend I never knew I wanted until now. Naturally, I went to see what kind of fiction was available, and was disappointed to see the series had hit a bit of a dry spell until recently, only releasing the newest stories in the form of short stories or ebook novellas. So, while I'm waiting for the old, out-of-print ROC novels to arrive, I downloaded NEAT, which seems to come just as recommended as Nigel Findley's novels these days -- and even for being a novella, I can see why.
Zimmerman has done a fantastic job of channeling the world of Shadowrun while creating a grittier, edgier tone for the series going forward. The story makes good use of its short page count, providing a hardboiled detective narrative, but never losing sight of the fact that it has to be a Shadowrun story first, a detective story second. Zimmerman is obviously someone who knows the setting very well, and I don't think a single page went by that didn't evoke the setting in some way.
But if I had some criticisms, I would have to agree with a few other reviewers who state that everything wraps up a little too nicely. It's a more-than-common occurrence in detective stories, and NEAT is not the exception. Additionally, none of the characters really speak with the vernacular that seems to be common throughout Shadowrun stories; whether this was intentional or not, the little colloquialisms were always a charming part of the setting for me, and they were sorely missed.
All in all, NEAT is a fun, albeit brief, Shadowrun story that's surely worthy of being counted among the best. Most of the stories I've read so far either get the setting right or make the plot interesting, but never really accomplish both. Shadowrun seems to be making a bit of a comeback in recent years, and I really hope Zimmerman sticks around to help bring the setting back to fighting strength.
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