Wild Cards I: A Mosaic Novel

I spotted a new edition of Wild Cards in the library and decided to re-read it, as I had very happy memories of the series from my teenage years. The central conceit is so much fun; in 1946, an alien virus is released over New York. Of 100 people infected with it, 90 are dealt the black queen (death), 9 draw the joker (horrible mutation), and 1 gets an ace (superpowers). From this premise, the series builds a whole alternate history. This opening volume and the subsequent ones consist of short stories written by a series of writers, focusing on a range of characters but all within one consistent storyline.

My favourite piece, hands down, is the vivid evocation of McCarthyist paranoia turned against those with superpowers. I remember show more appreciating it years ago, and it stands up well over a decade later. What I didn't remember from my teenage reading, however, was the terrible things that happen to women in this book. Most of the central characters are male and women in this universe seem to be raped and/or killed with depressing frequency. I assume this is partly due to the era and noir atmosphere being evoked, but it's a bit much. Nonetheless, I really love the universe and the ingenious range of wild card powers. show less

This was a lot of fun. I never read these back when they were coming out, though I have a distinct memory of seeing them on the bookstore shelves. I was a big comicbook fan, and probably would have loved them had I realized the connection. Its a shared world, only loosely organized by George R. R. Martin and a host of other famous genre writers, originally based on their role playing game sessions. This is in the height of the era of some gaming systems which would later get labeled as 'slipstream'...things Rifts, GURPS, and others (of which this particular game is).
The world of Wild Cards, is, well, *wild*. An alien comes, to try to save us from an alien virus, that a bunch of organized criminals decide to release for profit. It kills show more many people, mutates others (giving some powers and others not) into a variety of disturbing forms ala Marvel's morlocks (jokers), and gives others wondrous powers of various kinds without the terrible downsides. This first book skips through decades of time from World War 2 up through the end of the 70s and early 80s, giving us a very Watchmen-esque (but predating Watchmen) narrative of how these power afflicted individuals and one human effect the course of modern human history. We also get some pretty interesting and more personal stories. Definitely recommended. show less

I first heard of this book a few years ago when I read [b:GRRM: A RRetrospective|1783847|GRRM A RRetrospective (Trade Hardcover)|George R.R. Martin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1188301243s/1783847.jpg|1782715] which included one of George R. Martins contributions to the first volume. Ever since that little glimpse I was hooked and wanted to read more. Finally I got my hands on a copy.

[b:Wild Cards|147908|Wild Cards |George R.R. Martin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172191781s/147908.jpg|1807663] is set in an alternate reality which broke away in the 1940's just after WW2. An alien virus was released over Manhattan which could affect people in one of 3 ways - kill them (90%), mutate them into a deformed creature (called a Joker - show more 9%) or imbue them with special powers (known as an Ace - 1%). Although not all Ace powers are very good. If you gain a power but it's not useful you're known as a Deuce.

This isn't your normal (well for the time it was written) superhero book. The best contemporary comparison is [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1238274511s/472331.jpg|4358649]. They were both written around the same time in a similar vein. Wild Cards is dark and honest and brutal. It follows through the times perfectly. The post WW2 boom time, Korea, Vietnam, the Communist McCarthy witchhunts and the HUAC. Instead of race riots there's Joker riots in the '70s.

But it's not all doom and gloom. There are some funnier stories, some feelgood stories. But it doesn't gloss over the unpopular truths as good fiction shouldn't. A brilliant collection I can't wait to read the next volume. show less

An anthology of connected stories. Each story is mostly self standing, but builds upon the previous ones. The world evolves as time goes by and some characters appear in multiple stories, giving the feeling of a living breathing universe.

What is it about? In 1946 an alien virus is released in New York. 90% of those affected die, 9% are horribly deformed(Jokers) and 1% get super powers(Aces)

I liked the concept very much and the execution is good enough - the quality of the stories varies, but it's quite an enjoyable experience. I hope they keep this feeling of "superhero comic books with consequences" vibe to it, as that's one of the things I hate most about the genre - the constant reset and fear of consequences.

Here are the stories show more within along with my ratings and comments.

Thirty Minutes Over Broadway - 3* A war hero tries to accommodate to the normal life while a mad scientist gets his hands on an alien virus. A neat introduction to the universe - superhero tropes set in the historical post WW2 context.
The Sleeper - 5* Introduction to the worlds of Aces and Jokers from the perspective of a character who is both. Interesting concept and character, I am curious to see his evolution
Witness - 4* An actor becomes an Ace and offers his perspective on the rise and fall of superheroes. One of the best stories here. It covers a longer period of time and reminded me of the opening credits of Watchmen.
Degradation Rites - 5* Doctor Tachyon's attempts to help the ones affected by the virus and his love affair with an Ace. It's a continuation of Witness. The most emotional story here.
Captain Cathode and the Secret Ace - 2* Issues on the set of a TV show. Story added in 2010, it doesn't bring any value to the volume. Some world building, but that's all.
Powers - 4* Cold war spy thriller about an accountant trying to save a captured spy. Added in 2010 so no real connection to the rest of the book, but quite entertaining.
Shell Games - 3* Ace with very powerful telekinetic needs the help of a discredited Doctor Tachyon to save a damsel in distress. Not much of a story, but it ends Tachyon's arc and introduces The Turtle.
The Long, Dark Night of Fortunato - 1* A pimp gets super powers from sex. This is supposed to be the Doctor Strange of the Wild Cards, introducing magic and possibly some otherworldly gods. Fails in every regard. The character appears in other stories as well, but every time I remember how weird the story is and how vague his powers are.
Transfigurations - 2* A young scientist researches the effects of drugs and is encouraged by his crush to try them out himself. It reads like the relationship between Forrest Gump and Jenny. Neat ending, but nothing else really. Maybe because I am not familiar with the history of the USA.
Down Deep - 2* A social worker tries to help a homeless woman and there is a Wild Cards version of the alligators in the sewers urban legend. The mob is involved and there are also some haunted subway stations. Every element of the story has by itself potential. But when you combine them all you get a mess.
Strings - 3* A politician tries to avoid a Joker uprising. There's probably also someone in the shadows pulling some strings. Nice concept and execution, but one of the characters(Succubus) seems out of place. The whole story could have been written without her. Might be helpful to know some recent history of the USA.
Ghost Girl Takes Manhattan - 3* An Ace tries to find her friend in Manhattan in the middle of the night. Everything happens on the course of a night and the ending is quite predictable. A 2010 addition, it is entertaining enough.
Comes a Hunter - 3* Ninja-like warrior is on a mission seeking revenge. Interesting and well written, reminded me of the martial arts B movies of the 80s and 90s.
Prelude, Interludes, Epilogue - 5* This is "connective tissue" but done very well. show less

I came intonation book with some expectations of "gritty" super hero stories...what I found was a sociological examination of recent American history through the lens of comic book mutant tales.

The overall idea is intriguing, following the development of mutant hero Aces and twisted Jokers through the heady days of post-war America, through the suspicion and paranoia of the Red Scare and on, but the actual stories can be very hit-and-miss. which is surprising, given the all star cast of writers, but then gain, no one iron all the time.

Standout stories include:
The Sleeper, a moving examination of an Ace whose powers strip himself family, morality and continuity.
Powers, a very subtly worked cold-war spy story.
Ghost Girl Takes Manhattan, show more a nice little story about a good girl on a big adventure in Jokertown. show less

I am a big fan of Martin's, and I think some of his short stories are among the best in the scifi genre, so it seemed like a natural to try out this first book of his (as editor) Wild Card Series. Frankly, I was disappointed. The premise is that at the end of WWII an alien virus causes random mutations in much of the population of New York City; many die, others are tranformed in disgusting, disfiguring ways, and a few lucky ones are transformed in "good" ways. The stories in this volume, primarily about a variety of people with "good" mutations, are a pretty mixed bag. The Martin and Leigh stories were quite good; a couple of the others were not at all my cup of tea (most especially "The Long, Dark Night of Fortunato," a story about, I show more kid you not, a pimp turned avenging superhero whose superhuman powers are triggered by a bizarre tantric sexual act performed upon him by one of his girls). Martin's Afterward, explaining how he and a group of his freinds got hooked on a RPG that led to the Wild Cards concept was probably the most interesting part of the book. show less

Finally got around to it. I haven't been able to find the whole series on audiobook, but at least I have the first few, so let's give it a go!

Overall, it's a surprisingly fun and rather different sort of book. Rather than a single overarching plot and series of books, you have a world with a few key events and then a number of short stories with only a few characters crossing over. An anthology as it were. :)

Basically, just after World War II, an alien virus (the Wild Card Virus) was dropped on New York City. 90% of those infected are killed. 90% of those that survive are mutated into Jokers. The remaining 1% gain super powers. [b:Wild Cards|147908|Wild Cards (Wild Cards, #1)|George R.R. show more Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375859477l/147908._SY75_.jpg|1807663] (this book and the series) follows that world in a rough parallel to our own, using the jokers and aces as rather on the head stand ins for problems in our own world.

It ends up being a lot of fun. Super hero tropes, a wide variety of characters and settings running through the 50s up until the original present day of the story (in 1986). The extended edition from 2010 also adds a few more stories to better fill in the timeline, which is handy. I'm looking forward to listening to as many of these as I can find the audiobooks.

Individual stories:

Thirty Minutes Over Broadway!: A solid action piece. Introduces Jetboy. I only wish that he'd gotten a chance to be an Ace; I bet he'd have been a good one. (If he does later, I haven't gotten that far!)

The Sleeper: Introduces "The Sleeper", an Ace that hibernates for weeks or months at a time and has new powers each time he awakes. And then has to use those powers for crime to support himself and his family. Cool concept, cool characters.

Witness: McCarthyism and the Red Scare, only with aces standing in for communists. Sure. As frustrating to read about as the original events.

Degradation Rites: Our first real look from the alien Dr. Tachyon's larger than life point of view. And both how human and how alien he can be.

Captain Cathode and the Secret Ace: One of the three stories added in the 2010 'extended addition', this is a fun story. A joker/ace who has to hide what he is so he can work in the movie business... making movies about aces. Amusing.

Powers: Another story about hiding ace abilities, Frank Majewski is a Polish immigrant working for the CIA as an analyst and hiding his powers--lest he get kidnapped by the government (or so he believes)--until things go sideways. He's pretty cool, I'd like to see more of him, although I don't know how long he'd survive it.

Shell Games: The Great and Powerful Turtle is just hilarious. A lot of fun to read.

The Long, Dark Night of Fortunato: Fortunato (not how I would have spelled that, having only heard it before now) is weird. His powers and story line are weird and rather more explicit than most of the rest of the stories. I'm not sure what to think about this.

Transfigurations: The idea of someone studying hippies from an academic point of view and trying to get immersed in the culture is pretty amusing, especially when he accidentally activates his ace powers.

Down Deep: Bagabond and the cats were a lot of fun. The rest of the story was take it or leave it.

Strings: Weird story and a bit hard to follow. Stories like this always seem to have a 'Puppetmaster'. I expect we'll see more of him.

Ghost Girl Takes Manhattan: An attractive woman with the the power to phase through solid matter--but not to take her clothes with her? Of course. It ends up having a pretty intense chase scene though.

Comes a Hunter: Chrysalis is bizarre. Transparent skin. With how central she is to Jokertown, I'm sure we'll see more of her. show less