ESTIMATED LIFE SPAN: 12 MINUTES It started out as a simple Matrix run, but now five deckers are trapped inside a nightmarish virtual landscape where jacking out is an impossibility--and what waits has all the hallmarks of the afterlife: tunnels of brilliant light, greetings from long-dead friends and family...and the terrifying sense of being juggled between Heaven and Hell. But in this computer-generated netherworld, there is only one thing that can be trusted. And it isn't the senses... ...THE COUNTDOWN BEGINS It's the uncommon experience the deckers have in common: a near brush with death. It has brought them together in this hell-raising realm and under the influence of a twisted intelligence with diabolical plans for the unwary travelers in grid-time. Having their minds and souls extinguished before the Matrix-scape crash is only the beginning of the puzzle. Discovering why will be the end. A dead end...

DESPERATE TIMES… He was only a "beginner" shaman, but Sam Verner had to find a cure to break the curse on his sister. Only something of great magic would do the trick. It was this quest that took him to a mystical citadel in Australia, where, with the aid of his shadowrunner friends, he recovered a strange artifact he hoped would prove helpful. DESPERATE MEASURES… But instead of anything that even remotely resembled help, an unexpected and ancient terror was released—a terror that erupted into a shadow war for dominion over an awakened Earth. And while the evil kept growing, inexorably drawing him into battle, the curse's power over his sister was also growing, bringing her closer and closer to death. Soon a truly desperate Sam realized that the last and only hope for saving his sister was to find the greatest shaman of the Sixth World, former leader of the Great Ghost Dance—a man who may no longer exist...

ONE WRONG MOVE COULD BE HIS LAST... In the mission given him by the Dragon Dunkelzahn, Ryan Mercury promises to deliver the magical Dragon Heart safely to the metaplanes, where Thayla and her song are all that defend the earth against the onslaught of the Enemy. But when the protector of the world is swallowed by the Chasm, all hope for the future disappears with her. Now nothing stands between humanity and the greatest scourge the planet has ever known... AND IF HE FALLS, THE SIXTH WORLD FALLS WITH HIM... The Enemy bears unlimited power, all of it evil. With Thayla destroyed, and the metaplanes unprotected, the Enemy's army of flesh-shredding beasts is about to lay waste to the world. As the ultimate battle is waged between the forces of good and evil, Ryan and his dauntless shadowrunners have only two options: total victory or certain destruction...

WHERE MAN MEETS MAGIC AND MACHINE... The year is 2050. The power of magic and the creatures it brings have returned to the earth, and many of the ancient races have re-emerged. Elves, Orks, Mages, and lethal Dragons find a home in a world where mana, technology, and human flesh have melded into deadly urban predators. And the multinational mega-corporations that run the world hoard the only thing of real value—information. For Sam Verner, living in the womb of the Renraku conglomerate was easy, until his sister disappeared and the façade of the corporate reality began to disintegrate. Now he wants out, but to "extract" himself he has to slide like a whisper through the deadly shadows the corporations cast, into a completely different world where his first wrong move may be his last...the world of Shadowrun.

TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN... When a shadowrunner managed to extract PCI's most vital employee, it was Alma's job as security expert to get him back--no matter the cost. But all the evidence pointed to the one person who couldn't have done it...herself. Branded a traitor, Alma has one shot at redemption: find the real culprit. But she's never faced an enemy like this one. This 'runner not only looks like Alma—she's also equipped with Alma's top-of-the-line cybernetic implants, and she's backed by the powerful magic of the Chinese underworld. Now, the expert in defense must attack—and risk it all to bring down a rival so much like herself that there can be only one shocking explanation...

THE BIGGEST—AND LAST—HIGH OF YOUR LIFE... There's a new "drug" on the streets, promising a phenomenal—and deadly—high. But this time the dealers aren't selling a substance. They're working with a creature called a "corpse light"—a creature of pure magic that gives the customer a euphoric rush...as it drains the poor sap's life away. Romulus was the first to see this new scourge in action. As a shapeshifter, he's a freelance agent to the Lone Star police department. His wolfish strength and sense of smell keep him useful—and keep from being admitted into the regular force. So when Jane, a beautiful, amnesiac woman, is caught in a dangerous web with the dealers, there's no way for Romulus to be assigned to the investigation. But that won't stop him from trying to save her, and to discover how she is tied into this case...

AN UNLIKELY PAIR… Sly is a shadowrunning veteran. She's survived more missions than she cares to remember, and has the physical and emotional scars to prove it. But no matter how violent it became, it had always been business as usual. Until now. Falcon is a kid. He thinks he hears the call of magic, and the voice of one of the Great Spirits seems to whisper in his ears. He’s come to the urban jungle of Seattle to seek his calling. Thrown together, veteran and novice, Sly and Falcon find themselves embroiled in a deadly confrontation between the world's most powerful corporations. And if it’s not stopped, this conflict could turn to all-out warfare, spilling out of the shadows and into the streets…