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Wild Card
When she finds a strange deck of tarot cards in her mother's closet, Mick McGee learns to use them to read minds and predict the future, but soon she discovers their power to control the future, and bizarre things begin happening to her enemies.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 4, 2023
I’m shocked this was published by Zebra. I associated them with schlocky gorefests, but this actually had heart and talent put into it. It feels more like a YA horror than a Zebra.
It reminded me most of Ginger Snaps since both explore high school girls coming of age with a corrupting supernatural element complicating things further. The beats are mostly predictable, but it’s the glue between them that really shines. The characters, both teen and adult, are written surprisingly well for a mass market horror novel and there are far more touching moments than I anticipated. Even the antagonists are fleshed out for the most part.
I imagine people wanting the quick trashy fun Zebra usually provides would probably be a bit disappointed by this, but I would absolutely recommend it.
It reminded me most of Ginger Snaps since both explore high school girls coming of age with a corrupting supernatural element complicating things further. The beats are mostly predictable, but it’s the glue between them that really shines. The characters, both teen and adult, are written surprisingly well for a mass market horror novel and there are far more touching moments than I anticipated. Even the antagonists are fleshed out for the most part.
I imagine people wanting the quick trashy fun Zebra usually provides would probably be a bit disappointed by this, but I would absolutely recommend it.
April 22, 2023
3.5 stars
I could get into a long diatribe regarding the (lack of) merits to most Zebra novels but I’ll leave it at this: they tend to suck, only being well known for their awesome covers and becoming increasingly more desirable due to Grady Hendrix’s Paperbacks from Hell.
The good news is that Simon’s Wild Card seems to buck the trend of lameness and ends up being a fairly decent and overall fun read. The characters feel mostly realistic, the setting and plot are both well crafted and the ending makes sense (as much as a novel about the perceived dangers of tarot cards can be). Unlike many books from Kensington, Wild Card eschews the schlock and terrible writing these books are know for, and follows a path similar to the young adult route, where the focus is on high school drama and not blood and guts.
Don’t get me wrong, I love myself a crappy horror novel (especially from Zebra), but every once in a while, a more restrained and moderately well written book like this is a simple palate cleanser.
Sure 3 and half stars seems kinda low for a book I ended up liking more than I thought I would, however, a 3 star zebra horror is basically a 4 star review for any other publisher.
I could get into a long diatribe regarding the (lack of) merits to most Zebra novels but I’ll leave it at this: they tend to suck, only being well known for their awesome covers and becoming increasingly more desirable due to Grady Hendrix’s Paperbacks from Hell.
The good news is that Simon’s Wild Card seems to buck the trend of lameness and ends up being a fairly decent and overall fun read. The characters feel mostly realistic, the setting and plot are both well crafted and the ending makes sense (as much as a novel about the perceived dangers of tarot cards can be). Unlike many books from Kensington, Wild Card eschews the schlock and terrible writing these books are know for, and follows a path similar to the young adult route, where the focus is on high school drama and not blood and guts.
Don’t get me wrong, I love myself a crappy horror novel (especially from Zebra), but every once in a while, a more restrained and moderately well written book like this is a simple palate cleanser.
Sure 3 and half stars seems kinda low for a book I ended up liking more than I thought I would, however, a 3 star zebra horror is basically a 4 star review for any other publisher.
August 1, 2021
First off, you're reading a Zebra novel. You know what you're getting into. Jean Simon is one of my favorite authors from the Zebra stable. The writing is professional (not always the case with this publisher), the story balance (no rush to finish the manuscript type feeling), and the characters are great. Fun story, too.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews