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Wild Cards #33
House Rules : A Novel in Stories
An alien virus ravages the world, with effects as random as a hand of cards. Those infected either draw the black queen and die, draw an ace and receive superpowers, or draw the joker and become bizarrely mutated. But whether joker or ace or a bit of both, few turn down an invite to Keun.
The island of Keun lies off the coast of Cornwall, connected to the mainland only by an ancient, tidal causeway. It is a magical place, where anything can happen.
The mansion crowning the island is owned by Lord Branok, a mysterious billionaire who is also a wild card of some sort—but whether he is an ace, a joker or a knave, no one is quite sure.
Parties at Loveday House are legendary—for adventure, for intrigue, for love, for danger—and guests may take on whatever personae and masks they choose when they attend. Parts of the house seem to exist out of time, and the Wild Hunt is reputed to ride the island. And haunting the house is its original owner: a woman determined to regain control over her domain—by any means necessary.
The island of Keun lies off the coast of Cornwall, connected to the mainland only by an ancient, tidal causeway. It is a magical place, where anything can happen.
The mansion crowning the island is owned by Lord Branok, a mysterious billionaire who is also a wild card of some sort—but whether he is an ace, a joker or a knave, no one is quite sure.
Parties at Loveday House are legendary—for adventure, for intrigue, for love, for danger—and guests may take on whatever personae and masks they choose when they attend. Parts of the house seem to exist out of time, and the Wild Hunt is reputed to ride the island. And haunting the house is its original owner: a woman determined to regain control over her domain—by any means necessary.
544 pages, Hardcover
Published February 25, 2025
14 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
George R.R. Martin
1,506 books119k followersGeorge Raymond Richard "R.R." Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: The Hero, sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.
As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.
In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: The Hero, sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.
As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.
In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 26, 2025
I thought House Rules was a pretty good contemporary U.K. dark fantasy anthology, but not a good Wild Cards book. The framing sections and introductory story by Stephen Leigh are well crafted, and I thought he did a good job of introducing a wide variety of characters, though I ddisliked the ending. Mary Anne Mohanraj's story is a dark but fun manic one with a kind of romantic comedy feel. Caroline Spector's Christmas story is a little too complex and dark for the season. Peter Newman's story about Hero McHeroface and his sister was probably my favorite, but I really disliked almost everything about Kevin Andrew Murphy's catalogue of gloom. The last story was by Peadar O'Guilin and was a pretty good crime caper that had an interesting in-your-face sin-and-no-redemption theme. The Wild Cards series already had interstellar war, comic book superheroes and supervillains, and a thousand other wild flights of fancy, and I really don't think they needed to add the multiverse trope to the mix. One of the strong points of the books has been that sometimes things go all right, sometimes the good guys win, sometimes there's a happy ending, sometimes there's something to look forward to... This volume was just all dark all the time. The idea is that there's an island run by a mysterious Wild Card named Lord Branok, who throws periodic parties where people (usually powered ones) go and terrible things happen. His home is built on the foundation of an ancient castle that's the nexus of alternate worlds, apparently all of them worse than ours. It's never explained why he keeps having these terrible affairs or why people keep attending. There are some familiar characters, mostly from the U.K.-set volumes, but none are presented in a very positive light. (Well, I guess Topper is cool. And werewolf Mick Jagger, I guess.) Not a bad book, but I felt like I was reading a bleak and R-rated Love Boat or Fantasy Island collection, not a Wild Cards.
May 16, 2025
Loveday House exists at a nexus of alternate realities atop a picturesque Cornish tidal island. (Ugh, now Wild Cards is multiversing. I hate multiversing.) Mysterious masked billionaire Jago Branok throws bimonthly lavish dinner parties, feting characters from around the Wild Cards universe.
I found House Rules to be a slog for much of the book's length. The wrapper story felt dull, the multiverse stuff was predictably haphazard, and the internal logic seemed weaker than usual. I'm happy to report that the volume ends on a strong note, however.
---------------------------------------
Longing for Those Lost by Stephen Leigh
Gary Bushorn
The interstitial wrapper story that ties the book together. I found these interruptions uninteresting until the last couple minichapters, which went off with a bang.
Promises Redux by Stephen Leigh
Gary Bushorn, Ceallaigh
The first dinner party introduces the reader to the unstable nature of Loveday House. Gary encounters the ghost of his lost love and meets Mad Lady Morwen, a malevolent alternate universe (ugh) mistress of Loveday. The House notches its first casualty as Gary's crotchety old friend has a heart attack.
Lady Sri Extricates Herself, Emerging Not Entirely Unscathed by Mary Anne Mohanraj
Horned Lady/Srilatha Chelliah
The second dinner party introduces Indian heiress Srilatha, a well-meaning but flighty hedonist with the power to find lost things. I loved the characterization here, her speech and mannerisms, her outlook on life. But not much happens: more getting lost in the strange shifting halls of Loveday while inexplicable randomness happens.
Bah, Humbug, Murder by Caroline Spector
Seamstress, Margot, Kandy Kane, Krampus, Digger Downs
The third dinner party is a Wild Cards cozy murder mystery in which I found the execution lacking. Someone turns up dead, the guests all point to each other as possible suspects...and the story completely ignores the dozens of staff who work there, not to mention the fact that Loveday House literally connects to infinite universes and manifests murderous apparitions on a regular basis.
Two Lovedays by Peter Newman
Hero McHeroface/Stuart Hill and his sister Kelly, Tinker, Tricolor, Redcoat, Rockford, Enigma
Hero and his adoring sister find themselves at Loveday with an assortment of more famous, more accomplished aces.
The Nautilus Pattern by Kevin Andrew Murphy
Nigel Walmsley, Susan Strathmore, and Herne the Huntsman
I normally like KAM's contributions to Wild Cards but this was one of the weak chapters in House Rules. A chaotic story that pits a Lovecraftian mermaid against the staff and guests, while also setting poor schlubby shopkeep Nigel against Susan's exboyfriend/porn star/giant ace for his wife's affections. There's evil pirates, then the pirates are good, then we just stop hearing about pirates. Narrative chaos. It was clear that I would have benefited from more familiarity with the Rox Triad.
Raw Deal by Peadar Ó Guilín
Maria Pais/Mary Poppins, Charles the Unkillable, Drillface, Toadman, Mick Jagger, Jello
Here's where the book really redeems itself. A battery of homicidal ace gangsters descends upon Loveday House for murder and robbery, told from the point of view of unwilling infiltrator ace Mary Poppins. It goes badly for everyone. There's disfigurement, addiction, torture, rampant death. Stakes and permanent consequences (and almost no multiversing). "Raw Deal" indeed.
And the disconnect between the endless tragedies and violence and the business-as-usual parties is finally addressed, plugging a big hole in the story. Better late than never.
I found House Rules to be a slog for much of the book's length. The wrapper story felt dull, the multiverse stuff was predictably haphazard, and the internal logic seemed weaker than usual. I'm happy to report that the volume ends on a strong note, however.
---------------------------------------
Longing for Those Lost by Stephen Leigh
Gary Bushorn
The interstitial wrapper story that ties the book together. I found these interruptions uninteresting until the last couple minichapters, which went off with a bang.
Promises Redux by Stephen Leigh
Gary Bushorn, Ceallaigh
The first dinner party introduces the reader to the unstable nature of Loveday House. Gary encounters the ghost of his lost love and meets Mad Lady Morwen, a malevolent alternate universe (ugh) mistress of Loveday. The House notches its first casualty as Gary's crotchety old friend has a heart attack.
Lady Sri Extricates Herself, Emerging Not Entirely Unscathed by Mary Anne Mohanraj
Horned Lady/Srilatha Chelliah
The second dinner party introduces Indian heiress Srilatha, a well-meaning but flighty hedonist with the power to find lost things. I loved the characterization here, her speech and mannerisms, her outlook on life. But not much happens: more getting lost in the strange shifting halls of Loveday while inexplicable randomness happens.
Bah, Humbug, Murder by Caroline Spector
Seamstress, Margot, Kandy Kane, Krampus, Digger Downs
The third dinner party is a Wild Cards cozy murder mystery in which I found the execution lacking. Someone turns up dead, the guests all point to each other as possible suspects...and the story completely ignores the dozens of staff who work there, not to mention the fact that Loveday House literally connects to infinite universes and manifests murderous apparitions on a regular basis.
Two Lovedays by Peter Newman
Hero McHeroface/Stuart Hill and his sister Kelly, Tinker, Tricolor, Redcoat, Rockford, Enigma
Hero and his adoring sister find themselves at Loveday with an assortment of more famous, more accomplished aces.
The Nautilus Pattern by Kevin Andrew Murphy
Nigel Walmsley, Susan Strathmore, and Herne the Huntsman
I normally like KAM's contributions to Wild Cards but this was one of the weak chapters in House Rules. A chaotic story that pits a Lovecraftian mermaid against the staff and guests, while also setting poor schlubby shopkeep Nigel against Susan's exboyfriend/porn star/giant ace for his wife's affections. There's evil pirates, then the pirates are good, then we just stop hearing about pirates. Narrative chaos. It was clear that I would have benefited from more familiarity with the Rox Triad.
Raw Deal by Peadar Ó Guilín
Maria Pais/Mary Poppins, Charles the Unkillable, Drillface, Toadman, Mick Jagger, Jello
Here's where the book really redeems itself. A battery of homicidal ace gangsters descends upon Loveday House for murder and robbery, told from the point of view of unwilling infiltrator ace Mary Poppins. It goes badly for everyone. There's disfigurement, addiction, torture, rampant death. Stakes and permanent consequences (and almost no multiversing). "Raw Deal" indeed.
And the disconnect between the endless tragedies and violence and the business-as-usual parties is finally addressed, plugging a big hole in the story. Better late than never.
April 23, 2025
The whole framing concept of this collection of tales has a very gothic vibe to it. It immediately made me think of The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells. The first tale in the book, Stephen Leigh's "Promises Redux", plays well into that.
Caroline Spector serves up a holiday whodunit with "Bah, Humbug, Murder", bringing in various characters from previous books. It is always fun to see different personalities colliding in a crossover mini-mystery like this one.
Peter Newmans "Two Lovedays", another of the longer tales (novellas really), focuses Stuart "Hero McHeroface" and his sister Kelly. The trade-off narrative between the two actually works rather well. It certainly kept the story moving along.
As often happens with anthologies, some stories I connect with better than others. That certainly happened once again here. Also, with stories by various authors all tied to a particular setting (this time, Loveday House), there is a bit of overlap in repeating certain facts and details. While it is good that the stories are not contradicting one another, it sometimes get repetitive for the reader to be reminded of the various details in each tale.
Caroline Spector serves up a holiday whodunit with "Bah, Humbug, Murder", bringing in various characters from previous books. It is always fun to see different personalities colliding in a crossover mini-mystery like this one.
Peter Newmans "Two Lovedays", another of the longer tales (novellas really), focuses Stuart "Hero McHeroface" and his sister Kelly. The trade-off narrative between the two actually works rather well. It certainly kept the story moving along.
As often happens with anthologies, some stories I connect with better than others. That certainly happened once again here. Also, with stories by various authors all tied to a particular setting (this time, Loveday House), there is a bit of overlap in repeating certain facts and details. While it is good that the stories are not contradicting one another, it sometimes get repetitive for the reader to be reminded of the various details in each tale.
April 10, 2025
4.5 stars
Read
March 25, 2025An absolute casserole of a Wild Cards novel, set around Loveday House, a remote pile that's half Hill House, half TARDIS, and where enigmatic host Lord Jago Branok will keep throwing parties even though they almost all end in death and mayhem. More puzzling still, people keep attending! Had the ridiculousness of this been played up a little more, I might have been more forgiving, but mostly the authors seem to hope we'll ignore the issue, so that by the lead-in to the last story, all Branok's esoteric knowledge can't stop him from coming across like whichever poor mug gets this year's short straw for saying it's going to be the best Christmas Albert Square has ever seen. Certainly my favourite story was the one that went for the laughs, Mary Anne Mohanraj's farcical Lady Sri Extricates Herself, Emerging Not Entirely Unscathed, where at one point the guests find themselves running around after a goose that's stolen a tiara; it's considerably queerer and more superpowered, but the hints of Wodehouse made me wonder whether the idea was to do a Wild Cards spin on various classic stately home tropes, especially since it's followed by a murder mystery. Alas, that seems to go by the wayside when several of the components decide to start delving into the Call Of Cthulhu bestiary, without any of them achieving the same effects as previous cosmic horror entries in the series. Part of the problem is that nobody quite looks to have agreed on how the house works; initially it reads like a haunting, but we're subsequently told that no, it's our old friend the multiverse, and that when the deceased are seen, it's actually alternate versions of them. OK, so why do so many of them seem to remember what happened to their iterations in the core Wild Cards Earth, right down to who killed them? This could be intended as a deliberate flaw in the explanation, of course, but for that to convince, the book as a whole would need to feel meticulous, and it really doesn't. The Britain-set Wild Cards books have all suffered from too many American writers and editors convinced they've got this when they do not in fact got this, and here, unless I'm missing something, we have six contributors including only one each from Britain and Ireland – and of those, the latter turns in a nasty crime story with more holes in the plot than in the luckless cast members who cross self-explanatory gang bastard Drillhead. Peter Newman, on the other hand, gives us two of the most believable characters in the book, his awkward young ace Stuart Hill (AKA Hero McHeroface, poor sod) bringing troubled sister Kelly along as his plus one. Elsewhere, though...I mean, it's not even like Loveday House is in the Home Counties; it's a tidal island in Cornwall, so that's doing British on one of the hardest settings, but the spine of the book and the opening story give the impression that the writer might have seen Rebecca on TV once.
August 22, 2025
Slowest. Burn. Ever.
To be honest, House Rules : A Novel in Stories barely felt like a Wild Cards novel (of which I believe I've read them all), considering the setting of the story, Loveday House, was so unlike any of the mostly realistic settings featured in any of the rest of the series. And yes, I say that, even though some of the stories took place on other planets, but there you go.
Besides all that, it seems like it took getting through 70% of the book before I felt like things were really happening; the story was composed of very low-key mystery vignettes before then. And I felt like the overriding mystery--Loveday House itself--was never answered to my satisfaction, or at least in a way that seemed to fit within the Wild Cards universe.
For fans of the Wild Cards series, there are the obligatory connections to past characters and events from throughout the Wild Cards history, and a nice but subtle non-Wild Cards twist presented at the end. There wasn't much of the trademark humor usually found in the series, but plenty of the violence, brutality and outright weirdness familiar to readers. Still it felt like a slog getting through this one. Though the ending was fairly typical of Wild Cards stories, I kept expecting an in-universe conclusion that I feel like I did not get.
But maybe, after 34+ books, this series is beginning to feel jaded... maybe this series is reaching too far outside of its wheelhouse to entertain me at this point. Maybe it just didn't feel like Wild Cards.
To be honest, House Rules : A Novel in Stories barely felt like a Wild Cards novel (of which I believe I've read them all), considering the setting of the story, Loveday House, was so unlike any of the mostly realistic settings featured in any of the rest of the series. And yes, I say that, even though some of the stories took place on other planets, but there you go.
Besides all that, it seems like it took getting through 70% of the book before I felt like things were really happening; the story was composed of very low-key mystery vignettes before then. And I felt like the overriding mystery--Loveday House itself--was never answered to my satisfaction, or at least in a way that seemed to fit within the Wild Cards universe.
For fans of the Wild Cards series, there are the obligatory connections to past characters and events from throughout the Wild Cards history, and a nice but subtle non-Wild Cards twist presented at the end. There wasn't much of the trademark humor usually found in the series, but plenty of the violence, brutality and outright weirdness familiar to readers. Still it felt like a slog getting through this one. Though the ending was fairly typical of Wild Cards stories, I kept expecting an in-universe conclusion that I feel like I did not get.
But maybe, after 34+ books, this series is beginning to feel jaded... maybe this series is reaching too far outside of its wheelhouse to entertain me at this point. Maybe it just didn't feel like Wild Cards.
May 26, 2025
This was fine, I guess, but not the best entry in the series. It's good to try new things, and the fun of Wild Cards is being able to experiment with new genre overlays on superhero fiction, but I don't know that a world with both superpowers and aliens also needs, after 40+ years, to add in alternate dimensions.
As always, there are old standards, recent favorites (Hero McHeroface!), and new characters with interesting and cleverly thought out powers. Some of the stories are better-written than others, but overall the writing itself is fine.
I just don't think the parallel dimensions add anything to the story or the world, and the book as a whole doesn't actually go anywhere. There's no core plot tying it together, which is a lot of what I come to Wild Cards for.
Glad to have read it, but not my favorite.
As always, there are old standards, recent favorites (Hero McHeroface!), and new characters with interesting and cleverly thought out powers. Some of the stories are better-written than others, but overall the writing itself is fine.
I just don't think the parallel dimensions add anything to the story or the world, and the book as a whole doesn't actually go anywhere. There's no core plot tying it together, which is a lot of what I come to Wild Cards for.
Glad to have read it, but not my favorite.
June 2, 2025
Hey, they finally got the mix right after a few snoozy books.
Welcome multiverse to Wild Cards. With a few minor forays into this well-worn trope (looking at you Highwayman), they've created a gateway to use/re-use other worlds. And a friendly / feckless gateway character introduced to blithely walk into these universes in future.
But for this mosaic novel alone, it was a nice mix of characters old and new. I always come back for the oddball powers and how they interact cleverly in this universe. Not too much of that - more straightforward use of powers to let the multiverse angles shine.
For the first time in like 10 years I'm looking forward to the next books, taking advantage of this new expansion to the universe. (and potentially a decent big bad)
Welcome multiverse to Wild Cards. With a few minor forays into this well-worn trope (looking at you Highwayman), they've created a gateway to use/re-use other worlds. And a friendly / feckless gateway character introduced to blithely walk into these universes in future.
But for this mosaic novel alone, it was a nice mix of characters old and new. I always come back for the oddball powers and how they interact cleverly in this universe. Not too much of that - more straightforward use of powers to let the multiverse angles shine.
For the first time in like 10 years I'm looking forward to the next books, taking advantage of this new expansion to the universe. (and potentially a decent big bad)
November 4, 2025
The only reason this book was picked up was because it has George R.R Martin on the cover, but I ended up liking it. It is a series of stories of different characters set in the same universe and around a special house.
The first few stories were a little perplexing as I was not understanding the point of the anthologies. But once I had gotten through them, the world building was strong enough as I recognised characters and certain things about the world post the alien virus and enjoyed the rest of the stories thoroughly.
It was quite thrilling and I had to even put the book down at some points.
The first few stories were a little perplexing as I was not understanding the point of the anthologies. But once I had gotten through them, the world building was strong enough as I recognised characters and certain things about the world post the alien virus and enjoyed the rest of the stories thoroughly.
It was quite thrilling and I had to even put the book down at some points.
June 29, 2025
eh. 40% of the stories were enjoyable but not necessarily good, enough to keep reading. *very* jarring to learn that this is the thirty-somethingth book in an anthology series halfway through, makes a lot more sense how they keep referring to other in universe things. the ending sucks, but I still had a fun time
September 6, 2025
Amazing anthology novel! This is my first time entering the world of Wild Cards, and it did not disappoint. It is a bit of a slow burn in the opening chapters, but once it hit its stride I could not put it down. It only gives you an extremely light prologue as explanation for the lore of this story's world, so be prepared to be a bit confused at first.
March 17, 2025
While I always love getting new Wild Cards, the Lovecraftian vibe just isn't my thing. In addition, the returning characters were almost all fairly minor ones, so there weren't many I was particularly invested in.
Ah, well, hopefully the next one will be back to more usual stuff.
Ah, well, hopefully the next one will be back to more usual stuff.
July 6, 2025
The weakest of the wild card books to date. All focused on Loveday House. Some of the long short stories are better than others. Most feel like the same with not much variation. Interesting idea but not all that well done. Only recommend to the Wild Card readers that want to read them all.
February 23, 2025
I liked the Gothic mood here, but too much time travel and parallel worlds shenanigans is taking a lot of enjoyment out of the Wild Cards books for me.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews