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A review by shirezu
Wild Cards I: Expanded Edition by George R.R. Martin, Wild Cards Trust
5.0
I first heard of this book a few years ago when I read [b:GRRM: A RRetrospective|1783847|GRRM A RRetrospective (Trade Hardcover)|George R.R. Martin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1188301243s/1783847.jpg|1782715] which included one of George R. Martins contributions to the first volume. Ever since that little glimpse I was hooked and wanted to read more. Finally I got my hands on a copy.
[b:Wild Cards|147908|Wild Cards |George R.R. Martin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172191781s/147908.jpg|1807663] is set in an alternate reality which broke away in the 1940's just after WW2. An alien virus was released over Manhattan which could affect people in one of 3 ways - kill them (90%), mutate them into a deformed creature (called a Joker - 9%) or imbue them with special powers (known as an Ace - 1%). Although not all Ace powers are very good. If you gain a power but it's not useful you're known as a Deuce.
This isn't your normal (well for the time it was written) superhero book. The best contemporary comparison is [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1238274511s/472331.jpg|4358649]. They were both written around the same time in a similar vein. Wild Cards is dark and honest and brutal. It follows through the times perfectly. The post WW2 boom time, Korea, Vietnam, the Communist McCarthy witchhunts and the HUAC. Instead of race riots there's Joker riots in the '70s.
But it's not all doom and gloom. There are some funnier stories, some feelgood stories. But it doesn't gloss over the unpopular truths as good fiction shouldn't. A brilliant collection I can't wait to read the next volume.
[b:Wild Cards|147908|Wild Cards |George R.R. Martin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172191781s/147908.jpg|1807663] is set in an alternate reality which broke away in the 1940's just after WW2. An alien virus was released over Manhattan which could affect people in one of 3 ways - kill them (90%), mutate them into a deformed creature (called a Joker - 9%) or imbue them with special powers (known as an Ace - 1%). Although not all Ace powers are very good. If you gain a power but it's not useful you're known as a Deuce.
This isn't your normal (well for the time it was written) superhero book. The best contemporary comparison is [b:Watchmen|472331|Watchmen|Alan Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1238274511s/472331.jpg|4358649]. They were both written around the same time in a similar vein. Wild Cards is dark and honest and brutal. It follows through the times perfectly. The post WW2 boom time, Korea, Vietnam, the Communist McCarthy witchhunts and the HUAC. Instead of race riots there's Joker riots in the '70s.
But it's not all doom and gloom. There are some funnier stories, some feelgood stories. But it doesn't gloss over the unpopular truths as good fiction shouldn't. A brilliant collection I can't wait to read the next volume.