Shadowrun was conceived and developed by the FASA Corporation
(USA) as a role-playing game set in a near-future fictional universe in
which cybernetics, magic, and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines
genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy, and crime, with occasional elements
of conspiracy fiction, horror, and detective fiction. Among the
merchandise spawned by the game have been a card game, two
miniature-based wargames, multiple video games, music, and a series of
novels.
FASA released forty Shadowrun novels in collaboration with Roc Publishing between 1991 and its corporate demise in 2001. In 2005, WizKids began publishing new Shadowrun novels, again through
the Roc imprint of the New American Library. Six novels were released in
the new series, including one by Australian author Stephen Dedman.
In 2010, a book of short stories set in the Shadowrun universe was
published, called Spells and Chrome. A new novel, Dark Resonance, was announced at the end of the book. Its release date is expected to be in 2011.
Several additional novels were published in foreign languages only. More than thirty novels have been written in German, by German and Austrian
authors published by Heyne (since 1991) and FanPro (since 1997).
