From:	Mark Fender markf@******.com
Subject:	Jak Koke E-Mail (Concerning the SR Novels)
Date:	Fri, 16 Jul 1999 10:05:31 -0500

> To continue with this, I don't see novels telling the same plots as
> sourcebooks. How can you say that? Somebody else complained how he can't
> follow the arc because the novels are telling the different side of it
> than sourcebooks. (I actually can't see the problem with this either:
> novels are cheaper than sourcebooks, so why not buy them too...)
> Sourcebook suggest many things, and novels pick one. That doesn't mean
> _you_ have to pick the same one as the novel. It's there for the folks
> who like to see the plotline resolved for them or shown how it can be
> resolved. I don't actually see Shadowrun novels as real literature or
> novels; they are different kind of sourcebooks and usually far more
> entertaining than the actual sourcebooks...
>
The point isn't that the novels are cheaper. The point is that the novels
suck. Why would I buy something (even if it is cheap) if I can't stand to
read it. Second, many of us are on a budget. I pick up all the SR
sourcebooks, along with five (ten?) other games. I can't budget in novels as
well, especially when they are revealing the plot of the sourcebooks. This
is not a good business policy, in my opinion.