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Wild Cards #3
Jokers Wild
Let the secret history of the world be told—of the alien virus that struck Earth after World War II, and of the handful of survivors who found they now possessed superhuman powers. Some were called Aces, endowed with powerful mental and physical prowess. The others were Jokers, tormented by bizarre mind or body disfigurements. Some served humanity. Others wreaked terror. Now, forty years later, under the streets of Manhattan an evil genius unleashes the powers of darkness—and Aces and Jokers alike must fight for their lives.
Here, in the third volume of the Wild Cards series, seven of science fiction's most gifted writers take you on a journey of wonder and excitement.
Includes stories by:
Edward Bryant
Leanne C. Harper
George R. R. Martin
John J. Miller
Lewis Shiner
Walter Simons
Melinda M. Snodgrass
Here, in the third volume of the Wild Cards series, seven of science fiction's most gifted writers take you on a journey of wonder and excitement.
Includes stories by:
Edward Bryant
Leanne C. Harper
George R. R. Martin
John J. Miller
Lewis Shiner
Walter Simons
Melinda M. Snodgrass
376 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1987
About the author
George R.R. Martin
1,009 books111k followersGeorge Raymond Richard "R.R." Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: The Hero, sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.
As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.
In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: The Hero, sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.
As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.
In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
July 2, 2023
This is the third of the series, the Wild Cards series edited by George R.R. Martin. It's a "shared universe" to which a number of authors have contributed. In 1946, an alien virus--called the "Wild Card virus"--infects New York City and the rest of the world. The virus mutates the survivors, most of whom are modified in some way (the "jokers"), with a tiny minority gaining superhuman abilities (the "aces") . That's the fun of the series, discovering what the superhuman powers are of the various characters and also seeing how those characters interact. Of course, some aces are villains, and some are good guys. In this, the third book, we have such aces as "Sewer Jack," who can change into an alligator and navigate the sewers, "The Wraith," a meek librarian who can pass through walls and is thus a master thief, Bagabond, a bag lady who can control pigeons, rats, and other animals, Roulette, who kills men with sex, Kid Dinosaur, a boy who can change into a dinosaur (but a small one)...and others. There's also Dr. Tachyon, an alien, who tried to save Earth from the Wild Card virus... I give this book only *** because there are so many characters running around that it gets confusing! The idea of the Wild Cards would make a great role-playing game--and, of course, it is. Will I continue with the series? Maybe I will jump ahead to the later ones and see what new aces get introduced into the series....
May 19, 2021
Къде се е чуло и видяло комикс без рисунки? Няма такова животно, но точно такова усещане създават Джордж Р. Р. Мартин и комапания в поредния том от поредицата за Асата и Жокерите, мерещи сили из алтернативния ХХ век, който подбраните автори са наситили с всевъзможни ужасии и фантастични събития. Третите „Жокери” са диви! Макар и с по-различен формат и повече намеса отстрана на Мартин, който е хванал юздите в името на по-еднороден сюжет, „Диви жокери” (изд. „Сиела”) радва не по-малко от своите предшественици и представлява своеобразна кулминация за първата „вълна” на мащабната поредица. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/202...
November 17, 2020
Третата книга от поредицата е доста по-различна от предишните две. Тя не представлява сборник разкази, развиващи общата сюжетна нишка като последствие от собствените им такива, а е пълнокръвен и хомогенен роман, който завършва и първата "триада" в серията.
За фон на повествованието служи честването на 40-та годишнина от освобождаването на жокерния вирус над Земята. По един много американски начин, това се превръща в празничен парад, Ню Йорк е наводнен от туристи и цялата нощ е едно огромно парти. Както всяка година, Хирам Уорчестър (един от любимите ми аса) затваря клуба си за клиенти, за да събере най-популярните аса на помпозна вечеря.
Основните конфликти в произведението са два. Новопоявилата се майсторка-крадла Wraith открадва нещо особено ценно от познатия вече генерал Киен и той, както и доста други заинтересовани, дават всичко от себе си, за да се сдобият с него. На всичкото отгоре, Астронома започва отмъщението си към асата, провалили плана му в предишната книга.
Сюжетните нишки се въртят около седем основни персонажа, като са написани от седем автора, а Джорджано Мартин освен, че е написал нишката на Хирам, е надил и лепил останалите, за да се получи що-годе хомогенна структура.
Последното е вероятно и най-големия недостатък - качеството, както и темпото се променят буквално през страница и това е доста затормозяващо. Някои персонажи спокойно могат да са второстепенни без да се навреди на сюжета, а средното качество на писане би се вдигнало.
В обширния и мега-интересен послеслов, Мартин подробно описва как е изградил рамките и концепцията на поредицата, какво е взаимствал и какво е подобрил от вече съществуващите мозаечни произведения. Основните моменти, които ми направиха впечатление в него, бяха два. Идеята произведенията да са още по-свързани, а не само да се развиват в общ свят и някой герой от един разказ да се появява за малко в друг. Поредицата да съдържа мини-серии (триади, но не винаги от три книги), които да завършват дадена основна сюжетна линия, като последната книга винаги да е в "романна" форма. В тази книга намира края си конфликтът на нюйоркските аса с Астронома и неговите египетски масони.
Оставам си фенбой, който ще продължи след време със следващата триада!
За фон на повествованието служи честването на 40-та годишнина от освобождаването на жокерния вирус над Земята. По един много американски начин, това се превръща в празничен парад, Ню Йорк е наводнен от туристи и цялата нощ е едно огромно парти. Както всяка година, Хирам Уорчестър (един от любимите ми аса) затваря клуба си за клиенти, за да събере най-популярните аса на помпозна вечеря.
Основните конфликти в произведението са два. Новопоявилата се майсторка-крадла Wraith открадва нещо особено ценно от познатия вече генерал Киен и той, както и доста други заинтересовани, дават всичко от себе си, за да се сдобият с него. На всичкото отгоре, Астронома започва отмъщението си към асата, провалили плана му в предишната книга.
Сюжетните нишки се въртят около седем основни персонажа, като са написани от седем автора, а Джорджано Мартин освен, че е написал нишката на Хирам, е надил и лепил останалите, за да се получи що-годе хомогенна структура.
Последното е вероятно и най-големия недостатък - качеството, както и темпото се променят буквално през страница и това е доста затормозяващо. Някои персонажи спокойно могат да са второстепенни без да се навреди на сюжета, а средното качество на писане би се вдигнало.
В обширния и мега-интересен послеслов, Мартин подробно описва как е изградил рамките и концепцията на поредицата, какво е взаимствал и какво е подобрил от вече съществуващите мозаечни произведения. Основните моменти, които ми направиха впечатление в него, бяха два. Идеята произведенията да са още по-свързани, а не само да се развиват в общ свят и някой герой от един разказ да се появява за малко в друг. Поредицата да съдържа мини-серии (триади, но не винаги от три книги), които да завършват дадена основна сюжетна линия, като последната книга винаги да е в "романна" форма. В тази книга намира края си конфликтът на нюйоркските аса с Астронома и неговите египетски масони.
Оставам си фенбой, който ще продължи след време със следващата триада!
December 7, 2015
A different format than before - the chapters are divided by HOURS & then all PoV characters shuffle thru that particular slice of time, It honestly does the overall book no favors as each person's writing style occasionally clashes painfully
24hours: Wild Card Day (lets celebrate 40th anniversary of virus release!). A few seemingly random events ("oriental" syndicate VS local italian mafia turf war, mcguffin theft & one joker's revenge) drag plenty of Aces and Jokers into it as those major plots overlap & tangle everyone up
Would have liked it more if there was waaaay less Fortunato. Just.. there are freakin' annoying characters & then there's that asshole. Bagabond's parts were alright when with Sewer Jack, but booooring with Rosemary (her plot was lame)
Wraith plotline needed less of the book practically tripping over itself reminding us of her black string bikini (alright, we get it! even when near passing out from lack of energy teh girl will still keep that part of clothes on) ... and ... err.. Tachion/Roulette plot was a thing..
24hours: Wild Card Day (lets celebrate 40th anniversary of virus release!). A few seemingly random events ("oriental" syndicate VS local italian mafia turf war, mcguffin theft & one joker's revenge) drag plenty of Aces and Jokers into it as those major plots overlap & tangle everyone up
Would have liked it more if there was waaaay less Fortunato. Just.. there are freakin' annoying characters & then there's that asshole. Bagabond's parts were alright when with Sewer Jack, but booooring with Rosemary (her plot was lame)
Wraith plotline needed less of the book practically tripping over itself reminding us of her black string bikini (alright, we get it! even when near passing out from lack of energy teh girl will still keep that part of clothes on) ... and ... err.. Tachion/Roulette plot was a thing..
January 1, 2013
The third book in the "Wild Cards" series by George R.R. Martin (editor), this is a "shared world" series, where various authors get together and write in the same world. The world is one where an alien virus was dumped into the air shortly after WWII, and still randomly infects people nearly forty years later.
The virus - called the Wild Card for its very random results - proliferated in earth's atmosphere. First, nine in ten people who contract the Wild Card virus "draw the Queen of Spades," and die. Of the survivors, nine in ten people "draw a Joker," and end up hideously disfigured. Of the non-Joker survivors, some draw a "deuce," and get a power or ability that's pretty much useless ("I can change my hair colour at will!"), but many who survive as non-jokers "draw an Ace," and gain super-powers. The massively telekinetic Turtle, the projective teleporter Popinjay (who I really liked in this book), the any-lizard shapeshifter Kid Dinosaur - these are some of the Aces. They're solid, fun to read, and quite well drafted.
This story all takes place in one day, and the novel is very well sewn together (especially given the different tones and styles of the various authors) and has a very complicated and complex interwoven plot. Kudos to Martin for wrapping it up so well.
This forty years later is the anniversary and what is likely to be the largest "Wild Card Day" celebration ever - except one recurring villain is using this day to kill off all the Aces who bested him in the previous books... Who will survive?
As Martin is well known for in his "A Song of Fire and Ice" series - there are no holds barred in these books - heroes die. And horribly. Very solid stuff.
The virus - called the Wild Card for its very random results - proliferated in earth's atmosphere. First, nine in ten people who contract the Wild Card virus "draw the Queen of Spades," and die. Of the survivors, nine in ten people "draw a Joker," and end up hideously disfigured. Of the non-Joker survivors, some draw a "deuce," and get a power or ability that's pretty much useless ("I can change my hair colour at will!"), but many who survive as non-jokers "draw an Ace," and gain super-powers. The massively telekinetic Turtle, the projective teleporter Popinjay (who I really liked in this book), the any-lizard shapeshifter Kid Dinosaur - these are some of the Aces. They're solid, fun to read, and quite well drafted.
This story all takes place in one day, and the novel is very well sewn together (especially given the different tones and styles of the various authors) and has a very complicated and complex interwoven plot. Kudos to Martin for wrapping it up so well.
This forty years later is the anniversary and what is likely to be the largest "Wild Card Day" celebration ever - except one recurring villain is using this day to kill off all the Aces who bested him in the previous books... Who will survive?
As Martin is well known for in his "A Song of Fire and Ice" series - there are no holds barred in these books - heroes die. And horribly. Very solid stuff.
February 20, 2016
-Más novela coordinada, por fin.-
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. El día del cuadragésimo aniversario del Día Wild Card, el despiadado villano conocido como el Astrónomo comienza su plan de venganza y destrucción que implica terminar con los héroes que abortaron su último plan. El submundo de la delincuencia de Nueva York está inquieto y sus actividades se relacionan, de cierta manera, con el ataque de el Astrónomo. Tercer libro de la serie Wild Cards.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com....
Género. Ciencia-Ficción.
Lo que nos cuenta. El día del cuadragésimo aniversario del Día Wild Card, el despiadado villano conocido como el Astrónomo comienza su plan de venganza y destrucción que implica terminar con los héroes que abortaron su último plan. El submundo de la delincuencia de Nueva York está inquieto y sus actividades se relacionan, de cierta manera, con el ataque de el Astrónomo. Tercer libro de la serie Wild Cards.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com....
July 26, 2016
This is the book that lost me. The writing is just...so...bad...Ugh. I know there are multiple authors, so I might pick it up in the future, but this volume was so clunky and erratic. Could not keep going.
May 8, 2020
I like the wild card world.A couple stories are going on at the same time.
The whole period of the book takes place within 24 hours.It's a holiday called "Wild Card Day".1 story focuses on a man looking for his niece.Another story consists of a man called the Astronomer hiring a couple of assassins to take out the guys that attempted to kill him.
Someone finds out about this plan and tries to prevent it.
And then a 3rd story having nothing to do with the other 2 but a theft.It just happens that unknowingly to the thief the object stolen is of great importance.
The whole period of the book takes place within 24 hours.It's a holiday called "Wild Card Day".1 story focuses on a man looking for his niece.Another story consists of a man called the Astronomer hiring a couple of assassins to take out the guys that attempted to kill him.
Someone finds out about this plan and tries to prevent it.
And then a 3rd story having nothing to do with the other 2 but a theft.It just happens that unknowingly to the thief the object stolen is of great importance.
January 8, 2012
This one takes place during the 24 hours around Wild Card Day, on the forthieth anniversary of the release of the Wild Card virus.
It continues the Mason storyline from the last volume. After the aces tore their headquarters apart at the end of the last volume, The Astronomer swears bloody revenge on everybody involved, through his followers Roulette, who can kill men through releasing a poison during sex, and who has a grudge against Tachyon, because she had a joker baby, who also destroyed her marriage, and Demise, who also has a grudge against Tachyon, because he brought him back from the dead, and he always feels the pain of dying. Thus, Roulette is set on Tachyon, while Demise somehow manages to lose his boss' good graces and becomes hunted himself.
In another plotline, the ace Wraith, who call walk through walls, steals some notebooks from the safe of a Vietnamese businessman. That wouldn't be so much of a problem if said businessman wasn't also high up in the mafia. As different parties find out about the books, she is hunted across the city, and eventually comes across Brennan, who does not commit any crimes against the noble art of archery in this volume.
The books themselves are also lost, stolen, hidden, eaten and recovered countless times throughout the story.
Another storyline is about Rosemary, the mafia daughter doubling as assistant DA, a telepathic bag lady, and Jack, who turns into a big alligator sometimes. While generally supporting Rosemary in her bid to become the new Don, they also get drawn into the whole business with the books. Meanwhile, Jack is also looking for his niece, who ran away from home (and of course runs into all the wrong people throughout the day)
Still meanwhile, Hiram, the owner of the restaurant Aces High, is trying to organise his annual dinner despite the thread of the mafia, and The Astronomer threatening to blow up the party.
I didn't like this one quite as much. The Rosemary storyline wasn't that interesting and didn't appear to be of that much importance in the big picture, and I find Bagabond extremely irritating. The whole Wraith thing was also too drawn out, and getting a bit ridiculous, as every ace, joker and their dog get drawn into it.
Something else I really hate them for is killing Kid Dinosaur (and, possibly even worse, admitting that he was only created as cannonfodder in this volume). Damn you, GRRM!!! :p
(At least the Turtle came back. The attack on him was pretty horrifying)
In general though, although there were some annoying elements, this book is easily readable and entertaining. 7/10 in general.
It continues the Mason storyline from the last volume. After the aces tore their headquarters apart at the end of the last volume, The Astronomer swears bloody revenge on everybody involved, through his followers Roulette, who can kill men through releasing a poison during sex, and who has a grudge against Tachyon, because she had a joker baby, who also destroyed her marriage, and Demise, who also has a grudge against Tachyon, because he brought him back from the dead, and he always feels the pain of dying. Thus, Roulette is set on Tachyon, while Demise somehow manages to lose his boss' good graces and becomes hunted himself.
In another plotline, the ace Wraith, who call walk through walls, steals some notebooks from the safe of a Vietnamese businessman. That wouldn't be so much of a problem if said businessman wasn't also high up in the mafia. As different parties find out about the books, she is hunted across the city, and eventually comes across Brennan, who does not commit any crimes against the noble art of archery in this volume.
The books themselves are also lost, stolen, hidden, eaten and recovered countless times throughout the story.
Another storyline is about Rosemary, the mafia daughter doubling as assistant DA, a telepathic bag lady, and Jack, who turns into a big alligator sometimes. While generally supporting Rosemary in her bid to become the new Don, they also get drawn into the whole business with the books. Meanwhile, Jack is also looking for his niece, who ran away from home (and of course runs into all the wrong people throughout the day)
Still meanwhile, Hiram, the owner of the restaurant Aces High, is trying to organise his annual dinner despite the thread of the mafia, and The Astronomer threatening to blow up the party.
I didn't like this one quite as much. The Rosemary storyline wasn't that interesting and didn't appear to be of that much importance in the big picture, and I find Bagabond extremely irritating. The whole Wraith thing was also too drawn out, and getting a bit ridiculous, as every ace, joker and their dog get drawn into it.
Something else I really hate them for is killing Kid Dinosaur (and, possibly even worse, admitting that he was only created as cannonfodder in this volume). Damn you, GRRM!!! :p
(At least the Turtle came back. The attack on him was pretty horrifying)
In general though, although there were some annoying elements, this book is easily readable and entertaining. 7/10 in general.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2014
So let's say you take everything that's cool from the first couple of Wild Cards books, like people discovering their new powers, the world getting a handle on people having new powers, the assorted social commentary that comes along with a new class of people who aren't understood, people with awesome powers fending off ALIEN INVASIONS...
... and fucking forget all of it because instead we're just going to spend a whole book where seemingly half of the pages are spent on people whose powers literally involve having sex with people. Both of these naturally involve embarrassingly poor sex scene descriptions, like the actual kind of awful shit that belongs in mockery of romance novels. One that stands out and that I wish I could forget involved some kind of comparison of a sexual act to a horse, but not in like a "He was a wild stallion, BABY" way that would make me roll my eyes but not actively be revolted. Instead it somehow involved a comparison to a newborn foal trying to nuzzle into its mother. Just don't ever write stuff like this. Jesus.
So yeah, you've got Fortunato whose power derives from being a pimp who has a lot of sex with a lot of people, Roulette whose power derives from killing people while she's having sex with them, and Dr. Tachyon, missing everything that made him cool in the first book, who instead just goes around having a lot of sex as a way to handle his guilt.
This should have been cool, because it's Joker Mardi Gras on Wild Card Day, the 40th anniversary of the unleashing of the Wild Card virus. How can you go wrong with that premise? This book is the answer to how you go wrong with that premise. My favorite aces like Croyd and the Turtle only appear for a couple of pages, and the side plots are frankly far more interesting than anything to do with the main plot of the Astronomer trying to get revenge on a bunch of aces, because again, this involves the entirety of all of the weird sex ace powers. Stop with weird sex ace powers.
I really enjoyed the first Wild Cards book, and parts of the second were also good, but I'm coming to understand why these things were largely consigned to obscurity before people realized there was money to be made from reprinting old George R. R. Martin-connected material.
... and fucking forget all of it because instead we're just going to spend a whole book where seemingly half of the pages are spent on people whose powers literally involve having sex with people. Both of these naturally involve embarrassingly poor sex scene descriptions, like the actual kind of awful shit that belongs in mockery of romance novels. One that stands out and that I wish I could forget involved some kind of comparison of a sexual act to a horse, but not in like a "He was a wild stallion, BABY" way that would make me roll my eyes but not actively be revolted. Instead it somehow involved a comparison to a newborn foal trying to nuzzle into its mother. Just don't ever write stuff like this. Jesus.
So yeah, you've got Fortunato whose power derives from being a pimp who has a lot of sex with a lot of people, Roulette whose power derives from killing people while she's having sex with them, and Dr. Tachyon, missing everything that made him cool in the first book, who instead just goes around having a lot of sex as a way to handle his guilt.
This should have been cool, because it's Joker Mardi Gras on Wild Card Day, the 40th anniversary of the unleashing of the Wild Card virus. How can you go wrong with that premise? This book is the answer to how you go wrong with that premise. My favorite aces like Croyd and the Turtle only appear for a couple of pages, and the side plots are frankly far more interesting than anything to do with the main plot of the Astronomer trying to get revenge on a bunch of aces, because again, this involves the entirety of all of the weird sex ace powers. Stop with weird sex ace powers.
I really enjoyed the first Wild Cards book, and parts of the second were also good, but I'm coming to understand why these things were largely consigned to obscurity before people realized there was money to be made from reprinting old George R. R. Martin-connected material.
May 5, 2016
This instalment was somewhat better than the last one. I liked that the action of the novel (which was still written by several authors so I'm shelving it as an anthology to keep with the spirit of the series thus far) took placed over 24 hours; I liked that 24 hours was enough time for several storylines to begin and conclude, and for justice to be served to some extent.
That's not to say there was nothing wrong with the book. If that was the case, it would have at least 4 stars. I don't, have the time to get into all the issues I had with Jokers Wild, but here is my main complaint: the treatment of women, an issue which seems to span the entire book series.
I can't think of a single important, or at least named, female character, who wasn't thought of in some half-predatory sexual manner by the male characters, or who wasn't reduced to an object in some way or another due to her status as uterus bearer. In fact, one female character seems to be driven purely by her reproductive needs at the moment (Suzanne/Bagabond), and another's arc was all about losing the monstrous baby she gave birth to, and also about literally releasing neurotoxins from her vagina during sex and thus killing her sexual partners.
To add to that, older male characters "catch themselves wondering" about whether at least two female characters (barely legal girls, if that) are still virgins, which is one of the skeeviest things I can imagine. Another character can ghost her way through solid matter and walks around wearing a black bikini because she can't ghost the rest of her clothes with her. That this draws a lot of sexual comments from other characters isn't surprising in the least; what I want to know is why she was constructed in this way to begin with. An author, a real person, made the decision to have her walk around almost naked for the better part of 24 hours, and I simply have to question the motivation of that.
There was also more ritual deathsex, and it was as gross as the deathsex scene from the previous volume. I really could have done without that. Fortunato was also as creepy as he normally is, so there was nothing new there. On a sidenote, the Wild Cards series leads me to believe about half of New York is involved in the sex trade. I can't explain all the pimps and prostitutes and weird sexual incidents otherwise.
On the other hand, Popinjay was an excellent character, funny and clever and written very well. It's why I gave the book 2 stars in the first place. He's just not enough to keep me reading this series beyond the one other volume I have - I thought I only had the first three, but I apparently also have a copy of Inside Straight that I got for free from my local bookstore. After I read that one, I think I'll put this series on hold.
That's not to say there was nothing wrong with the book. If that was the case, it would have at least 4 stars. I don't, have the time to get into all the issues I had with Jokers Wild, but here is my main complaint: the treatment of women, an issue which seems to span the entire book series.
I can't think of a single important, or at least named, female character, who wasn't thought of in some half-predatory sexual manner by the male characters, or who wasn't reduced to an object in some way or another due to her status as uterus bearer. In fact, one female character seems to be driven purely by her reproductive needs at the moment (Suzanne/Bagabond), and another's arc was all about losing the monstrous baby she gave birth to, and also about literally releasing neurotoxins from her vagina during sex and thus killing her sexual partners.
To add to that, older male characters "catch themselves wondering" about whether at least two female characters (barely legal girls, if that) are still virgins, which is one of the skeeviest things I can imagine. Another character can ghost her way through solid matter and walks around wearing a black bikini because she can't ghost the rest of her clothes with her. That this draws a lot of sexual comments from other characters isn't surprising in the least; what I want to know is why she was constructed in this way to begin with. An author, a real person, made the decision to have her walk around almost naked for the better part of 24 hours, and I simply have to question the motivation of that.
There was also more ritual deathsex, and it was as gross as the deathsex scene from the previous volume. I really could have done without that. Fortunato was also as creepy as he normally is, so there was nothing new there. On a sidenote, the Wild Cards series leads me to believe about half of New York is involved in the sex trade. I can't explain all the pimps and prostitutes and weird sexual incidents otherwise.
On the other hand, Popinjay was an excellent character, funny and clever and written very well. It's why I gave the book 2 stars in the first place. He's just not enough to keep me reading this series beyond the one other volume I have - I thought I only had the first three, but I apparently also have a copy of Inside Straight that I got for free from my local bookstore. After I read that one, I think I'll put this series on hold.
July 23, 2017
2.5/5 I think the what initially threw me off was the difference in formatting from the previous Wild Card books. I think part of the problem was the different writing styles didn't always flow together in my opinion. However with all the Wild Card books once the action picked up at the end I couldn't put it down, it was just getting to the end that was challenging.
May 16, 2019
I just don't get this book. I've read only 50% of it and just couldn't take it anymore. it's like every chapter it's written by a different person that never communicate or read what was wrote before. Too many characters with their own agenda. You just keep track and in the end you don't care.
February 24, 2016
Another Wild Cards romp! http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
August 23, 2021
Dear fucking gods, the 80s paperback artwork for these books is aggressively awful. Sure, there's illustrations of beloved characters like Dr. Tachyon, The Great and Powerful Turtle, Fortunato (read: this dude is not a fan favorite at this point in 2021), etc. The whole thing just looks weird and gross and disjointed, which to be fair are kind of defining characteristics of these books. I guess it comes down to if you think these qualities are necessarily a good or bad thing. No one could argue against the point that these books are a uniquely odd and oft-uncomfortable reading experience. But I dare you to argue that these old covers are anything less than wet cardboard on the palate.
If you follow my tumultuous, stop-and-start relationship with these books (last review was probably in late 2018, if I remember correctly) then you know that these are not smooth, quick reads for me. They're uneven in content, plot, writing, characters, and every other possible facet you can think of. They're dated and often gross and laden with uncomfortable sex scenes and nasty language and behavior. The standard operation procedure seems to be a bunch of different weirdos with their own neuroses and kinks and hangups writing stories that the controversial-to-say-the-very-least-at-this-point GRRM has to stitch together into a coherent narrative and paperback, which is not the most reliable M.O. in a series, to say the least.
And I'm still giving it five stars. These books are a singular reading experience for better or for worse, and I'm so happy and grateful for my toxic relationship with them, and it boils down to the fact that this is a series authored by a myriad that started before I was born over a tabletop RPG. Maybe in another twenty years when I confront the small, freeze-dried part of my brain that likes obsessive academic analysis I'll ask for permission to book-by-book analyze the (understatedly) complex process that went into creating and then writing and publishing process of these books and the different neurotic minds that contributed to it but until then I'm just gonna keep reading them and giving them a higher rating than is probably reasonable.
This one's blessedly condensed into a twenty-four hour period during Wild Card Day, a celebration of the fortieth anniversary of Jetboy's glorious failure to prevent the Takisian virus from being unleashed over NYC. Serious fucking unrelieved beef remains from the second book and there are a shitload of scores to settle, the majority of which are miraculously settled in the pages of this novel. I can't think of a single character from the preceding books that doesn't at least return if not fleshed out in the most pleasurable way. I can only imagine there was a shitload of characters that didn't make the cut and by the time the story got churning and percolating there wasn't a chapter where I groaned to myself "Not _____ again!" (Maybe the Bagabond chapters dealing primarily with Rosemary, if I have to guess.)
It's hard to discuss the meat of this book without going into spoilers, but again there are serious fucking issues that need to be resolved and the main villain of this one is seriously scary, gross, and reprehensible. I thought the second book was a massively satisfying payoff after the origin-story-only content of the first book but this one was really the climax of the painstaking setup. If you've read the first or second books and were irritated by their flaws I really doubt you are gonna be pleased by this one but I loved every minute. It's obviously a horny group of former comic-book-reading-youngsters convinced by a cult leader (GRRM) to make their fantasies into a book series and I'm all for it.
P.S. Can you imagine the fucking smoldering looks and unbearable sexual tension during these Superworld games and/or plot layout meetings? "Can I talk to you alone? I just can't shake the feeling that my character tosses and turns at night thinking of yours. What if they..."
If you follow my tumultuous, stop-and-start relationship with these books (last review was probably in late 2018, if I remember correctly) then you know that these are not smooth, quick reads for me. They're uneven in content, plot, writing, characters, and every other possible facet you can think of. They're dated and often gross and laden with uncomfortable sex scenes and nasty language and behavior. The standard operation procedure seems to be a bunch of different weirdos with their own neuroses and kinks and hangups writing stories that the controversial-to-say-the-very-least-at-this-point GRRM has to stitch together into a coherent narrative and paperback, which is not the most reliable M.O. in a series, to say the least.
And I'm still giving it five stars. These books are a singular reading experience for better or for worse, and I'm so happy and grateful for my toxic relationship with them, and it boils down to the fact that this is a series authored by a myriad that started before I was born over a tabletop RPG. Maybe in another twenty years when I confront the small, freeze-dried part of my brain that likes obsessive academic analysis I'll ask for permission to book-by-book analyze the (understatedly) complex process that went into creating and then writing and publishing process of these books and the different neurotic minds that contributed to it but until then I'm just gonna keep reading them and giving them a higher rating than is probably reasonable.
This one's blessedly condensed into a twenty-four hour period during Wild Card Day, a celebration of the fortieth anniversary of Jetboy's glorious failure to prevent the Takisian virus from being unleashed over NYC. Serious fucking unrelieved beef remains from the second book and there are a shitload of scores to settle, the majority of which are miraculously settled in the pages of this novel. I can't think of a single character from the preceding books that doesn't at least return if not fleshed out in the most pleasurable way. I can only imagine there was a shitload of characters that didn't make the cut and by the time the story got churning and percolating there wasn't a chapter where I groaned to myself "Not _____ again!" (Maybe the Bagabond chapters dealing primarily with Rosemary, if I have to guess.)
It's hard to discuss the meat of this book without going into spoilers, but again there are serious fucking issues that need to be resolved and the main villain of this one is seriously scary, gross, and reprehensible. I thought the second book was a massively satisfying payoff after the origin-story-only content of the first book but this one was really the climax of the painstaking setup. If you've read the first or second books and were irritated by their flaws I really doubt you are gonna be pleased by this one but I loved every minute. It's obviously a horny group of former comic-book-reading-youngsters convinced by a cult leader (GRRM) to make their fantasies into a book series and I'm all for it.
P.S. Can you imagine the fucking smoldering looks and unbearable sexual tension during these Superworld games and/or plot layout meetings? "Can I talk to you alone? I just can't shake the feeling that my character tosses and turns at night thinking of yours. What if they..."
December 2, 2019
Fue un libro que empezó entretenido, pero luego se fue perdiendo.
No leí los anteriores y si bien no conocía ni tenía mucho cariño por los personajes, pude comprender bien lo que sucedía y empatizar con ellos.
Me encantó la idea de la novela mosaico donde todas las historias se entrelazan para formar una trama mayor y donde los personajes se van cruzando o relacionando, sin embargo, esto también causó que a veces me aburriera muy rápido. Había algunos personajes que no me interesaban en lo absoluto, y los saltaba del todo. Y algunas historias que no contaban nada ni agregaban nada a la trama, como si fueran simple relleno.
La trama estuvo buena, pero la habría hecho un poco más corta. Lo que me encantó, repito, fue poder ver cómo todas las historias se entrelazaban. Algo que hacía uno influía en la siguiente historia y así sucesivamente porque, al fin y al cabo, todos vivían en la misma ciudad y pasaban casi por lugares parecidos o estaban vinculados a los hechos de diferentes maneras.
Me gustó la "realidad" de los hechos y la humanidad de las personas. A pesar de tener poderes y habilidades, ellos seguían viviendo sus vidas normales y no se la pasaban en mallas volando por los alrededores y salvando gente como los típicos superhéroes de los comics.
No leí los anteriores y si bien no conocía ni tenía mucho cariño por los personajes, pude comprender bien lo que sucedía y empatizar con ellos.
Me encantó la idea de la novela mosaico donde todas las historias se entrelazan para formar una trama mayor y donde los personajes se van cruzando o relacionando, sin embargo, esto también causó que a veces me aburriera muy rápido. Había algunos personajes que no me interesaban en lo absoluto, y los saltaba del todo. Y algunas historias que no contaban nada ni agregaban nada a la trama, como si fueran simple relleno.
La trama estuvo buena, pero la habría hecho un poco más corta. Lo que me encantó, repito, fue poder ver cómo todas las historias se entrelazaban. Algo que hacía uno influía en la siguiente historia y así sucesivamente porque, al fin y al cabo, todos vivían en la misma ciudad y pasaban casi por lugares parecidos o estaban vinculados a los hechos de diferentes maneras.
Me gustó la "realidad" de los hechos y la humanidad de las personas. A pesar de tener poderes y habilidades, ellos seguían viviendo sus vidas normales y no se la pasaban en mallas volando por los alrededores y salvando gente como los típicos superhéroes de los comics.
July 15, 2017
This book got better and better as it went on. Unlike the first two Wild Cards books, this one takes place over the course of one day...the fortieth anniversary of the Wild Card virus. Whereas the first two books had each individual author write their own short story about the events, this one was broken into the hours of the day with each author contributing his or her own part. Crazy editing must have been needed to make the book make sense!!
There were about seven primary characters the book focused on. It took a while to really get into who was who again, and who had what power. Once I figured that out, the book was much more fun to read. Looking forward to reading the next volume!
There were about seven primary characters the book focused on. It took a while to really get into who was who again, and who had what power. Once I figured that out, the book was much more fun to read. Looking forward to reading the next volume!
July 27, 2022
I had a hard time getting through this. It has a lot of characters. I had a hard time keeping track of what was going on.
The series so far is not as good as I had hoped.
The series so far is not as good as I had hoped.
September 12, 2018
The Wild Cards series continues to deliver with this awesome heist story set during the holiday celebration of Wild Card Day in NYC. All your favorite Aces and Jokers are there, with some newbies in the mix to spice things up. Can't wait for Volume 4!
August 12, 2021
It was so refreshing getting back to the Wild Cards world after 2 years that I enjoyed Jokers Wild. Wrapping the story in one day is a feat not so many achieve and also having other characters leading the story was, at least for me, good. I understand why some fan favorites, I am a fan of the Turtle, stayed on the sidelines as the whole world revolves not only in a few, but in a whole set of aces and jokers.
Also, wrapping up the story of Fortunato (to this point anyway) was healthy. Him being a pimp and all (also taking into account the setting and year of the story) was not helping him and honestly, we needed another big gun to take up the next books . But why o why it was the only dead it felt off.
The way that they came up with character powers and stories is great
Also, wrapping up the story of Fortunato (to this point anyway) was healthy. Him being a pimp and all (also taking into account the setting and year of the story) was not helping him and honestly, we needed another big gun to take up the next books . But why o why it was the only dead it felt off.
The way that they came up with character powers and stories is great
June 12, 2012
If Aces High (Wild Cards #2) presented Earth's fledging new aces and jokers with an external menace in the form of a giant alien Swarm, Jokers Wild drags the action back to this stratosphere and pins it very firmly to the ground. The threats faced by the protagonists in this novel are all painfully, recognisably human - whether or not these threats have been twisted into monsters by the wild card virus. Jokers Wild unequivocally makes clear that the potential for great evil and corruption exists in anyone, and sometimes that malevolence is enhanced out of all proportion - whether by masses of ill-gotten gains, or through a spectacular range of psychic powers bequeathed by the Takisian virus.
The novel is made up of several strands of stories woven together into a surprisingly coherent whole - many different characters set out to accomplish many different goals (some to escape/destroy the villainous Astronomer from the previous novel, others to work their way through the tangled web of conspiracy and corruption that surrounds uber-criminal mastermind Kien). The ghostly Wraith starts the ball rolling by stealing some extremely valuable notebooks, but eventually the paths of all the characters cross as they hunt or are hunted by the Astronomer. Characters earlier introduced all return, like Bagabond and Jack, Fortunato, Tachyon and Hiram Worchester, the deceptively portly proprietor of Aces High.
If that sounds like a rather vague description, it's because there really isn't much point to my attempting to summarise each character's storyline - there are probably at least eight major character perspectives contained within this mosaic novel, all of which interweave with one another as the action, stakes and power balance shift across Manhattan and among players. All of this mayhem unspools over a period of just twenty-four hours - in fact, over the fortieth Wild Card Day anniversary - so, as you can imagine, the pace of the narrative is fairly brisk.
Jokers Wild is a true testament to Mr Martin's talents as an editor - the first two novels comprised individual stories written by various authors, compiled more or less chronologically, with connecting material created (as necessary) by Martin himself. With this novel, he artfully slices up the various stories written by his stable of collaborators and skilfully weaves these threads into an unexpectedly smooth narrative that flows and ebbs with its own dramatic pace and style.
If the climax seems a little too pat and disproportionate to the build-up throughout the entire book, there's still much to enjoy in Jokers Wild - mostly in getting the chance to delve deeper into the lives and minds of some of these wonderfully complex characters. The insights provided into Demise's power and motivations are both gruesome and intriguing, and it's great fun to learn more about Aces High, its traditions and clientele from the very proper Mr Worchester.
If you still feel this review is rather vague, I'm afraid I can't help you there for fear of spoilers - but rest assured that Jokers Wild is a good, punchy, FUN addition to the series that rewards fans without being too confusing for newcomers.
The novel is made up of several strands of stories woven together into a surprisingly coherent whole - many different characters set out to accomplish many different goals (some to escape/destroy the villainous Astronomer from the previous novel, others to work their way through the tangled web of conspiracy and corruption that surrounds uber-criminal mastermind Kien). The ghostly Wraith starts the ball rolling by stealing some extremely valuable notebooks, but eventually the paths of all the characters cross as they hunt or are hunted by the Astronomer. Characters earlier introduced all return, like Bagabond and Jack, Fortunato, Tachyon and Hiram Worchester, the deceptively portly proprietor of Aces High.
If that sounds like a rather vague description, it's because there really isn't much point to my attempting to summarise each character's storyline - there are probably at least eight major character perspectives contained within this mosaic novel, all of which interweave with one another as the action, stakes and power balance shift across Manhattan and among players. All of this mayhem unspools over a period of just twenty-four hours - in fact, over the fortieth Wild Card Day anniversary - so, as you can imagine, the pace of the narrative is fairly brisk.
Jokers Wild is a true testament to Mr Martin's talents as an editor - the first two novels comprised individual stories written by various authors, compiled more or less chronologically, with connecting material created (as necessary) by Martin himself. With this novel, he artfully slices up the various stories written by his stable of collaborators and skilfully weaves these threads into an unexpectedly smooth narrative that flows and ebbs with its own dramatic pace and style.
If the climax seems a little too pat and disproportionate to the build-up throughout the entire book, there's still much to enjoy in Jokers Wild - mostly in getting the chance to delve deeper into the lives and minds of some of these wonderfully complex characters. The insights provided into Demise's power and motivations are both gruesome and intriguing, and it's great fun to learn more about Aces High, its traditions and clientele from the very proper Mr Worchester.
If you still feel this review is rather vague, I'm afraid I can't help you there for fear of spoilers - but rest assured that Jokers Wild is a good, punchy, FUN addition to the series that rewards fans without being too confusing for newcomers.
February 11, 2018
Vor vierzig Jahren veränderte das Wild Cards-Virus die Menschheit. Joker und Asse wurden erschaffen, viele Menschen starben. Doch alle haben gelernt, mit dem Virus zu leben. Grund genug, ein Jubiläum nun zu feiern. In Manhattan steigt die größte Party seit langem. Der Astronom jedoch nutzt diese Gelegenheit, um seine Pläne weiter zu verfolgen. Seine Rache soll jeden treffen und sie ist groß. Seine Widersacher sollen merken, wer die Welt beherrschen wird.
Mit der Reihe "Wild Cards" ist es bei mir so ein Auf und Ab. Als ich den ersten Band gelesen habe, war ich total begeistert, das nächste Buch war so lala. Danach war es mal mehr, mal weniger Begeisterung für die Reihe. Und nun habe ich mich eigentlich auf den nächsten Teil gefreut. Doch ich wurde mehr als enttäuscht.
Schon nach den ersten 50 Seiten hatte ich das Gefühl, dass ich mich durch die Geschichte quälen werde, was dann letztendlich auch der Fall war. Manche Szenen habe ich eher überflogen, denn gelesen. Sex und Drogen waren allgegenwärtig, was mich persönlich sehr gestört hat.
Die Spannung hat auch nach 200 Seiten noch nicht richtig greifen können. Irgendwie fand ich, dass die Luft raus war. Die Charaktere konnten mich diesmal nicht begeistern, die Story war flach und die Ausführung war auch nicht überzeugend.
Viele neue Charaktere tauchen auf, von denen man nicht genau weiß, was ihre Fähigkeit ist bzw. warum sie überhaupt mit von der Partie sind. Vieles erscheint oberflächlich und als Lückenfüller gedacht.
Es gibt unzählige Handlungsstränge, die auch noch sehr oft wechseln. Ich hatte Mühe, allem zu folgen und habe auch ab und zu was verwechselt. Außerdem erscheinen manche Szenen in meinen Augen nicht sinnvoll. Weiter zieht sich auch vieles in die Länge, weil unnötige Informationen erzählt werden.
Die einzelnen Kapitel sind in Stunden aufgeteilt. Wir beginnen im ersten Kapitel mi 6 Uhr morgens und enden am nächsten Tag um 6 Uhr morgens. In jedem Kapitel wird erzählt, was die einzelnen Charaktere erleben.
Leider konnte mich dies alles nicht überzeugen. Für mich habe ich aber aufgrund der nun vielen "schlechteren" Bände der Reihe entschieden, die Reihe nun nicht mehr weiterzuverfolgen.
Fazit:
Leider passen die Reihe und ich nicht mehr zueinander.
Mit der Reihe "Wild Cards" ist es bei mir so ein Auf und Ab. Als ich den ersten Band gelesen habe, war ich total begeistert, das nächste Buch war so lala. Danach war es mal mehr, mal weniger Begeisterung für die Reihe. Und nun habe ich mich eigentlich auf den nächsten Teil gefreut. Doch ich wurde mehr als enttäuscht.
Schon nach den ersten 50 Seiten hatte ich das Gefühl, dass ich mich durch die Geschichte quälen werde, was dann letztendlich auch der Fall war. Manche Szenen habe ich eher überflogen, denn gelesen. Sex und Drogen waren allgegenwärtig, was mich persönlich sehr gestört hat.
Die Spannung hat auch nach 200 Seiten noch nicht richtig greifen können. Irgendwie fand ich, dass die Luft raus war. Die Charaktere konnten mich diesmal nicht begeistern, die Story war flach und die Ausführung war auch nicht überzeugend.
Viele neue Charaktere tauchen auf, von denen man nicht genau weiß, was ihre Fähigkeit ist bzw. warum sie überhaupt mit von der Partie sind. Vieles erscheint oberflächlich und als Lückenfüller gedacht.
Es gibt unzählige Handlungsstränge, die auch noch sehr oft wechseln. Ich hatte Mühe, allem zu folgen und habe auch ab und zu was verwechselt. Außerdem erscheinen manche Szenen in meinen Augen nicht sinnvoll. Weiter zieht sich auch vieles in die Länge, weil unnötige Informationen erzählt werden.
Die einzelnen Kapitel sind in Stunden aufgeteilt. Wir beginnen im ersten Kapitel mi 6 Uhr morgens und enden am nächsten Tag um 6 Uhr morgens. In jedem Kapitel wird erzählt, was die einzelnen Charaktere erleben.
Leider konnte mich dies alles nicht überzeugen. Für mich habe ich aber aufgrund der nun vielen "schlechteren" Bände der Reihe entschieden, die Reihe nun nicht mehr weiterzuverfolgen.
Fazit:
Leider passen die Reihe und ich nicht mehr zueinander.
May 11, 2014
...That being said, the novel does show some of the shortcomings of a work with so many authors. In depth characterization is mostly absent and here and there, fault lines in the style of writing are noticeable. Martin has done a wonderful job in editing it so the very compressed time line of the novel makes sense however. It must have been particularly challenging to get everything to fit in just a twenty-four hour time span. It's not the most challenging reading material but it is fast and fun and hard to put down once you've started. I don't think it is quite as good as either Aces High or Fort Freak but a decent entry in the series nonetheless. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing Tor reissue some more of the older Wild Cards books.
Full Random Comments review
Full Random Comments review
April 10, 2014
This book like the others before is part of the shared Wild cards universe however here it is credited ti George R R Martin. The book consists of a series of short stories by various authors with various styles and characters but all sharing (in varying degrees) a common thread, and this is where I think the hidden strength of the Wild Card series really lies. You get to see individual styles and characters being given full and centre stage while still feeling there is a commonality to the book. Yes there is a storyline here which I struggle not to give away in spoilers but also there are the lesser characters here too. There is the start of a story arc here but for now have fun with the Jokers and Aces and see where it takes you
January 21, 2014
The first two Wild Card books were volumes I flew through and enjoyed immensely. This one....not so much and it wasn't just the fact my favorite character died. It was the fact that I could tell where the story was going from pretty much the beginning and it took FOREVER for those things to actually happen.
Hopefully the fourth volume picks up and is akin to the first couple books and proves this one to be an anomaly. *crosses fingers*
Hopefully the fourth volume picks up and is akin to the first couple books and proves this one to be an anomaly. *crosses fingers*
January 29, 2016
Excellent series. If you are into comics at all you will love these books. Very interesting plot and the shared world makes each story new, as different writers add their twist to the world. Highly recommended
July 29, 2017
I had a little trouble keeping the characters straight, especially the ones who were called by two names. Still, I enjoyed the book. Lots of action (and sex) and a satisfying conclusion. I will read more in the series.
Read
February 24, 20163.5 stars
Another Wild cards romp! http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Another Wild cards romp! http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
May 29, 2020
I don't know if they did this consciously or if it was simply the consequence of a series that started in the 1940s and ended in the (at the time) present day of 1980s, but I think it's fascinating that this first trilogy (in a 19ish book series) has each successive book compressed in time. The first book is a regular shared world anthology in which it's clear who wrote each story and each is self-contained - if providing a history for the next one. It takes place from the 40s to the 80s. The second book is one story in which POVs change with each chapter. It spans a year or so (if memory serves). This book is one story in which each chapter is a POV change, it's impossible to know who wrote which characters, and it only takes place over the course of about 24 hours. It definitely gives a certain feel of whiplash like slamming on the breaks to have the timelines compress like that.
There was definitely a feel, in this book, that perhaps The Wild Card Trust was just going to get a trilogy. The plot points, which I'd rather not spoil, seem to suggest a certain finality that gives a lot of weight to the events. It truly seems like anything can happen because this isn't a series that needs to be sustained. We'll see if things seem to change in the next quartet.
As for the story, the feeling I had last night (in which I stayed up HOURS beyond when I should have because the plot was moving so fast) reminds me a lot of Snatch (the awesome Guy Ritchie movie). Actually, the second book reminded me of Snatch with its "bowling ball". This book is like 5 different Snatch-plots happening at once and intertwining like those friendship bracelets that girls made in the 80s and 90s. It lends a real dark humor to the plot as people keep having near misses and stealing/kidnapping the items from others without even knowing their true value. Layered on top of everything is the Wild Card Day parade which seems (I think?) to be a commentary on the real life Gay Parade? There's even what I interpret to be a connection made for a metaphor between Joker Status and AIDS - given when this was written (mid/late 80s) and the location (NYC) this makes a ton of sense. Overall it's hectic and exciting and I'd hope that folks would have gone through the first two books (different as they are in tone and arrangement of plot) to get to this one. The next book is about the effects of the Wild Card Virus outside of the USA (up to this point in the series it's barely been outside of NYC and LA!), but if they continue to return to NYC, it'll be interesting to see how they deal with the changing character of The City.
Also, if the narrative continues to move forward in time, I wonder how they deal with the comics issue (being so clearly based on comic characters and plots). That is to say, Marvel and DC are loathe to let the X-Men and Superman, etc die so they keep rebooting so that we never see an aged Superman (save Mark Waid's great Kingdom Come). Other than Dr. Tachyon who's said to be long-lived and perhaps Croyd due to his regeneration, do the authors allow for new characters and voices to enter the pantheon? Do they just stay forever in the 80s? I guess we'll find out because so far I intend to continue reading the series.
There was definitely a feel, in this book, that perhaps The Wild Card Trust was just going to get a trilogy. The plot points, which I'd rather not spoil, seem to suggest a certain finality that gives a lot of weight to the events. It truly seems like anything can happen because this isn't a series that needs to be sustained. We'll see if things seem to change in the next quartet.
As for the story, the feeling I had last night (in which I stayed up HOURS beyond when I should have because the plot was moving so fast) reminds me a lot of Snatch (the awesome Guy Ritchie movie). Actually, the second book reminded me of Snatch with its "bowling ball". This book is like 5 different Snatch-plots happening at once and intertwining like those friendship bracelets that girls made in the 80s and 90s. It lends a real dark humor to the plot as people keep having near misses and stealing/kidnapping the items from others without even knowing their true value. Layered on top of everything is the Wild Card Day parade which seems (I think?) to be a commentary on the real life Gay Parade? There's even what I interpret to be a connection made for a metaphor between Joker Status and AIDS - given when this was written (mid/late 80s) and the location (NYC) this makes a ton of sense. Overall it's hectic and exciting and I'd hope that folks would have gone through the first two books (different as they are in tone and arrangement of plot) to get to this one. The next book is about the effects of the Wild Card Virus outside of the USA (up to this point in the series it's barely been outside of NYC and LA!), but if they continue to return to NYC, it'll be interesting to see how they deal with the changing character of The City.
Also, if the narrative continues to move forward in time, I wonder how they deal with the comics issue (being so clearly based on comic characters and plots). That is to say, Marvel and DC are loathe to let the X-Men and Superman, etc die so they keep rebooting so that we never see an aged Superman (save Mark Waid's great Kingdom Come). Other than Dr. Tachyon who's said to be long-lived and perhaps Croyd due to his regeneration, do the authors allow for new characters and voices to enter the pantheon? Do they just stay forever in the 80s? I guess we'll find out because so far I intend to continue reading the series.
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