In defense of Shadowrun, it's actually quite good, IF, you forget you've read Gibson, if you can do that, it's rather a good mix of Sci-Fi and Fantasy elements. I do agree with you in part though, there are some shocking novelizations of gaming systems. But there is plenty of good stuff too, Forgotten realms, Dragonlance…
In all seriousness though, take the Cyberpunk (and for that matter Steampunk) movement, look how much of it is Image, and how much is practical.
I'd take practical over image any day.
Nick