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Wild Cards #16
Deuces Down
An alien biological weapon was accidentally detonated over New York City, killing countless numbers of people. Those who survived, soon began to wish they had died once they discovered that they had been forever mutated by the virus unleashed in the blast. In this all-new collection of Wild Cards stories, the spotlight is on the most unusual Wild Cards of them all—the Deuces. Their role in the Wild Cards Universe is just as important as that of the Aces and the Jokers. In fact, their actions have affected the course of Wild Cards history.
325 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
December 10, 2019
I wanted to classify this book as unimportant fluff for the overall Wild Cards universe (and it sort of is), but there are enough good or great stories in here to nonetheless make it worth reading.
Storming Space (Cassutt: Cash Mitchell). It's nice to return to the Wild Card universe's secret space programs. Cash Mitchell barely meets my definition of a deuce, since he's strong enough to make the difference for a rocket going into space, but then I've been a long-time fan of the Legion of Super-heroes and characters like "Light Lass". In any case, this book has some fun characters and an amusing conceit [3+/5].
Four Days in October (Miller: Digger Downs). After having Downs on the periphery of stories for so long it's great to get a spotlight on him, especially with its focus on his discovery of his powers and his early journalism. The 1969 World Series makes a nice setting for all of this, though all the baseball discussion gets a bit dull [4/5]
Walking the Floor with You (Simons: Bob & Carlotta). Wow, what a difference a decade and a half makes, because Bob's relation with his employee Carlotta looks a lot like workplace sexual harassment nowadays, as he wines and dines her constantly over the course of the story. Beyond that ickiness, this is an OK story about a few deuces who are being attacked, and it's nothing more than that [3/5].
A Face for the Cutting Room Floor (Snodgrass: Finn). Another story that's successful because it gives us insights into an existing character, this time centaur Bradley Finn. It's great to learn more about his family and see his youth in Hollywood, and beyond that this story of mystery is fun (and it does eventually include a deuce, though another whose power seems a little too good!) [4/5].
Father Henry's Little Miracle (Abraham: Obst). Deuces Down has been moving through the decades, but it's still surprising to find this one set in the modern era, amidst the events of Aces Abroad and Down and Dirty. It's a lot of fun to see Abraham returning to a now long-past gang war and showing the repercussions of Yeoman's vigilantism. But, Abraham also has a genuine deuce in this story with a minor power, who manages to use it to good effect — which seems like what this book was supposed to be about [4/5].
Promises (Leigh: Gary Bushorn). This is a great story from the start because it picks up on Leigh's writings about Hartmann in the Card Sharks trilogy by following a minor thread: what happened to Gary Bushorn after he got Hartmann out of the US? But, the story is so much more than that: it's a wonderfully human story about the Wild Cards that Gary meets, living on the equivalent of a leper colony, on an island near Ireland. And, more than just about any other story, it shows the true tragedy at the heart of the Wild Card virus [5/5].
With a Flourish and a Flair (Murphy: Swash & The Jokertown Boys). The first half of this story, which introduces Swash and puts him and Topper on a wild snipe hunt is a bit dull, but things take off when we get to Club Chaos, and Murphy starts filling the story with all sorts of stars. Still, it's a snipe hunt [3+/5].
Storming Space (Cassutt: Cash Mitchell). It's nice to return to the Wild Card universe's secret space programs. Cash Mitchell barely meets my definition of a deuce, since he's strong enough to make the difference for a rocket going into space, but then I've been a long-time fan of the Legion of Super-heroes and characters like "Light Lass". In any case, this book has some fun characters and an amusing conceit [3+/5].
Four Days in October (Miller: Digger Downs). After having Downs on the periphery of stories for so long it's great to get a spotlight on him, especially with its focus on his discovery of his powers and his early journalism. The 1969 World Series makes a nice setting for all of this, though all the baseball discussion gets a bit dull [4/5]
Walking the Floor with You (Simons: Bob & Carlotta). Wow, what a difference a decade and a half makes, because Bob's relation with his employee Carlotta looks a lot like workplace sexual harassment nowadays, as he wines and dines her constantly over the course of the story. Beyond that ickiness, this is an OK story about a few deuces who are being attacked, and it's nothing more than that [3/5].
A Face for the Cutting Room Floor (Snodgrass: Finn). Another story that's successful because it gives us insights into an existing character, this time centaur Bradley Finn. It's great to learn more about his family and see his youth in Hollywood, and beyond that this story of mystery is fun (and it does eventually include a deuce, though another whose power seems a little too good!) [4/5].
Father Henry's Little Miracle (Abraham: Obst). Deuces Down has been moving through the decades, but it's still surprising to find this one set in the modern era, amidst the events of Aces Abroad and Down and Dirty. It's a lot of fun to see Abraham returning to a now long-past gang war and showing the repercussions of Yeoman's vigilantism. But, Abraham also has a genuine deuce in this story with a minor power, who manages to use it to good effect — which seems like what this book was supposed to be about [4/5].
Promises (Leigh: Gary Bushorn). This is a great story from the start because it picks up on Leigh's writings about Hartmann in the Card Sharks trilogy by following a minor thread: what happened to Gary Bushorn after he got Hartmann out of the US? But, the story is so much more than that: it's a wonderfully human story about the Wild Cards that Gary meets, living on the equivalent of a leper colony, on an island near Ireland. And, more than just about any other story, it shows the true tragedy at the heart of the Wild Card virus [5/5].
With a Flourish and a Flair (Murphy: Swash & The Jokertown Boys). The first half of this story, which introduces Swash and puts him and Topper on a wild snipe hunt is a bit dull, but things take off when we get to Club Chaos, and Murphy starts filling the story with all sorts of stars. Still, it's a snipe hunt [3+/5].
May 14, 2021
I picked up this book from the library thinking it was the newest addition to the Wild Card series. It is not. Deuces Wild was originally published in 2002. It is the 16th book in the Wild Card shared-universe series, and not the 27th.
That said, this new edition has been expanded and edited. I have not read the 2002 iBook edition. That press went out of business around 2005, and the two iBook Wild Card novels (Deuces Wild and Death Draws Five) have been hard to find ever since.
The original 2002 edition contained seven unconnected stories about "Deuces," or people who gained mostly-useless powers from the Wild Card virus. Some of the powers in Deuces Wild are: a woman who can glow like a neon light, a man who can become a puddle at will, and a priest who can turn water into wine with a touch.
This 2020 edition re-arranges the order of the original seven, and adds two new stories and an interstitial narrative to connect them all. The end result is average. Most of the stories are forgettable one shots set in the 60s and 70s. There are two exceptions:
1. Father Henry's Little Miracle. Set in the 80s during the events of Aces Abroad (Wild Cards book 4). Father Squid, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Misery in Jokertown, has called in Father Henry Obst to say mass while he's travelling with the World Health Organization. Father Henry grants a young woman running from danger sanctuary in the church. Hilarity ensues. The action's predictable, but the writing is solid. I like the 80s Wild Card era and I enjoyed seeing Demise again. I did not like the repeated use of the word "whore" to refer to the young woman, or the fact that the author seems to know nothing about the bureaucratic structure of the Catholic Church. Of the stories in this edition, I think this one was the strongest.
2. Storming Space. Set in 1968. A marginal mob-affiliated loser gets caught up in an outlandish plan to fly a plane to the moon. This one could have been great, but the poor quality pulp-fiction narrative detracts from the effort. The plot meanders too much and skips too many important details. The actual moon shot, which should be the biggest part of the story, occupies a page and a half at the very end of the whole thing. This one was easily the weakest in the collection.
One other note: many of the stories feature addicts. Father Henry, from "Father Henry's Little Miracle", is a recovering alcoholic. Another story stories features a an alcoholic who relapses, while yet another follows an active valium addict. Deuces Wild contains a lot of triggers for folks in recovery.
That said, this new edition has been expanded and edited. I have not read the 2002 iBook edition. That press went out of business around 2005, and the two iBook Wild Card novels (Deuces Wild and Death Draws Five) have been hard to find ever since.
The original 2002 edition contained seven unconnected stories about "Deuces," or people who gained mostly-useless powers from the Wild Card virus. Some of the powers in Deuces Wild are: a woman who can glow like a neon light, a man who can become a puddle at will, and a priest who can turn water into wine with a touch.
This 2020 edition re-arranges the order of the original seven, and adds two new stories and an interstitial narrative to connect them all. The end result is average. Most of the stories are forgettable one shots set in the 60s and 70s. There are two exceptions:
1. Father Henry's Little Miracle. Set in the 80s during the events of Aces Abroad (Wild Cards book 4). Father Squid, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Misery in Jokertown, has called in Father Henry Obst to say mass while he's travelling with the World Health Organization. Father Henry grants a young woman running from danger sanctuary in the church. Hilarity ensues. The action's predictable, but the writing is solid. I like the 80s Wild Card era and I enjoyed seeing Demise again. I did not like the repeated use of the word "whore" to refer to the young woman, or the fact that the author seems to know nothing about the bureaucratic structure of the Catholic Church. Of the stories in this edition, I think this one was the strongest.
2. Storming Space. Set in 1968. A marginal mob-affiliated loser gets caught up in an outlandish plan to fly a plane to the moon. This one could have been great, but the poor quality pulp-fiction narrative detracts from the effort. The plot meanders too much and skips too many important details. The actual moon shot, which should be the biggest part of the story, occupies a page and a half at the very end of the whole thing. This one was easily the weakest in the collection.
One other note: many of the stories feature addicts. Father Henry, from "Father Henry's Little Miracle", is a recovering alcoholic. Another story stories features a an alcoholic who relapses, while yet another follows an active valium addict. Deuces Wild contains a lot of triggers for folks in recovery.
May 5, 2022
After a seven year hiatus (and a second change of publishers), Wild Cards returns in 2002 with a themed collection of stories involving deuces, those survivors of the Takis-A virus who gain only trivial powers. This is a dialed-down, more sedate volume than usual--no need to save the planet this time from aliens, terrorists, or fascists with dreams of global domination. I for one am glad to see a plethora of new characters getting introduced.
Here are my individuals story reviews:
"Age of Miracles" by Carrie Vaughn -- New to the 2022 reissue. This story serves as an interstitial framing device to tie the other stories together into a cohesive narrative. Raleigh Jackson goes to work for Digger Downs at Aces! magazine and is given the task of researching decades of material written for articles that never got published. She hopes to discover the identity of her ace father. (Her mother is Aurora, the minor starlet with a sparkling halo mentioned in Wild Cards I.) As always, Vaughn's quiet, character-driven story is one of the most engaging in this collection.
"Four Days in October" by John Jos. Miller -- Teenager Digger Downs is hard on the trails of his first big newspaper story in 1969 -- a secret ace is using his powers to help the Brooklyn Dodgers win the World Series! The author is having fun with an alternate reality in which the Dodgers never moved to Los Angeles and Fidel Castro is a major league pitcher instead of a communist dictator. This story highlights Downs' own deuce; he can smell the wild card virus on other people. While this seems a limited ability, it will serve him well as a journalist who occasionally needs to out a joker or ace in hiding. Sign Man is another deuce who can make words appear on blank pieces of white cardboard, much to the amusement of fans around him.
"Walking the Floor Over You" by Walter Simons --- It's 1977, the Summer of Sam. Carlotta's deuce power is to make one person laugh uncontrollably, or to cause an entire roomful of people to giggle lightly. It's not terribly helpful for a struggling comedian whose ex-husband wants to kill her. Her boss Bob can flatten himself into a large amoeba. This story includes guest appearances by Croyd Crenson (in the body of a demon), the Projectionist (in his Great Ape phase), and Hiram Worcester (back when I liked him, before he killed Chrysalis).
"With a Flourish and a Flair" by Kevin Andrew Murphy -- It's the mid-1990's and things get a little crazy at The Jokertown Boys boyband concert. Topper has lost her hat, which is the secret to her ace power. Cameo needs to channel a long-dead magician. Jerry the Projectionist is running around town as a teenaged Elizabeth Taylor pretending to be the girlfriend of Peregrine and Fortunado's son, John Fortune. Some interesting new deuces are introduced: Jim, a man whose faith in advertising always comes true; he can make any product as good as advertised and Santa Claus really does send him extra presents. Sam, an artist with pens for fingers; he distills his own colored inks. Alec, a musician with a horn on his head; if anyone who is not a virgin touches it, he transforms into a unicorn.
"A Face for the Cutting Room Floor" by Melinda Snodgrass -- It's not easy being a centaur in 1980 in Hollywood. Med school student Bradley Finn navigates love, life, and deuces working as an extra in a B-movie. Girls want to get close to him, because his dad is an A-list director, but they draw the line at physical intimacy with his pony parts. He has to avoid an unscrupulous producer who wants to use him in the industry's burgeoning direct-to-video joker porn market ("You got to. You know how hard it is to train a real pony?") Bradley gets drawn into a mystery when the make-up artist to the world's most famous actress goes missing from the set of The French Lieutenant's Woman. Will the dark secret of Grace Kelly's ageless beauty finally come to light? Melinda Snodgrass delivers a funny satire full of salacious details about centaur sex, reminiscent of "A Dose of Reality" in Marked Cards.
"Tasty" by Mary Anne Mohanraj -- New to the 2022 reissue. A general contracting crew of jokers with deuce abilities finds a leftover Swarm pod in the junkyard. It will take coordination of all their abilities to save the neighborhood. The New joker-deuces include Jèsus (pieces of his body continually fall off, but he can temporarily repair any non-organic substance that cracks or breaks), Squeegee (his hands squirt water), Crackle (his skin cracks, he has twenty fingers, and he can speed up any object's destruction); Ralph (he can digest anything, even a Swarm pod), and Short Step (she can teleport three feet in a random direction).
"Father Henry's Little Miracle" by Daniel Abraham -- A drug deal with the Gambione crime family is rudely and bloodily interrupted by Demise and the Shadow Fists. During the carnage, an underage prostitute absconds with the money and the heroin and makes a beeline for the sanctuary of Our Lady of Perpetual Misery of the Church of Jesus Christ, Joker. Father Squid is away on the world tour of 1987 (as related in Aces Abroad). The visiting priest Father Henry Obst must figure out how to save her using only his Alabama charm and his deuce ability--he can turn water into wine.
"Storming Space" by Michael Cassutt -- Cash Mitchell, who can move extremely heavy objects with ease, teams up with Al Dearborn (the luck ace from "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes") to pilot an aircraft to the moon. A fun story, although I think Cash is more of an ace than a deuce; his power is similar to and more useful than Hiram's.
"Dry to the Touch" by Caroline Spector -- New to the 2022 reissue. Joe is a deuce can who turn any bodily fluid, once it has been expelled from the body, into dust. Not a very useful skill, unless you happen to be a janitor or someone who cleans up crime scenes for the mob. Joe is both! He works off the books for mob boss Skalko (who is also a minor character in the preceding story) but he finds himself defying the chain of command when a beautiful Vegas showgirl gets tangled up in a messy murder.
"Promises" by Stephen Leigh -- After being stranded in Ireland in Black Trump, deuce Gary Bushorn takes shelter from a storm in an island cottage. He is protected by Caitlyn, a beautiful joker whom the virus is gradually transforming into a doll, and her ten-year old daughter Moira, a latent who lives in fear of the day when her card will turn. Gary struggles for years to be able to go back to New York City, but when that day comes he realizes Rathlin has now become his home. This story is the highlight of the book. It not only portrays the horror of watching the virus turn your body into something inhuman, but it is also a compelling portrait of resilience in the face of the uncertainty.
Here are my individuals story reviews:
"Age of Miracles" by Carrie Vaughn -- New to the 2022 reissue. This story serves as an interstitial framing device to tie the other stories together into a cohesive narrative. Raleigh Jackson goes to work for Digger Downs at Aces! magazine and is given the task of researching decades of material written for articles that never got published. She hopes to discover the identity of her ace father. (Her mother is Aurora, the minor starlet with a sparkling halo mentioned in Wild Cards I.) As always, Vaughn's quiet, character-driven story is one of the most engaging in this collection.
"Four Days in October" by John Jos. Miller -- Teenager Digger Downs is hard on the trails of his first big newspaper story in 1969 -- a secret ace is using his powers to help the Brooklyn Dodgers win the World Series! The author is having fun with an alternate reality in which the Dodgers never moved to Los Angeles and Fidel Castro is a major league pitcher instead of a communist dictator. This story highlights Downs' own deuce; he can smell the wild card virus on other people. While this seems a limited ability, it will serve him well as a journalist who occasionally needs to out a joker or ace in hiding. Sign Man is another deuce who can make words appear on blank pieces of white cardboard, much to the amusement of fans around him.
"Walking the Floor Over You" by Walter Simons --- It's 1977, the Summer of Sam. Carlotta's deuce power is to make one person laugh uncontrollably, or to cause an entire roomful of people to giggle lightly. It's not terribly helpful for a struggling comedian whose ex-husband wants to kill her. Her boss Bob can flatten himself into a large amoeba. This story includes guest appearances by Croyd Crenson (in the body of a demon), the Projectionist (in his Great Ape phase), and Hiram Worcester (back when I liked him, before he killed Chrysalis).
"With a Flourish and a Flair" by Kevin Andrew Murphy -- It's the mid-1990's and things get a little crazy at The Jokertown Boys boyband concert. Topper has lost her hat, which is the secret to her ace power. Cameo needs to channel a long-dead magician. Jerry the Projectionist is running around town as a teenaged Elizabeth Taylor pretending to be the girlfriend of Peregrine and Fortunado's son, John Fortune. Some interesting new deuces are introduced: Jim, a man whose faith in advertising always comes true; he can make any product as good as advertised and Santa Claus really does send him extra presents. Sam, an artist with pens for fingers; he distills his own colored inks. Alec, a musician with a horn on his head; if anyone who is not a virgin touches it, he transforms into a unicorn.
"A Face for the Cutting Room Floor" by Melinda Snodgrass -- It's not easy being a centaur in 1980 in Hollywood. Med school student Bradley Finn navigates love, life, and deuces working as an extra in a B-movie. Girls want to get close to him, because his dad is an A-list director, but they draw the line at physical intimacy with his pony parts. He has to avoid an unscrupulous producer who wants to use him in the industry's burgeoning direct-to-video joker porn market ("You got to. You know how hard it is to train a real pony?") Bradley gets drawn into a mystery when the make-up artist to the world's most famous actress goes missing from the set of The French Lieutenant's Woman. Will the dark secret of Grace Kelly's ageless beauty finally come to light? Melinda Snodgrass delivers a funny satire full of salacious details about centaur sex, reminiscent of "A Dose of Reality" in Marked Cards.
"Tasty" by Mary Anne Mohanraj -- New to the 2022 reissue. A general contracting crew of jokers with deuce abilities finds a leftover Swarm pod in the junkyard. It will take coordination of all their abilities to save the neighborhood. The New joker-deuces include Jèsus (pieces of his body continually fall off, but he can temporarily repair any non-organic substance that cracks or breaks), Squeegee (his hands squirt water), Crackle (his skin cracks, he has twenty fingers, and he can speed up any object's destruction); Ralph (he can digest anything, even a Swarm pod), and Short Step (she can teleport three feet in a random direction).
"Father Henry's Little Miracle" by Daniel Abraham -- A drug deal with the Gambione crime family is rudely and bloodily interrupted by Demise and the Shadow Fists. During the carnage, an underage prostitute absconds with the money and the heroin and makes a beeline for the sanctuary of Our Lady of Perpetual Misery of the Church of Jesus Christ, Joker. Father Squid is away on the world tour of 1987 (as related in Aces Abroad). The visiting priest Father Henry Obst must figure out how to save her using only his Alabama charm and his deuce ability--he can turn water into wine.
"Storming Space" by Michael Cassutt -- Cash Mitchell, who can move extremely heavy objects with ease, teams up with Al Dearborn (the luck ace from "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes") to pilot an aircraft to the moon. A fun story, although I think Cash is more of an ace than a deuce; his power is similar to and more useful than Hiram's.
"Dry to the Touch" by Caroline Spector -- New to the 2022 reissue. Joe is a deuce can who turn any bodily fluid, once it has been expelled from the body, into dust. Not a very useful skill, unless you happen to be a janitor or someone who cleans up crime scenes for the mob. Joe is both! He works off the books for mob boss Skalko (who is also a minor character in the preceding story) but he finds himself defying the chain of command when a beautiful Vegas showgirl gets tangled up in a messy murder.
"Promises" by Stephen Leigh -- After being stranded in Ireland in Black Trump, deuce Gary Bushorn takes shelter from a storm in an island cottage. He is protected by Caitlyn, a beautiful joker whom the virus is gradually transforming into a doll, and her ten-year old daughter Moira, a latent who lives in fear of the day when her card will turn. Gary struggles for years to be able to go back to New York City, but when that day comes he realizes Rathlin has now become his home. This story is the highlight of the book. It not only portrays the horror of watching the virus turn your body into something inhuman, but it is also a compelling portrait of resilience in the face of the uncertainty.
December 15, 2016
This book rates a high three stars; I almost wanted to give it a fourth star, but I think that's only because I love the series, and have been far too long without reading a book in this world. This is a collection of unrelated short stories, all focusing on a "deuce": someone with a special power that isn't strong enough to be considered an "ace" power, but is definitely something a bit special. Most deuces are otherwise normal, but as with those who have "ace" powers, it isn't always that simple; some of them are both deuces AND jokers, deformed or flawed in some way by the "Wild Card virus" that makes some people in this world other than "normal".
The stories in this book are mostly good, if not in any way world-shattering as some of the previous storylines were. The best by far is "Promises" by Stephen Leigh, which left me hoping to see more of these characters in a later book. But the editing of the book is atrocious; there were at least 2 dozen sloppy errors -- typos, mostly -- that slipped through. Wrong word, missing word, extra word, tense mismatch, things of that nature. George R.R. Martin may be a great editor, but he clearly wasn't doing a good job for this book as a proofreader. I don't remember this problem existing for the previous books in the series, although admittedly it's been long enough since I've read them that I could just be forgetting. Hopefully, the problem was corrected for the later editions; this one was the hardcover edition.
The stories in this book are mostly good, if not in any way world-shattering as some of the previous storylines were. The best by far is "Promises" by Stephen Leigh, which left me hoping to see more of these characters in a later book. But the editing of the book is atrocious; there were at least 2 dozen sloppy errors -- typos, mostly -- that slipped through. Wrong word, missing word, extra word, tense mismatch, things of that nature. George R.R. Martin may be a great editor, but he clearly wasn't doing a good job for this book as a proofreader. I don't remember this problem existing for the previous books in the series, although admittedly it's been long enough since I've read them that I could just be forgetting. Hopefully, the problem was corrected for the later editions; this one was the hardcover edition.
April 4, 2014
Some of the stories were good but I think because it wasn't a mosaic novel (where all of the stories move towards a cohesive end) it didn't really pull me in. I liked a few of the stories but in the end I am glad I did not pay more than three dollars for it and that it wasn't my introduction to the series as a whole.
December 23, 2016
It's a good collection, but it's riddled with weird formatting issues and typos that would be fixed with line editing.
March 5, 2022
While I liked some of the writing and some of the stories, I did not care for this as a book, or as a collection. By about the second half, the inserted stories felt like intruders into the Age of Wonder backbone. And it felt like the characters in the Age of Wonder were 'shorted', their development and events sketched instead of fleshed into story, to accommodate this awkward presentation.
The 'inserted' stories were intended, I think, to be seen as Raleigh's writing, but the writing styles and approach to the stories were so varied that it ruined the conceit. Also the Age of Wonder story didn't adequately introduce the insert stories, or entice the reader to fall into these side steps. Also, as you read further in, you realize these are all one-off detours, will have no effect on any of the other characters, and will not be mentioned again. So if you don't enjoy one, just skip it.
I didn't enjoy this range of writing voice and styles, and for me too many of the stories used the Wild Card aspect as nothing but gimmicks. (A woman turning to stone cold be Rheumatoid Arthritis or MS, aging actresses with a 'sparkle' or a secret for looking young - nothing new there. A man who can generate heat and flame - isn't that an illusionists' stock trick?) Where's the IBT or Bubbles level of interesting? Or the characters experimenting to learn more about their changes? Not in this collection.
The stories and too many of the characters in this collection struck me as tepid, especially within the freedom offered by the wild card universe. And as additional insults - a priest that will tell a young reporter about someone who wants to stay hidden, and think that won't be used as a lead? In what world are priests that naive or inexperienced? A young reporter who is followed and threatened on the street, won't even think that maybe her family would be at risk also? Doesn't this universe have movies and books? The idea is never presented?
For me, the worst part, in this myth where the ENTIRE world has been exposed to this virus, is the BIG reveal is that someone finally admits they are ... a latent. Has the virus, unexpressed yet, as far as they know. Well, isn't EVERYONE who does not know their 'expression' actually a latent? It's a virus. Couldn't someone 'catch' it at any time? That's how it started infecting people, right?
Further, since its expression is apparently ALWAYS unique (no two characters in the stories have the same characteristics), how would ANYONE know if they have already 'turned' if the expression is benign? That is, isn't EVERYONE who doesn't know the outcome of their virus' expression in the same situation as someone who believes they are a 'latent'? Isn't EVERYONE either 'expressed' or a walking time bomb for it?
I would like to see this focus on 'Deuces' done again ... but better. "I can make words on paper disappear." Don't want to do that? Try gloves? "I got mad and wiped your notes." How is that "Wild Card" significant? Ever spill water on someone's papers? Lit papers on fire? Spilled ink? "Oh, but I can do that with just my hands." Me too, it's called 'shredding". The idea was cute and the story nice. But a collection of that sort of thing in a book didn't carry me.
When I read a Wild Cards book, I'm looking for something more inspired than an author picking a mundane action and devising out a 'power' that lets someone do it unaided. For example. "I can jump really high" might be a virus or mutation, but is not fuel for great science fiction to me. (A trampoline will help you do that.) Whereas, "The bottom of my body is a snake and I can use the coil as a spring to move great distances very fast, have a venomous bite, and can squeeze you in my coils" - that's science fiction! "If I am hurt, I grow fat instantly, and can remove the fat with my hands and throw bubbles of any size, and make them do things like float, harden like shields, block out air, explode, choosing what they do before or after I fling them" - that's amazing!
To me, this book was not amazing.
The 'inserted' stories were intended, I think, to be seen as Raleigh's writing, but the writing styles and approach to the stories were so varied that it ruined the conceit. Also the Age of Wonder story didn't adequately introduce the insert stories, or entice the reader to fall into these side steps. Also, as you read further in, you realize these are all one-off detours, will have no effect on any of the other characters, and will not be mentioned again. So if you don't enjoy one, just skip it.
I didn't enjoy this range of writing voice and styles, and for me too many of the stories used the Wild Card aspect as nothing but gimmicks. (A woman turning to stone cold be Rheumatoid Arthritis or MS, aging actresses with a 'sparkle' or a secret for looking young - nothing new there. A man who can generate heat and flame - isn't that an illusionists' stock trick?) Where's the IBT or Bubbles level of interesting? Or the characters experimenting to learn more about their changes? Not in this collection.
The stories and too many of the characters in this collection struck me as tepid, especially within the freedom offered by the wild card universe. And as additional insults - a priest that will tell a young reporter about someone who wants to stay hidden, and think that won't be used as a lead? In what world are priests that naive or inexperienced? A young reporter who is followed and threatened on the street, won't even think that maybe her family would be at risk also? Doesn't this universe have movies and books? The idea is never presented?
For me, the worst part, in this myth where the ENTIRE world has been exposed to this virus, is the BIG reveal is that someone finally admits they are ... a latent. Has the virus, unexpressed yet, as far as they know. Well, isn't EVERYONE who does not know their 'expression' actually a latent? It's a virus. Couldn't someone 'catch' it at any time? That's how it started infecting people, right?
Further, since its expression is apparently ALWAYS unique (no two characters in the stories have the same characteristics), how would ANYONE know if they have already 'turned' if the expression is benign? That is, isn't EVERYONE who doesn't know the outcome of their virus' expression in the same situation as someone who believes they are a 'latent'? Isn't EVERYONE either 'expressed' or a walking time bomb for it?
I would like to see this focus on 'Deuces' done again ... but better. "I can make words on paper disappear." Don't want to do that? Try gloves? "I got mad and wiped your notes." How is that "Wild Card" significant? Ever spill water on someone's papers? Lit papers on fire? Spilled ink? "Oh, but I can do that with just my hands." Me too, it's called 'shredding". The idea was cute and the story nice. But a collection of that sort of thing in a book didn't carry me.
When I read a Wild Cards book, I'm looking for something more inspired than an author picking a mundane action and devising out a 'power' that lets someone do it unaided. For example. "I can jump really high" might be a virus or mutation, but is not fuel for great science fiction to me. (A trampoline will help you do that.) Whereas, "The bottom of my body is a snake and I can use the coil as a spring to move great distances very fast, have a venomous bite, and can squeeze you in my coils" - that's science fiction! "If I am hurt, I grow fat instantly, and can remove the fat with my hands and throw bubbles of any size, and make them do things like float, harden like shields, block out air, explode, choosing what they do before or after I fling them" - that's amazing!
To me, this book was not amazing.
April 1, 2023
https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/wild-cards-deuces-down-ed-george-r-r-martin/
The last of the books I got with the Zelazny Humble Bundle in early 2016, an anthology of vaguely linked stories in the Wild Cards series. I quite liked the first one, “Storming Space” by Michael Cassutt, about a secret space programme. None of the rest was particularly special, and one of them, “Promises”, by Stephen Leigh, really annoyed me.
“Promises” is set in Rathlin Island, off the coast of Northern Ireland, and like the rest of the Wild Cards stories the background is that an alien virus has infected a small but significant proportion of humanity with superhuman (or just inconvenient) powers. The major infection was in New York in 1946 but it turns out that there was also a smaller infection in Belfast in 1962. The infected “jokers” have been isolated on Rathlin Island.
So, two points of detail. First of all, although it is made clear that Rathlin Island and Northern Ireland as a whole are still part of the UK in the 1990s (as in our own dear timeline), the local police in Northern Ireland are referred to as the “garda” (sic). As many of you know, the Garda Síochána are the police in the Republic; “garda” is not a viable Irish translation of either “Royal Ulster Constabulary” or “Police Service of Northern Ireland”. (That would be “póilíní”.)
Also, one of the protagonists talks casually about how she could have got an abortion in Belfast in 1962. I know we are in alternate history here, but I can’t see the late Brookeborough government suddenly legislating to overturn the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 even under alien attack.
On top of that the ebook is badly formatted, as is the case with other ebooks in the Humble Bundle published by the now defunct iBooks.
Deuces Down was republished by Tor.com in 2021 with more stories and a linking narrative, and reviews suggest that this has been a significant improvement.
The last of the books I got with the Zelazny Humble Bundle in early 2016, an anthology of vaguely linked stories in the Wild Cards series. I quite liked the first one, “Storming Space” by Michael Cassutt, about a secret space programme. None of the rest was particularly special, and one of them, “Promises”, by Stephen Leigh, really annoyed me.
“Promises” is set in Rathlin Island, off the coast of Northern Ireland, and like the rest of the Wild Cards stories the background is that an alien virus has infected a small but significant proportion of humanity with superhuman (or just inconvenient) powers. The major infection was in New York in 1946 but it turns out that there was also a smaller infection in Belfast in 1962. The infected “jokers” have been isolated on Rathlin Island.
So, two points of detail. First of all, although it is made clear that Rathlin Island and Northern Ireland as a whole are still part of the UK in the 1990s (as in our own dear timeline), the local police in Northern Ireland are referred to as the “garda” (sic). As many of you know, the Garda Síochána are the police in the Republic; “garda” is not a viable Irish translation of either “Royal Ulster Constabulary” or “Police Service of Northern Ireland”. (That would be “póilíní”.)
Also, one of the protagonists talks casually about how she could have got an abortion in Belfast in 1962. I know we are in alternate history here, but I can’t see the late Brookeborough government suddenly legislating to overturn the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 even under alien attack.
On top of that the ebook is badly formatted, as is the case with other ebooks in the Humble Bundle published by the now defunct iBooks.
Deuces Down was republished by Tor.com in 2021 with more stories and a linking narrative, and reviews suggest that this has been a significant improvement.
October 19, 2021
I'm reviewing the 2020 Deuces Down from Tor, with the "Age of Wonders" segments by Carrie Vaughn that turn the stories from 2002 into a somewhat coherent whole. (I've never seen the 2002 iBooks collection.) If you don't know the Wild Cards universe, the Wikipedia article's not a bad place to start. I've been reading them off and on since the 1990s, and found most of them satisfying, except when the "mosaic novel" approach (segments by different authors working together in an overall narrative) breaks down.
Deuces are oddities in the Wild Card universe: people hit by the wild card who gain a modest, niche or otherwise odd power that's not big enough to make them Aces. As a result, these are somewhat more low-key stories than some of the novels (noting that I've probably read about a third of the series).
To my mind, this was a satisfying dip in the Wild Card universe, less depressing than some. The Vaughn interstices really do add coherence to what's otherwise a fairly random set of stories. I'd give most Wild Cards books I've read either 3 or 4, with at least one two. This is probably not the place to take your first dip into this alternate history, but it's good. By the way: if you're a big George R R Martin fan, be aware that he's the overall editor/project leader; he rarely if ever actually writes any of the stories.
Deuces are oddities in the Wild Card universe: people hit by the wild card who gain a modest, niche or otherwise odd power that's not big enough to make them Aces. As a result, these are somewhat more low-key stories than some of the novels (noting that I've probably read about a third of the series).
To my mind, this was a satisfying dip in the Wild Card universe, less depressing than some. The Vaughn interstices really do add coherence to what's otherwise a fairly random set of stories. I'd give most Wild Cards books I've read either 3 or 4, with at least one two. This is probably not the place to take your first dip into this alternate history, but it's good. By the way: if you're a big George R R Martin fan, be aware that he's the overall editor/project leader; he rarely if ever actually writes any of the stories.
April 14, 2021
The addition of a framing story in this revised edition makes a big difference. Instead of a bunch of unrelated short stories, we see them in the context of a young woman trying to find her place in the world of Aces and Jokers, understanding that there are plenty of Deuces (Aces with minor powers) and latents (waiting for the Wild Card to turn) that live fulfilling lives. The actual stories are all decent, albeit mostly unremarkable. Some are dramatic and some are more humorous, but they all read like prose versions of superhero comics. Some of the stories reference events from previous volumes (as well as some foreshadowing of future stories) but there's nothing a new reader would get confused by. For longtime readers these are some fun easter eggs. One of the great things about this series is that characters age or change in other ways, even dying, to be replaced by younger generations. It must be a huge challenge for the writers to come up with new and unique powers for their characters.
May 11, 2021
I really enjoyed Deuces Down. I read a lot of blurbs about it being irrelevant or simply filler material, but I do not see it that way.
Most of the books before concentrated in characters that were either Aces (superheroes/supervillains) or Jokers (people with deformities) while this one shows people who either did get a little power through their Wild Card, but nothing spectacular that would put them into a superhero-comic, or are latents, people who have the virus but it has not affected them in any (biological) way yet - the Deuces.
As always there are stories I enjoyed more than others, the final "Promises" being the best one in my opinion, but the writing of all authors contributing here in general is very good.
Most of the books before concentrated in characters that were either Aces (superheroes/supervillains) or Jokers (people with deformities) while this one shows people who either did get a little power through their Wild Card, but nothing spectacular that would put them into a superhero-comic, or are latents, people who have the virus but it has not affected them in any (biological) way yet - the Deuces.
As always there are stories I enjoyed more than others, the final "Promises" being the best one in my opinion, but the writing of all authors contributing here in general is very good.
June 26, 2024
The weakest of the series I have read so far. Some stories boring and just pointless. The 2020 edition added an attempt to bridge the stories by having a character be a reporter so the new part is between each short story. As with any short story collection some are okay some are just bad and pointless. Wild Cards does have some excellent stories in the series. There are none of those here for me.
April 21, 2018
A very solid collection going back to Wild Cards I's conceit of tales of super powered beings throughout the twentieth century. With a focus on the lower powered "deuces" this book becomes about much smaller scale tales than many Wild Cards books. Very solid stories overall, but the final tales by Steven Leigh and Kevin Andrew Murphy.
Read
April 20, 2021It was good to see a fourth level in the effect of the Wildcards. There are some "Aces" who really are Deuces, like the Marvel difference between a mutant and an Omega level mutant. Stories of those who had "minor" powers were still great stories.
April 18, 2018
Nice collection of short stories in the universe of the wild cards. Only recommendable if you really like the series so far!
March 25, 2021
The stories were interesting, but there were too many typos/inconsistencies.
June 19, 2021
Solid addition to the series, but no more. The extra stories for 2020 edition are nice, but not a strong add to the universe.
Reminder I rate on a curve.
Reminder I rate on a curve.
December 11, 2021
Although there is a grammatical problem in several sentences in Deuces Down, overall I like this book.
January 17, 2022
I enjoyed this book. It was interesting seeing the non-heroes, the supporting characters get a spot in the sunlight. This was my intro in the Wild Cards series and I intend to read more of them now.
February 28, 2022
A particularly good narrative hook for this volume sets it apart
January 24, 2023
Pleasant read but not much interest in those saynètes.
December 2, 2025
I liked the idea of this more than I liked the execution. It felt a bit boring at times for me
October 17, 2018
now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
July 18, 2018
Deuces Down (Wild Cards, #16)
by George R.R. Martin (editor)
a mosaic novel with an introduction written by Walton Simons in 2002 the 15th year of Wild card series. This book opens up the timeline of the series, allowing more stories in the four decades that encompass the stories. As Walton introduces the stories he states that it is common for the writers to continually converse about characters, and upcoming story ideas. One aspect that is unique in these stories focus not on the aces and jokers of the series but Deuces, those who are given an ability after surviving the Xenovirus Takisis A. these powers that are considered a Deuce are just simple abilities that are not heroic or large in composition. For instance Gary who can produce a small blue flame on his fingertips like a Bic lighter. Following an idea that has interested the writers like Sign Girl, Grow-Grip Man, Puddle man etc…
Storming space, Michael Cassutt
A short love story and the ability of Cash Mitchell and Eva-Lynne,tells the story of a deuce who can accomplish great things when used appropriately.
Four days in October, John J Miller
The introduction of Tommy Downs a journalist who finds his ability is to ferret out those affected by the wild card virus.
Walking the floor, Over You, Walton Simons
A beautiful woman with a deuce, that she can make people laugh has found herself in trouble, she turns to our favorite character Croyd for protection only to find it is her boss that is the hero despite his own deuce power.
A Face on the Cutting Room Floor, Melinda Snodgrass
My favorite story of this group, about Dr. Bradley Finn, a pony sized centaur, who as a child finds a mystery on the set of his Fathers movie. As Ms. Snodgrass says, she wanted to write about a joker that was well adjusted and saw his father like James Cameron as a filmmaker.
Father Henry’s Little Miracle, Daniel Abraham
Father Henry, is taking care of the Joker Church in New York only to be drawn into an adventure he does not know how to handle. Unfortunately his deuce of producing water from wine may not be able to stand against Demise, one of the strongest evil ace characters in the series.
Promises, Stephen Leigh
A tragic love story between Gary a deuce, the same one who is a Bic lighter, and his love Caitlyn, a joker who is turning into a living doll. Looking at the human spirit and the interpretation of the term home.
With a Flourish and a Flair, Kevin Andrew Murphy
Swash is drawn on a quest similar to an adventure you could find Holmes, attempting to solve, He and Topper a Takian living in New York has a problem with a personal theft.
by George R.R. Martin (editor)
a mosaic novel with an introduction written by Walton Simons in 2002 the 15th year of Wild card series. This book opens up the timeline of the series, allowing more stories in the four decades that encompass the stories. As Walton introduces the stories he states that it is common for the writers to continually converse about characters, and upcoming story ideas. One aspect that is unique in these stories focus not on the aces and jokers of the series but Deuces, those who are given an ability after surviving the Xenovirus Takisis A. these powers that are considered a Deuce are just simple abilities that are not heroic or large in composition. For instance Gary who can produce a small blue flame on his fingertips like a Bic lighter. Following an idea that has interested the writers like Sign Girl, Grow-Grip Man, Puddle man etc…
Storming space, Michael Cassutt
A short love story and the ability of Cash Mitchell and Eva-Lynne,tells the story of a deuce who can accomplish great things when used appropriately.
Four days in October, John J Miller
The introduction of Tommy Downs a journalist who finds his ability is to ferret out those affected by the wild card virus.
Walking the floor, Over You, Walton Simons
A beautiful woman with a deuce, that she can make people laugh has found herself in trouble, she turns to our favorite character Croyd for protection only to find it is her boss that is the hero despite his own deuce power.
A Face on the Cutting Room Floor, Melinda Snodgrass
My favorite story of this group, about Dr. Bradley Finn, a pony sized centaur, who as a child finds a mystery on the set of his Fathers movie. As Ms. Snodgrass says, she wanted to write about a joker that was well adjusted and saw his father like James Cameron as a filmmaker.
Father Henry’s Little Miracle, Daniel Abraham
Father Henry, is taking care of the Joker Church in New York only to be drawn into an adventure he does not know how to handle. Unfortunately his deuce of producing water from wine may not be able to stand against Demise, one of the strongest evil ace characters in the series.
Promises, Stephen Leigh
A tragic love story between Gary a deuce, the same one who is a Bic lighter, and his love Caitlyn, a joker who is turning into a living doll. Looking at the human spirit and the interpretation of the term home.
With a Flourish and a Flair, Kevin Andrew Murphy
Swash is drawn on a quest similar to an adventure you could find Holmes, attempting to solve, He and Topper a Takian living in New York has a problem with a personal theft.
March 21, 2016
If you have not read any Wild Cards books, this is not the place to start. Get a copy of Wild Cards #1. If you are hooked on the series after that, follow it with Aces High and then Jokers Wild. After those you can read the books in pretty much any order and have enough background to follow the stories. There is some small advantage to reading them in order, but it isn't a requirement.
Deuces Down is a return to the original Wild Cards concept. It is a collection of novellas that take place in the shared Wild Cards universe. Later Wild Card books tended to tell a single story at novel length. The novellas do not make up a continuous story. Some characters from other Wild Card stories make appearances, but they are not the main characters. The main characters are all Deuces (in Wild Card parlance) meaning that they have supernormal abilities of a very minor nature. One character, for example, can make himself flat enough to slip under a door. But then his ability to move is extremely limited.
The art in each story is finding a way to make the character's deuce power useful. Although, in one story, the character's ability is totally irrelevant to what is essentially a beautifully written love story.
Recommended for fans of shared universe stories that are already familiar with the Wild Card series.
Deuces Down is a return to the original Wild Cards concept. It is a collection of novellas that take place in the shared Wild Cards universe. Later Wild Card books tended to tell a single story at novel length. The novellas do not make up a continuous story. Some characters from other Wild Card stories make appearances, but they are not the main characters. The main characters are all Deuces (in Wild Card parlance) meaning that they have supernormal abilities of a very minor nature. One character, for example, can make himself flat enough to slip under a door. But then his ability to move is extremely limited.
The art in each story is finding a way to make the character's deuce power useful. Although, in one story, the character's ability is totally irrelevant to what is essentially a beautifully written love story.
Recommended for fans of shared universe stories that are already familiar with the Wild Card series.
November 3, 2011
"Deuces Down" is the 16th book in the Wild Cards series and one of the elusive two, "Death Draws Five" being the other, that have been out of print for years and recently available as an e-book, which is how I read mine via kindle. This installment lacks the shared world plotting seen in the others and more closely resembles the first Wild Cards novel in that it's an actual anthology, all stories about the deuces. Like Wild Cards, Deuces Down takes us through time, but instead of 1946, we start in 1968 with a trip to the moon no one watched, to the 1978 New York blackout, a couple of tales in the 1980's one of which being the secret truth of Grace Kelly's disappearance during a movie she was filming, into the 1990's after the events in the Card Sharks trilogy, and all the way to 2006.
It was nice to see the deuces get their dues, even giving me a deuce that I hope we one day see again. Overall, a great book and totally worth the years I had to wait for it.
It was nice to see the deuces get their dues, even giving me a deuce that I hope we one day see again. Overall, a great book and totally worth the years I had to wait for it.
April 27, 2015
Although I liked this book, it wasn't as good as other Wild Cards I've read. "Father Henry's Little Miracle" was probably the best story, and best encompassed the Wild Cards feel. The other stories felt like stand-alone stories with quirks, rather than part of the series. "Four Days in October," about the Brooklyn Dodgers, was boring and only for those fans who still pine for the team. The final story, "With a Flourish and a Flare," was also a little boring.
The rest of the stories were fine, but none reach the heights of the other Wild Cards books that I've read (the first five), which have almost uniformly been excellent (Aces Abroad not quite as strong as the others). I had high expectations, partly because of my past experience with the series and partly because I thought stories about the deuces would be interesting, but this book unfortunately came up short.
The rest of the stories were fine, but none reach the heights of the other Wild Cards books that I've read (the first five), which have almost uniformly been excellent (Aces Abroad not quite as strong as the others). I had high expectations, partly because of my past experience with the series and partly because I thought stories about the deuces would be interesting, but this book unfortunately came up short.
February 21, 2013
A real curate's egg - good in parts. I enjoyed the tale of centaur doctor Bradley Finn's youth in Hollywood and the adventures of a stand-in priest for Father Squid, but too many of these stories were boring, predictable, formulaic or All three. The last tale, involving an utterly unmemorable deuce and Zatanna-lite Topper, was execrable. Still, it was nice to see the lesser powered members of the Wild Card universe get heir turn in the sun, and I always thought Puddleman's power would be good for something.
September 24, 2015
This was the first book I read in the Wild Cards universe. As it consists of a number of short stories only connected through the global events in the universe I didn't read it in one go but took breaks between the various stories which probably impacted my experience of it.
Some of the stories were better than others, but on average they were pretty good and allowed me to enjoy them without needing to read any of the other books. The universe itself is very interesting, and I'll probably check out some more of the in the future.
Some of the stories were better than others, but on average they were pretty good and allowed me to enjoy them without needing to read any of the other books. The universe itself is very interesting, and I'll probably check out some more of the in the future.
March 24, 2022
So, with the Wild Cards books being so expansive, it’s not uncommon for me to sometimes come across books in the series that i just don’t like. Sometimes it’s because of the cast, sometimes it’s the plot, it can be overstuffed at times and some of the novels are too long. This book did not feel like a Wild Cards book at all and I’ve never experienced that before. Even with a few returning characters such as Demise and Finn ; couldnt save these short stories and no they were not mosaic which felt really odd.
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