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Target: Wastelands is a location book of sorts for Shadowrun. Instead of focusing on a single geographic region or nation or the like, it has a group of thematically linked locations. In this respect, it is probably most similar to the earlier Smuggler Havens, but here things are a bit more diverse; the linking theme is simply places that are really hard to get to and survive in, making this book a sort of rounding-up of the less-accessible corners of the Shadowrun world.
The format is a familiar one for Shadowrun, consisting of a number of supposed files from the Shadowlands computer board, complete with commentary provided by the users of that board. As is usual, one of the more entertaining (or annoying, depending on your tastes) aspects is the way individual users show their own personality through, and the way additional information can sometimes be drawn out if the reader is familiar with which NPCs particular users happen to be. It does sometimes stretch the willing suspension of disbelief--how much spare time do the movers and shakers of the world have, if they're posting commentary and trading insults on a shadowrunner computer board?
The breakdown of the book is straightforward, with chapters for each type of "wasteland": The Poisoned Earth, (heavily polluted zones), Shifting Sands (deserts), The Ends of the Earth (polar regions), Up The Gravity Well (space), and Riptides (underwater). A final chapter covers the crunch, providing game stats for specialized equipment, new spells, critters, and environmental exposure rules.
In general, the material included tends to go just a bit beyond the straightforward. The implications of the local environmental conditions are covered, along with examples of how and why the megacorps care enough to have an interest in these places, along with discussions of mana levels, background counts, Awakened animals, and the like.
There were a few nuggets of gold that made me take particular note and started chains of thought, but it didn't do too well by the Chuq von Rospach test: it didn't make me suddenly want to set a campaign, or even an adventure, in these settings. Still, if I ended up running an adventure set in Antarctica or the Sahara Desert, even in some other game, I'd definitely break this book back out for ideas, and it seems useful for a long-running, globe-trotting Shadowrun campaign.
