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Wild Cards #18
Inside Straight
In 1946, an alien virus that rewrites human DNA was accidentally unleashed in the skies over New York City. It killed ninety percent of those it infected. Nine percent of those who survived mutated into tragically deformed creatures. And one percent gained superpowers. The Wild Cards shared-universe series, created and edited since 1987 by New York Times #1 bestseller George R. R. Martin along with Melinda Snodgrass, is the tale of the history of the world since then—and of the heroes among that one percent.
Originally begun in 1987, long before George R.R. Martin became a household name among fantasy readers ("The American Tolkien" —Time magazine), the Wild Cards series earned a reputation among connoisseurs for its smart reimagining of the superhero idea. Now, with Inside Straight, the Wild Cards continuity jumps forward to a new generation of major characters, entirely accessible to Martin's hundreds of thousands of new readers, with all-original stories by Martin himself, along with Daniel Abraham, Michael Cassutt, and Stephen Leigh, among others.
Cover: Michael Komarck
Contents
Who the Fuck Was Jetboy? • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Dark of the Moon • short fiction by Melinda M. Snodgrass
Jonathan Hive Sells Out • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Chosen Ones: Part One • short fiction by Carrie Vaughn
First Among Losers • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Chosen Ones: Part Two • short fiction by Carrie Vaughn
Better Than Television • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Looking for Jetboy • short fiction by Michael Cassutt
Metagames • short fiction by Caroline Spector
All the Best Stories Start, 'This One Time, We Were Really Drunk…' • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Star Power • short fiction by Melinda M. Snodgrass
Wakes the Lion • short fiction by John J. Miller [as by John Jos Miller]
A Bad Day in Cairo • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Crusader • short fiction by George R. R. Martin
Real People, Really Dying • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
The Tin Man's Lament • short fiction by Ian Tregillis
Hey, Guys. My Dad's Got a Warehouse! Let's Put on a War! • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Incidental Music for Heroes • short fiction by Stephen Leigh (aka Masquerade of Heroes) [as by S.L. Farrell]
Blood on the Sun • short fiction by Melinda M. Snodgrass
Looking for Jetboy: Epilogue • short fiction by Michael Cassutt
Give the Wookie a Medal • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Originally begun in 1987, long before George R.R. Martin became a household name among fantasy readers ("The American Tolkien" —Time magazine), the Wild Cards series earned a reputation among connoisseurs for its smart reimagining of the superhero idea. Now, with Inside Straight, the Wild Cards continuity jumps forward to a new generation of major characters, entirely accessible to Martin's hundreds of thousands of new readers, with all-original stories by Martin himself, along with Daniel Abraham, Michael Cassutt, and Stephen Leigh, among others.
Cover: Michael Komarck
Contents
Who the Fuck Was Jetboy? • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Dark of the Moon • short fiction by Melinda M. Snodgrass
Jonathan Hive Sells Out • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Chosen Ones: Part One • short fiction by Carrie Vaughn
First Among Losers • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Chosen Ones: Part Two • short fiction by Carrie Vaughn
Better Than Television • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Looking for Jetboy • short fiction by Michael Cassutt
Metagames • short fiction by Caroline Spector
All the Best Stories Start, 'This One Time, We Were Really Drunk…' • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Star Power • short fiction by Melinda M. Snodgrass
Wakes the Lion • short fiction by John J. Miller [as by John Jos Miller]
A Bad Day in Cairo • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Crusader • short fiction by George R. R. Martin
Real People, Really Dying • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
The Tin Man's Lament • short fiction by Ian Tregillis
Hey, Guys. My Dad's Got a Warehouse! Let's Put on a War! • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
Incidental Music for Heroes • short fiction by Stephen Leigh (aka Masquerade of Heroes) [as by S.L. Farrell]
Blood on the Sun • short fiction by Melinda M. Snodgrass
Looking for Jetboy: Epilogue • short fiction by Michael Cassutt
Give the Wookie a Medal • short fiction by Daniel Abraham
432 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
52 people are currently reading
1761 people want to read
About the author
George R.R. Martin
1,099 books118k 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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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
January 24, 2015
Inside Straight was the first Wild Cards book I ever read. I read it right around when it was first coming out, because, hey, GRRM's name on the cover and it did sound like an interesting premise. At the time I read it, I enjoyed it without really getting it. With the most recent of the Fort Freak-centered novels calling back to the characters introduced here, I was curious to go back to read it again now that I know more of the universe and more of where everyone ends up.
I also wondered whether everything would make more sense now that I've read the first three Wild Cards books in addition to the five that have come after Inside Straight, which is #18. To my surprise, the answer is no, not especially. While I've now got a better idea of the origin of the wild cards virus on Earth and how it affected modern history, the specific hook for the plot with the Egyptian Old God joker/aces is not something addressed in any of those early novels, nor is the whole situation with John Fortune, the son of Peregrine and Fortunato. Those are two names from the earlier novels, but again, the specifics of how he's come to be a nat are still missing.
I appreciate that it's probably a similar challenge to the writers for a comic book. How do you get someone to start reading issue #157 when they haven't read a single thing before? You want to draw in the new people with a big splash, represented in Inside Straight with the American Hero competition, but you can't do TOO much to alienate the dedicated readers, which is how you get a whole bunch of stuff about the Caliph and the involvement of a hermaphrodite shapeshifter James Bond, a magic necklace with a magic lion inside, and a German ace, pictured for some strange reason on the cover looking like a Jedi Knight, who is apparently big in his home country as a pitchman for BMW.
I still think it works for the first-time reader, with the auditions and early rounds of the American Hero show providing a great introduction to the notion that this is a version of Earth pretty much like ours, only some people are running around with awesome powers and others have some deformities and maybe also powers. Anybody who watched the TV show Heroes and wondered what it might have been if it had been better, Wild Cards is effectively your answer.
Of course, a Wild Cards TV show would probably have some necessary concessions due to budgetary concerns. If you have a guy with six arms who is a living drum set, then you have to spend money to CG that stuff continually. Sorry, Drummer Boy.
Unlike a comic book, TV, or movie, the only budgetary concern with reading a book is your imagination. If you like to imagine people with superpowers of any sort, this is your kind of story.
I also wondered whether everything would make more sense now that I've read the first three Wild Cards books in addition to the five that have come after Inside Straight, which is #18. To my surprise, the answer is no, not especially. While I've now got a better idea of the origin of the wild cards virus on Earth and how it affected modern history, the specific hook for the plot with the Egyptian Old God joker/aces is not something addressed in any of those early novels, nor is the whole situation with John Fortune, the son of Peregrine and Fortunato. Those are two names from the earlier novels, but again, the specifics of how he's come to be a nat are still missing.
I appreciate that it's probably a similar challenge to the writers for a comic book. How do you get someone to start reading issue #157 when they haven't read a single thing before? You want to draw in the new people with a big splash, represented in Inside Straight with the American Hero competition, but you can't do TOO much to alienate the dedicated readers, which is how you get a whole bunch of stuff about the Caliph and the involvement of a hermaphrodite shapeshifter James Bond, a magic necklace with a magic lion inside, and a German ace, pictured for some strange reason on the cover looking like a Jedi Knight, who is apparently big in his home country as a pitchman for BMW.
I still think it works for the first-time reader, with the auditions and early rounds of the American Hero show providing a great introduction to the notion that this is a version of Earth pretty much like ours, only some people are running around with awesome powers and others have some deformities and maybe also powers. Anybody who watched the TV show Heroes and wondered what it might have been if it had been better, Wild Cards is effectively your answer.
Of course, a Wild Cards TV show would probably have some necessary concessions due to budgetary concerns. If you have a guy with six arms who is a living drum set, then you have to spend money to CG that stuff continually. Sorry, Drummer Boy.
Unlike a comic book, TV, or movie, the only budgetary concern with reading a book is your imagination. If you like to imagine people with superpowers of any sort, this is your kind of story.
April 22, 2025
INSIDE STRAIGHT is a book that I have mixed feelings regarding but feel like it needs to get a decent review because a lot of friends I have don't even know it exists. It's a reboot (soft reboot--i.e. the previous books "happened" but don't really matter to read this version) of the Wild Cards series by George R.R. Martin.
George R.R. Martin "kinda" wrote this in the context that he made an outline and a lot of scenes before depending on a ghost writer to fill in a lot of the blanks. It's not the next A GAME OF THRONES or even FEVER DREAM but it's a decent enough read and is actually better, IMHO, than the original WILD CARDS.
The premise of Wild Cards: The Setting is that in the 1940s, an alien plague was released on New York City that resulted in 90% out of a 100% dying and another 9 being horribly deformed. The remaining 1%, however, developed superpowers. The 9% are called "Jokers" and the 1% are called "Aces." By the 21st century, the virus affecting people is just a fact of life with some people born with it or others getting affected in small outbreaks.
This book follows the natural consequence of this altered timeline: someone eventually makes a reality TV show based around finding attractive Aces and putting them on television. This was a somewhat dated premise even in 2008 but it's not like people have stopped making crappy reality television shows either.
The first half of the book is a decent enough parody of Big Brother, Love Island, or whatever you feel is your appropriate "A dozen pretty strangers locked in a mansion" show. Some of them actually want to use their powers for police or rescue work (i.e be a superhero) while others plan to just ride the Hollywood train as far as it will take them. Then there's a refugee crisis in the Middle East, a fact that's eerily prophetic, and the heroes have to choose between money or actually living up to their name.
Part of the issue with the book is the vast majority of the people on the page are stock characters in the same way reality television protagonists are stock characters. It makes the dubious assumption the personas we see on TV are the same ones we'd see in real life. It also means that the majority of them are rather bland. The only ones who really stand out are Earth Witch (a Hispanic Earthbender who really doesn't want to be there) and a Germanic Knight who is deluded into believing this is actually to make superheroes. There's also the designated jerk/prankster no one likes who is usually the only character most people remember on reality TV.
The story is okay but I was kind of annoyed we'd never follow up on any of these characters except the (in my opinion) least interesting one. Notably, in a case of art imitating art, this is the Wild Cards book they've decided to make into a TV show.
6.5/10
George R.R. Martin "kinda" wrote this in the context that he made an outline and a lot of scenes before depending on a ghost writer to fill in a lot of the blanks. It's not the next A GAME OF THRONES or even FEVER DREAM but it's a decent enough read and is actually better, IMHO, than the original WILD CARDS.
The premise of Wild Cards: The Setting is that in the 1940s, an alien plague was released on New York City that resulted in 90% out of a 100% dying and another 9 being horribly deformed. The remaining 1%, however, developed superpowers. The 9% are called "Jokers" and the 1% are called "Aces." By the 21st century, the virus affecting people is just a fact of life with some people born with it or others getting affected in small outbreaks.
This book follows the natural consequence of this altered timeline: someone eventually makes a reality TV show based around finding attractive Aces and putting them on television. This was a somewhat dated premise even in 2008 but it's not like people have stopped making crappy reality television shows either.
The first half of the book is a decent enough parody of Big Brother, Love Island, or whatever you feel is your appropriate "A dozen pretty strangers locked in a mansion" show. Some of them actually want to use their powers for police or rescue work (i.e be a superhero) while others plan to just ride the Hollywood train as far as it will take them. Then there's a refugee crisis in the Middle East, a fact that's eerily prophetic, and the heroes have to choose between money or actually living up to their name.
Part of the issue with the book is the vast majority of the people on the page are stock characters in the same way reality television protagonists are stock characters. It makes the dubious assumption the personas we see on TV are the same ones we'd see in real life. It also means that the majority of them are rather bland. The only ones who really stand out are Earth Witch (a Hispanic Earthbender who really doesn't want to be there) and a Germanic Knight who is deluded into believing this is actually to make superheroes. There's also the designated jerk/prankster no one likes who is usually the only character most people remember on reality TV.
The story is okay but I was kind of annoyed we'd never follow up on any of these characters except the (in my opinion) least interesting one. Notably, in a case of art imitating art, this is the Wild Cards book they've decided to make into a TV show.
6.5/10
February 26, 2009
After a long time away (I don't know that I read the last couple of books), I was drawn back to Wild Cards by the promise of an updated universe and my interest in George R.R. Martin thanks to Game of Thrones.
I was very pleased with the results. As with all of the "mosaic novels," there are chapters, writers and characters who are not as strong as the rest, but the American Hero reality show and its varying contestants make up a pretty strong group, as diverse and interesting as the original Wild Cards (and I see that Holy Roller, mentioned in the GURPS Wild Cards book, made it into the universe he helped create after all). I was particularly taken with Jonathan Hive and the blog post entry style used to convey his writing, but I also really liked Curveball, Drummer Boy and the British spy, whose identity and powers I can't really talk about without giving away one of the cooler surprises of the book.
The story transitions nicely from the manufactured TV drama of American Hero to the more serious politically-infused drama in Egypt, without making either story feel like a waste of time. I'd love to see it adapted to comics, because there are a lot of cool visual moments in the writing, but even as a standalone novel about superheroes, it shows why the Wild Cards universe captured my attention way back when and sort of makes me long to reread them all. Except that I don't own them anymore, and I definitely don't have time for such a mass re-reading.
I was very pleased with the results. As with all of the "mosaic novels," there are chapters, writers and characters who are not as strong as the rest, but the American Hero reality show and its varying contestants make up a pretty strong group, as diverse and interesting as the original Wild Cards (and I see that Holy Roller, mentioned in the GURPS Wild Cards book, made it into the universe he helped create after all). I was particularly taken with Jonathan Hive and the blog post entry style used to convey his writing, but I also really liked Curveball, Drummer Boy and the British spy, whose identity and powers I can't really talk about without giving away one of the cooler surprises of the book.
The story transitions nicely from the manufactured TV drama of American Hero to the more serious politically-infused drama in Egypt, without making either story feel like a waste of time. I'd love to see it adapted to comics, because there are a lot of cool visual moments in the writing, but even as a standalone novel about superheroes, it shows why the Wild Cards universe captured my attention way back when and sort of makes me long to reread them all. Except that I don't own them anymore, and I definitely don't have time for such a mass re-reading.
September 16, 2020
Looks I'm coming into this series WAY down the line. I must've rescued this one somewhere and picked it off my shelves to fill "next" slot on my reading list. Started last night - pretty spiffy so far. I'm not sure that I've ever read any sci-fi set in the Middle East before.
Moving into the last 1/3 after last night. The scene has shifted from the fake violence of La-La Land to real thing in the Middle East. No surprise there ... Mr. Martin is the author of the long middle story about persecution of "Jokers" by the Islamic government(and jihadists) in Egypt. The story does have a breezy page-turning quality to it, but is not exactly original, and some of the writing is merely functional. The content is very much a mash-up of The Hunger Games Trilogy, American Idol, Survivor, X-Men, Hulk, Twilight(the shimmery Tiffani), that Dauntless/Tris Prior trilogy, David and Goliath, Weakest Link, Justice League of America, World of Tiers and more(the James-Bond-y ending).
- No "dollops" please ... and no more of that cliched whip, whips, whipped, whipping stuff either. (Sigh)There was one more.
Finished last night with two or three endings, but who's counting. The soft-core show-biz of Hollywood yields to scenes of copious blood-shedding and destruction. The shape-shifting manipulator is revealed to be ... (I KNEW IT!) and kid-heroes turn out to be mortal and heroic. The big rousing battle stuff was very competently handled by S. L. Farrell, and Martin himself authors a lead-in chapter. The "team" approach to writing seemed to work well enough, but is mostly a gimmick(IMHO). I confess to getting almost choked up a bit at a couple of heroic, self-sacrificing moments, so I can't give this anything less than a 3* rating. As with "The Hunger Games" there is a welcome undercurrent of real-time seriousness to the heroics and fantasy stuff.
- Is there a tinge of anti-Muslim feeling in the end-game?
- Ummm - wouldn't the Living Gods and Aces already in Aswan know about the arrival of the LA Aces before they get there? Isn't the surprise a bit of a stretch?
- Stuntman reminds of a New Yorker story from years ago: "Sin Dolor" by T. C. Boyle.
- 3.25 * rounds to 3*
Moving into the last 1/3 after last night. The scene has shifted from the fake violence of La-La Land to real thing in the Middle East. No surprise there ... Mr. Martin is the author of the long middle story about persecution of "Jokers" by the Islamic government(and jihadists) in Egypt. The story does have a breezy page-turning quality to it, but is not exactly original, and some of the writing is merely functional. The content is very much a mash-up of The Hunger Games Trilogy, American Idol, Survivor, X-Men, Hulk, Twilight(the shimmery Tiffani), that Dauntless/Tris Prior trilogy, David and Goliath, Weakest Link, Justice League of America, World of Tiers and more(the James-Bond-y ending).
- No "dollops" please ... and no more of that cliched whip, whips, whipped, whipping stuff either. (Sigh)There was one more.
Finished last night with two or three endings, but who's counting. The soft-core show-biz of Hollywood yields to scenes of copious blood-shedding and destruction. The shape-shifting manipulator is revealed to be ... (I KNEW IT!) and kid-heroes turn out to be mortal and heroic. The big rousing battle stuff was very competently handled by S. L. Farrell, and Martin himself authors a lead-in chapter. The "team" approach to writing seemed to work well enough, but is mostly a gimmick(IMHO). I confess to getting almost choked up a bit at a couple of heroic, self-sacrificing moments, so I can't give this anything less than a 3* rating. As with "The Hunger Games" there is a welcome undercurrent of real-time seriousness to the heroics and fantasy stuff.
- Is there a tinge of anti-Muslim feeling in the end-game?
- Ummm - wouldn't the Living Gods and Aces already in Aswan know about the arrival of the LA Aces before they get there? Isn't the surprise a bit of a stretch?
- Stuntman reminds of a New Yorker story from years ago: "Sin Dolor" by T. C. Boyle.
- 3.25 * rounds to 3*
April 18, 2008
I've been interested in reading some of the Wild Cards books for awhile- I'm a casual fan of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice & Fire series and since I've collected comics since the 7th grade, I've always been told the series would be up my alley... but I've never run across any of the books in my travels. Local libraries don't have 'em and when I remember to do a search around the used bookstores, I usually come up empty. Although not ideal, this new anthology was sittin' on the shelves of the library last week and I figured I'd give it a try. So understand... my thoughts on this book are not the thoughts of a fan who's been following the material over the course of two decades. I know none of the history or the characters or any of that stuff that might distinguish this Wild Cards book from others.
I've gotten used to something as a comic fan over the years- when I read adaptations of comic book tropes in other media, I sort of gloss over the fact that the people involved with those books will beg, borrow, and steal from whatever comics they like and repurpose those ideas for their own stories. NBC's Heroes stole stuff whole cloth from runs on X-Men and Watchmen and nobody really raised a fuss (although to be fair... the riff Heroes stole from Watchmen was already stolen from The Twilight Zone so maybe that's something we're just going to have to get used to in pop culture).
In the end, I was surprised at how engaged I was with Inside Straight, especially considering how wary I was of the book... partly for some of the reasons I just spouted off about, but mostly because it's written by like 10 different people. I've read these kind of books before and a lot of times I don't find that the individual voices of the writers involved mesh well. In this book, they do. There's a continuity to the characters and situations that was great, and I like the way the story dovetailed between the two major locales of the TV show and the battle in Egypt.
I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. Now it looks like I"m going to have to go out and find some of the paperbacks.
I've gotten used to something as a comic fan over the years- when I read adaptations of comic book tropes in other media, I sort of gloss over the fact that the people involved with those books will beg, borrow, and steal from whatever comics they like and repurpose those ideas for their own stories. NBC's Heroes stole stuff whole cloth from runs on X-Men and Watchmen and nobody really raised a fuss (although to be fair... the riff Heroes stole from Watchmen was already stolen from The Twilight Zone so maybe that's something we're just going to have to get used to in pop culture).
In the end, I was surprised at how engaged I was with Inside Straight, especially considering how wary I was of the book... partly for some of the reasons I just spouted off about, but mostly because it's written by like 10 different people. I've read these kind of books before and a lot of times I don't find that the individual voices of the writers involved mesh well. In this book, they do. There's a continuity to the characters and situations that was great, and I like the way the story dovetailed between the two major locales of the TV show and the battle in Egypt.
I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. Now it looks like I"m going to have to go out and find some of the paperbacks.
July 27, 2015
INSIDE STRAIGHT was my introduction to the WILD CARDS universe. When this series was first conceived in 1987, the idea of a dark, more realistic take on the superhero genre must've felt pretty revolutionary. Unfortunately, time has marched on, and movies like WATCHMEN and CHRONICLE, TV shows like HEROES, and countless other comic book titles have stolen much of WILD CARD's thunder.
Compounding the problem is the fact that INSIDE STRAIGHT is largely a satire of the reality TV show craze that began with SURVIVOR in mid-2000. Again, had I read this book the year it was first published, the idea of superheroes competing on live TV would have felt fresh and edgy. In 2015, however, the premise feels worn-out. The whole reality show angle has been done to death.
That's by no means to say this is a bad book. Every section of INSIDE STRAIGHT is fun and clever--it just doesn't seem as innovative as it once did. Still, there are moments when the book veers into unique territory, such as when one superhero contestant resorts to playing "the race card" in order to avoid getting voted off. There's also a superhero who inadvertently becomes a national role model for overweight girls and lesbians.
This book is unusual in that it is a "mosaic" of pieces written by different authors and fashioned into a single narrative. The upside being that the novel is more varied and less predictable; the downside being that the storyline feels incredibly disjointed. Part of the problem is the inconsistent tone, which alternates back-and-forth from light comedy to deadly seriousness. Parts of it are silly enough to remind me of the Ben Stiller movie MYSTERY MEN (There's a Bible-thumpin', wheelchair-bound superhero called "Holly Roller," for goodness sake), whereas other parts revolve around Middle Eastern politics and the caliphate's attempts to commit genocide. Another part of the problem is the sheer number of side-plots and complicated character relationships, the majority of which we can only hope are resolved in a future installment. I wish the book had focused more squarely on either the reality show angle or the stuff happening in the Middle East, rather than doling out equal servings of both.
Compounding the problem is the fact that INSIDE STRAIGHT is largely a satire of the reality TV show craze that began with SURVIVOR in mid-2000. Again, had I read this book the year it was first published, the idea of superheroes competing on live TV would have felt fresh and edgy. In 2015, however, the premise feels worn-out. The whole reality show angle has been done to death.
That's by no means to say this is a bad book. Every section of INSIDE STRAIGHT is fun and clever--it just doesn't seem as innovative as it once did. Still, there are moments when the book veers into unique territory, such as when one superhero contestant resorts to playing "the race card" in order to avoid getting voted off. There's also a superhero who inadvertently becomes a national role model for overweight girls and lesbians.
This book is unusual in that it is a "mosaic" of pieces written by different authors and fashioned into a single narrative. The upside being that the novel is more varied and less predictable; the downside being that the storyline feels incredibly disjointed. Part of the problem is the inconsistent tone, which alternates back-and-forth from light comedy to deadly seriousness. Parts of it are silly enough to remind me of the Ben Stiller movie MYSTERY MEN (There's a Bible-thumpin', wheelchair-bound superhero called "Holly Roller," for goodness sake), whereas other parts revolve around Middle Eastern politics and the caliphate's attempts to commit genocide. Another part of the problem is the sheer number of side-plots and complicated character relationships, the majority of which we can only hope are resolved in a future installment. I wish the book had focused more squarely on either the reality show angle or the stuff happening in the Middle East, rather than doling out equal servings of both.
February 9, 2021
A compilation of characters in a superhero world dreamed up by a bunch of famous writers over beer & pretzels.
A dozen books later... we have this volume edited by George RR Martin.
In this book, heroes try to monetize their powers by going on a "Survivor-esque" television show. That concept, while painfully corny, served to setup the difference later in the book between the "TV" heroes and "real" heroes. In this case, the "real" heroes turn out to be the losers from the TV show, who band together to stop a genocide in progress in the Middle East.
I would have preferred dropping the entire TV show plot line. Too kitschy, too "pop culture," too corny.
A dozen books later... we have this volume edited by George RR Martin.
In this book, heroes try to monetize their powers by going on a "Survivor-esque" television show. That concept, while painfully corny, served to setup the difference later in the book between the "TV" heroes and "real" heroes. In this case, the "real" heroes turn out to be the losers from the TV show, who band together to stop a genocide in progress in the Middle East.
I would have preferred dropping the entire TV show plot line. Too kitschy, too "pop culture," too corny.
August 13, 2019
Really enjoyed this book. There were a lot of interesting characters. The American Hero reality show was definitely my favourite part. I like how they used this ridiculous show to reflect on some serious real world issues. (I also loved the drama of the show itself.)
February 9, 2023
The Wild Cards series moved to Tor Books in 2008. The publisher reinvigorated the series (13 new books and 2 graphic novels over the last 15 years), but I find their initial volume Inside Straight to be a bit on the disappointing side. After the zany high-stakes action of Death Draws Five, the stories of aces and jokers competing in a reality tv show fall flat. The Living Gods storyline in Egypt is more fun.
(Another part of the problem might be that Garth Ennis' The Boys also features a superhero reality tv show of the same name. I realize Wild Cards did it first, but it feels like The Boys in both its comic and television iterations has bested Wild Cards in the zeitgeist with its edgy anti-Marvel perspective of superheroes.)
The creation of The Committee in the final pages harkens back to the original Four Aces in the 1950's, and we all know how that turned out…
Here are my story reviews:
"Jonathan Hive" by Daniel Abraham -- This is a series of interstitial vignettes that connects the other stories. The title character is a blogger whose body is composed of wasps. He competes on the reality tv show American Hero to determine who will become America's newest ace sensation. After striking up a friendship with John Fortune while on set, he finds himself jetting off to Egypt to put his journalism skills to good use.
"Dark of the Moon/Star Power/Blood on the Sun" by Melinda Snodgrass -- A second series of interstitial vignettes. A teleporter Lilith assassinates Nur al-allah, the recurring baddie from Aces Abroad and Black Trump. This is the payoff to a feud between The Twisted Fists and The Prophet of Allah that dates back to the Card Sharks triad… Noel Matthews is a hermaphrodite ace, who pretends to be a magician but is really a British spy… The Muslim assassin Bahir also hides a secret identity (or three!) and harbors a secret plan to reshape the geopolitical landscape…
"Chosen Ones" by Carrie Vaughn -- The Hearts team loses its first American Hero challenge but quickly regroups. Introduces Earth Witch, Curveball, and Drummer Boy (from the band Joker Plague, previously mentioned in "Age of Wonders"). Also features cameos from Peregrine, Harlem Hammer, Digger Downs, and Topper.
"Looking for Jetboy" by Michael Cassutt -- The third American Hero challenge is a scavenger hunt around Los Angeles. Stuntman is indestructible but possesses no offensive weapons. He loses a challenge for the Clubs team but avoids getting discarded (voted off) by falsely accusing Rustbelt of using a racial slur.
"Metagames" by Caroline Spector -- The Amazing Bubbles is one of the stronger contestants on Team Diamonds, but she faces betrayal by a friend in the Discard after she fails to defeat Golden Boy. This is one of the strongest stories in the collection because of Bubbles' unique power. When she absorbs kinetic energy, she gains weight rapidly. She can then secrete that energy through her skin as bubbles. The bubbles can be light and airy like soap or dense like a baseball. The benefits and disadvantages of bubbling are not quite as straightforward as one-dimensional ace abilities like flying or breathing underwater. Bubbling generates a sense of euphoria and release. Combined with her interesting backstory and family, she is the most compelling of the new characters introduced in this book.
"Wakes the Lion" by John Jos. Miller -- John Fortune wants nothing more than to regain the ace powers he lost when Fortunato saved his life. However, when he finds the amulet his mother received from Thoth, the powers it gives him are not what he is expecting. This plot development is the long-awaited payoff of the Livings Gods' prophecy in "Down by the Nile" in Aces Abroad. On the other hand, I feel it cheapens the ending of Death Draws Five. There was something very appropriate about Fortune, the offspring of the world's two most beloved aces, having to make his way in life as a nat.
"Crusader" by George R. R. Martin -- Lohengrin, Hive, and Fortune go to Egypt to protect Jokers and followers of the Old Religion from terrorists out to avenge the Caliph's murder. Lohengrin is a new German ace who believes himself to a be true knight; he cannot be killed as long as he is wearing his armor made of light. The story sets up a war between Islam and those who worship wild card victims reborn in the likeness of mythological gods.
"The Tin Man's Lament" by Ian Tregillis -- Rustbelt tries to restore his reputation after being accused of racism. He and several other Discards leave the comfort of Hollywood to help the joker refugees in Egypt. This story strains credibility. It seems too easy for a bunch of young Americans (even aces) to get behind enemy lines during an ongoing armed military crisis. However, seeing them use their powers in battle is fun, as is the political chaos they cause.
"Incidental Music for Heroes" by Stephen Leigh (as S. L. Farrell) -- Drummer Boy, still pining after Curveball, ditches his band to go to Egypt to woo her one last time. First, he'll have to defeat the Righteous Djinn, a giant ace with the power to absorb the wild card powers of anyone he kills.
Next up: American Hero.
(Another part of the problem might be that Garth Ennis' The Boys also features a superhero reality tv show of the same name. I realize Wild Cards did it first, but it feels like The Boys in both its comic and television iterations has bested Wild Cards in the zeitgeist with its edgy anti-Marvel perspective of superheroes.)
The creation of The Committee in the final pages harkens back to the original Four Aces in the 1950's, and we all know how that turned out…
Here are my story reviews:
"Jonathan Hive" by Daniel Abraham -- This is a series of interstitial vignettes that connects the other stories. The title character is a blogger whose body is composed of wasps. He competes on the reality tv show American Hero to determine who will become America's newest ace sensation. After striking up a friendship with John Fortune while on set, he finds himself jetting off to Egypt to put his journalism skills to good use.
"Dark of the Moon/Star Power/Blood on the Sun" by Melinda Snodgrass -- A second series of interstitial vignettes. A teleporter Lilith assassinates Nur al-allah, the recurring baddie from Aces Abroad and Black Trump. This is the payoff to a feud between The Twisted Fists and The Prophet of Allah that dates back to the Card Sharks triad… Noel Matthews is a hermaphrodite ace, who pretends to be a magician but is really a British spy… The Muslim assassin Bahir also hides a secret identity (or three!) and harbors a secret plan to reshape the geopolitical landscape…
"Chosen Ones" by Carrie Vaughn -- The Hearts team loses its first American Hero challenge but quickly regroups. Introduces Earth Witch, Curveball, and Drummer Boy (from the band Joker Plague, previously mentioned in "Age of Wonders"). Also features cameos from Peregrine, Harlem Hammer, Digger Downs, and Topper.
"Looking for Jetboy" by Michael Cassutt -- The third American Hero challenge is a scavenger hunt around Los Angeles. Stuntman is indestructible but possesses no offensive weapons. He loses a challenge for the Clubs team but avoids getting discarded (voted off) by falsely accusing Rustbelt of using a racial slur.
"Metagames" by Caroline Spector -- The Amazing Bubbles is one of the stronger contestants on Team Diamonds, but she faces betrayal by a friend in the Discard after she fails to defeat Golden Boy. This is one of the strongest stories in the collection because of Bubbles' unique power. When she absorbs kinetic energy, she gains weight rapidly. She can then secrete that energy through her skin as bubbles. The bubbles can be light and airy like soap or dense like a baseball. The benefits and disadvantages of bubbling are not quite as straightforward as one-dimensional ace abilities like flying or breathing underwater. Bubbling generates a sense of euphoria and release. Combined with her interesting backstory and family, she is the most compelling of the new characters introduced in this book.
"Wakes the Lion" by John Jos. Miller -- John Fortune wants nothing more than to regain the ace powers he lost when Fortunato saved his life. However, when he finds the amulet his mother received from Thoth, the powers it gives him are not what he is expecting. This plot development is the long-awaited payoff of the Livings Gods' prophecy in "Down by the Nile" in Aces Abroad. On the other hand, I feel it cheapens the ending of Death Draws Five. There was something very appropriate about Fortune, the offspring of the world's two most beloved aces, having to make his way in life as a nat.
"Crusader" by George R. R. Martin -- Lohengrin, Hive, and Fortune go to Egypt to protect Jokers and followers of the Old Religion from terrorists out to avenge the Caliph's murder. Lohengrin is a new German ace who believes himself to a be true knight; he cannot be killed as long as he is wearing his armor made of light. The story sets up a war between Islam and those who worship wild card victims reborn in the likeness of mythological gods.
"The Tin Man's Lament" by Ian Tregillis -- Rustbelt tries to restore his reputation after being accused of racism. He and several other Discards leave the comfort of Hollywood to help the joker refugees in Egypt. This story strains credibility. It seems too easy for a bunch of young Americans (even aces) to get behind enemy lines during an ongoing armed military crisis. However, seeing them use their powers in battle is fun, as is the political chaos they cause.
"Incidental Music for Heroes" by Stephen Leigh (as S. L. Farrell) -- Drummer Boy, still pining after Curveball, ditches his band to go to Egypt to woo her one last time. First, he'll have to defeat the Righteous Djinn, a giant ace with the power to absorb the wild card powers of anyone he kills.
Next up: American Hero.
April 3, 2010
This is the 18th Wild Cards book, and appeared 21 years after the first. It's also the start of a new cycle within the series, and marks the 4th rebirth with a new publisher. The idea is that an an alien virus was released on Earth many years ago which changed all of the people who contracted it. Most of them died, but a few were changed into superheroes (known as aces) and others were changed significantly but not necessarily in a good or beneficial way, these latter being known as jokers. Many of the writers in this volume have contributed to previous volumes, though most of the characters are new. I didn't care for the framing format at first, which is that of reality tv series called "American Hero" which brings together a group of people with super powers who will compete for the title, with some people being voted off the show each week. The story comes together well about halfway through, especially when some of the contestants leave the show and unite to face real problems. They do a good job of examining the difference between real heroes and media personalities.
March 30, 2012
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2023
This one was a breath of fresh air, restoring interest I had lost over the past few books. Largely a self-contained tale.
March 15, 2008
Update: I want to give this big six stars, mainly because of the joy I felt upon the turn of events in the last third of the book. Seriously, I wanted to hoot. The shared-world anthology format brings the characters so much more alive; you...you really care - hell, I was surprised to find myself with empathy for Drummer Boy.
Update: I like the Jonathan Hive character. I, too, would be among the first kicked off a reality TV show. Plus, he's a struggling journalist (read: blogger) that the chicks find annoying. I'm finding joy in this book - it's like coming home. It's up there with the original trilogy of the series as far as readability. I'm concerned for John Fortune, though. With Fortunato the super-pimp as a father, and Peregrine (America's winged cheerleader) as your mother he's kind of...sad. Lost. Making do. I made a kick-ass Bloody Mary tonight.
*
Purchased on Feb. 29, 6:46 p.m. at B&N - stopped in as I was heading to work. Talked with Mick on the cellular telephone and he, himself, had picked up a book today on a...a whim: some book about reconditioning classic motorcycles. Picked it up at a book warehouse near Seaside, Ore. - a place I loitered fondly browsed the aisles of back in the late 90s: good to know it's still there. Was listening to Amy Winehouse's CD to-from work: making up own words. So far, have just read the Jonathan Hive blog entry: he's listening to "These are the Fables" by the New Pornographers? Okay, let me get this straight: The Doors did not exist in the Wild Cards universe ((being rather, a variation called Destiny featuring Thomas Marion Douglas (a.k.a. The Lizard King) and Jimi Hendrix)) but The New Pornographers do?! Okay.
*
http://americanhero.wildcardsbooks.co...
I have a madcrush on Jade Dragon; but in regards to Jonathan Hive: I'm pretty sure this is a reboot of a very minor character named Locust (or Pestilence?) who spat, you know, bugs. Not that I'm complaining.
I'd still like to know who spun the glowing blue web that caught Mr. Nobody (in King Kong form) back in Aces High. Was it Jumpin' Jack Flash? That was my lone theory - but highly doubted it due to the fact that, while he could command blue flames (red, green - all the flames), he couldn't make the flames substantial (solid heat?!).
Ha!: 654 potential heroes tried out for American Hero. Twenty-two wild carders with the power of flight showed off their skills, from the Hummingbird, the red-headed girl who can hover for hours (but not much else), to Jetman, who is carrying on the legacy of the great hero himself with his jet-powered boots. Eighteen aces proved themselves nearly indestructible. The most spectacular of these was Tiffani, who turns into glittering diamond. Twenty-five potential heroes shape-shifted into animals, from a giant toad to thousands of tiny bugs. Fifteen shape-shifted into inanimate objects, from a lamp post to a palm tree. Thirty-eight cars were destroyed in feats of strength and power, along with five buses, a tank, and four tons of concrete. And the three judges were mind-controlled into embarrassing situations no less than five times. Hint for future auditions: aces with mind-control powers shouldn't embarrass the judges if they expect to make the cut.
*
I dunno. Starting out this reboot with a blog so that it can seem hip, with-it and timely seems, eh, reaching. Wouldn't a world with telepaths, strongmen and etc. pretty much overshoot, veer around or otherwise bypass this present Information Age. Hello: it's an alternate universe, new writers. Alternate it!
Oh, and another note: It's not nice to play with people's expectations (I'm talking about the nerds): putting George's name in big ol' letters there, and showing off some dude with flowing locks and a sword: People'll think it's a Game of Thrones type fantasy epic.
Also, I'm disappointed that a series that came out in paperback is now getting the hardback treatment. Why? Paying an extra $20, that's why.
Update: I like the Jonathan Hive character. I, too, would be among the first kicked off a reality TV show. Plus, he's a struggling journalist (read: blogger) that the chicks find annoying. I'm finding joy in this book - it's like coming home. It's up there with the original trilogy of the series as far as readability. I'm concerned for John Fortune, though. With Fortunato the super-pimp as a father, and Peregrine (America's winged cheerleader) as your mother he's kind of...sad. Lost. Making do. I made a kick-ass Bloody Mary tonight.
*
Purchased on Feb. 29, 6:46 p.m. at B&N - stopped in as I was heading to work. Talked with Mick on the cellular telephone and he, himself, had picked up a book today on a...a whim: some book about reconditioning classic motorcycles. Picked it up at a book warehouse near Seaside, Ore. - a place I loitered fondly browsed the aisles of back in the late 90s: good to know it's still there. Was listening to Amy Winehouse's CD to-from work: making up own words. So far, have just read the Jonathan Hive blog entry: he's listening to "These are the Fables" by the New Pornographers? Okay, let me get this straight: The Doors did not exist in the Wild Cards universe ((being rather, a variation called Destiny featuring Thomas Marion Douglas (a.k.a. The Lizard King) and Jimi Hendrix)) but The New Pornographers do?! Okay.
*
http://americanhero.wildcardsbooks.co...
I have a madcrush on Jade Dragon; but in regards to Jonathan Hive: I'm pretty sure this is a reboot of a very minor character named Locust (or Pestilence?) who spat, you know, bugs. Not that I'm complaining.
I'd still like to know who spun the glowing blue web that caught Mr. Nobody (in King Kong form) back in Aces High. Was it Jumpin' Jack Flash? That was my lone theory - but highly doubted it due to the fact that, while he could command blue flames (red, green - all the flames), he couldn't make the flames substantial (solid heat?!).
Ha!: 654 potential heroes tried out for American Hero. Twenty-two wild carders with the power of flight showed off their skills, from the Hummingbird, the red-headed girl who can hover for hours (but not much else), to Jetman, who is carrying on the legacy of the great hero himself with his jet-powered boots. Eighteen aces proved themselves nearly indestructible. The most spectacular of these was Tiffani, who turns into glittering diamond. Twenty-five potential heroes shape-shifted into animals, from a giant toad to thousands of tiny bugs. Fifteen shape-shifted into inanimate objects, from a lamp post to a palm tree. Thirty-eight cars were destroyed in feats of strength and power, along with five buses, a tank, and four tons of concrete. And the three judges were mind-controlled into embarrassing situations no less than five times. Hint for future auditions: aces with mind-control powers shouldn't embarrass the judges if they expect to make the cut.
*
I dunno. Starting out this reboot with a blog so that it can seem hip, with-it and timely seems, eh, reaching. Wouldn't a world with telepaths, strongmen and etc. pretty much overshoot, veer around or otherwise bypass this present Information Age. Hello: it's an alternate universe, new writers. Alternate it!
Oh, and another note: It's not nice to play with people's expectations (I'm talking about the nerds): putting George's name in big ol' letters there, and showing off some dude with flowing locks and a sword: People'll think it's a Game of Thrones type fantasy epic.
Also, I'm disappointed that a series that came out in paperback is now getting the hardback treatment. Why? Paying an extra $20, that's why.
Read
September 9, 2014Jonathan Hive ist ein Ass, weil er sich in einen Wespenschwarm verwandeln kann. Aufgrund dessen bewirbt er sich bei der Fernsehshow „American Hero“, die neueste Casting Show im Fernsehen, die herausfinden will, wer Amerikas größter Held ist. Er kämpft mit anderen Assen um eine Million Dollar. Doch seine Chancen stehen eher schlecht und so nimmt er sich vor, die Show als Recherche für seinen Blog zu nutzen und die Hintergründe zu erkunden.
Als aufgrund eines Attentats in Ägypten Unruhen ausbrechen und die dortigen Lebenden Götter angegriffen werden und unschuldige Menschen sterben müssen, beschließt Jonathan zusammen mit anderen Assen, etwas gegen diese Unruhen zu unternehmen.
Die Show läuft jedoch weiter, aber bald merken die Mitspieler, was wahre Helden ausmacht.
Ich wusste ehrlich gesagt nicht genau, was mich erwartet, aber ich wusste schon vor Lesen des Buches, dass ich es lieben werde. Es ist mein persönliches Highlight des bisherigen Jahres. Ich habe mich sofort verliebt.
Die Geschichte erinnert an die X-Men, mutierte Wesen mit besonderen Fähigkeiten, gepaart mit Antihelden, die durch ihre miesepetrige Stimmung eher in die Kategorie „unsympathisch“ fallen. Man meint gerade, in eine Mischung aus den Comichelden von DC und Marvel geraten zu sein.
Was harmlos als Fernsehshow beginnt, die ein bisschen an Dschungelcamp vs. Big Brother erinnert, wird zu einem Kampf für Gerechtigkeit und gegen das Verbrechen.
Der Auftakt der Reihe fesselt gleich von Anfang an. Man lernt Charaktere kennen, die man auf den ersten Blick nicht leiden kann und Menschen, die einem gut erscheinen, in denen man sich aber komplett irrt.
Ein außerirdischer Virus ist dafür verantwortlich, dass manche Menschen ungewöhnliche Fähigkeiten entwickelt haben. Dies führt über „normale“ Fähigkeiten wie außergewöhnliche Stärke oder Größe, bis hin zu fliegen, teleportieren oder das Wetter beeinflussen. Andere können aus dem Nichts Stahlträger entstehen lasse oder durch bloßes berühren der Erde, Löcher buddeln oder Sandtürme entstehen lassen. Die Fähigkeiten sind weitreichend und der Fantasie keine Grenzen gesetzt. Die wohl außergewöhnlichste Figur war ein Mann mit sechs Armen, der auf der Brust mehrere Trommelfelle besitzt und somit als menschliches Schlagzeug in einer Band fungiert.
Das weitere Ungewöhnliche an dem Buch ist, dass jeder Charakter von einem anderen Autoren erfunden wurde und sich das Buch quasi aus Kapitel zusammensetzt, die immer von einem anderen Autoren geschrieben wurden. Dabei passen die ganzen Schreibstile jedoch so perfekt zusammen, dass man die Unterschiede fast gar nicht merkt. Sie sind eben ein eingespieltes Team.
Die von den Autoren so erschaffene neue Welt ist weitläufig und nach Belieben erweiterbar.
Im Amerikanischen gibt es bereits mehrere Bände dieser Wild Cards-Reihe, hier dann immer aus der Sicht eines Asses oder Jokers. Ich freue mich schon, dieses komplette Universum rund um die Wild Cards zu erforschen und hoffe, dass noch mehrere Bände auf deutsch erscheinen werden.
Fazit:
Ungewöhnlich gut, ungewöhnlich stark, ungewöhnlich wild.
Als aufgrund eines Attentats in Ägypten Unruhen ausbrechen und die dortigen Lebenden Götter angegriffen werden und unschuldige Menschen sterben müssen, beschließt Jonathan zusammen mit anderen Assen, etwas gegen diese Unruhen zu unternehmen.
Die Show läuft jedoch weiter, aber bald merken die Mitspieler, was wahre Helden ausmacht.
Ich wusste ehrlich gesagt nicht genau, was mich erwartet, aber ich wusste schon vor Lesen des Buches, dass ich es lieben werde. Es ist mein persönliches Highlight des bisherigen Jahres. Ich habe mich sofort verliebt.
Die Geschichte erinnert an die X-Men, mutierte Wesen mit besonderen Fähigkeiten, gepaart mit Antihelden, die durch ihre miesepetrige Stimmung eher in die Kategorie „unsympathisch“ fallen. Man meint gerade, in eine Mischung aus den Comichelden von DC und Marvel geraten zu sein.
Was harmlos als Fernsehshow beginnt, die ein bisschen an Dschungelcamp vs. Big Brother erinnert, wird zu einem Kampf für Gerechtigkeit und gegen das Verbrechen.
Der Auftakt der Reihe fesselt gleich von Anfang an. Man lernt Charaktere kennen, die man auf den ersten Blick nicht leiden kann und Menschen, die einem gut erscheinen, in denen man sich aber komplett irrt.
Ein außerirdischer Virus ist dafür verantwortlich, dass manche Menschen ungewöhnliche Fähigkeiten entwickelt haben. Dies führt über „normale“ Fähigkeiten wie außergewöhnliche Stärke oder Größe, bis hin zu fliegen, teleportieren oder das Wetter beeinflussen. Andere können aus dem Nichts Stahlträger entstehen lasse oder durch bloßes berühren der Erde, Löcher buddeln oder Sandtürme entstehen lassen. Die Fähigkeiten sind weitreichend und der Fantasie keine Grenzen gesetzt. Die wohl außergewöhnlichste Figur war ein Mann mit sechs Armen, der auf der Brust mehrere Trommelfelle besitzt und somit als menschliches Schlagzeug in einer Band fungiert.
Das weitere Ungewöhnliche an dem Buch ist, dass jeder Charakter von einem anderen Autoren erfunden wurde und sich das Buch quasi aus Kapitel zusammensetzt, die immer von einem anderen Autoren geschrieben wurden. Dabei passen die ganzen Schreibstile jedoch so perfekt zusammen, dass man die Unterschiede fast gar nicht merkt. Sie sind eben ein eingespieltes Team.
Die von den Autoren so erschaffene neue Welt ist weitläufig und nach Belieben erweiterbar.
Im Amerikanischen gibt es bereits mehrere Bände dieser Wild Cards-Reihe, hier dann immer aus der Sicht eines Asses oder Jokers. Ich freue mich schon, dieses komplette Universum rund um die Wild Cards zu erforschen und hoffe, dass noch mehrere Bände auf deutsch erscheinen werden.
Fazit:
Ungewöhnlich gut, ungewöhnlich stark, ungewöhnlich wild.
January 9, 2012
While I really liked the story, I have some problems with the front and back covers. Why on Earth is Luke Skywalker on the cover of this one? (yeah yeah, I get that it's supposed to be Lohengrin, but the face, the posture and the glowing sword just remind so much of those classic Star Wars posters that their artist could sue the hell out of Michael Kormarck.)
The other problem is that the back cover blurb must belong to some other novel, because it has utterly nothing to do with the plot of this one...very strange.
Concerning the plot, about two thirds of it is about a TV show called American Hero, which is pretty much like American Idol with a bit of Big Brother thrown in. Of course, they're looking for the next public Wild card hero, with contestants from pretty much every possible ethnic, geographical and economic background, and powers ranging between truly superhuman and extremely annoying. We are told about the challenges, life in the contestants' houses (and the Discard Pile), and the various shady moves of the production company. There are four main p-o-vs: Jonathan, who can transform into a swarm of green wasps, and who blogs about the contest, Bubbles, a former model with a dark past, who can somehow store kinetic energy as fat and release it as explosive or superheavy bubbles, Ana, who can move earth, and Drummer Boy, who has 6 arms, a naturally inbuilt drumset and is superstrong (and has a huge ego).
During the shooting, the Caliph of Arabia is murdered, and riots break out in Egypt (weird coincidence...) between government forces, jokers, followers of the Old Gods, and muslims. Through an amulet, John Fortune, the son of the famous ace and American Hero presenter Peregrine, is infected with the mind and powers (i.e. transforming into a huge, fire-breathing lioness) of a Egyptian joker/goddess. With some other contestants and the German ace Lohengrin, he goes to Egypt to support the jokers and the Old Gods there.
What I liked about this one is that it nicely captures the atmosphere of a casting show (not that I'd eeever watch one of those ;) ), with the machinations of the producers, and the rivalries and alliances of the contestants, and thus creates a pretty light-weight and entertaining first part of the book. When they get to Egypt, the mood becomes much more serious and dark, and the characters notice that they bit off more than they could swallow, which leads to them developing and growing up. There are some pretty gruesome scenes of battles and human misery there. Just what you'd expect from GRRM.
Reading the next Wildcards book, Busted Flush, next :)
The other problem is that the back cover blurb must belong to some other novel, because it has utterly nothing to do with the plot of this one...very strange.
Concerning the plot, about two thirds of it is about a TV show called American Hero, which is pretty much like American Idol with a bit of Big Brother thrown in. Of course, they're looking for the next public Wild card hero, with contestants from pretty much every possible ethnic, geographical and economic background, and powers ranging between truly superhuman and extremely annoying. We are told about the challenges, life in the contestants' houses (and the Discard Pile), and the various shady moves of the production company. There are four main p-o-vs: Jonathan, who can transform into a swarm of green wasps, and who blogs about the contest, Bubbles, a former model with a dark past, who can somehow store kinetic energy as fat and release it as explosive or superheavy bubbles, Ana, who can move earth, and Drummer Boy, who has 6 arms, a naturally inbuilt drumset and is superstrong (and has a huge ego).
During the shooting, the Caliph of Arabia is murdered, and riots break out in Egypt (weird coincidence...) between government forces, jokers, followers of the Old Gods, and muslims. Through an amulet, John Fortune, the son of the famous ace and American Hero presenter Peregrine, is infected with the mind and powers (i.e. transforming into a huge, fire-breathing lioness) of a Egyptian joker/goddess. With some other contestants and the German ace Lohengrin, he goes to Egypt to support the jokers and the Old Gods there.
What I liked about this one is that it nicely captures the atmosphere of a casting show (not that I'd eeever watch one of those ;) ), with the machinations of the producers, and the rivalries and alliances of the contestants, and thus creates a pretty light-weight and entertaining first part of the book. When they get to Egypt, the mood becomes much more serious and dark, and the characters notice that they bit off more than they could swallow, which leads to them developing and growing up. There are some pretty gruesome scenes of battles and human misery there. Just what you'd expect from GRRM.
Reading the next Wildcards book, Busted Flush, next :)
September 5, 2014
Good world building, but really didn't live up to it. The reality tv show arc was ok. It is diverse, so that gets some brownie points, I liked some of the characters that only got some limelight chapters.
Stuff I disliked is a lot longer as a list. We get several characters that are clearly assholes - Hive and DB on the front of those - but are either expected to like them (Hive) or buy redemption/he's not t h a t big of an asshole (DB). Couldn't buy it with the narrative. When the text explicitly addresses the failings and fuck ups (CNN interview), the heroes can't answer and the whole episode is but aside. Instead of showing the media coverage as bad it only furthers resentment against the character/the way he's written.
I can give some lenience plot wise for the alternative universe that has been build, but it still disappoints. Follows the Americans safe the world plot line, even if these americans are not only white. All muslim characters/entities are build up as at best vaguely threatening, at worst a clear fit into the stereotypes given rise after 9/11. Especially the turn in political course at the end, which could have been fleshed out by the writers if they wanted to, was handled poorly and comes out of nowhere.
World utilizes UN and puts them in the "UN is completely useless" range. At the end they let them form an international intervention comitee that doesn't have to answer to any countries. By these two moves alone the writers show that they have no idea about how the UN works and what their jurisdiction/goals are. Either explicitly give them more power in your world building/change them otherwise or do research about what and what not the UN isn't. If you need to write world politics on a global scale, understand them first.
Then as the last of examples on where that book falls down face first, is that there's a plot point in which "playing the race card" is used unironically. This is a stupid way to plot, it fails to take in account how much backlash PoC get for pointing out use of slurs in the real world and that it is not worth the hassle in the least. Lying about accusation of racism is a frequent arguement used by racists to defame actual black people trying to make their enviroment safer, it happens on a miniscule basis and to portrait this a normal thing to happen and play these fabrications straight is not helping anyone but racists.
There'S more bitter moments, but overall I would say skip this. I certainly won't read the next book, unless a close friend with taste that I trust swears on their firstborn that there's a remarkable jump in quality. And I don't think there will be.
Stuff I disliked is a lot longer as a list. We get several characters that are clearly assholes - Hive and DB on the front of those - but are either expected to like them (Hive) or buy redemption/he's not t h a t big of an asshole (DB). Couldn't buy it with the narrative. When the text explicitly addresses the failings and fuck ups (CNN interview), the heroes can't answer and the whole episode is but aside. Instead of showing the media coverage as bad it only furthers resentment against the character/the way he's written.
I can give some lenience plot wise for the alternative universe that has been build, but it still disappoints. Follows the Americans safe the world plot line, even if these americans are not only white. All muslim characters/entities are build up as at best vaguely threatening, at worst a clear fit into the stereotypes given rise after 9/11. Especially the turn in political course at the end, which could have been fleshed out by the writers if they wanted to, was handled poorly and comes out of nowhere.
World utilizes UN and puts them in the "UN is completely useless" range. At the end they let them form an international intervention comitee that doesn't have to answer to any countries. By these two moves alone the writers show that they have no idea about how the UN works and what their jurisdiction/goals are. Either explicitly give them more power in your world building/change them otherwise or do research about what and what not the UN isn't. If you need to write world politics on a global scale, understand them first.
Then as the last of examples on where that book falls down face first, is that there's a plot point in which "playing the race card" is used unironically. This is a stupid way to plot, it fails to take in account how much backlash PoC get for pointing out use of slurs in the real world and that it is not worth the hassle in the least. Lying about accusation of racism is a frequent arguement used by racists to defame actual black people trying to make their enviroment safer, it happens on a miniscule basis and to portrait this a normal thing to happen and play these fabrications straight is not helping anyone but racists.
There'S more bitter moments, but overall I would say skip this. I certainly won't read the next book, unless a close friend with taste that I trust swears on their firstborn that there's a remarkable jump in quality. And I don't think there will be.
June 19, 2015
http://www.bscreview.com/2009/11/wild...
For those not familiar with the long-running superhero series, Wild Cards are all mosaic novels: multiple authors each contributing stories using a shared setting and characters to a larger overarching story. The core narrative of Inside Straight, the eighteenth book in the continuum, is maintained by Daniel Abraham through the perspective of his character Jonathan Hive: superpowered “ace,” blogger, amateur journalist, and reality TV show contestant. Yes, a reality TV show about superhumans trying to win a million dollars and win the title of “American Hero.” I know, it sounds like a horrible idea, but Martin, et al., really made it work. It instantly establishes the contemporary American setting within their alternate reality and provides an excellent vehicle for the introduction of previously unknown characters into the Wild Cards universe. It is also a set-up for the real story, an earth-shaking conflict in the Middle East.
It is entirely possible to bypass the first seventeen Wild Cards books, jump right into Inside Straight, and enjoy it. This book is tied directly into events from the prior volumes, but more than adequate background is provided for new readers to understand the world of the Wild Cards. Those who are familiar with the previous stories will definitely have a different perspective, especially in the case of one of the book’s central figures, John Fortune.
In my opinion the stand-out amongst the contributing authors was Carrie Vaughn, who sucked me in completely with her “Chosen Ones” chapters. You know how sometimes when you are reading something and the world just fades away? The outside world isn’t there anymore, you aren’t there anymore, there is only the book. Well, reading the chapters that came from Vaughn was like that. If this novel offered any disappointments, it was that she did not write more of it.
Not that the other contributors were duds. Caroline Spector and Ian Tregillis were both especially good, and Melinda Snodgrass – who prior to reading Inside Straight I didn’t think I even liked – surprised me with the high quality of the chapters she provided.
All in all, Inside Straight is as fine an addition to the Wild Cards series as one could hope for. It works as both a gateway book for the uninitiated and a fresh take on the setting for series veterans.
For those not familiar with the long-running superhero series, Wild Cards are all mosaic novels: multiple authors each contributing stories using a shared setting and characters to a larger overarching story. The core narrative of Inside Straight, the eighteenth book in the continuum, is maintained by Daniel Abraham through the perspective of his character Jonathan Hive: superpowered “ace,” blogger, amateur journalist, and reality TV show contestant. Yes, a reality TV show about superhumans trying to win a million dollars and win the title of “American Hero.” I know, it sounds like a horrible idea, but Martin, et al., really made it work. It instantly establishes the contemporary American setting within their alternate reality and provides an excellent vehicle for the introduction of previously unknown characters into the Wild Cards universe. It is also a set-up for the real story, an earth-shaking conflict in the Middle East.
It is entirely possible to bypass the first seventeen Wild Cards books, jump right into Inside Straight, and enjoy it. This book is tied directly into events from the prior volumes, but more than adequate background is provided for new readers to understand the world of the Wild Cards. Those who are familiar with the previous stories will definitely have a different perspective, especially in the case of one of the book’s central figures, John Fortune.
In my opinion the stand-out amongst the contributing authors was Carrie Vaughn, who sucked me in completely with her “Chosen Ones” chapters. You know how sometimes when you are reading something and the world just fades away? The outside world isn’t there anymore, you aren’t there anymore, there is only the book. Well, reading the chapters that came from Vaughn was like that. If this novel offered any disappointments, it was that she did not write more of it.
Not that the other contributors were duds. Caroline Spector and Ian Tregillis were both especially good, and Melinda Snodgrass – who prior to reading Inside Straight I didn’t think I even liked – surprised me with the high quality of the chapters she provided.
All in all, Inside Straight is as fine an addition to the Wild Cards series as one could hope for. It works as both a gateway book for the uninitiated and a fresh take on the setting for series veterans.
March 9, 2015
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I loved the original four or five titles in the long-running Wild Cards series, in which the alien Tachyon unleashes a virus in the Earth's atmosphere that turns some humans into superhumans, either "jokers" (whose "wild card" manifests as terrible mutations) or "aces" (whose mutations are more like comic-book superhero powers). The series, started in the 1980s, began at around the end of WWII and carried on into the then-present, but once it reached that point, I felt it went off the rails with more and more weird beings being thrown into the mix. So I was somewhat relieved when it apparently came to an end sometime in the 1990s. More recently, however, it has returned with new writers and new characters. The premise of the books is that numerous authors create joker and ace characters which each author can use in his/her part of the story, creating a "mosiac novel" of many authorial voices. Inside Straight is, I believe, the third of the new series, and features writing by Daniel Abraham, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Carrie Vaughn, Michael Cassutt, Caroline Spector, John Jos. Miller, George R.R. Martin, Ian Tregillis and S.L. Farrell. It starts out amusingly enough, with a bunch of wild card contestants on a reality TV show to find the first "American Hero" ace, which is a set-up tailor-made for satire; I quite enjoyed the characters and their back-biting behaviour during the first part of the book. But then the authors get serious, about a kind of civil war raging in Egypt, where the Caliph has been assassinated and fundamentalist Muslims are working to wipe out all wild card sufferers in the country, many of whom look like (and are worshipped as) the ancient Egyptian gods; some of the discarded "American Hero" contestants decide to join in the fight because they see that innocent people are dying in their thousands. But the battle isn't as simple as it seems....Unfortunately, I felt that the juxtaposition between the funny reality-TV stuff and the serious genocidal war stuff was just too much of a contrast to really work as a coherent story. Don't get me wrong, the writing itself was fine and some of the characters were particularly interesting to me, but I couldn't really get past that broad of a contrast in tone. A shame.
I loved the original four or five titles in the long-running Wild Cards series, in which the alien Tachyon unleashes a virus in the Earth's atmosphere that turns some humans into superhumans, either "jokers" (whose "wild card" manifests as terrible mutations) or "aces" (whose mutations are more like comic-book superhero powers). The series, started in the 1980s, began at around the end of WWII and carried on into the then-present, but once it reached that point, I felt it went off the rails with more and more weird beings being thrown into the mix. So I was somewhat relieved when it apparently came to an end sometime in the 1990s. More recently, however, it has returned with new writers and new characters. The premise of the books is that numerous authors create joker and ace characters which each author can use in his/her part of the story, creating a "mosiac novel" of many authorial voices. Inside Straight is, I believe, the third of the new series, and features writing by Daniel Abraham, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Carrie Vaughn, Michael Cassutt, Caroline Spector, John Jos. Miller, George R.R. Martin, Ian Tregillis and S.L. Farrell. It starts out amusingly enough, with a bunch of wild card contestants on a reality TV show to find the first "American Hero" ace, which is a set-up tailor-made for satire; I quite enjoyed the characters and their back-biting behaviour during the first part of the book. But then the authors get serious, about a kind of civil war raging in Egypt, where the Caliph has been assassinated and fundamentalist Muslims are working to wipe out all wild card sufferers in the country, many of whom look like (and are worshipped as) the ancient Egyptian gods; some of the discarded "American Hero" contestants decide to join in the fight because they see that innocent people are dying in their thousands. But the battle isn't as simple as it seems....Unfortunately, I felt that the juxtaposition between the funny reality-TV stuff and the serious genocidal war stuff was just too much of a contrast to really work as a coherent story. Don't get me wrong, the writing itself was fine and some of the characters were particularly interesting to me, but I couldn't really get past that broad of a contrast in tone. A shame.
Read
January 3, 2014So, with the middle volumes of Wild Cards out of print at the moment, I thought I'd simultaneously start reading the modern, 'next generation' books in the series. And yes, I have picked up one or two spoilers for what's coming in between, but the timeframe is such that it's not too big a problem; these young aces have only a hazy idea of their own history, and this book was intended as a suitable jumping-on point.
The set-up at first seems dated in the way only something from the recent past (first published 2008) can - a real Do You See juxtaposition of reality TV bullshit versus real suffering in the Middle East. However, the situation's not half as dopily obvious as it first appears (despite the blurb's unaccountable efforts to make the whole thing sound even dumber). This is in large part a story about how, just as people can do the wrong thing for all the right reasons, so true heroism can be founded in vainglory, lust, or just getting far too drunk with the wrong people one night. Yes, some of the plotting and characterisation still seems a trifle broad-brush (in a way that would bother me a lot less were these superheroes operating in comics rather than prose - like their fellow hybrid art-form, opera, comics seem to use archetypes a lot better than the purestrain arts). And undoubtedly some readers will feel uneasy at the idea of Western heroes storming into the Middle East to kick fundamentalist arse (not me). But for the most part, this is a fine job of reaffirming the usefulness of the Wild Cards concept to another generation. It does help, of course, that the contributors as well as the characters include new blood - Daniel Abraham is in some ways the guiding hand of the story here, and he's always good.
The set-up at first seems dated in the way only something from the recent past (first published 2008) can - a real Do You See juxtaposition of reality TV bullshit versus real suffering in the Middle East. However, the situation's not half as dopily obvious as it first appears (despite the blurb's unaccountable efforts to make the whole thing sound even dumber). This is in large part a story about how, just as people can do the wrong thing for all the right reasons, so true heroism can be founded in vainglory, lust, or just getting far too drunk with the wrong people one night. Yes, some of the plotting and characterisation still seems a trifle broad-brush (in a way that would bother me a lot less were these superheroes operating in comics rather than prose - like their fellow hybrid art-form, opera, comics seem to use archetypes a lot better than the purestrain arts). And undoubtedly some readers will feel uneasy at the idea of Western heroes storming into the Middle East to kick fundamentalist arse (not me). But for the most part, this is a fine job of reaffirming the usefulness of the Wild Cards concept to another generation. It does help, of course, that the contributors as well as the characters include new blood - Daniel Abraham is in some ways the guiding hand of the story here, and he's always good.
February 5, 2008
I loved the 'wild card' series in a big way when I first discovered it in the late 90s. It was written a decade earlier, and was one of the first works to take a serious look at what the world would be like with 'super powers'. It looks at most of the major events (to Americans, at least) between WWII and the 1980s from the point of view of a wide range of characters; each book is broken into chapters written by a different author, featuring a different character. The authors consistently managed to compare the fictional but believable superhuman against our own knowledge and understanding of past events to suss out a true, human core from events that had, at the timed, seemed so historical as to be impersonal.
The authors were strange and varied; a few were well known to me: George R. R. Martin, Roger Zelazny, Melinda Snodgrass. all of them brought a real interest in the material and original approaches to the book. It was clear they were happy to be writing it.
This new book, appearing as it does after a 20ish year hiatus, had me really excited. Unfortunately, it's not up to par. It's interesting, but the writing seems rushed and pulpy, it centers partly around a reality TV show, which trope I am just *sick* of, and there are even some editing slips. The characters aren't as fun or as well-developed, and Zelazny didn't participate in this one, taking with him my favorite character.
I hope the series gets resurrected, and sequels occur . . . I just hope they're more interesting than this one.
The authors were strange and varied; a few were well known to me: George R. R. Martin, Roger Zelazny, Melinda Snodgrass. all of them brought a real interest in the material and original approaches to the book. It was clear they were happy to be writing it.
This new book, appearing as it does after a 20ish year hiatus, had me really excited. Unfortunately, it's not up to par. It's interesting, but the writing seems rushed and pulpy, it centers partly around a reality TV show, which trope I am just *sick* of, and there are even some editing slips. The characters aren't as fun or as well-developed, and Zelazny didn't participate in this one, taking with him my favorite character.
I hope the series gets resurrected, and sequels occur . . . I just hope they're more interesting than this one.
March 8, 2010
The Wild Card books are a mystery to me. I didn't hear about them until I picked this one up at the bookstore because I had finished the Song of Fire and Ice series and wanted more Martin. I turns out that there have been over a dozen Wild Card books produced, starting in the early eighties. They are mosaic novels, each chapter written by different authors, to make one big story. It's based in a world were a virus was released that killed 90% of the population, deformed 9 % and gave superpowers to 1%. It seemed right up my alley, and yet I never heard of it before.
Despite not reading any of the other books in the series, I picked this one up. If I didn't fully get everything due to missing out on the history, I didn't notice. I loved this book. It seems like a great "jumping on point" for the series, which was the point I think. In this book, super powers have been around for over 60 years and are just part of society. So, as with everything else in our society, it must be made into a realty show. That's the basis for most of the book. A reality show to find the next American Hero! Even though I hate reality shows, this was a fun idea which eventually evolved into a comment on American involvement in the Middle East.
This was a fun book. If you like comic books like me, then you'll really like it. I ended up tracking down a few of the original Wild Card books. And while they were fun in their own way, they are a bit dated and not necessary to enjoy this book.
Despite not reading any of the other books in the series, I picked this one up. If I didn't fully get everything due to missing out on the history, I didn't notice. I loved this book. It seems like a great "jumping on point" for the series, which was the point I think. In this book, super powers have been around for over 60 years and are just part of society. So, as with everything else in our society, it must be made into a realty show. That's the basis for most of the book. A reality show to find the next American Hero! Even though I hate reality shows, this was a fun idea which eventually evolved into a comment on American involvement in the Middle East.
This was a fun book. If you like comic books like me, then you'll really like it. I ended up tracking down a few of the original Wild Card books. And while they were fun in their own way, they are a bit dated and not necessary to enjoy this book.
September 14, 2012
Good to see the Wild Cards books back on form again, after a fairly long hiatus. This new volume brings the world fully into the 21st century (not, of course, the first volume to do that, but perhaps the first where it's truly obvious), with reality TV shows and Middle Eastern conflicts both taking a rather topical share of the centre stage.
Although the previous book. Death Draws Five, introduces one of the key characters in this one, for the most part its a metaphorical passing of the baton to a new generation of aces, and there's a whole slew of new characters in here, who presumably will be the focus of the new two books in the series as well. Mostly, they are interesting and well-rounded, although there's a few we still need to see more fleshed out (Curveball, for example). Also somewhat amusing to see a character from the original RPG campaign the books are based on, but that George RR Martin had, back in the '90s, described as too silly to make it into the novels, now actually making his debut. As a minor character, to be sure, but not an entirely incidental one.
Oddly, the cover blurb, at least of my edition, actually seems to describe the later books in the series, and has nothing to do with this one. Even though it, in a way, a follow-on to Death Draws Five, it's also a pretty good entry point into the series, with all but one of the viewpoint characters being new, and the plot not heavily relying on the back-story.
Although the previous book. Death Draws Five, introduces one of the key characters in this one, for the most part its a metaphorical passing of the baton to a new generation of aces, and there's a whole slew of new characters in here, who presumably will be the focus of the new two books in the series as well. Mostly, they are interesting and well-rounded, although there's a few we still need to see more fleshed out (Curveball, for example). Also somewhat amusing to see a character from the original RPG campaign the books are based on, but that George RR Martin had, back in the '90s, described as too silly to make it into the novels, now actually making his debut. As a minor character, to be sure, but not an entirely incidental one.
Oddly, the cover blurb, at least of my edition, actually seems to describe the later books in the series, and has nothing to do with this one. Even though it, in a way, a follow-on to Death Draws Five, it's also a pretty good entry point into the series, with all but one of the viewpoint characters being new, and the plot not heavily relying on the back-story.
September 17, 2019
Disclaimer: this is the first Wild Cards book I have read. I did find the structure of the story really fascinating, and wove together nicely.
So, this book is telling two stories. The first is about a superhero reality show, which I found surprisingly compelling. It's entertainment at its basest, not just the reality show itself, but the way it played out on page. However, there was something both pure and raw about the depiction of how fame, power, and competition can bring out the best, and worst, in people. It almost made me understand the appeal of reality shows and I found myself sucked in.
The other story is about political upheaval leading to attempted genocide in Egypt, and the super-powered response to the situation. The story itself was interesting, and involved more actual superheroism, though it smelled an awful lot like 'random white guys become the saviours the brown people desperately need.' I know it was a bit more nuanced than that on page, but it rubbed me the wrong way, particularly since they were protecting people with a LOT of extraordinary people already present.
Overall, I felt that both stories could have made better complete books on their own. I did still find the book and world compelling, though, and I love the overall "mosaic novel" style.
So, this book is telling two stories. The first is about a superhero reality show, which I found surprisingly compelling. It's entertainment at its basest, not just the reality show itself, but the way it played out on page. However, there was something both pure and raw about the depiction of how fame, power, and competition can bring out the best, and worst, in people. It almost made me understand the appeal of reality shows and I found myself sucked in.
The other story is about political upheaval leading to attempted genocide in Egypt, and the super-powered response to the situation. The story itself was interesting, and involved more actual superheroism, though it smelled an awful lot like 'random white guys become the saviours the brown people desperately need.' I know it was a bit more nuanced than that on page, but it rubbed me the wrong way, particularly since they were protecting people with a LOT of extraordinary people already present.
Overall, I felt that both stories could have made better complete books on their own. I did still find the book and world compelling, though, and I love the overall "mosaic novel" style.
February 3, 2023
The best entry in to the Wild Cards canon following several lackluster volumes. The inclusion of a superhero "Big Brother/Survivor" is clever. The theme, televised scripted heroics ain't the real thing is a good choice.
The best chapter is by Ian Tregillis, a writer I'm not familiar with. He nails his short chapter, really tops.
It's not all good. Although this book lists 3 editors, there are at least a few poorly written passages that one would not expect from professionals with professional editing. The inclusion of the word motherf**in on the first page is a mistake, as this is a word we only expect to read from immature writers expressing the immature range of their abilities. There are many unnecessary f-bombs in here, so weak. The uses of the word f**k is a crutch for writers(and songwriters) who don't want to work hard. While there is a lot of sex hinted at, the only thing on screen is lesbian sex in which one woman pines for fat girls, "Please get fatter." Weird choice, but I guess it appeals to one-tenth of one-percent of readers who are into fat lesbians. The blog entries which, in theory, are written by an aspiring journalist, are not written in the voice of an aspiring journalist.
Great cover, definitely top 5%.
The best chapter is by Ian Tregillis, a writer I'm not familiar with. He nails his short chapter, really tops.
It's not all good. Although this book lists 3 editors, there are at least a few poorly written passages that one would not expect from professionals with professional editing. The inclusion of the word motherf**in on the first page is a mistake, as this is a word we only expect to read from immature writers expressing the immature range of their abilities. There are many unnecessary f-bombs in here, so weak. The uses of the word f**k is a crutch for writers(and songwriters) who don't want to work hard. While there is a lot of sex hinted at, the only thing on screen is lesbian sex in which one woman pines for fat girls, "Please get fatter." Weird choice, but I guess it appeals to one-tenth of one-percent of readers who are into fat lesbians. The blog entries which, in theory, are written by an aspiring journalist, are not written in the voice of an aspiring journalist.
Great cover, definitely top 5%.
January 22, 2011
I liked this book for many reasons. I like the idea of the Wild Cards series. I discovered them when they first came out and read several. I like the character growth (and death). I like the interactions between authors. I'm an admitted comic book/super hero fan. The series is more X-Men than Justice League. More Authority than Avengers.
I've always liked the premise of this series and the way it addresses contemporary events. In this installment there are middle-east problems and reality TV. The mix of authors allows for various viewpoints and surprising twists in the plot.
I find a lot of humor in the series. Some of it is over the top as only could be related to specific super powers and situations. I came to care about what happened to several of the characters. There are character studies that drive the action that drives the plot. It must be challenging to edit everything together but a lot of fun.
The ending was a set up for the next installment. I will probably get around to it some day but for the moment I'm satisfied with this turn of events in the Wild Card Universe.
I've always liked the premise of this series and the way it addresses contemporary events. In this installment there are middle-east problems and reality TV. The mix of authors allows for various viewpoints and surprising twists in the plot.
I find a lot of humor in the series. Some of it is over the top as only could be related to specific super powers and situations. I came to care about what happened to several of the characters. There are character studies that drive the action that drives the plot. It must be challenging to edit everything together but a lot of fun.
The ending was a set up for the next installment. I will probably get around to it some day but for the moment I'm satisfied with this turn of events in the Wild Card Universe.
May 12, 2012
So, Wild Cards. Heard a lot about it and decided to read something to know what people liked so much about this series. At first, I was puzzled. Not because there was anything wrong with the writting, but the backcover told me that I would read a completely different story with zombies and nuclear bombs, if I recall right. And I really didn't care about the whole reality TV plot. So, it was a bad start.
But I kept on reading and some of the characters started to grow on me. And I really liked when the book got back to the Egypt plot that got me hooked from the start. That's what I wanted to read since the beggining. But I see what the authors tried to achieve with this book and I really enjoyed the end product. So I'm not gonna beat this guys over bad television.
There are some good characters in there. I specially liked Jonathan "Bugsy" Hive, Lohengrim (I hope that's how it's written), Rustbelt, Earth Witch and Noel (felt a bit disturbed by this one, by the way). Couldn't care much for fan favorites like Curveball, Drummer Boy and Amazing Bubles, but that's just me. Overall, a good read.
But I kept on reading and some of the characters started to grow on me. And I really liked when the book got back to the Egypt plot that got me hooked from the start. That's what I wanted to read since the beggining. But I see what the authors tried to achieve with this book and I really enjoyed the end product. So I'm not gonna beat this guys over bad television.
There are some good characters in there. I specially liked Jonathan "Bugsy" Hive, Lohengrim (I hope that's how it's written), Rustbelt, Earth Witch and Noel (felt a bit disturbed by this one, by the way). Couldn't care much for fan favorites like Curveball, Drummer Boy and Amazing Bubles, but that's just me. Overall, a good read.
February 9, 2013
I thought this was going to be a superhero parody of American Idol. That's how it began, but halfway through the story took a sharp left and became a war story and political thriller, with a solid helping of requisite Martinesque tragedy.
The writers demonstrated a high level of creativity in constructing dozens of superheroes. A lot of it is old hat--teleporters, strongmen, fliers and speedsters--but the attention to detail makes it feel fresh. One indestructible guy (with the awesome name Stuntman) has to spend a day or so disoriented and hallucinating each time he "bounces back". The metal guy rusts. A strongman turns out to be an 8-year-old boy when he takes his luche libre mask off.
The best thing is that the characters feel like real people. Some of them are idealistic, some selfish. They're naive, sarcastic, noble, insecure, amorous, hopeful. Sometimes they make choices they regret. Often they die.
I actively dislikes superhero books, but I really liked Inside Straight. Highly recommended.
The writers demonstrated a high level of creativity in constructing dozens of superheroes. A lot of it is old hat--teleporters, strongmen, fliers and speedsters--but the attention to detail makes it feel fresh. One indestructible guy (with the awesome name Stuntman) has to spend a day or so disoriented and hallucinating each time he "bounces back". The metal guy rusts. A strongman turns out to be an 8-year-old boy when he takes his luche libre mask off.
The best thing is that the characters feel like real people. Some of them are idealistic, some selfish. They're naive, sarcastic, noble, insecure, amorous, hopeful. Sometimes they make choices they regret. Often they die.
I actively dislikes superhero books, but I really liked Inside Straight. Highly recommended.
April 30, 2021
1.5 Rounding down to 1 because I hate this, the 0.5 is for my shapeshifting babe and because the Series Chronology is not as confusing as the Fate(/stay night) series
Another great book by Gartin Rartin Rartin Martin: Pseudo-witty tale of reality TV and middle east (i think??) politics about humans with superpowers.
While there were occasionally some interesting characters, I had to convince myself not to skip entire chapters because they were written in the perpectives of boring-ass idiots. This book made me forget three languages, pythagoras theorem and the reason why I liked superpowered humans stories in the frist place. Americans fascination with Reality TV bleeds into every facet of their culture and has made its way into books now. I cannot possibly explain how much I don't give a shit about satirical takes on show-runners exploitation of participants for profit. On top of that, the book is laced with every distasteful aspect of manly man powertrip stories imaginable. including bad opinions on the middle east conflict and glorious Merica
Another great book by Gartin Rartin Rartin Martin: Pseudo-witty tale of reality TV and middle east (i think??) politics about humans with superpowers.
While there were occasionally some interesting characters, I had to convince myself not to skip entire chapters because they were written in the perpectives of boring-ass idiots. This book made me forget three languages, pythagoras theorem and the reason why I liked superpowered humans stories in the frist place. Americans fascination with Reality TV bleeds into every facet of their culture and has made its way into books now. I cannot possibly explain how much I don't give a shit about satirical takes on show-runners exploitation of participants for profit. On top of that, the book is laced with every distasteful aspect of manly man powertrip stories imaginable. including bad opinions on the middle east conflict and glorious Merica
May 23, 2010
I loved the shared world anthology Thieves' World in the 1980's and recently devoured all twelve books. That left me hungry for something new so I tried this relaunch of the original Wild Cards shared world anthology series that we are publishing now.
Premise is an alien invasion in the 1940's released a virus that killed off 90% of the people it came in contact with. Of the 10% who survive, they all end up mutating and developing strange features or powers. Some turn up "jokers" with bizarre facial features and useless or grotesque powers. Some come up like a "2 of clubs" being able to do minor things like leviatate 2 feet off the ground. A rare few are "Aces" who develop extraordinary, almost superhero like powers.
A fair start to this relaunch, I will probably read the next book at some time in the future when I need some mind candy. I might also check out the original books that we have acquired the rights to and are republishing.
Premise is an alien invasion in the 1940's released a virus that killed off 90% of the people it came in contact with. Of the 10% who survive, they all end up mutating and developing strange features or powers. Some turn up "jokers" with bizarre facial features and useless or grotesque powers. Some come up like a "2 of clubs" being able to do minor things like leviatate 2 feet off the ground. A rare few are "Aces" who develop extraordinary, almost superhero like powers.
A fair start to this relaunch, I will probably read the next book at some time in the future when I need some mind candy. I might also check out the original books that we have acquired the rights to and are republishing.
August 26, 2011
Aces and Jokers compete to find out who will be the first American Hero on a reality TV show. But what does it really mean to be a hero? Is it how someone uses their powers only while the camera is on? What real difference can these extraordinary people make in the tinsel-town land of Hollywood or out in the real world? How much are they willing to risk to win in the little games and also in the bigger ones?
This Wild Cards book is full of twists and turns. It had me hanging on in the last couple chapters. Couldn't put it down. There was a big reveal of an absolutely game-changing secret near the end, at least for me. I love how the Wild Card authors always seem to gabberflast me with these startling tidbits! I never see them coming. I'm not spoiling, though, so don't ask.
Personal note - It would have been such a delight to have been in on the gaming sessions that spawned these great characters. I'll always regret that I wasn't at least a wasp on the wall for those.
This Wild Cards book is full of twists and turns. It had me hanging on in the last couple chapters. Couldn't put it down. There was a big reveal of an absolutely game-changing secret near the end, at least for me. I love how the Wild Card authors always seem to gabberflast me with these startling tidbits! I never see them coming. I'm not spoiling, though, so don't ask.
Personal note - It would have been such a delight to have been in on the gaming sessions that spawned these great characters. I'll always regret that I wasn't at least a wasp on the wall for those.
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