The Shadow Runners
Grade : B-

The Shadow Runners, the third book in the 2176 series, has much to recommend about it. The heroine is a tough, gritty, and emotionally conflicted fighter struggling to survive on some of the future's meanest streets. She may be my favorite heroine yet in this series. The book adds new information to the overall rebellion storyline, has a fast-paced action plot and takes place in an interesting world. It's a fairly good read, but it ultimately comes up somewhat short.

In 2176, Jenny Red lives in the slums of Macao, scraping together a meager existence with no one to rely on but herself. Her father was once a servant in the household of the Asian emperor, where Jenny became friends with the emperor's son, D'ekkar Han Valoren. Then her father was accused of trying to kill the emperor. He was executed and Jenny was cast out into the world. With little money to her name and no allies, life is a constant struggle. Then Deck reappears in her life, with a proposal she can't ignore.

Deck suffered a reversal of fortune of his own when the truth of his parentage came out. The emperor was not his biological father, and Deck was implicated in the plot to murder him. A disgraced former royal, Deck became involved with a group of freedom fighters known as The Shadow Runners. The group is dedicated to spreading the word of the mysterious Freedom Voice, which advocates revolution across the globe. Deck needs Jenny to help him get into Australia, so that he can get the communication system up and running to spread the word there.

The Australia of the future is once again home to criminals and the dregs of society, a place where the undesirables from other countries are sent. The country's rulers are a group known as "the Parliament," a motley collection of displaced aristocrats who act like royalty from the English Regency period. The members of the Parliament are addicted to a drug that makes them unpredictable and very dangerous, something that Jenny knows all too well. She barely escaped Newgate, Australia, after a run-in with the Parliament, and she has no intention of going back. But the payment Deck offers as reward is too great, and she still has feelings for him that make it impossible to say no. Together they travel into the country, but Jenny has to wonder, if push comes to shove, will Deck choose her or his allegiance to the Shadow Runners?

Jenny is a great heroine, a very strong, very tough woman who fights hard and is more than capable of getting down and dirty. She's a complex character, someone used to thinking only of herself, but who longs for Deck to value her. When her father tried to kill the emperor, she thought Deck would defend her, but he didn't. She knows better than to trust him, but she deeply wants to. This emotional conflict is one of the strongest parts of the story. Jenny wants to believe she's just as important to Deck as the Shadow Runners, if not more, but deep down she knows he cares more about his revolution than he does for her. Some of the story's most amazing moments come out of this conflict, including one where Jenny's life is in danger and the end result only seems to prove that Deck's priorities don't lie with her.

The book has several powerful, tense and emotional moments, and there were times I thought the final grade would be higher than the one than the one you see above. These are moments where the story really flares to life and becomes truly great. The rest of the book moves fast, there's plenty of action and the setting is certainly compelling. But it's also somewhat underdeveloped, which made for a frustrating read at times.

At one point the villain confronts Jenny, "...his intentions as transparent as a punch in the gut." She may find them transparent, but I was at a loss. Was he going to kill her? Rape her? Attack her? Or something else? Often I got the sense that the author thought she was being clear when she really wasn't. This was my biggest problem with the book. The author knows this world and her story, but she doesn't always make it easy for the uninitiated to know it as well. The plot gallops along, offering just enough details that the reader can kind of follow what's happening without really getting the whole picture. Often I had to keep rereading sections to make sure I hadn't missed something that would have made the story clearer, only to discover that I hadn't. For instance, Deck needs Jenny to help him get into Newgate, this true hellhole where no one would want to go. But when they get to the transport station, they have to fight their way onto the train amidst a crowd of people all trying to get to Newgate. Sometime later the author offers a somewhat plausible explanation for why so many people would want to go to such a horrible place, but I needed to know earlier, when it would have been more relevant.

It was just too hard to get a complete handle on this story. Certain elements of the backstory remain vague, sketched in but not truly made clear. Deck remained a somewhat remote hero throughout; I never really got a sense of him or felt I knew him. His witholding of information and dodging questions (particularly Jenny's about why he didn't stick up for her all those years ago) is often frustrating, and some of his actions are inexplicable. There's one moment late in the story where he blames Jenny for something when his own actions in this matter were hardly blameless. In fact, they were thoughtless and downright stupid. Some of the plot developments also feel rushed and unconvincing.

The Shadow Runners remains a fast-paced, easy read enjoyable enough that I can recommend it. The heroine is good, as is the secondary character of Deck's bodyguard, who vows to protect him despite the fact that he is no longer royalty. This is a very good and effective subplot. But overall, the story is less than all it could have been. It has all the right parts. If only it had been more developed and less vague at times, it would have been a great book, instead a fairly good one.

Reviewed by Leigh Thomas
Grade : B-

Sensuality: Warm

Review Date : June 24, 2004

Publication Date: 2004

Review Tags: 

Recent Comments …

Leigh Thomas

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
What's your opinion?x
()
x