Shadowrun 06 Never Trust An Elf by Series Shadowrun

Shadowrun Novels #6

by Robert N. Charrette

WHO UNDERSTANDS THE WAYS OF ELVES AND DRAGONS?Some say that the dragons are the most powerful beings on Earth. Certain elves disagree with that belief in the strongest, most violent terms.An ork of the Seattle ghetto, Kham usually worries about more mundane problems. Day-to-day existence in the now magically active world of 2053 is tough enough. But all that is about to change.Drawn into a dangerous game of political and magical confrontation, Kham not only learns to never deal with a dragon - he also discovers that trusting an elf may leave you dead...

Genres: Cyberpunk, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Role Playing Games, Gaming

Mass Market Paperback

First published August 4, 1992

About the author

Credited on some German editions as "Robert N. Charette".

Reviews

[Fabian de Alwis Gunasekare · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crown the wise, harness the talented, and cherish the lucky.

Being another book written by the original series writer Charrette, the plot revolves around Kham, who played a significant role in the third book, and the narrative also includes many references to other characters, including Verner/Twist, Dodger, Laverty etc.
Overall it was a solid book as one could expect from Charrette in terms of how Shadowrun lore was integrated to the narrative, but the plot itself was not that appealing. I believe the monomyth component, which is central to these works, was not well thought out and fell short of my expectations.

[Ellana Thornton-Wheybrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

#24in48

I'm missing several books in the series, but I'm definitely going to reread these.

[Jason Ray Carney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Most of the Shadowrun novels I have read (#1-#6) are good for atmospherics and worldbuilding but bad on character and narrative. The plot in this novel didn't make any sense at all. Let me *try* to summarize it. Kham is hired by an elven Mr. Johnson for mission to get a treasure, a magical crystal. The mission is a success and the elven Johnson gets his crystal. After the run, the Johnson tries to kill Kham (for unexplained reasons but Kham speculates he didn't want any witnesses). Kham, distraught by this betrayal, decides he wants be immortal like an elf, and so he goes after the traitorous elven Johnson's crystal that he speculates gives elves immortality. Kham steals the crystal from the elves after many fights. Then, Kham is attacked by another group, the enemy of the elven Johnson which is led by a dragon; for some reason Kham gives them the crystal. Then, the original elven Mr. Johnson--who, remember, tried to murder Kham--demands that Kham help him get the crystal back because dragons shouldn't have the crystal (I guess). For complicated reasons, Kham agrees to befriend the elven Johnson again. Kham gets the crystal back from the dragon and gives it to the elf. The elf doesn't say anything; he just flies away. The dragon, then, captures Kham, and asks, "Why did you betray me?" Kham doesn't have much of a response other than, "Umm, you're a dragon and the elf said dragons shouldn't have the crystal." The dragon then scolds Kham and says, no, the crystal is originally a "dragon magic crystal" and that Kham was stupid to have trusted the elf. The dragon then asks Kham to betray the elven Johnson and get the crystal back. Kham agrees. At this point, let's summarize: Kham has been betrayed by the elven Johnson, he has betrayed the dragon, and then he decides to betray the elf. Betrayals all around. Honestly, it doesn't make any sense. In the end, everyone dies except Kham and his friend Neko. The crystal is destroyed. If you like Shadowrun, read this just for the atmophere, the fictional tech, the unique mix-up of fantasy and cyberpunk, but don't expect a cohesive story. It reads like a fever dream.

[James T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost really liked this book.

To preface my review my thoughts on the original secrets of power trilogy was the first two were fun, albeit not the best writing. The third was kind of weak.

I think in a lot of ways this book was better than any of them. I enjoyed the the world and culture building. The last third, although contrived, was just fun and action packed. The ending kind of killed it for me. I liked all the twists but whatever message the last chapter was trying to convey just didn’t click.

The books short comings are the mediocre writing like the originals, the fact the plot is fairly contrived, and I think the descriptions are a bit lacking.

I also could have really lived without the Orc kids killing a cat to eat.

Side note. It’s funny how the amazingly dreadful Bright stole some stuff from this. Pretty beat for beat.

Overall it’s a fun book though. I was happy to see familiar characters from the original trilogy. I just wish there had been more of Sally & Ghost. Also Kham is a much better protagonist than Sam Verner. Neko was kind of weak, but fortunately most of the POV was Kham.

3.5

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

old school Shadowrun. I read it in my youth while RPG'ing Shadowrun (one of the early versions of the game) and loved picking up immersive novels for the setting. It's a different experience picking up the novels again as an adult when many years have passed since I last read the books. Still a fun read.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad Shadowrun book but it helps if you have read the first 3 in the series. It does work as a one off however and it took me a bit to realize who the protagonist was since I hadn't read the first 3 shadow run books in almost 30 years. A decent entry into the lore of Shadowrun and if you like the setting its worth a visit.

[Christopher Desruisseau · Rating 4 out of 5]

High fantasy and cyberpunk go well together

[Rui Castro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really liked this story. Yes, there are some strange holes in the story but still enjoyable. Shadowrun meets Terminators LOL

[Steven "Steve" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable book in the series. Some interesting info revealed herein, chummer, if you’re in for some biz.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hard to put down off the beginning. Kham is kind of an interesting character. Gets jacked up quit a bit.

[Burt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Shadowrun book. I honestly don't remember much about it asides from the fact that it covers more of the adventures of Dodger and Kham. I remember liking it, but not much else. Another RPG pulp read.

[Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best in the series, but decent. Kham was introduced in Never Deal With a Dragon and was a minor role player. Neko was a frustrating character that could have had more depth. This story was on the cusp of being better than it was.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

why can't I quit you?