From: | Jak Koke <jkoke@****.EDU> |
---|---|
Subject: | Re: Book Reviews |
Date: | Wed, 26 Mar 1997 23:05:15 -0800 |
> I don't tend to like overly powerful characters, but the chilling
>mindset portrayed here was excellent, and is a great read for GM's for
>generating some NPC personalities. I require any runner who wants to playa
>shapeshifter in my games to read this. Sadly, it is out of print.
Is Striper Assassin really out of print? I doubt this. Maybe Roc reports it
out of print, but I believe FASA has copies.
This thread is pretty interesting to me since I've written now <gasp> four
SR novels. Just finished Beyond the Pale, Book Three of the Dragon Heart
Saga which begins with Stranger Souls (due out in late May). I just got the
cover flats for this and I must say that the cover ROCKS! <big grin>
I'm especially interested in the discussion of low power vs high power
characters because Ryan Mercury (the main character in the Dragon Heart Saga
trilogy) is certainly the highest power character I've ever created, and yet
for the scope of what I'm trying to do in the trilogy, I firmly believe it's
a necessity. He is, after all, Dunkelzahn's best undercover operative, and
he goes up against the worst the Sixth World has to offer. However, I still
have tried to give him a rounded character, complete with inner conflict and
the necessity to change throughout the course of the book.
The second novel, Clockwork Asylum, was probably the most difficult for
this, being the middle book of a trilogy. Ryan's character was already
defined and developed in Stranger Souls, so I had to create a situation in
which he is forced to change furthur as he deals with some issues. I think I
succeeded, though you all will have to be the judges.
Beyond the Pale, the last book, nearly wrote itself, though, because I'd
already laid out all the precursor elements of plot and character in the
first two. I knew how I was going to wrap it up, and I got to do the most
fun part of all (at least to me) which is simply to detail out the action,
dialogue and setting. To focus on the oh-so-important details. To free
myself from worrying about what happens (I just read if from the outline) to
showing how it happens. That's my favorite part of writing.
In Dead Air, my characters were far less powerful; however, I still think
they were on par with most experienced shadowrunners. Again, I tried to give
them (especially Jonathon Winger) fully developed (non-archetypal)
personalities. Whether I succeeded or not is a matter of debate. :)
Right now, I'm trying hard to find the time to finish my web site so that I
can put up a preview of Stranger Souls (and a scan of the cover), but I
think it'll be a few more weeks at least. After taxes are due for sure. :(
Just for the record. I enjoy most SR novels, with a few dismal exceptions
which I won't mention. If forced to pick favorites, I'd have to say
Shadowplay by Nigel Findley was good, as was Lone Wolf. Never Deal with a
Dragon by Bob Charrette is up there (though I didn't think the other two
Secrets of Power books were on par with it). I liked Burning Bright by Tom
Dowd and thought it was well written, but it was so good that I was a bit
disappointed (how can that be?) because I didn't think it was fully
realized. To me, it read like an excellent fictional intro into Bug City,
and it left too much hanging. I also thought Night's Pawn by Dowd was good.
Generally, I like Nyx Smith's writing. His present tense style is unusual,
but I think he pulls it off fairly well. It adds a sense of urgency to the
text and allows him to do some things that would otherwise be difficult, but
it may (overall) put more constraints on his versatility with the prose.
His character Striper is a vivid one, though I do think Machiko from Steel
Rain is more fully developed. In fact, Steel Rain is quite good IMO, but
I've read it more recently than the others and that may be affecting my
assessment.
Of Carl Sargent and Marc Gascoigne's books, Nosferatu stands out above the
other two, IMO.
Christopher Kubasik's one SR novel, Changeling, was very nice for character
development, and Mel Odom's books are good for non-stop action and
high-suspense.
Well now I seem to be rambling, myself.
Adios,
--Jak
Jak Koke | "Though I am not naturally honest,
jkoke@****.edu | I am so sometimes by chance."
La Jolla, CA | --Shakespeare (The Winter's Tale)