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Wild Cards #27
Knaves Over Queens
The entire history of the Wild Cards universe in the UK and Ireland, starting back in 1946 and going right up to the present day.
560 pages, Hardcover
First published June 18, 2018
92 people are currently reading
1075 people want to read
About the author
George R.R. Martin
1,510 books119k followersGeorge Raymond Richard "R.R." Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: The Hero, sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.
As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.
In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: The Hero, sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.
As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.
In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...
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October 23, 2025----------
"Mutant virus hits Britain" how topical!
My story The Visitor appears in this volume. You can read it here in company or by itself (for free on Amazon) and the followup story The Visitor: Kill or Cure is free on the Tor.com website.
I blogged on superheroes over on the Wildcards site.
https://www.wildcardsworld.com/how-ma...
& blogged about working with George RR Martin to produce my story for the collection. I'm very pleased with the result.
http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2...
George liked it too! https://youtu.be/Fa2aZVOGN08?t=22m20s
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
...
"Mutant virus hits Britain" how topical!
My story The Visitor appears in this volume. You can read it here in company or by itself (for free on Amazon) and the followup story The Visitor: Kill or Cure is free on the Tor.com website.
I blogged on superheroes over on the Wildcards site.
https://www.wildcardsworld.com/how-ma...
& blogged about working with George RR Martin to produce my story for the collection. I'm very pleased with the result.
http://mark---lawrence.blogspot.com/2...
George liked it too! https://youtu.be/Fa2aZVOGN08?t=22m20s
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
...
August 26, 2019
I discovered this series about the same time I began reading A Song of Ice and Fire, and found this different world just as inviting. The mixture of past events in a world of aces and jokers was too much to resist.
“Knaves Over Queens,” originally released in 2018, is the story of England and their experiences with the virus that can produce good and bad results in people. I might have been hoping for more with this book and like the virus, I found a mixture of positives and negatives.
First off, the actual writing by the various authors is very good, although some of the characters are a bit hollow. Perhaps it is due to the many previously published books and the idea that aces will do good things and be heroes which caused this dissatisfaction. Little wonder, then, that the quirkier characters were my favorites.
The book is a collection of stories that take place over seven decades, which causes the British storyline to lose some cohesion. While there is some minimal interaction between characters, the only time definite continuation occurs is when a few of the authors contribute more than one story, and they pick up the trail of their characters years later. Some of these characters were not my favorites, especially one series which features a female who identifies as a Celtic goddess.
There are also many imaginative stories, such as Emma Newman’s “How to Turn a Girl to Stone” and “Night Orders by Paul Cornell. There are a few stories with references to famous musicians, and Mr. Cornell’s David Bowie appearance is fun as well as creative (without spoiling, Bowie takes some advice and performs an about-face with his musical direction, a positive step though different from our reality). My favorite story: “The Visitor,” by Mark Lawrence, who creates a most unlikely hero in perhaps what is the most creative story in the book.
Bottom line: While this may not be the best book in the Wild Card universe, it has appeal and contains a few gems. Four stars.
“Knaves Over Queens,” originally released in 2018, is the story of England and their experiences with the virus that can produce good and bad results in people. I might have been hoping for more with this book and like the virus, I found a mixture of positives and negatives.
First off, the actual writing by the various authors is very good, although some of the characters are a bit hollow. Perhaps it is due to the many previously published books and the idea that aces will do good things and be heroes which caused this dissatisfaction. Little wonder, then, that the quirkier characters were my favorites.
The book is a collection of stories that take place over seven decades, which causes the British storyline to lose some cohesion. While there is some minimal interaction between characters, the only time definite continuation occurs is when a few of the authors contribute more than one story, and they pick up the trail of their characters years later. Some of these characters were not my favorites, especially one series which features a female who identifies as a Celtic goddess.
There are also many imaginative stories, such as Emma Newman’s “How to Turn a Girl to Stone” and “Night Orders by Paul Cornell. There are a few stories with references to famous musicians, and Mr. Cornell’s David Bowie appearance is fun as well as creative (without spoiling, Bowie takes some advice and performs an about-face with his musical direction, a positive step though different from our reality). My favorite story: “The Visitor,” by Mark Lawrence, who creates a most unlikely hero in perhaps what is the most creative story in the book.
Bottom line: While this may not be the best book in the Wild Card universe, it has appeal and contains a few gems. Four stars.
August 21, 2019
England gets the full Wild Cards treatment, incorporating actual historical events and people, from "Wild Card Day" in 1952 through 2017.
------------------------------------
A Flint Lies in the Mud
A military officer-made-living-flint saves hundreds of lives during the Great Smog of London (a real event which killed thousands over the course of four days in 1952). Along with Enigma (Alan effing Turing for the win) and Lookout (a far-seeing telescoping ace), Captain Flint establishes an ace-staffed ministry to oversee wild card affairs and security.
This story expertly sets the stage for everything that follows in terms of the alternate history of the UK. I loved the interweaving of real events and people with wild card mythology.
------------------------------------
The Coming of the Crow
Introduces Badb, a sociopathic goddess-ace who controls crows and feeds on the deaths of "heroes", people who believe fervently in some cause greater than their own lives. (Note: Badb is pronounced 'Bahv'. I googled it. Another note: "Badb Sidhe" is the root of "banshee", which fits the character to a tee.)
Badb is set up as an heir to the Astronomer. She appears periodically throughout the book, repeatedly infiltrating and sabotaging the Northern Ireland peace process (perpetual war is necessary for harvesting the blood of heroes). She's a solid long-term villain in a fascinating setting.
------------------------------------
Needles and Pins (The Seamstress)
An aspiring fashion designer finds herself enslaved by mobsters when the Kray twins discover her ace for creating indestructible clothing.
A refreshingly low-stakes segment with fun cameos by Mick Jagger (as a smug, lecherous werewolf) and real life gangsters and clubs.
------------------------------------
Night Orders
A Le Carré-an Cold War thriller, in which
Night Orders barely qualifies as a Wild Card story, it's predominantly a political alternate history that fills an important gap in the timeline.
------------------------------------
Police On My Back
A naive, newly turned, earth-controlling joker-ace accidentally gets absorbed into a gangster's organization and finds himself caught between sadistic criminals and uncaring cops.
A portrait of destructive police attitudes toward minority communities.
------------------------------------
Probationary
The Falklands War through the eyes of an untested military ace (Archimedes) who fires off long-range narrow-focus EMP blasts.
One of my favorite stories in this volume. A riveting ground-level view of real-life historical battles (I spent a lot of time running to Wikipedia for details and comparisons) and a smart look at how someone might learn to use a narrow superpower in the real world.
------------------------------------
Twisted Logic (The Green Man)
When a mid-level public servant is transformed into living wood, Winston Churchill himself recruits him to infiltrate the Twisted Fists, a violent jokers' rights terrorist organization. He leaves his family and spends ten years climbing the organizational ladder .
An excellent world-builder.
------------------------------------
The Ceremony of Innocence
The origin story of Double Helix, an intersex ace who transforms into hyper-alluring male and female forms, both of whom can teleport. He's recruited against his will by Captain Flint into MI7, the Order of the Silver Helix, and trained in every skill ever.
A worthy backstory to one of the best characters in the Wild Cards universe.
------------------------------------
How to Turn a Girl to Stone (Stonemaiden)
A 14yo girl with a cursed ace is bullied, cajoled, and deceived by her greedy, fearful parents into murdering trusting animals for profit.
One of my two favorites. Heartbreakingly satisfying in its grimdarkness.
------------------------------------
The Visitor
A lifelong invalid suddenly finds herself with the ability to commandeer the bodies of people who've come into contact with her. She uses this gift compassionately and responsibly, until a thug moves into the group home and begins to hurt people.
My other favorite. In all but stature, Angela is the kind of tragic, John Coffey-esque gentle giant character for which I have a huge soft spot. Made me want to crawl into the book to help, to comfort, to do SOMETHING to make things right.
------------------------------------
------------------------------------
A Flint Lies in the Mud
A military officer-made-living-flint saves hundreds of lives during the Great Smog of London (a real event which killed thousands over the course of four days in 1952). Along with Enigma (Alan effing Turing for the win) and Lookout (a far-seeing telescoping ace), Captain Flint establishes an ace-staffed ministry to oversee wild card affairs and security.
This story expertly sets the stage for everything that follows in terms of the alternate history of the UK. I loved the interweaving of real events and people with wild card mythology.
------------------------------------
The Coming of the Crow
Introduces Badb, a sociopathic goddess-ace who controls crows and feeds on the deaths of "heroes", people who believe fervently in some cause greater than their own lives. (Note: Badb is pronounced 'Bahv'. I googled it. Another note: "Badb Sidhe" is the root of "banshee", which fits the character to a tee.)
Badb is set up as an heir to the Astronomer. She appears periodically throughout the book, repeatedly infiltrating and sabotaging the Northern Ireland peace process (perpetual war is necessary for harvesting the blood of heroes). She's a solid long-term villain in a fascinating setting.
------------------------------------
Needles and Pins (The Seamstress)
An aspiring fashion designer finds herself enslaved by mobsters when the Kray twins discover her ace for creating indestructible clothing.
A refreshingly low-stakes segment with fun cameos by Mick Jagger (as a smug, lecherous werewolf) and real life gangsters and clubs.
------------------------------------
Night Orders
A Le Carré-an Cold War thriller, in which
Night Orders barely qualifies as a Wild Card story, it's predominantly a political alternate history that fills an important gap in the timeline.
------------------------------------
Police On My Back
A naive, newly turned, earth-controlling joker-ace accidentally gets absorbed into a gangster's organization and finds himself caught between sadistic criminals and uncaring cops.
A portrait of destructive police attitudes toward minority communities.
------------------------------------
Probationary
The Falklands War through the eyes of an untested military ace (Archimedes) who fires off long-range narrow-focus EMP blasts.
One of my favorite stories in this volume. A riveting ground-level view of real-life historical battles (I spent a lot of time running to Wikipedia for details and comparisons) and a smart look at how someone might learn to use a narrow superpower in the real world.
------------------------------------
Twisted Logic (The Green Man)
When a mid-level public servant is transformed into living wood, Winston Churchill himself recruits him to infiltrate the Twisted Fists, a violent jokers' rights terrorist organization. He leaves his family and spends ten years climbing the organizational ladder .
An excellent world-builder.
------------------------------------
The Ceremony of Innocence
The origin story of Double Helix, an intersex ace who transforms into hyper-alluring male and female forms, both of whom can teleport. He's recruited against his will by Captain Flint into MI7, the Order of the Silver Helix, and trained in every skill ever.
A worthy backstory to one of the best characters in the Wild Cards universe.
------------------------------------
How to Turn a Girl to Stone (Stonemaiden)
A 14yo girl with a cursed ace is bullied, cajoled, and deceived by her greedy, fearful parents into murdering trusting animals for profit.
One of my two favorites. Heartbreakingly satisfying in its grimdarkness.
------------------------------------
The Visitor
A lifelong invalid suddenly finds herself with the ability to commandeer the bodies of people who've come into contact with her. She uses this gift compassionately and responsibly, until a thug moves into the group home and begins to hurt people.
My other favorite. In all but stature, Angela is the kind of tragic, John Coffey-esque gentle giant character for which I have a huge soft spot. Made me want to crawl into the book to help, to comfort, to do SOMETHING to make things right.
------------------------------------
August 1, 2020
When I ordered this from the library, I had no idea that it was part of a much longer series. However, it's part of a series of short stories, so you can absolutely read this as a stand-alone book & enjoy it. A fascinating world for authors to play in. A virus has struck earth (awkward, I know)...and it tends to either kill the infected or give them a random mutation. Some are monstrous, some are more like super powers. I loved this & am going to seek out the other books in this series.
August 4, 2019
A kind of hit-and-miss collection of Wild Cards stories set in the U.K. (Sometimes not so U., actually.) I didn't really enjoy it as much as most of the previous volumes; it didn't have the same connections between characters and stories that made the original books so enjoyable for me, nor the linkage of historical extrapolation that have been prevalent in the more recent Tor volumes. There were some good origin-style stories, such as Kevin Andrew Murphy's Flint and Peter Newman's excellent Twisted Logic, but several of the entries struck me as okay stories that lacked a Wild Cards feel, such as the Mark Lawrence, Emma Newman, and Peadar O Guilin entries. I thought the Stross was okay but got nothing from the Cornell. I enjoyed the Caroline Spector story, the Markos Kloos was okay, and my favorite was Melinda Snodgrass telling of the early days of her popular schizo hero Noel/Noelle/& friends. It's not a bad book, but didn't fit my idea of Takisian chronology.
July 17, 2018
The best way for me to describe the experience of reading this collection was with this anecdote. During an outing for a meal with colleagues and friends. Whilst ordering our desserts we couldn’t decide what we wanted. So we pretty much ordered many different cakes. We kept passing the different cakes around where each person cut a piece, after that they would pass it along to the next. We called it the cake roulette.
This is what reading Knaves over Queens brought to mind. Each short story and novella had its own flavour, was for its own reasons exciting and added to that the various cameos of characters from one story to another made them fun to look forward to. The characters were interesting enough to keep my attention as well as made me empathise with them on some level. I also liked that there was an element of progression all throughout. The historical elements added that extra bit of authenticity and gritty reality. From the second world war and Churchill, Turing, to the Cray twins, Thatcher and the Falklands war, the troubles and the more recent Brexit.
Peter Noble’s superb narration matched the gritty tone throughout. He made all the characters distinct to the point where I could tell who was who without hearing having to hear their names.
This was a solid 4 stars for me.
And in case you are wondering, as far as continuity goes, you don’t have to start from the first book to enjoy and fully appreciate this one.
This is what reading Knaves over Queens brought to mind. Each short story and novella had its own flavour, was for its own reasons exciting and added to that the various cameos of characters from one story to another made them fun to look forward to. The characters were interesting enough to keep my attention as well as made me empathise with them on some level. I also liked that there was an element of progression all throughout. The historical elements added that extra bit of authenticity and gritty reality. From the second world war and Churchill, Turing, to the Cray twins, Thatcher and the Falklands war, the troubles and the more recent Brexit.
Peter Noble’s superb narration matched the gritty tone throughout. He made all the characters distinct to the point where I could tell who was who without hearing having to hear their names.
This was a solid 4 stars for me.
And in case you are wondering, as far as continuity goes, you don’t have to start from the first book to enjoy and fully appreciate this one.
October 27, 2021
A library book, and apparently the 26th book in a shared universe series that I hadn't previously heard about. Shared world anthologies can be tricky, the author has to know the canon, and understand the arc of the collection. The first thing that struck me about this anthology was how similar the stories and characters are to those in the 'Temps' shared universe books from the 1990s. I loved Temps.
The concept of the series is that Earth has been attacked by an alien species, in a viral attack on the U.S.A during WWII. This anthology is the first one to be set in the U.K, and follows a timeline from the initial attack in the mid 1940s, to 'today' (2018). The virus can lay dormant, or attack immediately. It changes people. Most die, usually horribly. Some find themselves changed in a way that is usually inconvenient or disfiguring. A few find themselves with superpowers, and these are the 'Aces' at the heart of each story.
The majority of the stories are linked to the MI7 government department, the Silver Helix, which recruits and manages Aces that may be of value to the state. Winston Churchill, Alan Turing, Margaret Thatcher, the Krays and Mick Jagger all make an appearance, and I (naturally) was quite tickled by Jagger's turn as a randy werewolf.
I enjoyed Charlie Stross's story a lot, the Mole is a sympathetic character and he finds himself in a bit of a pickle when he flees the Brummie police and ends up in the not so fond embrace of gangland London. Emma Newman's 'How to turn a girl to stone' is heartbreaking and would stand up well outside the anthology as a great horror story. 'The Visitor' by Mark Lawrence leaves war and statecraft behind, and takes us inside an underfunded care home to meet a girl who has been a patient there for a long time, at the moment that she finds her powers and realises that she can change the world. It's a lovely story and one that will stay with me.
I'll look out for more Wild Card anthologies, now that I know they're out there.
The concept of the series is that Earth has been attacked by an alien species, in a viral attack on the U.S.A during WWII. This anthology is the first one to be set in the U.K, and follows a timeline from the initial attack in the mid 1940s, to 'today' (2018). The virus can lay dormant, or attack immediately. It changes people. Most die, usually horribly. Some find themselves changed in a way that is usually inconvenient or disfiguring. A few find themselves with superpowers, and these are the 'Aces' at the heart of each story.
The majority of the stories are linked to the MI7 government department, the Silver Helix, which recruits and manages Aces that may be of value to the state. Winston Churchill, Alan Turing, Margaret Thatcher, the Krays and Mick Jagger all make an appearance, and I (naturally) was quite tickled by Jagger's turn as a randy werewolf.
I enjoyed Charlie Stross's story a lot, the Mole is a sympathetic character and he finds himself in a bit of a pickle when he flees the Brummie police and ends up in the not so fond embrace of gangland London. Emma Newman's 'How to turn a girl to stone' is heartbreaking and would stand up well outside the anthology as a great horror story. 'The Visitor' by Mark Lawrence leaves war and statecraft behind, and takes us inside an underfunded care home to meet a girl who has been a patient there for a long time, at the moment that she finds her powers and realises that she can change the world. It's a lovely story and one that will stay with me.
I'll look out for more Wild Card anthologies, now that I know they're out there.
August 20, 2018
Terrific addition to the Wild Cards world, with a talented authorial lineup firing on all cylinders. Spanning the years from Wild Card day to the present, mimicking the form of the first Wild Cards book, but with a British bent on the history, this ensemble effort really doesn't have a weak entry. Strongly recommended.
January 11, 2021
This book took me 2 years to finish. In between, I read a bunch of other books and kept putting it down. It's a great book! I just kept reading parts instead of finishing it. Well. I finally sat down and finished it and they saved the best for last. The last two stories, How to Turn a Girl to Stone by Emma Newman and The Visitor by Mark Lawrence, are so incredible, they turn this book into 5 stars. None of the stories are bad, but after an amazing start, the book slightly bogs down in the middle. Hence me setting it down for 2 years. But wow. These two stories are so great it makes me wish I'd just pushed past and finished it.
October 8, 2018
My favourite all time series.
Best bits - Origin stories for Captain Flint and Double Helix. The latter is a terrific character - Melinda Snodgrass is an underrated writer IMO.
The 'villain' characters - The Green Man and Badb are three dimensional and the stories were excellent.
Stonemaiden and The Visitor had very similar structured stories and were both about teenage girls - both terrific nonetheless.
My favourite story was the one about Jenny Three-Arms and the Mole. There needs to be more stories with co-protagonist male and female characters.
Average bit - The Seamstress story was trademark Wild Cards, chock full of cameos and evoked the period of time well but the story wasn't anything special.
Below average bits - Archimedes (not really sure why he is called that) had some very good, and presumably accurate, research into the Falklands War but the plot felt a little dry.
The other story evoked the feel of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy well but the lead character is entirely forgettable and I'm not sure that the plot made sense.
Best bits - Origin stories for Captain Flint and Double Helix. The latter is a terrific character - Melinda Snodgrass is an underrated writer IMO.
The 'villain' characters - The Green Man and Badb are three dimensional and the stories were excellent.
Stonemaiden and The Visitor had very similar structured stories and were both about teenage girls - both terrific nonetheless.
My favourite story was the one about Jenny Three-Arms and the Mole. There needs to be more stories with co-protagonist male and female characters.
Average bit - The Seamstress story was trademark Wild Cards, chock full of cameos and evoked the period of time well but the story wasn't anything special.
Below average bits - Archimedes (not really sure why he is called that) had some very good, and presumably accurate, research into the Falklands War but the plot felt a little dry.
The other story evoked the feel of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy well but the lead character is entirely forgettable and I'm not sure that the plot made sense.
August 5, 2019
This book haunted my dreams. As ever with an anthology or mosaic novel, some parts are stronger than others, but overall it was a rich and fascinating world. I do hope that the plight of Great Britain's Aces, Knaves and Jokers is revisited by this series. Bought on a whim and adored.
September 5, 2018
I love the premise of this, superheroes and a mysterious virus against the backdrop of key historical events. I enjoyed basically all of the stories, especially the submissions by Emma Newman and Peter Newman. Only problem is that I would love to read more about a lot of the main characters. Towards the end of the book, it seemed like everything was building to a big event where a lot of the characters would interact, but then that never happened so it felt a bit anticlimactic. I didn't feel there was resolution for some of the plotlines either, the Twisted Fists and Northern Ireland especially. Hopefully they'll release another anthology at some point because I'm definitely not done wanting to know about this world.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 1, 2019
I read a couple of negative reviews about this volume of Wild Cards. #26. Wow. Honestly, I don't get it. Yes, there are always some stories throughout the series that aren't great, a very few that are inconsistent (editorial wise), but...I read this as a further fleshing out of the WC world and enjoyed the read. I finished it over a weekend, and glad I got the chance (it was released in the US months after its UK release).
A new WC book is coming in December. Already ordered.
A new WC book is coming in December. Already ordered.
August 12, 2018
An excellent addition to the Wild Cards canon, albeit one as downbeat and brutal as anything in the second or third story arcs. This time we're looking in on decades of altered history from the (not terribly) United Kingdom, and filling in some gaps in the history that have only been mentioned in passing previously. Great stuff.
June 8, 2023
I am often drawn to all things British - music, television programs, accents. Combine that with super-hero stories, and that gives me an irresistible combination.
Unlike the last few entries of the series, this one sticks mostly to complete tales told with no interweaving of parts of other stories. I liked that. It really allowed me to focus on specific characters and get a good feel for them with minimal interruption.
This collection starts out very solidly. The pair of stories starring Captain Flint and the creation of Order of the Silver Helix created a strong foundation upon which to build. "Needles and Pins", set in the mod-60's era, was also highly enjoyable with the introduction of a character with a rather unique ace-ability. There are also stories that would fall into the espionage/spy and military genres; not being a big fan of either those stories did not hit as well for me. The multi-part "Twisted Logic" (a story thread through the back half of the collection) gives a tragic take with the Green Man ending up becoming something he never wanted to be.
All in all, I enjoyed this outing of the series.
Unlike the last few entries of the series, this one sticks mostly to complete tales told with no interweaving of parts of other stories. I liked that. It really allowed me to focus on specific characters and get a good feel for them with minimal interruption.
This collection starts out very solidly. The pair of stories starring Captain Flint and the creation of Order of the Silver Helix created a strong foundation upon which to build. "Needles and Pins", set in the mod-60's era, was also highly enjoyable with the introduction of a character with a rather unique ace-ability. There are also stories that would fall into the espionage/spy and military genres; not being a big fan of either those stories did not hit as well for me. The multi-part "Twisted Logic" (a story thread through the back half of the collection) gives a tragic take with the Green Man ending up becoming something he never wanted to be.
All in all, I enjoyed this outing of the series.
July 4, 2019
Knaves Over Queens (Wild Cards, #26)
by George R.R. Martin
A Flint lies in the Mud, But a flint holds fire by Kevin Andrew Murphy
The samples given by Harper Collins gives you a different impression of this story, Kevin Andrew Murphy is able to connect both sides of the pond into the World of Wild Cards. we know you are a great author but sitting here amazed and trying to get my heart rate under control. I love the new characters and how the idea of the British invasion of the Wild Cards is so connected to history. The reader will wonder why i have to control my heart rate, this intro is so exciting for the series, you just need to know what is happening next. Great new characters, great new stories, and love the Wild Card abilities, and Joker scenarios that are set up. It’s going to be a long wait for August 2019….How do you survive being buried alive, what pushes you to continue when the air is suffocating from your lungs. As always Kevin Andrew Murphy knows how to make a dramatic entry. This and the saying he adds to this story make you wonder what next will be fall the hero in the making Flint. His central character Captain Flint is one of those people first affected by the Wild Cards out break in 1946. What advantages he has is also his curse. He is made of flint with an internal power based on the fire with in. He is very understandable character, he wants to save those affected and help them survive the not only the outbreak but the return to England. Its the humanistic character of this Joker character that sets up the series.
The coming of the crow, The cracks in the city, and Feeding on the entrails by Peadar O Guilin
The coming of the Crow is Peadar's entrance to the World of Wild Cards. The growing acclaim of a new author added to the series with the passing of the torch to England. Paedar knows the flow of a Wild Card story and how to make the reader drink the addictive story line. You need to see more then the sample on Harper Collins web page. The idea of a new turn of the cards, with new powers has as an intriguing tease toward the book. He makes a compelling character that has a different affliction of the Wild Cards virus, that may change our interpretation of the events that will happen later. He makes an amazing character that will draw in new readers. I hope to read more of his works in the future.
Needles and Pins, by Caroline Spector
The newest amazing ability to the Wild Card world. A young girl who can change the world just by constructing clothing. She is able create clothing that is bullet proof, even fire proof. She is seduced by a man who uses her ability to make him more influential. It is Constance and her ability that come out on top of the situation. An interesting modern look at how we look technological development in the World of Wild Cards.
Night Orders by Paul Cornell
The affects of the wild Card virus on the politics and policies of England starts a new political avenue, the Silver Helix a modern day secret organization that uses and exploits the the talents of jokers and aces to help defend the land. Charlie becomes the first in a long line of men taking up the job of protecting Queen and country.
Police on My back by Charles Stross
Many people in the history of Wild Cards have used the ability and capabilities of the victims for self gain. Allen's first visit to London changes his life remarkably, his afflictions give him a remarkably intriguing set of skills that would be useful for the criminal mind.
Probationary By Marko Kloos
Looking at the battle of the Falkland Islands, in a remarkably interesting way. The virus has changed the strategic reality of warfare and conflict. Rory's ability may be the one thing that will help the British retain their dwelling influence on the world. What an interesting twist of the capabilities of individual ace and joker.
Twisted Logic by Peter Newman
Crime and wild cards go hand in hand, the idea that we can use and exploit the virus victims can change the world of historic England. Peter Newman in Twisted logic looks into the idea that the virus gives criminals a new avenue of exploitation as those who draw a joker are exploited and terrorized by criminal organizations to greater and more detrimental crimes for their benefit. This story looks a the similarity of crime in the world even on both sides of the pond.
The ceremony of innocence by Lumina Enterprises (Melinda Snodgrass)
The backstory of a beloved character. How did Noel become involved with the British intelligence. How was he able to learn his masterful skills, and what prompted him to support Queen and country. This story gives us that much needed backstory, filling in the motivation and abilities of dearly loved character.
How to turn a girl to stone by Emma Newman
An intriguing twist to the wild cards virus, a child is cursed with turn of the cards has been secluded forced to live only on her parents farm, with visits to her uncle. It sets up for her to be exploited, in a sadistic twist she is betrayed by those who she depends most on. A great backstory to a new character that will add to the history and memory of the Wild Cards series. I would like to see how she recovers from this adventure, and moves on in her life.
The visitor by Mark Lawrence
This story is a stint in another direction. Disabilities and in abilities haunt people everyday. and it looks like England is not far behind in the care and maintenance of these most vulnerable of citizens. A young girl has spent her life in a deteriorating state, loosing more and more of her ability for save care. Her exposure to the wild card virus, may give her freedom she would never have possible in her condition. The story also shows the vulnerability of those disabled patrons as a gang exploits the care of these vulnerable persons for their own gain. It is her ability that saves and protects those closest to her, and changes her world for the better.
by George R.R. Martin
A Flint lies in the Mud, But a flint holds fire by Kevin Andrew Murphy
The samples given by Harper Collins gives you a different impression of this story, Kevin Andrew Murphy is able to connect both sides of the pond into the World of Wild Cards. we know you are a great author but sitting here amazed and trying to get my heart rate under control. I love the new characters and how the idea of the British invasion of the Wild Cards is so connected to history. The reader will wonder why i have to control my heart rate, this intro is so exciting for the series, you just need to know what is happening next. Great new characters, great new stories, and love the Wild Card abilities, and Joker scenarios that are set up. It’s going to be a long wait for August 2019….How do you survive being buried alive, what pushes you to continue when the air is suffocating from your lungs. As always Kevin Andrew Murphy knows how to make a dramatic entry. This and the saying he adds to this story make you wonder what next will be fall the hero in the making Flint. His central character Captain Flint is one of those people first affected by the Wild Cards out break in 1946. What advantages he has is also his curse. He is made of flint with an internal power based on the fire with in. He is very understandable character, he wants to save those affected and help them survive the not only the outbreak but the return to England. Its the humanistic character of this Joker character that sets up the series.
The coming of the crow, The cracks in the city, and Feeding on the entrails by Peadar O Guilin
The coming of the Crow is Peadar's entrance to the World of Wild Cards. The growing acclaim of a new author added to the series with the passing of the torch to England. Paedar knows the flow of a Wild Card story and how to make the reader drink the addictive story line. You need to see more then the sample on Harper Collins web page. The idea of a new turn of the cards, with new powers has as an intriguing tease toward the book. He makes a compelling character that has a different affliction of the Wild Cards virus, that may change our interpretation of the events that will happen later. He makes an amazing character that will draw in new readers. I hope to read more of his works in the future.
Needles and Pins, by Caroline Spector
The newest amazing ability to the Wild Card world. A young girl who can change the world just by constructing clothing. She is able create clothing that is bullet proof, even fire proof. She is seduced by a man who uses her ability to make him more influential. It is Constance and her ability that come out on top of the situation. An interesting modern look at how we look technological development in the World of Wild Cards.
Night Orders by Paul Cornell
The affects of the wild Card virus on the politics and policies of England starts a new political avenue, the Silver Helix a modern day secret organization that uses and exploits the the talents of jokers and aces to help defend the land. Charlie becomes the first in a long line of men taking up the job of protecting Queen and country.
Police on My back by Charles Stross
Many people in the history of Wild Cards have used the ability and capabilities of the victims for self gain. Allen's first visit to London changes his life remarkably, his afflictions give him a remarkably intriguing set of skills that would be useful for the criminal mind.
Probationary By Marko Kloos
Looking at the battle of the Falkland Islands, in a remarkably interesting way. The virus has changed the strategic reality of warfare and conflict. Rory's ability may be the one thing that will help the British retain their dwelling influence on the world. What an interesting twist of the capabilities of individual ace and joker.
Twisted Logic by Peter Newman
Crime and wild cards go hand in hand, the idea that we can use and exploit the virus victims can change the world of historic England. Peter Newman in Twisted logic looks into the idea that the virus gives criminals a new avenue of exploitation as those who draw a joker are exploited and terrorized by criminal organizations to greater and more detrimental crimes for their benefit. This story looks a the similarity of crime in the world even on both sides of the pond.
The ceremony of innocence by Lumina Enterprises (Melinda Snodgrass)
The backstory of a beloved character. How did Noel become involved with the British intelligence. How was he able to learn his masterful skills, and what prompted him to support Queen and country. This story gives us that much needed backstory, filling in the motivation and abilities of dearly loved character.
How to turn a girl to stone by Emma Newman
An intriguing twist to the wild cards virus, a child is cursed with turn of the cards has been secluded forced to live only on her parents farm, with visits to her uncle. It sets up for her to be exploited, in a sadistic twist she is betrayed by those who she depends most on. A great backstory to a new character that will add to the history and memory of the Wild Cards series. I would like to see how she recovers from this adventure, and moves on in her life.
The visitor by Mark Lawrence
This story is a stint in another direction. Disabilities and in abilities haunt people everyday. and it looks like England is not far behind in the care and maintenance of these most vulnerable of citizens. A young girl has spent her life in a deteriorating state, loosing more and more of her ability for save care. Her exposure to the wild card virus, may give her freedom she would never have possible in her condition. The story also shows the vulnerability of those disabled patrons as a gang exploits the care of these vulnerable persons for their own gain. It is her ability that saves and protects those closest to her, and changes her world for the better.
October 6, 2019
It's no secret that I love the Wild Cards series-Knaves over Queens is the 26th entry and it is enjoyable, though I felt things slowed down a little in the middle. I think part of the problem stemmed from the fact that there seemed to be less editorial control-some of these stories really did not mesh together well at all, and the resultant disjointed reading experience really jangled my nerves. It was interesting to see how the Wild Card affected Great Britain, and this novel is really a crash course in alternative history from post WWII to the present day. A lot of characters we have seen in passing get a lot more "screen time" and that was welcome. This series is currently being developed for television and I look forward to watching what will be made of it.
February 18, 2022
Muy inconsistente para mí. Algunas de las historias están bastante bien otras son un dolor. La del jodido soldado era para dejar el libro. La premisa de los pdoeres se parece a las frutas del diablo de One Piece, pero no consqigue el efecto de usar poderes muy aleatorios de formas imaginativas que yo esperaba. Tampoco los usan demasiado en realidad. Me ha dejado un poco frío. Quería leer uno porque GRRM, pero no creo que lea más.
September 28, 2019
A good read. I enjoyed it far more than his game of thrones novels.
December 2, 2019
Absolutely brilliant
I have been reading this series since the late 1980's and have seen it produce some breathtaking stories and a few not so. I have never encountered a series this far along that managed to reinvigorate itself so gloriously. This, despite being mostly tales that broke my heart.
You needn't have read the previous books, but you most likely will want to after reading this. If, like myself you're a native, this will rekindle the wonder you found in the first volume.
I have been reading this series since the late 1980's and have seen it produce some breathtaking stories and a few not so. I have never encountered a series this far along that managed to reinvigorate itself so gloriously. This, despite being mostly tales that broke my heart.
You needn't have read the previous books, but you most likely will want to after reading this. If, like myself you're a native, this will rekindle the wonder you found in the first volume.
May 13, 2022
Another engrossing dip into the world of the WILD CARDS. Following up on the American trilogy we begin a duology set in Great Britain.
We get the origins of the Wild Card virus hitting the shores of the UK with the origin of Captain Flint (A literal captain made of literal stone) in A FLINT LINES IN THE MUD and BUT A FLINT HOLDS FIRE. One complaint: I really wish we'd gotten to know more about Flint's boat mates who pulled the card. A white hunter who pulled an Ace, but we don't know what and his Indian wife who get a Joker and becomes a living Elephant woman.
We are then introduced to the psychotic ace known as Badb. A crow-controlling woman who rejuvenates herself by the sacrifice of heroes and has been egging on the violence in Ireland through the course of the book. THE COMING OF THE CROW, THE CRACKS IN THE CITY and FEEDING ON THE ENTRAILS.
We see the rise of the Silver Helix (The UK's wild cards organization) created by Flint, Queen Margaret (not Elizabeth. Following Wild Cards habit of changing standard Earth history), and ACE versions of Churchill and Alan Turing.
As the book jumps through time we go from post WWII era to the 60's to more modern times.
in NEEDLES AND PINS, a young ace with the ability to make indestructible clothes has to deal with gangster, Feminism and Mick Jagger.
NIGHT ORDERS puts us in a "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"-era spy story as one man (Never identified as Nat, Ace or Joker) navigates a strange home invasion turned murder and the consequences it has on British government.
POLICE ON MY BACK takes us into the life of a joker, albeit one with Ace like powers and how the Wild Cards being to integrate into the British worlds of law and crime.
PROBATIONARY shows us the agents of Silver Helix in the Falklands war. The desire for glory and to feel useful balanced against the old adage "War is Hell".
TWISTED LOGIC takes us into the life of The Green Man. A speechwriter who pulls a joker and before he has time to adapt is sent in head first by Churchill to infiltrate the Twisted Fists. A world wide terrorist group fighting for Joker rights. Through a series of four individual chapters broken up between 2 and 3, we see how this man struggles to keep his head above water as he walks a very fine line.
THE CEREMONY OF INNOCENCE gives us an origin for long time character (going back to the WILD CARDS relaunch during the "American Hero" trilogy): Noel Matthews. Ace, Spy, gender-fluid hermaphrodite, Silver Helix agent.
HOW TO TURN A GIRL TO STONE is a look at how even Aces don't always have the upper hand in life. A young girl living on the farm, cursed with a terrible partner and parents who hide her secret. This story probably surprised me the most and ends in a truly horrific way that truly paints the young woman as desperate.
THE VISITOR gives us a look at a different kind of ace in a British care facility. While not awful this one ran a bit long for my tastes.
Another WILD CARDS novel that I enjoyed. I do enjoy the ones that cover a great amount of time or different lands to give us a taste of WILD CARDS outside of their normal venue: New York City. Not the best book in this ever-expanding series, but solid and entertaining none the less.
We get the origins of the Wild Card virus hitting the shores of the UK with the origin of Captain Flint (A literal captain made of literal stone) in A FLINT LINES IN THE MUD and BUT A FLINT HOLDS FIRE. One complaint: I really wish we'd gotten to know more about Flint's boat mates who pulled the card. A white hunter who pulled an Ace, but we don't know what and his Indian wife who get a Joker and becomes a living Elephant woman.
We are then introduced to the psychotic ace known as Badb. A crow-controlling woman who rejuvenates herself by the sacrifice of heroes and has been egging on the violence in Ireland through the course of the book. THE COMING OF THE CROW, THE CRACKS IN THE CITY and FEEDING ON THE ENTRAILS.
We see the rise of the Silver Helix (The UK's wild cards organization) created by Flint, Queen Margaret (not Elizabeth. Following Wild Cards habit of changing standard Earth history), and ACE versions of Churchill and Alan Turing.
As the book jumps through time we go from post WWII era to the 60's to more modern times.
in NEEDLES AND PINS, a young ace with the ability to make indestructible clothes has to deal with gangster, Feminism and Mick Jagger.
NIGHT ORDERS puts us in a "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"-era spy story as one man (Never identified as Nat, Ace or Joker) navigates a strange home invasion turned murder and the consequences it has on British government.
POLICE ON MY BACK takes us into the life of a joker, albeit one with Ace like powers and how the Wild Cards being to integrate into the British worlds of law and crime.
PROBATIONARY shows us the agents of Silver Helix in the Falklands war. The desire for glory and to feel useful balanced against the old adage "War is Hell".
TWISTED LOGIC takes us into the life of The Green Man. A speechwriter who pulls a joker and before he has time to adapt is sent in head first by Churchill to infiltrate the Twisted Fists. A world wide terrorist group fighting for Joker rights. Through a series of four individual chapters broken up between 2 and 3, we see how this man struggles to keep his head above water as he walks a very fine line.
THE CEREMONY OF INNOCENCE gives us an origin for long time character (going back to the WILD CARDS relaunch during the "American Hero" trilogy): Noel Matthews. Ace, Spy, gender-fluid hermaphrodite, Silver Helix agent.
HOW TO TURN A GIRL TO STONE is a look at how even Aces don't always have the upper hand in life. A young girl living on the farm, cursed with a terrible partner and parents who hide her secret. This story probably surprised me the most and ends in a truly horrific way that truly paints the young woman as desperate.
THE VISITOR gives us a look at a different kind of ace in a British care facility. While not awful this one ran a bit long for my tastes.
Another WILD CARDS novel that I enjoyed. I do enjoy the ones that cover a great amount of time or different lands to give us a taste of WILD CARDS outside of their normal venue: New York City. Not the best book in this ever-expanding series, but solid and entertaining none the less.
March 8, 2022
I'd have to say that one weakness of the Wild Cards books has been that the sections set in Britain or with British characters tend to lack verisimilitude; the authors are, after all, American and don't always seem to get the culture. (This may well also be true of sections set in Congo or Kazakhstan or wherever, but it's not as if I could tell). This book is a reversal of that, doubtless due to the fact that, this time, many of the authors are themselves British.
It's an anthology, somewhat in the style of the very first Wild Cards book, with each story set at a different point in Britain's history in this alternate reality. There's less of an interstitial than usual, although a set of three short stories featuring an immortal character spreading discord in Northern Ireland comes close to filling that role. Otherwise, we have a couple of stories about London gangsters (including the Kray Twins), one about espionage that's more Harry Palmer than James Bond, the Falklands War, pro-Joker terrorism, and two that put a superhero spin on everyday tragedies.
The characters are mostly new, or have only shown up in passing before. The exception is Noel Matthews, who here receives what's effectively an origin story set in the '90s, well before his appearances in earlier books. Which has the advantage that you don't need to know his backstory, and, more generally, means that you don't need to have read the previous books to follow this one. While there are some characters that appear in multiple stories, they mostly stand alone, with British post-War history (or this alternate version of it) as the backdrop. Indeed, while there are two books to go in this triad, I suspect some of the characters here won't show up again, except perhaps in minor roles.
It's a good twist on the format of the first book in the series, looking at a different country. I didn't find that any of the stories in it missed a beat, although some are more memorable than others. As an anthology, it may not quite have the strength of the interweaving narratives of the mosaic novels, but there's pathos and peril and the great feel of placing superheroics against a mundane, realistic background that the series as a whole often does so well at.
It's an anthology, somewhat in the style of the very first Wild Cards book, with each story set at a different point in Britain's history in this alternate reality. There's less of an interstitial than usual, although a set of three short stories featuring an immortal character spreading discord in Northern Ireland comes close to filling that role. Otherwise, we have a couple of stories about London gangsters (including the Kray Twins), one about espionage that's more Harry Palmer than James Bond, the Falklands War, pro-Joker terrorism, and two that put a superhero spin on everyday tragedies.
The characters are mostly new, or have only shown up in passing before. The exception is Noel Matthews, who here receives what's effectively an origin story set in the '90s, well before his appearances in earlier books. Which has the advantage that you don't need to know his backstory, and, more generally, means that you don't need to have read the previous books to follow this one. While there are some characters that appear in multiple stories, they mostly stand alone, with British post-War history (or this alternate version of it) as the backdrop. Indeed, while there are two books to go in this triad, I suspect some of the characters here won't show up again, except perhaps in minor roles.
It's a good twist on the format of the first book in the series, looking at a different country. I didn't find that any of the stories in it missed a beat, although some are more memorable than others. As an anthology, it may not quite have the strength of the interweaving narratives of the mosaic novels, but there's pathos and peril and the great feel of placing superheroics against a mundane, realistic background that the series as a whole often does so well at.
November 17, 2020
I loved the Wild Cards series when I discovered it around '00. Back then, I devoured the first seven books and then stopped because reviews for the novel 8 onward were strongly negative. I forgot about the series until 2014 or so, when I found Lowball (Book 14) at our local library. I've been reading them steadily ever since.
I've always wished they could recreate the magic of the first three books: that old-school, golden-era comic feel, mixed with modern edge realistic drama.
For the first twenty pages or so, Knaves Over Queens (Book 26) seemed like it was going to fulfill my wish. The narrative revisited the Wild Card origin, complete with references to Jetboy and Dr. Tachyon, but told through a UK point of view. I expected that a new series of characters would be introduced, and I was right, but...
After the first couple of introductions, the writing quality dropped off and the magic disappeared. The biggest problem was that the plots became repetitive. Specifically, origin story #4 and #6 are very similar to one another. Story #5 uses a slangy narration that was very hard to follow at times, especially if the reader is unfamiliar with James Bond movies.
The remainder of the stories are average at best. One follows an ace fighting on the British side in the Falkland War. Another narrates the adventures of a member of the Twisted Fists. (I confused the Twisted Fists with the JJS and kept waiting for a Gimli cameo.) There's yet another with a girl who becomes Badb, the Irish goddess of war. And yes, there are others, but none of them impressed me as much as the stories at the beginning.
Wild Cards 28 continues the plots begun in this novel. I am cautiously optimistic that the deficiencies identified in this volume will be corrected in the next. We'll see...
I've always wished they could recreate the magic of the first three books: that old-school, golden-era comic feel, mixed with modern edge realistic drama.
For the first twenty pages or so, Knaves Over Queens (Book 26) seemed like it was going to fulfill my wish. The narrative revisited the Wild Card origin, complete with references to Jetboy and Dr. Tachyon, but told through a UK point of view. I expected that a new series of characters would be introduced, and I was right, but...
After the first couple of introductions, the writing quality dropped off and the magic disappeared. The biggest problem was that the plots became repetitive. Specifically, origin story #4 and #6 are very similar to one another. Story #5 uses a slangy narration that was very hard to follow at times, especially if the reader is unfamiliar with James Bond movies.
The remainder of the stories are average at best. One follows an ace fighting on the British side in the Falkland War. Another narrates the adventures of a member of the Twisted Fists. (I confused the Twisted Fists with the JJS and kept waiting for a Gimli cameo.) There's yet another with a girl who becomes Badb, the Irish goddess of war. And yes, there are others, but none of them impressed me as much as the stories at the beginning.
Wild Cards 28 continues the plots begun in this novel. I am cautiously optimistic that the deficiencies identified in this volume will be corrected in the next. We'll see...
March 22, 2020
The worldwide effect of the wild card virus has been hinted at in the past, but outside of The Committee trilogy, this is the first book in the long running series dedicated to jokes, aces and nats in another country. While it is a good thing that editors Martin and Snodgrass selected many British and Irish authors, I admit to a slight bias in that I wish the entire author group had been from the U.K.
And, that is not meant as a negative towards the other authors. I think Marko Kloos turned in a fine tale set during the Falklands Wars which I felt did a good job of getting across how a a naval officer's first combat experiences might feel.
Pedar O Guilin's, I'm going to call the character The Badb, is possibly the series best villain since the Astronomer (please keep in mind there is a gap in the middle books for me, someday I'll catch up). I think Pedar does a very good job of depicting Ireland over a 60 year period, but in no way can I personally find redeeming qualities in Badb.
This is essentially the history of the virus from 1946 to 2017, very much in the way the first book in the series covered the history of the virus in NYC from start until the book's publication date. Having a character like the long lived Captain Flint helps carry the reader through some of Britain's changes, and the the origin story of Double Helix is enjoyable. The long tenure of The Green Man helps in a like way, but The Green Man I think is a much more developed character.
Someone, somewhere is going I knew Alan Turning was an ace.
And, that is not meant as a negative towards the other authors. I think Marko Kloos turned in a fine tale set during the Falklands Wars which I felt did a good job of getting across how a a naval officer's first combat experiences might feel.
Pedar O Guilin's, I'm going to call the character The Badb, is possibly the series best villain since the Astronomer (please keep in mind there is a gap in the middle books for me, someday I'll catch up). I think Pedar does a very good job of depicting Ireland over a 60 year period, but in no way can I personally find redeeming qualities in Badb.
This is essentially the history of the virus from 1946 to 2017, very much in the way the first book in the series covered the history of the virus in NYC from start until the book's publication date. Having a character like the long lived Captain Flint helps carry the reader through some of Britain's changes, and the the origin story of Double Helix is enjoyable. The long tenure of The Green Man helps in a like way, but The Green Man I think is a much more developed character.
Someone, somewhere is going I knew Alan Turning was an ace.
January 26, 2020
This seemed to be the Wild Cards collection I've been wanting to find, with great stories placed early, c/o Murphy and Spector. I liked the focus on the experience of becoming and being a Joker or Ace, and the effects on society.
Most of the other stories disappointed, though, even when favorite characters were included. Some read like standard issue fiction superficially edited to qualify for the collection. "Night Orders" for example is written for the James Bond fan, squeezing into this collection by the grace of one brief cameo by Captain Flint, although written so out of character one might think the writer worked from just a character sketch; and a similarly trivial glance of another Ace, who could have been replaced with a man holding a taser.
Others came off as merely excuses for the authors to indulge in orgies of violence and cruelty, an opportunity to mock ethics and decency, abuse the helpless and children, to proselytize politics. One even seemed a direct ripoff of classical mythology. This is not the amazing, original fiction I look for.
The threads connecting most of the stories were trivial - based in England or Scotland and at least one Wild Card character. So many of these featured only one Wild Card character, and/or added the fact of the 'talent' as a belated yet completely expected twist, where I was looking for good, solid tales with the Joker or Ace sharing their experience or their talent featured prominently in the plot line, and better consistency of character across stories.
Most of the other stories disappointed, though, even when favorite characters were included. Some read like standard issue fiction superficially edited to qualify for the collection. "Night Orders" for example is written for the James Bond fan, squeezing into this collection by the grace of one brief cameo by Captain Flint, although written so out of character one might think the writer worked from just a character sketch; and a similarly trivial glance of another Ace, who could have been replaced with a man holding a taser.
Others came off as merely excuses for the authors to indulge in orgies of violence and cruelty, an opportunity to mock ethics and decency, abuse the helpless and children, to proselytize politics. One even seemed a direct ripoff of classical mythology. This is not the amazing, original fiction I look for.
The threads connecting most of the stories were trivial - based in England or Scotland and at least one Wild Card character. So many of these featured only one Wild Card character, and/or added the fact of the 'talent' as a belated yet completely expected twist, where I was looking for good, solid tales with the Joker or Ace sharing their experience or their talent featured prominently in the plot line, and better consistency of character across stories.
March 31, 2020
This is a book that was a lot more interesting in theory than it was in practice.
I was so excited to hear an alternate perspective of the Wild Cards universe, from Jetboy through to present day, and parts of the story lived up to my hopes. But at the same time, the nature of the project meant that no one facet got as much attention as I wanted.
The initial story was brilliant; the perspective of what was happening outside of NYC was a piece of history that I very much appreciated - but the rest of the stories, while interesting, were detached enough from the rest of the series to come across as extraneous or irrelevant, even when they attached themselves to real-world history. And the new characters weren't given enough time or attention to feel fleshed out in comparison to characters that have been around for decades and dozens of books.
I did appreciate the backstory for Double Helix, and I'd love to hear more about Stonemaiden and Captain Flint... but on the whole, unless this is a lead-in for further stories set in Great Britain, I feel like this was an irrelevant side journey for the Wild Cards series. Not bad, just... not what I was looking for either.
I was so excited to hear an alternate perspective of the Wild Cards universe, from Jetboy through to present day, and parts of the story lived up to my hopes. But at the same time, the nature of the project meant that no one facet got as much attention as I wanted.
The initial story was brilliant; the perspective of what was happening outside of NYC was a piece of history that I very much appreciated - but the rest of the stories, while interesting, were detached enough from the rest of the series to come across as extraneous or irrelevant, even when they attached themselves to real-world history. And the new characters weren't given enough time or attention to feel fleshed out in comparison to characters that have been around for decades and dozens of books.
I did appreciate the backstory for Double Helix, and I'd love to hear more about Stonemaiden and Captain Flint... but on the whole, unless this is a lead-in for further stories set in Great Britain, I feel like this was an irrelevant side journey for the Wild Cards series. Not bad, just... not what I was looking for either.
April 18, 2023
Dvadeset šesti mozaički (ili klasični, već u zavisnosti od naslova) roman u serijalu Wild Cards specifično je odstupanje od serijala do sada, budući da radnju izmešta u dvadesetovekovnu Veliku Britaniju, a u njemu učestvuju pre svega britanski autori i naravno da se bavi britanskim temama, sa sve povećim promenama istorijskog narativa, koje su tipične za Wild Cards. No, reklo bi se da se rečeni autori nisu baš najbolje snašli u obradi superherojskih tropa, tako da je Knaves Over Queens umesto da bude neki (anti)superherojski odgovor na Peaky Blinders (kao što imamo u domenu fantazije sa serijalom War for the Rose Throne i nekim drugima) ili na bilo koju od globalno popularnih britanskih televizijskih produkcija u zbiru zapravo neorganizovana i u najvećem delu dosadnjikava smeša. Tu se vidi razlika između blisko povezanih stvaralaca koji su radili na zajedničkom projektu a i družili se u svakodnevnom životu (Critical Mass, odnosno ekipa oko Džordža Martina) i nekih novih i verovatno vrlo darovitih autora, čak i dokazanih, ali autora koji nemaju lični odnos ni jedni sa drugima a ni prema projektu. Sve u svemu, radujem se povratku u prirodno okruženje ovog serijala.
2/5*
2/5*
September 8, 2019
I bounce between 3 and 4 stars on this. I really liked the initial stories, where the wild card virus's release was covered from a British perspective (in particular, a British passenger liner that was pulling into New York at the time of Jetboy's flight). However, the stories soon ended up splitting up away from a central storyline, exploring how superheroes might have been involved in a few random historical instances in the UK's recent history. I didn't try to reconcile the events with the history of the wild card universe, so while I have doubts that it'd work in quite the same way, I just went with it.
Some of the stories indulged in some bleak and depressing settings/powers; a few characters with very different perspectives were (probably intentionally) set up to mirror each other in key events in their stories. By the end, several were starting to interact with each other in what might be the beginning of an integrated story. If this is the start of a new trilogy set in the UK, I'm very hopeful.
Some of the stories indulged in some bleak and depressing settings/powers; a few characters with very different perspectives were (probably intentionally) set up to mirror each other in key events in their stories. By the end, several were starting to interact with each other in what might be the beginning of an integrated story. If this is the start of a new trilogy set in the UK, I'm very hopeful.
August 16, 2022
I hadn't read any Wild Cards stories in a while, and ran across this one. As with earlier Wild Cards volumes, it's an odd thing that's not quite a novel and not quite an anthology. In this case, it's the history of the Wild Card virus in England and Northern Ireland. Some of the stories didn't impress me much, but there were exceptions. Both "The Visitor" and "How to Turn a Girl to Stone" were different enough to make me want to read more by the authors. "Twisted Logic" was one of those "What could possibly go wrong with sending an untrained person into a deep undercover assignment that he had no reason to accept in the first place?" stories. Not that it was a badly written story, only that it was a story that had been done before, many times, in many genres. "Ceremony of Innocence" was just horrifying, as it showed that the "heroes" of England were nothing of the sort.
I'm glad that I read this volume, but I'm not sure that it's going to drag me back into the series, of which I've read about half, over the years.
I'm glad that I read this volume, but I'm not sure that it's going to drag me back into the series, of which I've read about half, over the years.
April 26, 2021
Once again wild cards is a great window into alternate history and super hero pulp. this book (like all of them) has a collection of stories some are good. some are confusingly bad. This one thankfully had more good then bad and each story was consecutively better. It is worth it to finish and I am looking forward to reading the next one. You really don't need to read these books in order but I would read this one before "Three Kings" because the arc does continue there. I'm really enjoying these stories that take place outside of Jokertown, and the United states. I hope this is a trend that continues.
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