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Shadowrun: Sail Away, Sweet Sister (Enhanced Fiction) |
$1.99 |
Average Rating:4.4 / 5 |
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By now you probably already know that 'Sail Away Sweet Sister' is the sequel to 'Another Rainy Night'. If you didn't, go back and pick up the first in the series. Whilst some will say that this novella could stand alone, readers will have a much more coherent experience if the companion volume if read first.
Now - on to the actual story. It is a well-written piece of fiction that pays attention to little details, good characterisation, vampires-as-monsters, and Shadowrun continuity. The author is obviously a fan of the setting and this shines through in their style. All of the characters are given solid personalities, drawbacks, and (in some cases) slightly disturbing vices as coping mechanisms for the Sixth World. It would be really easy to mine the concepts in the novella to flesh out NPCs for your next game. The story ties into the hints from 'Storm Front' (a brilliant source book from 4e) that those afflicted by HMHVV are experiencing far worse symptoms than usual. The novella offers no deep revelations, but does show some practical effects of this situation.
It is always refreshing to read a novel about vampires that treats these creatures as monsters. The Monster part of the psyche is written well, and the struggle to retain humanity echoes World of Darkness themes and was really appreciated. Lastly, the author paid attention to the smaller details, reminding long-term fans what the Sixth World is like. One great example was how Thomas' magical ability was perceived by those around him. Most reacted with suspicion or were deeply unsettled by anything magical - which is exactly how it should be.
I'm amazed that a title like this is available at this price point. It represents excellent value, and I look forward to reading the third instalment in this series (and maybe a compilation volume). Highly recommended for any Shadowrun fan.
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As it had been a while, I took the opportunity to re-read Another Rainy Night (if you haven't done so, do it) first, to refresh my memory and set the stage for SASS. I think that SASS is an excellent continuation of the story and I'm quite looking forward to the next installment. I really enjoyed how the author has integrated the presence of magic with a sense of the unknown. Despite magic being a pervasive element with the Shadowrun universe, there is still a sense of unknown...something that is truly alien to most people. There were a couple of "logic leaps" that I felt could have been better detailed, but given the size constraints of the story, understood. Character development was solid (though not as strong as ANR) and the stage has been nicely set for the finale. Overall an excellent read and a great addition to the setting.
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I will start out with the negatives.
First, there is the missing rules information for personalized grips. I understand why the information is missing; it still is something that can be a problem for some games. But, it can be easily resolved.
The greatest negative... the length. This is a very good story, but it has underpinnings that suggest that as good as it is, it would have been far better if Patrick Goodman had been allowed to write it as a full-length novel. That is not to say it is not a worthwhile read; even as a novella, this work of fiction is well worth the money. I would even suggest it, and its predecessor, for those who are not Shadowrun players and have no interest in playing.
Okay, I think I've spent most of my negatives section praising this work.
The positives are the fact it is so well-written, and the fact it allows you to actually get to know the characters. Even the heartbreaks and triumphs. And this takes characters who were previously a tiny bit flat (I suspect they wouldn't have had any flatness if the prior work had been allowed to be longer) and gives them depth that serves them well. And you may even be surprised at the decisions they make.
Well, anyway, I can't say more without spoiling the story. Read it for yourself.
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Originally posted on www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyday!
Story- Sail Away, Sweet Sister
Author- Patrick Goodman
TL;DR- Great Shadowrun story, but not a great introduction to Shadowrun story. 83%
Basics- Thomas McCallister is back! This is a direct sequel to "Another Rainy Night". In this story, a picture of Lenore, Thomas' vampiric sister, is found as she is running across the fractured America of Shadowrun. Can Thomas save his sister before she falls to the monster that lives insider her? Who else is manipulating things behind the scenes....
Story-The story is pretty good. It's an ensemble cast with the story being told from the sister, Thomas, his friends, and several other's points of view. Each character has a different, well defined view of things, and, that variety makes the story come off the page. Some of the story elements are kind of brushed over, but in a short fiction, that is a necessary evil. 4/5
Characters- The characters are also well defined. Each one has their own goals and motivations, and that comes through in the story. I felt the characters were real, not one dimensional caricatures. You won't get all the pieces as this is part of a trilogy, but where there were gaps, I felt that was mysteries for later, not poor writing. 4.5/5
Setting-Here things are interesting. If you know Shadowrun, the story is an good story in the Shadowrun World. Lots of locations and idea live and breathe as you know they should. However, if you don't know Shadowrun, you will be completely lost. Terms are thrown around that your average read off the street won't know. A little bit of introduction to the more Shadowrun-esque element of the story would make things a bit better for all the readers out there. 4/5
Summary-This is a good short story. It's pretty long for the price you pay as it's over 30 pages. AND, you get some Shadowrun 5e/4a stats for your games. That right there is worth the price alone for how starved for Shadowrun content I and most of the community are. I haven't read "Another Rainy Night", but if the same writer wrote that one as well, I feel that I would be in good hands for that one. Also, as soon as the sequel to this story comes out, I plan to buy it. I like how this story turned out and I can't wait for more! 83%
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I liked this continuation of the story, and it does leave me anxious to see a third installment. The character development is excellent, and the enhanced fiction part means that you get stats for the characters in both SR4A and SR5 formats, as well as having some weapons and equipment stated out. You do not need to have read Storm Front to really understand what's going on with the HMHVV, as it's fairly evident in the story. You will need to read Another Stormy Night first though, as the characters and plots continue from that.
My only complaint was that the customized grip weapon mod does not have a price on it; the author stated that he was expecting it to be listed in Run & Gun, which left out many items that its SR4A predecessor (Arsenal) had (such as the vibro blades, which happily are fully listed in this enhanced fiction). While perhaps not unique in vampire stories, I did enjoy the sister's brief inner swinging between her original self and her new existence (which she dubbed "The Monster"). Unlike the other review, I do not feel this is indicative of any swing towards a World of Darkness style morality, as the other vampires we have seen in the two stories so far have appeared to fully embrace their natures with no inner turmoil regarding an inner beast. Hopefully this remain true.
With the ending opening the way for another in the series, I look forward to the next in the series. I look forward to reading about the main characters again, and am even eager to see what the response will be from their primary adversaries.
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Originally published at: http://diehardgamefan.com/2014/04/25/book-review-sail-away-sweet-sister-shadowrun/
Sail Away, Sweet Sister is the latest piece of “enhanced fiction” for Shadowrun. Enhanced Fiction simply means that at the end of the short story you get stats for the characters you just read about and maybe a few brief bits of mechanics. Sail Away, Sweet Sister is actually a direct sequel to a previous piece of enhanced fiction, Another Rainy Night, which was released a little over two years ago. That’s a long stretch between stories that are only two dozen pages in length, so I did find I had to re-read Another Rainy Night to remind myself of everything that happened in the previous tale. It’s worth noting that Sail Away, Sweet Sister can be read as a standalone, but it works FAR better if you read them both back to back. Otherwise you’ll miss some details and nuances that only carry over if you are familiar with both tales. The story is written in such a way that assumes you are familiar with Another Rainy Night which may cause a little bit of confusion in those that pick this up first. You’ll see reference to previous events and players that aren’t explained at all here, but were in Another Rainy Night, so just a head’s up there. Unfortunately, Another Rainy Night still has the $4.99 price tag attached to it. I was happy to see that CGL read my review of Another Rainy Night, because I said the sweet spot for a short piece of fiction like this would be $1.99. Lo and behold, that’s the price tag on Sail Away, Sweet Sister. Now if only they could go back and reduce the price on Another Rainy Night, everything would be awesome.
Sail Away, Sweet Sister also plays off another long untouched Shadowrun plot thread, this time from Storm Front, which closed out Shadowrun, Fourth Edition in April of 2013. In this case, we finally get to hear more about how vampires, ghouls and other “undead” are becoming more photosensitive while also suffering from stronger urges and hunger pains. Like Another Rainy Night, I’m glad to see someone over at CGL finally doing something with these dangling plot threads left over from 4e, but unless you’ve read both Another Rainy Night and Storm Front, you probably had no idea about the changes in the HMHVV community, both physically and socially. So for people to Shadowrun Fifth Edition, you’re probably going to feel out of the loop with this story, especially since it happens smack dab during Fourth Edition dates-wise. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read it, just that you’re getting a story that is a few years (in-game and real life) behind the current meta-plot currently featured in Shadowrun.
When we last left Dr. Thomas McAllister and Knight Errant copy Lydia Bowen, they had finally put an end to the Mealtime Killer, a notorious serial killer who had killed roughly two dozen people before it was finally put down. In Sail Away, Sweet Sister, we learn that much like Doink the Clown, there is more than one MTK, perhaps many more. While the first MTK was someone obsessed with Thomas McAllister, the revelation of who the second is hits far closer to home with our main character as it is his sister. We also learn more about the Fear the Dark organization, which appears to be either a vampiric terrorist organization or a group of vampire traditionalists who want a return to the pre-Twilight version of vampires who are the natural predators of meta-humanity, which fears and loathes them. Hey, maybe it’s both! We don’t really get enough details on Fear the Dark, which heavily implies this will be continues in either another short story, supplement or sourcebook. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take another two years to get the next part.
We get a lot of new characters with Sail Away, Sweet Sister. There is the enigmatic Minotaur, Jericho and the dwarven vampire Seamus, which really makes me think Patrick Goodman (author of the story) is a big wrestling fan as there seems to be a lot of subtle nods to it in his stories (hence the earlier Doink reference). I liked both characters, especially Seamus as he is a good reminder that not all Sixth World vampires are turning into second rate Vampire: The Masquerade wanna-bes. I also liked his fire elemental sidekick. I have a soft spot for friendly fire elementals as one of my own characters from back in the day had one. You’ll also meet Thomas’ ex-wife and of course, his sister Lenore. The cast is really well done in this book and even characters who only show up for a cup of coffee, like the two Lone Star agents, have very fleshed out personalities. There’s more character development in these twenty-four pages than you see in some gaming-licensed novels, which is impressive.
That’s not to say that the story is flawless. I felt it was a little too paint by numbers in that I’ve read several vampires stories with the same basic plot and resolution. The only difference here was that it involved a Shadowrun setting. I had déjà vu for much of the story, knowing exactly how it was going to go down long before I reached the actual pages confirming what I already suspected. The ending also really falls apart for me as it got really cheesy and flew in the face of the character development we’ve seen in not just this story but Another Rainy Night as well. It wasn’t hackneyed, but it was paint by numbers. I also really didn’t like that the story seems to be setting up Sixth World vampires for becoming VERY White Wolfish, complete with a Beast (or Monster as it is referred to here) that can control a vampire’s action when hurt or hungry. I’m really hoping this was a one-time case of schizophrenia (or some other mental derangement equivalent) brought on by being a vampire rather than have it turn out HMHVV is going to cause sufferers to have a more bestial second personality (or god forbid demon or extraplanar entity possession) as that’s not only stupid, but it takes away a lot of the uniqueness of Shadowrun “undead.” If I want angsty vampires fighting themselves over the eventual erosion of their humanity, I have V:TM or V:TR for that…not to mention that old Shadowrun/cyberware guide for V:TM that was published back in the mid 90s. So overall, I’d say I’m happy we got a continuation of Another Rainy Night but that Sail Away, Sweet Sister is nowhere as good or original a read. I’m hoping this was just ring rust after being away from the characters for so long and that the third installment in the series (if there is one) will be back up to the same level of quality we had in Another Rainy Night.
I should end this review by bringing up the “enhanced fiction” part. You get stat blocks for Thomas, Lydia, Lenore, Karla and Colonel Anne Ravenhurst. You’re also getting Fourth AND Fifth Edition stat blocks for each of the aforementioned characters. The 4e stats for Lydia and Thomas are ripped straight from Another Rainy Night, which is a good thing as it shows continuity. If the stats blocks were wildly different, I’d have to wonder what was up. I’m really glad to see stats for the two latest editions of Shadowrun as is helps ease edition wars and lets fans of each game use the characters without having to do any conversion. We also get two new SR5 positive Qualities, a few new weapons and a page of mechanics on drug called Renfield and how it affects those who take it. All in all, there is something for Shadowrun fans who like the fiction and/or the mechanics, so everyone who picks this up should find something to enjoy here.
So if you’re still with me, here’s what you need to know. Is Sail Away, Sweet Sister as good as Another Rainy Night? No. Should you still pick it up? Absolutely. While the story isn’t as good, it is still a fun read and even with the flaws I talked about earlier, you’ll end the tale wanting to know what happens next. That’s a good sign. It’s also a LOT cheaper than Another Rainy Night. The mechanics are well thought out and if that’s all you want from one of these releases, Sail Away, Sweet Sister is definitely the better choice, although Another Rainy Night DOES have some neat vampire hunting ammo. While not great literature by any means, Sail Away, Sweet Sister is entertaining and gives Sixth World fans the continuation of the story they have been waiting over two years for. The price point is perfect too, as even if you don’t like the story, it will only set you back two bucks. Again, let’s hope we don’t have to wait another two years for another installment of the continuing adventures of Thomas McAllister or a year for another slight update on the changes to HMHVV sufferers in the Sixth World.
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