A Fistful of Data

Shadowrun WizKids Novels #6

by Stephen Dedman

In the Crypt, a place where society's outcasts can find shelter and medical magical healing, an illegal tap into the Matrix, which hosts some of the most successful shadowrunners, garners the interest of a disgraced corporate mover who intends to destroy its residents for his own personal gain. Original.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Cyberpunk, Dystopia

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 3, 2006

Reviews

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first real introduction into cyberpunk and I love it! It's a shame that the books haven't been put into e-book format, cause I'd love to read all I could of the Shadowrun world. Sidenote play the tabletop rpg. It freaking rocks!

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read, got very fast through it. Liked it really much, cause they take you right into the Shadowrun universe and don't waste time, there are lots of different characters and interesting situations. No big story arc, but fast paced action. I want more!

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

My plan was to finish all of the Shadowrun Wizkids novels in the same year, and I'm glad I actually completed them. I will say that they were a mixed bag with Drops of Corruption by Jason Hardy being the standout. But enough about that, let's get to the final Wizkids novel, A Fistful of Data by Stephen Dedman.

The story revolves around the Crypt an abandoned factory that plays home to a bunch of outcasts, many of which can't stand the daylight and have to live in a corner of darkness. As it turns out, a man simply known as the Hatter wants the location, not for the people or creatures within but something else that lays deep within the facility. He buys the land and then hires a team to move the outcasts out of the property. Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan.

From the moment the story starts, the author proceeds to throw a ton of different characters at you. We have the Hatter and the Hare who act as the villains of the story, and then we have the merc type team who plays a grey area in trying to get out the outcasts and others who have taken up residence in the Crypt. Then of course we have a whole boatload of people in the Crypt and then a few more such as a toxic shaman named Haz who pop up from time to time.

It gets confusing quickly, and it takes a lot of pages to sort out and get to the characters that matter the most so to speak. The book does do a good job however of keeping you interested by playing the "what's in the box" question. Or we'll call it what's in the container for the purposes of this novel. Of course they do that, and then they still go a few more chapters in trying to finish it out. By the time it's done, I'm not even sure it really feels finished though. The loose ends are gone but I hardly feel as satisfied as I want to be.

The book works as a middle of the road Shadowrun novel. It's by no means bad, but it isn't one I am going to grab and read again in a few years. It flows reasonably well and even though there are a lot of characters, most of them helped to advance the plot and didn't seem like filler. I certainly would like to see another Shadowrun type novel by Dedman since I know better than to judge him by one performance (the Shadowrun books by Jason Hardy are a great example). Anyway, that's it for me and my reviews in 2018. I don't know if I will clear 30 books again next year, but I will certainly try. Enjoy.

[Austin Beeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cyberpunk siege novel that suffers from WAY too many characters. Nearly impossible to keep them all straight and the book keeps adding characters all the way to the final chapters. It seems determined to include every aspect of the Shadowrun Roleplaying game into the same novel. That will make this a significant challenge to anyone who isn't already deeply educated in the lore and mechanics of that game.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read all of the first wave of shadowrun books, and recently found out they are still making them, so I've started back in where I left off. This is a good one, where we're following both sides of an action where, as the quote says, no plan survives contact with the enemy.

[Notger Heinz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Refreshingly breaking out of the rhythm, being fast-paced and with likeable characters. Probably the closest book I have read to a playing session with good players and a benign GM.

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book. Bounces around a lot. One big assault on an abandon factory. Sort of plausible.

[Ned Leffingwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an entertaining read, but I recommend it only to fans of the Shadowrun universe. The story did talk about the average people who live in Shadowrun Seattle. One of the things I like about Shadowrun is that it explores questions of race in a fantasy setting such as "What does it mean to be an ork?" This story discussed those issues a tiny bit but it is really an action book.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sort of got what I was looking for form this book, but I had the worst time trying to get through it.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

good but all over the place