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mx_parall_el's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
scheu's review
4.0
Volume Four takes a dip in quality after the first loose trilogy. There's a lack of focus, which is probably due to the format/plot of this volume (a world tour involving several characters, some of which are relatively new). It's still Wild Cards, though, which counts for a lot. HOWEVER.
Maybe I didn't care as much when I was 13 and read this for the first time, but some of these authors need to let the penis go. I can't help but wonder if cheesy sex scenes made SF/fantasy more "edgy" in the late eighties. The stories without it here tend to be better. REALLY THOUGH. You can say a guy is aroused and not say (more or less) that he's popped a massive boner. Writers: consider this a challenge if for some reason you're at this point in your narrative.
Maybe I didn't care as much when I was 13 and read this for the first time, but some of these authors need to let the penis go. I can't help but wonder if cheesy sex scenes made SF/fantasy more "edgy" in the late eighties. The stories without it here tend to be better. REALLY THOUGH. You can say a guy is aroused and not say (more or less) that he's popped a massive boner. Writers: consider this a challenge if for some reason you're at this point in your narrative.
shane's review against another edition
3.0
This was quite a large book at 956 pages(at least on my Sony ereader it was), although according to the book info here on goodreads it's less than 400 pages. Not sure what that's about but anyway, i wasn't quite so enamoured with this one as i was with the first 3. It still wasn't bad or even just mediocre, but i like stories that are set in the places that i originally encountered them and this was basically a fictional representation of a Lonely Planet travel guide. I'll be glad to get back to Jokertown and Aces High and other familiar spots.
Not exactly bad, more like a temporary distraction from the main attraction.
Not exactly bad, more like a temporary distraction from the main attraction.
themorbidcorvid's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
thearbiter89's review
2.0
Too many cooks can spoil the broth.
This post chronicles my general thoughts about the first few Wild Cards books, given that I'd read the first three before starting this blog and didn't have the patience to go through them again to get to Aces Abroad.
For the uninitiated, Wild Cards is a unique authorial collaboration. It is an science fiction alt-history series premised on the introduction of an alien virus to Earth right after World War II. The virus, known as the Wild Card, kills 90% of those it infects, in grotesque, monstrous ways. It turns 9% into Jokers, giving them unfortunate deformities that vary from Joker to Joker. To a privileged 1%, called Aces, the Wild Card bequeaths superpowers ranging from mind control to flying.
The series kicks off in 1946, and chronicles this alternate history all the way to the present day. Each book is written by a team of a few writers, who usually take charge of certain character POVs. The series features an ensemble cast of various characters, both Ace, Joker and natural, and follows them through the decades as history runs its course amid the new social, institutional and cultural gulfs caused by the aftermath of the virus outbreak.
Oh, and the series helmsman and creative editor, marshaling the various authorial inputs into a coherent narrative, is George RR Martin, of ASOIAF infamy.
That was what drew me to this series, and the first three books didn't disappoint. The first and second books (Wild Cards and Aces High)are a little different from the third book - they're collections of loosely-related short stories, with multiple narrative paths per character, and is written in a more historical mode, expanding on the world and its inhabitants. The third book, Jokers Wild, is more properly s mosaic novel, with a conventional three-part structure, buildup, and a primary antagonist of sorts.
The first two books do a good job of weaving together a historical narrative of an interventionist America that used its aces to affect geopolitics, while its large Joker population was facing discrimination, abuse and injustice of the sort that would not be too unfamiliar to those who experienced the black civil rights movement. The virus' effects are a perfect foil by which the books can examine the common themes of the Cold War - American exceptionalism, and human rights being at the forefront - in a speculative fiction setting. The team was made up of stellar talents - Walter Jon Williams, Roger Zelazny and GRRM among them - who created some of the series' most iconic and well-loved characters.
So, how does Aces Abroad fare in comparison?
I think it's safe to say that Aces Abroad is probably the weakest Wild Cards book so far, to a considerable degree. It's mainly because it's so inconsistent this time round. The first three books had the benefit of tight editing, ensuring that the story and characters flowed well both within their internal arcs as well as across arcs. Aces Abroad, on the other hand, feels unfocused and inconsistent, in terms of characterization and story. The book takes place in 1987, and a UN delegation of Aces, Jokers and politicians have embarked on a world tour to investigate the conditions faced by sufferers of the Wild Card virus in other countries. This premise is in itself somewhat of a weak justification upon which to hang the book's main selling point - taking the series out of its New York-centric setting and into the wider world. The result is a confusing mishmash of styles and a book made out of poorly strung together series of vignettes of varying quality, hinting at a number of plot developments that never actually play out in the book, but will ostensibly be saved for later volumes.
Some of the stories in this collection are surprisingly poorly written and can hardly be counted to the level of quality shown in previous volumes. They feature uneven characterization and betray a lack of understanding of the established motivations of the characters that they feature. Some of these stories are throwaways, adventures involving various characters in various stops on their world tour, which play upon that sense of the exotic to provide traction for the plot. The result is usually a story that plays up cultural stereotypes to show up a contemporaneous social problem encountered by that culture, whether post-colonialism of the Australian Aborigines, Japanese xenophobia, South African apartheid, or Middle-Eastern religious fundamentalism. Many of the stories lacked proper pacing, and relied on a lot of expository, info-dumping dialogue to propel the story forward. I had the constant sense that the writers were just trying to finish their stories within the word limit so that the collection could move on to the next stop on the world tour.
There are some redeeming points, though. The chapters by GRRM, which are written from the perspective of a Joker delegate and series regular Xavier Desmond, provide a kind of thematic or narrative glue to the collection, are probably the best thing about the book, even if they are somewhat inadequate to give the book a sense of unity. Some stories are well-written and stand up on their own - I'm thinking Beasts of Burden and Blood Rights, two of the earlier chapters. And of course, the book seems like it is setting the stage for another mosaic novel featuring major antagonists and crises - I won't name names, however.
All told, however, this is still probably the weakest Wild Cards novel to date, an opinion shared by many readers of the series, who, unlike me, have actually read the rest (I'm reading them as they get re-published, about once a year). I can only hope this is just a blip, and not a slow, gradual decline, because that would be a waste of a very good narrative universe.
I give this book: 2.5 out of 5 butterflies
This post chronicles my general thoughts about the first few Wild Cards books, given that I'd read the first three before starting this blog and didn't have the patience to go through them again to get to Aces Abroad.
For the uninitiated, Wild Cards is a unique authorial collaboration. It is an science fiction alt-history series premised on the introduction of an alien virus to Earth right after World War II. The virus, known as the Wild Card, kills 90% of those it infects, in grotesque, monstrous ways. It turns 9% into Jokers, giving them unfortunate deformities that vary from Joker to Joker. To a privileged 1%, called Aces, the Wild Card bequeaths superpowers ranging from mind control to flying.
The series kicks off in 1946, and chronicles this alternate history all the way to the present day. Each book is written by a team of a few writers, who usually take charge of certain character POVs. The series features an ensemble cast of various characters, both Ace, Joker and natural, and follows them through the decades as history runs its course amid the new social, institutional and cultural gulfs caused by the aftermath of the virus outbreak.
Oh, and the series helmsman and creative editor, marshaling the various authorial inputs into a coherent narrative, is George RR Martin, of ASOIAF infamy.
That was what drew me to this series, and the first three books didn't disappoint. The first and second books (Wild Cards and Aces High)are a little different from the third book - they're collections of loosely-related short stories, with multiple narrative paths per character, and is written in a more historical mode, expanding on the world and its inhabitants. The third book, Jokers Wild, is more properly s mosaic novel, with a conventional three-part structure, buildup, and a primary antagonist of sorts.
The first two books do a good job of weaving together a historical narrative of an interventionist America that used its aces to affect geopolitics, while its large Joker population was facing discrimination, abuse and injustice of the sort that would not be too unfamiliar to those who experienced the black civil rights movement. The virus' effects are a perfect foil by which the books can examine the common themes of the Cold War - American exceptionalism, and human rights being at the forefront - in a speculative fiction setting. The team was made up of stellar talents - Walter Jon Williams, Roger Zelazny and GRRM among them - who created some of the series' most iconic and well-loved characters.
So, how does Aces Abroad fare in comparison?
I think it's safe to say that Aces Abroad is probably the weakest Wild Cards book so far, to a considerable degree. It's mainly because it's so inconsistent this time round. The first three books had the benefit of tight editing, ensuring that the story and characters flowed well both within their internal arcs as well as across arcs. Aces Abroad, on the other hand, feels unfocused and inconsistent, in terms of characterization and story. The book takes place in 1987, and a UN delegation of Aces, Jokers and politicians have embarked on a world tour to investigate the conditions faced by sufferers of the Wild Card virus in other countries. This premise is in itself somewhat of a weak justification upon which to hang the book's main selling point - taking the series out of its New York-centric setting and into the wider world. The result is a confusing mishmash of styles and a book made out of poorly strung together series of vignettes of varying quality, hinting at a number of plot developments that never actually play out in the book, but will ostensibly be saved for later volumes.
Some of the stories in this collection are surprisingly poorly written and can hardly be counted to the level of quality shown in previous volumes. They feature uneven characterization and betray a lack of understanding of the established motivations of the characters that they feature. Some of these stories are throwaways, adventures involving various characters in various stops on their world tour, which play upon that sense of the exotic to provide traction for the plot. The result is usually a story that plays up cultural stereotypes to show up a contemporaneous social problem encountered by that culture, whether post-colonialism of the Australian Aborigines, Japanese xenophobia, South African apartheid, or Middle-Eastern religious fundamentalism. Many of the stories lacked proper pacing, and relied on a lot of expository, info-dumping dialogue to propel the story forward. I had the constant sense that the writers were just trying to finish their stories within the word limit so that the collection could move on to the next stop on the world tour.
There are some redeeming points, though. The chapters by GRRM, which are written from the perspective of a Joker delegate and series regular Xavier Desmond, provide a kind of thematic or narrative glue to the collection, are probably the best thing about the book, even if they are somewhat inadequate to give the book a sense of unity. Some stories are well-written and stand up on their own - I'm thinking Beasts of Burden and Blood Rights, two of the earlier chapters. And of course, the book seems like it is setting the stage for another mosaic novel featuring major antagonists and crises - I won't name names, however.
All told, however, this is still probably the weakest Wild Cards novel to date, an opinion shared by many readers of the series, who, unlike me, have actually read the rest (I'm reading them as they get re-published, about once a year). I can only hope this is just a blip, and not a slow, gradual decline, because that would be a waste of a very good narrative universe.
I give this book: 2.5 out of 5 butterflies
scottydee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
djotaku's review against another edition
3.0
Up until now, we've been very America-centric with the Wild Cards series. In fact, except for the first book, it sometimes seemed as if there were only cases in New York City. With this book, things are expanded out. Sometimes it's because some of the spores dispersed over other countries (of course, not as strongly as they did in the USA). Other times, it's because of births or other forms of generational transmission.
I've yet to come to full terms with the implications, but it's interesting that this book seems to make the retcon that the expressions of the virus have something to do with the cultures of the victims and/or their self-conceptualization. I'm pretty sure (but maybe I'm wrong) that in the first three books it was presented as more or less random. It does allow the authors to have some very interesting Aces and Jokers around the world even if the possibility for caricature is there. I didn't see anything egregious, but maybe because none of the countries were my country of origin?
The other interesting line that Wild Cards walks as it gets further along is that it's KIND OF our world, but kind of NOT. Obviously the Wild Card virus changed some things - like JFK Airport being called Tomlin Airport. But Reagan still ends up president in the 80s and the Iran-Contra thing seems to be mentioned at one point. Yet we seem to have the success of the Guatemalen socialist revolution that failed in our timeline. (I think? I'm a little hazy on that part of history, even if the USA did have a hand in it) The last book presented that AIDS is still an issue. So it's walking this interesting line where, for example, I don't know whether or not to expect Greg Hartmann to actually run for president or not.
As to Hartmann (aka Puppetmaster) this is, in most ways, his book. Or, as we know from the future, his quartet. The plot that links all the short stories is that the WHO has sent a bunch of American Aces, Jokers, and political folks around the world to see how Jokers are treated around the world. This allows Puppetmaster to collect (or attempt to collect) puppets around the world. We get many glimpses into his mind and his battle with his alter-ego.
I will confess that my favorite parts were the excerpts from Xavier Desmond's Journal. We'd seen him here and there in Jokertown before, but his chunks of the story were the glue that kept things together and kept me caring about the folks due to my sympathy for his plight. He provided a different perspective on the others, Aces and Jokers alike. Of course, his trust in Hartmann was heart-breaking.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and it was neat to see how the Wild Cards Braintrust decided to conceptualize how the virus would have changed things around the world. I am curious to see how this quartet resolves and how the world continues to evolve away from its origins. (Especially if it starts to move further from the 80s. I was quite young then and don't relate to a lot of the references - even the Cold War barely registered to me as a youth). If you've been enjoying Wild Cars so far, I think you'd like it. It's actually also not a bad jumping on point. Most of what you'd need to know is explained as background info or in flashbacks. You might miss a couple things like Golden Boy's situation, but otherwise I think you could just jump in here and be caught up to what's going on.
I've yet to come to full terms with the implications, but it's interesting that this book seems to make the retcon that the expressions of the virus have something to do with the cultures of the victims and/or their self-conceptualization. I'm pretty sure (but maybe I'm wrong) that in the first three books it was presented as more or less random. It does allow the authors to have some very interesting Aces and Jokers around the world even if the possibility for caricature is there. I didn't see anything egregious, but maybe because none of the countries were my country of origin?
The other interesting line that Wild Cards walks as it gets further along is that it's KIND OF our world, but kind of NOT. Obviously the Wild Card virus changed some things - like JFK Airport being called Tomlin Airport. But Reagan still ends up president in the 80s and the Iran-Contra thing seems to be mentioned at one point. Yet we seem to have the success of the Guatemalen socialist revolution that failed in our timeline. (I think? I'm a little hazy on that part of history, even if the USA did have a hand in it) The last book presented that AIDS is still an issue. So it's walking this interesting line where, for example, I don't know whether or not to expect Greg Hartmann to actually run for president or not.
As to Hartmann (aka Puppetmaster) this is, in most ways, his book. Or, as we know from the future, his quartet. The plot that links all the short stories is that the WHO has sent a bunch of American Aces, Jokers, and political folks around the world to see how Jokers are treated around the world. This allows Puppetmaster to collect (or attempt to collect) puppets around the world. We get many glimpses into his mind and his battle with his alter-ego.
I will confess that my favorite parts were the excerpts from Xavier Desmond's Journal. We'd seen him here and there in Jokertown before, but his chunks of the story were the glue that kept things together and kept me caring about the folks due to my sympathy for his plight. He provided a different perspective on the others, Aces and Jokers alike. Of course, his trust in Hartmann was heart-breaking.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and it was neat to see how the Wild Cards Braintrust decided to conceptualize how the virus would have changed things around the world. I am curious to see how this quartet resolves and how the world continues to evolve away from its origins. (Especially if it starts to move further from the 80s. I was quite young then and don't relate to a lot of the references - even the Cold War barely registered to me as a youth). If you've been enjoying Wild Cars so far, I think you'd like it. It's actually also not a bad jumping on point. Most of what you'd need to know is explained as background info or in flashbacks. You might miss a couple things like Golden Boy's situation, but otherwise I think you could just jump in here and be caught up to what's going on.
mzlaki's review against another edition
2.0
As much as I liked the previous Wild card books, I couldn't cope with this one. Half way through I just gave up, which I hate to do.
agoldstarforyou's review against another edition
4.0
Loving the Wild Cards series so far, though I feel this was one of the weaker editions despite the exciting premise of exploring the virus across the world. I just found it to be less cohesive than the others; though still pretty enjoyable. Enjoyed the Puppetmaster storyline and the Journals of Xasvier Desmond the most.
brandt's review
4.0
Finally got around to reading this book that I've had for quite some time. Since I started the series during the Committee trilogy I'm glad that they are reprinting the previous books and allowing me to see how this series started. It is a good series of short stories that all carry the plot towards the end. Though based on what I know of the Wild Cards series this book sets up a lot for the next several arcs.