Fitting In

Wild Cards #27.1

by Max Gladstone

For over 25 years, the Wild Cards universe has been entertaining readers with stories of superpowered people in an alternate history. "Fitting In" by Max Gladstone shows how everyday people can step up to become extraordinary.

Robin Ruttiger tries—he really does—but his lot in life falls way shorter than his expectations. A failed contestant of the superhero reality TV show, American Hero, he now works as a high school guidance counselor to reluctant students. Things change, however, when a favorite bakery in Jokertown becomes a target of vandalism, and Robin realizes he can play the hero after all.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Superheroes

48 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 24, 2018

About the author

Max Gladstone is the author of the Craft Sequence: THREE PARTS DEAD, TWO SERPENTS RISE, FULL FATHOM FIVE, and most recently, LAST FIRST SNOW. He's been twice nominated for the John W Campbell Best New Writer award, and nominated for the XYZZY and Lambda Awards.

Max has taught in southern Anhui, wrecked a bicycle in Angkor Wat, and been thrown from a horse in Mongolia. Max graduated from Yale University, where he studied Chinese.

Reviews

[carol. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this is the kind of Wild Card story I enjoy. Nice take on world, nice way of inserting his little Gladstone wedge in there and expanding the definition, nice use of genius-conspiratorist trope. I do think the beginning was just a touch shaky, as I didn't realize the narrator was working in a Wild Card zone. I can take the superhero genre as long as it's done like this.
https://www.tor.com/2018/10/24/fittin...

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Life comes one breath at a time.

Robin Ruttiger is a guidance counselor at Xavier Desmond High. He's been there for six weeks. Robin is trying to live this normal life whilst hiding a secret. He has elastic powers meaning he can stretch his body the way he wants. He is an ex-hero. Robin is trying to lie low these days but trouble always comes a-knocking in Jokertown.

It was an interesting story. My first read of a wild card genre and I want more. Being different is always scary but as Robin explores more and discovers himself, he finds that being different is actually very fun and powerful. The story kept a nice interesting pace and I would be exploring this genre in the future.

3.5 stars

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

So yes my quest to read more of the Wild Card short stories continues and I have to say I am still enjoying the creative and I have to say compassionate way they are being portrayed - just because they are different (Jokers) on the outside does not mean that they think and act on the inside.

This time however we look to the aces and the fact that even though you have the skills of a hero is it really who you are and want to be. I think this is a great little insight in to where world collide.

One thing I have to say and I think will shortly being undertaking some research is that there is repeated reference to the American Hero TV show which has been referenced a number of times and I suspect has played a significant part of the shared worlds history.

However like a lot of the stories from the Wild Cards you do not need to have explicit knowledge to enjoy the story something a lot of shared universe stories could learn from.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

An old complaint: I think the Wild Cards stories would work much better as an entire novel, and are badly suited to the short story format. But still, Max Gladstone is a good writer, and does justice to his material here. Creating dislikable but credible characters is not the easiest thing to do, yet he does it well. As a story, it is weak. But as a Wild Cards story, it is better than most.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

A hoot of a story featuring Robin Ruttinger AKA Rubberband whose Wild Card gift you can probably guess at. Writing a longer review would really be a stretch. Heh.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

When fame fades, a former TV star becomes a school guidance counsellor to try and give something back to his community.

An interesting story which asks "what makes a hero"? Engaging with well drawn characters.

[Marco · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I am not a big fan of superhero stories, I keep reading Wild Cards short stories as they get published by Tor. The Wild Cards series is a 25 years old shared fictional universe where superpowered people are the norm, set in an alternate history. Fitting In is the story of a previously famous super hero, Robin Ruttiger, as he tries to leave a normal life. He is a failed contestant of the superhero reality TV show, American Hero, and he now works as a high school guidance counselor to reluctant students. Things change, however, when a favorite bakery in Jokertown becomes a target of vandalism, and Robin realizes he can play the hero after all.

[Zedsdead · Rating 4 out of 5]

An elastic-man high school guidance counselor finds himself drawn into a neighborhood conflict between a friendly baker and a Russian mobster.

A small, nice story that helps round out the Wild Cards world.

[Jamie Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

a mess

[Shannon P · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given the link to this story to read on Tor.com ( https://www.tor.com/2018/10/24/fittin... ).

This story is one that comes from a place where many authors write about characters from the same universe. In this story, a former superhero who had been on TV is now living as a guidance counselor in a town that is experiencing an increase in crime. The crime is only directed at specific types of properties and it seems that the former superhero isn't the only one to take notice of this. Instead of using his superpowers to jump in and save the day, he makes friends with someone who feels more like the protagonist of the story than he does and they do some detective work. There are many in this part of the city who have special talents and superpowers who can help bring the perpetrator to a stop, and I was surprised at the descriptions of the cool talents while I read about how the mystery was solved.

I wish the mystery weren't so easy and I wish the main character weren't so complacent. I felt like he was just there to carry the story from one scene to the next but not really to take part in anything going on around him. I wish a couple of the other characters would have been explored better, as well as more explanations about the places and happenings. Was it fall and a street fair happening for a few days? Is that normal or was there something special going on? I want to know more so I know how these criminals know to run toward the street fair (not really much of a spoiler because, well, it doesn't matter).

I guess short stories aren't for me. This doesn't give me enough detail or tell me about more of what is going on around the central plot. I can't live my life reading like that. It feels unfinished.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another enjoyable short story from the Wild Cards universe, this time featuring Rubberband, who first appeared in Texas Hold'Em. Here, he teams up with a conspiracy theorist to try and save their favourite Jokertown coffee shop from unscrupulous developers. It's no surprise that conspiracy theories thrive in this universe - the wild card virus is a lot scarier than COVID - but it is amusing that at least some of them are similar to our more way-out ones. Specifically, that the global elite is covering up the existence of aliens despite the fact that, in this world, aliens have, in fact, already invaded the Earth in a highly visible manner.

That aside, it's a story about a man who, despite having superpowers, doesn't consider himself a hero and just wants to get on with his generally thankless job as a school counsellor. Nonetheless, he finds himself thrust into the role, if only temporarily leading to a story with a good combination of peril, detective work, and wry humour. It's a nice addition that helps fill in some of the shared universe of the longer books.

[t☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, this was an interesting read. It's weird since that I was probably supposed to read the first few books of the Wild Cards series before beginning with this book. So yeah the setting took some time getting used to, I wasn't familiar at with the whole alien invasion and some sort of genetic mutation crisis/superhero competition backstory that was going on. But, nevertheless, I guess I still enjoyed the story.

Something about it made me feel like I wasn't really reading a book, but playing TV episode in my head... except I was watching random episode 56 with no knowledge whatsoever of what happened in the previous episodes.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fitting In : Tor.com Wild Card Ebooks
by Max Gladstone
Fitting in is a connected stories on the the newest Wild Card book, Texas Hold'em. The story of a lesser character, a teacher who is traveling with Bubbles and her daughter on a School band competition. He needs to find a way to balance his new life with the promise that is before and what is now. A great new Character is introduced to the Wild Card universe, and many more problems and solutions will come. A great tease for Texas Hold'em.

[Maya Gu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved everything about this story! Even without knowing a whole lot about the universe in which it’s set, I enjoyed everything. The characters, the situations, the setting, the magic, everything. This story reminded me how great Gladstone is as an author.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun and cute story you can read at Tor.com. It leaves you with a warm and somewhat nostalgic feeling - like watching spider man cartoons on saturday morning. A bit of weirdness only makes it more endearing.

Read it here: https://www.tor.com/2018/10/24/fittin... .

[Belinda Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can we just accept that if even Max Gladstone can't make this mythos feel fresh and modern that its past saving and we should all move on as a people? :P

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun entry in the Wild Cards universe.

[Raphael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew nothing of the Wild Card universe before reading this story, and also I had never read a Max Gladstone book. I still enjoyed the story, even though I was terribly confused while reading it.

[Unidragonfrag · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd like to hop into this universe now having read this short, endearing tale about Robin who was a stretchy superhero and is now a school guidance counselor. Fun read!

[S.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oooo, I just found Tor's trove of short stories. I am in looooove. This is a light, bright story from an author I admire.

[Kes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun short story about guy finding his place in a universe where people "turn their cards" i.e. get superpowers.

[Eugenio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read

[Sha · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you mean superhero guidance counselor isn't a genre? Don't go and break my heart like this.

I am a complete sucker for civilian lives of superheroes. Looks like that also works when the superheros in question are not strictly superheroes. Give me crime fighting contrasted with everyday heroics (Bruce Wayne Philanthropic Billionaire working to reform gothams criminals yes please and thank you) and I become very invested. Mostly in the everyday heroics.

Stretchy guy teams up with lighting woman to take down people from the land mafia trying to run their favourite cafe out of business. In this quest they are assisted by a were-whatever they eat (so many questions!) and a stone teenager. It's also an interesting look into a world where superheroes are relatively common.

[Alex Sarll]

Max Gladstone's Wild Cards story, which can be read for free on Tor.com, has much in common with his Craft novels, in that it creates such a lively and well thought-through world, and takes us around it with such an engaging protagonist, that you almost don't notice how corny the story's spine is: specifically, mobsters are muscling on a local bakery, until a plucky gang of neighbourhood oddballs team up to save the day! Still, don't look at that closely and there's plenty here to enjoy, not least the other expressions of that same optimistic spirit. So often, Jokertown is presented as a mutant ghetto, its vibrancy always coming at a cost or worse, 'inspirational'. Here, it's for the most part a carnival of fabulous strangeness, halfway to a Ghibli world of wonders. I love the thoughts on what divides a crowd from a mob, for good or ill, and how that line can blur; I love even more the notion that, despite this being a world upended at least twice by alien contact, you'd still get conspiracy nuts insisting those incidents were faked because the *real* alien rulers of the world want to know how humans would react. Because surely people can't really believe they live in a world where these things are true, and yet carry on with their mundane lives regardless? Above all, though, it's a story about the way the world tries to decide who you are, with its lead – essentially a gay, ex-reality TV Ralph Dibny - longing to make it as a school counsellor, rather than being defined by his stretching powers. And it works sufficiently well as such that I can just about forgive it a plot I'd have found hokey aged eight.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this one. I've been going through a bunch of these shorts in the Wild Card universe and I've enjoyed them all, but this one's about a teacher. That alone was enough to make me love it, but I found the characters fun and some of the new joker-aces were intriguing enough to really get my imagination going. Lots of good stuff here. Highly recommended.

[Andrew Wild-Woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good short WC story

A short giving the first meeting of Rubberband and Miss Jan. Add a coffee shop to a Jokertown school and a side hustle of foreign mob influence, not a bad concoction.