Review: House of the Sun by Nigel Findley



	This, the seventeenth novel written in the Shadowrun universe, appears to be

the last printed work written by Nigel Findley.  According to a memorial page at

the beginning of this book, Mr. Findley passed away in February of 1995.  Let me

say that I considered Mr. Findley to be one of Shadowrun's best writers and that

I will miss his work.

	House of the Sun features the return of Dirk Montgomery, the flawed

protagonist from 2XS.  To avoid confusion, 2XS is required reading.  Allusions

are made to the current state of the city of Chicago so a familiarity with either

the novel Burning Bright or the sourcebook Bug City is recommended but not

essential.  Finally, readers should be acquainted with Harlequin's Back or the

final sequence of the book will be perplexing.  

	Dirk returns to us here in basically the same condition as we left him.  He

is just as rash, troubled, flawed, impulsive, neurotic, paranoid and

inappropriate as he was before but with the added factor of having lost his

nerve.  Jacques Barnard also returns as Mr. Johnson to provide Dirk, and the

plot, with a little direction.  Those of you who have read Lone Wolf will also

enjoy a cameo part by Rick Larson.  References are made to the shadowrunner

Argent, but he never appears.  Finally, to my dismay, Mr. Findley has fallen

victim to incorporating two plot devices that I am becoming tired of; those wacky

elves and the insect spirits.  The insect spirits device you should all be

familiar with from previous material.  "Those wacky elves" are the recurring

instances of the immortal, mysterious and infuriating elves who show up with

bucketloads of arrogance and power.

	Taken as a whole, House of the Sun takes a long time to develop.  That is not

to say that this book is a slow starter.  On the contrary, this work has frequent

and engrossing action but the overall picture is very vague.  This book is the

story of Dirk being lead about by the nose, being forced to accept tasks for

which he has no explanation