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samuelson_obi's review against another edition
4.0
The best way for me to describe the experience of reading this collection was with this anecdote. During an outing for a meal with colleagues and friends. Whilst ordering our desserts we couldn’t decide what we wanted. So we pretty much ordered many different cakes. We kept passing the different cakes around where each person cut a piece, after that they would pass it along to the next. We called it the cake roulette.
This is what reading Knaves over Queens brought to mind. Each short story and novella had its own flavour, was for its own reasons exciting and added to that the various cameos of characters from one story to another made them fun to look forward to. The characters were interesting enough to keep my attention as well as made me empathise with them on some level. I also liked that there was an element of progression all throughout. The historical elements added that extra bit of authenticity and gritty reality. From the second world war and Churchill, Turing, to the Cray twins, Thatcher and the Falklands war, the troubles and the more recent Brexit.
Peter Noble’s superb narration matched the gritty tone throughout. He made all the characters distinct to the point where I could tell who was who without hearing having to hear their names.
This was a solid 4 stars for me.
And in case you are wondering, as far as continuity goes, you don’t have to start from the first book to enjoy and fully appreciate this one.
This is what reading Knaves over Queens brought to mind. Each short story and novella had its own flavour, was for its own reasons exciting and added to that the various cameos of characters from one story to another made them fun to look forward to. The characters were interesting enough to keep my attention as well as made me empathise with them on some level. I also liked that there was an element of progression all throughout. The historical elements added that extra bit of authenticity and gritty reality. From the second world war and Churchill, Turing, to the Cray twins, Thatcher and the Falklands war, the troubles and the more recent Brexit.
Peter Noble’s superb narration matched the gritty tone throughout. He made all the characters distinct to the point where I could tell who was who without hearing having to hear their names.
This was a solid 4 stars for me.
And in case you are wondering, as far as continuity goes, you don’t have to start from the first book to enjoy and fully appreciate this one.
meijhen's review against another edition
3.0
I keep trying the Wild Card books. While the writing is, with rare exceptions, excellent, I think I've finally realized this world is just not for me.
rouver's review against another edition
4.0
When I ordered this from the library, I had no idea that it was part of a much longer series. However, it's part of a series of short stories, so you can absolutely read this as a stand-alone book & enjoy it. A fascinating world for authors to play in. A virus has struck earth (awkward, I know)...and it tends to either kill the infected or give them a random mutation. Some are monstrous, some are more like super powers. I loved this & am going to seek out the other books in this series.
liesljrowe's review against another edition
3.0
I love the premise of this, superheroes and a mysterious virus against the backdrop of key historical events. I enjoyed basically all of the stories, especially the submissions by Emma Newman and Peter Newman. Only problem is that I would love to read more about a lot of the main characters. Towards the end of the book, it seemed like everything was building to a big event where a lot of the characters would interact, but then that never happened so it felt a bit anticlimactic. I didn't feel there was resolution for some of the plotlines either, the Twisted Fists and Northern Ireland especially. Hopefully they'll release another anthology at some point because I'm definitely not done wanting to know about this world.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
chukg's review against another edition
5.0
I like all the Wild Cards books, but this one was extra fun as it covered the whole history of the Wild Card virus in the UK. There was a lot more detail about a few things that were previously in the background (Queen Mary) and some of the stories take place around the edges of stories from earlier books. Lots of new authors too like Stross and Cornell.
lvh's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
karenteacher's review
4.0
Like most anthologies, some stories were very good; others, less so. One I could not force my way through.
deearr's review
4.0
I discovered this series about the same time I began reading A Song of Ice and Fire, and found this different world just as inviting. The mixture of past events in a world of aces and jokers was too much to resist.
“Knaves Over Queens,” originally released in 2018, is the story of England and their experiences with the virus that can produce good and bad results in people. I might have been hoping for more with this book and like the virus, I found a mixture of positives and negatives.
First off, the actual writing by the various authors is very good, although some of the characters are a bit hollow. Perhaps it is due to the many previously published books and the idea that aces will do good things and be heroes which caused this dissatisfaction. Little wonder, then, that the quirkier characters were my favorites.
The book is a collection of stories that take place over seven decades, which causes the British storyline to lose some cohesion. While there is some minimal interaction between characters, the only time definite continuation occurs is when a few of the authors contribute more than one story, and they pick up the trail of their characters years later. Some of these characters were not my favorites, especially one series which features a female who identifies as a Celtic goddess.
There are also many imaginative stories, such as Emma Newman’s “How to Turn a Girl to Stone” and “Night Orders by Paul Cornell. There are a few stories with references to famous musicians, and Mr. Cornell’s David Bowie appearance is fun as well as creative (without spoiling, Bowie takes some advice and performs an about-face with his musical direction, a positive step though different from our reality). My favorite story: “The Visitor,” by Mark Lawrence, who creates a most unlikely hero in perhaps what is the most creative story in the book.
Bottom line: While this may not be the best book in the Wild Card universe, it has appeal and contains a few gems. Four stars.
“Knaves Over Queens,” originally released in 2018, is the story of England and their experiences with the virus that can produce good and bad results in people. I might have been hoping for more with this book and like the virus, I found a mixture of positives and negatives.
First off, the actual writing by the various authors is very good, although some of the characters are a bit hollow. Perhaps it is due to the many previously published books and the idea that aces will do good things and be heroes which caused this dissatisfaction. Little wonder, then, that the quirkier characters were my favorites.
The book is a collection of stories that take place over seven decades, which causes the British storyline to lose some cohesion. While there is some minimal interaction between characters, the only time definite continuation occurs is when a few of the authors contribute more than one story, and they pick up the trail of their characters years later. Some of these characters were not my favorites, especially one series which features a female who identifies as a Celtic goddess.
There are also many imaginative stories, such as Emma Newman’s “How to Turn a Girl to Stone” and “Night Orders by Paul Cornell. There are a few stories with references to famous musicians, and Mr. Cornell’s David Bowie appearance is fun as well as creative (without spoiling, Bowie takes some advice and performs an about-face with his musical direction, a positive step though different from our reality). My favorite story: “The Visitor,” by Mark Lawrence, who creates a most unlikely hero in perhaps what is the most creative story in the book.
Bottom line: While this may not be the best book in the Wild Card universe, it has appeal and contains a few gems. Four stars.