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Title: Wild Cards (Legendary) by George R. R. Martin, Edward Bryant, Leanne C. Harper, Stephen Leigh, Victor Milan, John J. Miller, Lewis Shiner, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Howard Waldrop, Walter Jon Williams ISBN: 0-7434-7520-8 Publisher: Ibooks Pub. Date: 01 December, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $4.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (3 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Reach into the deck and draw an Ace...
Comment: The demons of LJ and Bookcrossing (otherwise known as "those people who tell me of too many good books") told me about this one. It's an Science Fiction anthology about the introduction into Earth of an alien virus, just after World War II. This virus, which has major (and varied) genetic effects, is quickly named 'the Wild Card virus.'
Of those who encounter a Wild Card particle (it's not contagious, just floating around for you to breathe in or drink up or...), nine out of ten draw the Black Queen (so to speak) and die. Of the one in ten that survive, nine in then of those suffer genetic affects that leave them like freakshow carnival subjects - insectlike, lizardlike, or otherwise of obvious mutant ugly stature. They're said to have drawn a Joker. Now, those other one in the ten who survive, they're the ones who drew an Ace - they get, for lack of a better way of putting it - powers.
The chronology of the series is superb - the Ace/Joker/Wild Card impact on the McCarthy era, for example, was very well done. The stories lead further and further toward the contemporary era, and the characterization of the various Aces and Jokers is a joy to read.
So, if you're at all into science fiction in a contemporary or recent historical setting, this is the stuff for you.
'Nathan
Rating: 5
Summary: Even years later, this book is still a classic.
Comment: What really got me about this series (and this first book in particular) is that "What If?" factor of everyday superheroes being introduced to the world during World War II. This first book is amazing in that it tells the stories of the Jokers and Aces in different times, through the ages. One can be completely satisfied reading this stand-alone book of short stories or continue reading the series (which unfortunately deteriorated as it went on).
When I first read this book as a teenager, it truly changed my reading habits and influenced my interests. It comes highly recommended even years later.
Rating: 5
Summary: Here's Where It All Began-- An SF Epic
Comment: I'm still in the process of tracking down some of the later episodes in this multi-author, multi-book saga, but you can't go wrong with this first volume. (Last I checked, there were SIXTEEN books in the series.) It introduces the "Aces" (advantageously-mutated humans) and the "Jokers" (disadvantageously-mutated humans) who live in New York in the last half of the 20th century. After a catastrophic viral incident in 1946, the mutant "wild cards" respond in different ways to their fates, and the stories here are always entertaining. Best for me is the first story by the irrepressible Howard Waldrop, in which he gets the ball rolling. But all are excellent. This is entertaining, well-written, and thought-provoking SF with pulp overtones (Martin tells us early of his love for the great comic book heroes), and you may find yourself working yourself through the many volumes with as much enthusiasm as me...
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Title: Jokers Wild (Wild Cards, Volume 3) by George R.R. Martin, Tom Palmer ISBN: 0743434897 Publisher: Ibooks Pub. Date: 01 January, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Wild Cards: Aces High (The Legendary Series) by George R. R. Martin ISBN: 0743479343 Publisher: Ibooks Pub. Date: 01 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad : A Mosaic Novel (Wild Cards) by George R. R. Martin, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Tom Mandrake ISBN: 0743452410 Publisher: Ibooks Pub. Date: 01 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Wild Cards V: Down & Dirty by George Martin ISBN: 0743445449 Publisher: Ibooks Pub. Date: 01 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Wild Cards VI: Ace in the Hole by George R. R. Martin ISBN: 0743458370 Publisher: Ibooks Pub. Date: 01 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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