Ace in the Hole

I really hate to review a book that I only got halfway through, but I just couldn't even with this thing.

This is a book where the only female POV character is a rape victim who spends most of the first half of the book in a hysterical panic, where the only actions she can think to take are running, hiding, and literally throwing herself at men for protection. And I mean that "literally" literally: she physically jumps on a male character, hysterically begging him for sex in an effort to protect herself. Oh, and the other major female character seduces a man she despises (who is only sleeping with her because she looks like her mother) in an effort to sabotage a political campaign. Look, I know the book was written in 1989; I'm not show more expecting it to pass the Bechdel Test, but even for the 80s, this is pretty awful.

Far too many POV characters are irredeemably evil. It feels like half of the of book is viewed through their eyes, as they revel in doing horrible things to people, or contemplating doing horrible things to them, or remembering doing horrible things to people, or imagining them doing horrible things to each other, and there's only so much of that I can take. Perhaps they get their comeuppance in the end, but I don't need a full page of lovingly described details of a character's arousal as they kick a puppy (not to mention another full page about why they think the puppy needs kicking) to make me hate them. It starts to feel like the authors themselves are reveling in the horribleness, and not just the characters.

It's not completely without interest; the overarching plot does have some excitement, but not enough for me to put up with the rest. I just ended up reading the characters' plot arcs on some wiki to figure out what happened in the end, and I don't regret doing so. show less

This is one of the 'mosaic' novels that rather than being written by numerous authors in the form of short stories that are then edited together, are written by one or two authors with a definite story-line, much more like an ordinary novel. I prefer the numerous authors and their short stories though.

This one was set around a political campaign, which I wouldn't normally be interested in at all if it wasn't for the various characters. The Jokers and Aces that fill the pages of these wild card novels are just wonderful and this is what held my attention and to be honest, what always holds my attention with these books, even if the story isn't to my liking per se.

The next book was originally a part of this one but they felt it would be show more too long to publish as one novel, and I have to say, I think I agree with them. Apparently it follows the investigation into the murder of Chrysalis who was one of my favourite characters and whom I shall miss terribly now.

A good read. Looking forward to the next one more though, even though it is another 'mosaic' novel.

Very good. show less

[b:Ace in the Hole|1281216|Ace in the Hole (Wild Cards, #6)|George R.R. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328368345l/1281216._SY75_.jpg|1270234] completes the second internal trilogy of the Wild Cards, finishing up many of the plotlines of [b:Aces Abroad|984792|Aces Abroad (Wild Cards, #4)|George R.R. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375859628l/984792._SY75_.jpg|970287] and [b:Down and Dirty|67959|Down and Dirty (Wild Cards, #5)|George R.R. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375859712l/67959._SY75_.jpg|1037828] and bringing the Puppetman plotline to the end. The main plot centers around a presidential show more convention, which is already a bizarre enough system on its own. Bring super powers and assassins--and super powered assassins into the mix--and things go very very sideways.

This book really does show what makes the Wild Cards books shine, with just enough real world (and real world characters) to make it feel like a solid 'what if' while at the same time, bringing in the Wild Card and how it changed the world at every level. It's good to meet a wide variety of previous characters on both sides and, as the stories go on, to see some of those same characters fall.

The fall of Puppetman--while it was almost guaranteed to happen after the events of the last two books; it had to happen if there were any justice in this fictional world--was... intense. Getting final confirmation that Puppetman was a fragment of Hartman's personality and not a seperate entity all along was quite a thing.

Unfortunately, so far as I can tell, only [b:Dead Man's Hand|147912|Dead Man's Hand (Wild Cards, #7)|George R.R. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391680749l/147912._SY75_.jpg|142745] seems to be released on audiobook. If I continue the series, I'll probably switch to text versions from here. Although who knows how long that will take...

Edit: Dead Man's Hand seems to be a continuation of the stories in Ace in the Hole, so I'll listen to that one before changing instead. show less

Almost 5 stars. Martin, the editor, outlined the universe, very similar to ours except for the alien 'wild card' virus in it. Then he turned some of the best SF/Fantasy writers loose. Wow. History is rewritten in some interesting ways, but filled with familiar figures. Imagine Kennedy, McCarthy, Nixon, Humphrey & all dealing with the wild cards. Comic, tragic, vile & heroic, but all larger than life, these characters bring to life so many of the attitudes & issues we really did face from post WWII through the 70's, but in ways only masters of the genre could tell us.


Note: Originally, the book blurb here on GR had a final paragraph that read...
Now, thirty years later, the victims face a new nightmare. From the far reaches of space comes show more The Swarm, a deadly menace that could very well destroy the planet. Putting aside their hatred and mistrust, Aces and Jokers must form an uneasy alliance and prepare for a battle they must not lose....
This is incorrect. I have removed it from the book description. If it comes back due to a sync with Amazon or whatever, just ignore it. show less

I really like the premise of this series and that it's a collaboration of different writers tackling it in short stories. Some of the stories to start out though were a bit bland, but I would have to believe that it's going to get better with so many volumes are out and now a tv series is in the works.

I gave up with three chapters to go. It tried for edgy instead of advancing the plot.

This is the sixth book in the Wild Cards series. In this one the action takes place at a presidential convention in Atlanta. Pretty good stuff.