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kynan's review
4.0
TL;DR: If someone ends up making a movie from the Shadowrun-universe, it'll be this book. A non-stop action-adventure "thriller". Definitely worth a read if you're after some escapist fiction.
TL: Aftershock (and I'm not sure why it's called that, now that I come to think about it) is pure action film from the opening scenes! A mysterious gentleman arrives on a plane for...reasons...at which point we violently shuffle to a Mission Impossible-style heist in progress and meet the main protagonists of the story. Hood, Khase, Sindje and Max (troll, elf, elf and orc respectively) are a runner team, just embarking on a "milk run" plant-heist, but doing so in epic style.
Chapter One's subtitle is "9/17/2070, 2:50 a.m." (sigh, stupid date formats persist into the future apparently -
TL: Aftershock (and I'm not sure why it's called that, now that I come to think about it) is pure action film from the opening scenes! A mysterious gentleman arrives on a plane for...reasons...at which point we violently shuffle to a Mission Impossible-style heist in progress and meet the main protagonists of the story. Hood, Khase, Sindje and Max (troll, elf, elf and orc respectively) are a runner team, just embarking on a "milk run" plant-heist, but doing so in epic style.
Chapter One's subtitle is "9/17/2070, 2:50 a.m." (sigh, stupid date formats persist into the future apparently -
,%20and%20by%20the%20final%20chapter%20we%20progress%20through%20to%208:49%20p.m.%20The%20intervening%2017ish%20hours%20are%20told<br/>along%20the%20lines%20of%20Pulp%20Fiction%20or%20Reservoir%20Dogs%20-%20we%20don't%20see%20the%20high-level%20machinations,%20just%20plod%20along%20with%20the%20poor%20folks%20on%20the%20ground%20as%20the%20plot's%20almost%20non-stop%20mayhem%20occurs%20around%20them.<br/><br/>Without%20ruining%20said%20plot,%20I%20think%20its%20safe%20to%20say%20that%20the%20major%20hook%20for%20this%20story%20is%20the%20cross/double-cross/triple-cross%20theme,%20but%20also%20the%20way%20that%20the%20three(ish)%20different%20sets%20of%20protagonists%20slowly%20oscillate%20around%20the%20Maypole%20until%20the%20survivors%20collide%20in%20spectacular%20fashion%20at%20the%20culmination%20of%20the%20story.%20Now,%20to%20be%20be%20fair,%20the%20plot%20is%20a%20liiittle%20on%20the%20weakish%20side.%20There%20<i>is</i>%20an%20overarching%20reason%20for%20all%20the%20things%20to%20happen,%20but%20the%20real%20villain%20just%20isn't%20that%20villainous%20in%20the%20end,%20and%20the%20twist%20in%20the%20tail,%20whilst%20it%20does%20provide%20an%20explanation%20for%20all%20that%20preceded%20it,%20doesn't%20really%20do%20the%20attempt%20at%20character%20building%20that%20went%20on.%20You%20can%20see%20the%20summit%20the%20authors%20were%20striving%20for,%20but%20it%20wasn't%20the%20one%20they%20reached%20-%20a%20little%20too%20ham-fisted%20here%20and%20there.<br/><br/>I'm%20going%20to%20mention%20a%20couple%20of%20spoilery%20things%20in%20a%20sec,%20so%20to%20wrap%20up%20the%20non-spoilers:%20This%20was%20at%20least%20on-par%20with%20[b:Changeling|1131195|Changeling|Christopher%20Kubasik|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1387740065l/1131195._SY75_.jpg|1118396]%20or%20[b:2XS|1911630|2XS%20(Shadowrun,%20#4)|Nigel%20Findley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1487286396l/1911630._SY75_.jpg|503604],%20and%20I%20think%20it's%20definitely%20one%20of%20the%20better%20Shadowrun%20tales%20I've%20read%20so%20far!%20I%20do%20wonder%20if%20I%20enjoyed%20it%20more%20just%20because%20of%20the%20pacing%20and%20the%20fact%20that%20it's%20publication%20date%20is%20contemporaneous%20to%20my%20general%20reading%20cohort%20though...%20Whatever!%20I%20gave%20it%204%20because%20I%20<i>did</i>%20){kind=link}
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