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A review by professorfate
Dead Man's Hand by George R.R. Martin
4.0
It has been years since I read the first dozen volumes in this shared-world series, and I had nearly forgotten just how good they are.
The thrust of the books is that in 1946, an alien virus is released in the skies above Manhattan and infects the citizens of the island (primarily—it does affect people in other areas and other countries, but mostly it’s New York that feels it). Most people (90%) affected die horribly. A smaller percentage (9%) who are infected become what are called “Jokers"”—they usually suffer horrible mutations (extra or missing limbs, feathers, etc.) and are looked down upon by the unaffected (“nats”). The remaining one percent becomes “aces,” people with meta-human abilities (teleportation, gravity control, flight and so on). The books deal with how these people interact with the world.
This volume takes place during the same week that was the setting for volume 6 (the 1988 Democratic national convention in Atlanta), but takes place mostly in New York. Chrysalis, a woman with invisible skin and one of the leaders of Jokertown—the ghetto where most Jokers live—has been brutally murdered. Jay Ackroyd (aka “Popinjay",” although he hates that moniker) has been hired by Chrysalis to protect her and is the one to find her body. Daniel Brennan (aka “Yeoman”) is implicated because there is an ace of spades on her body, which is his calling card, as it were. Brennan, who was her lover in the past, didn’t do it. Both set out (at first independently) to find the murderer.
There is lots of action and suspense as well as a good mystery. It, like most of the others, is a very fun read and I highly recommend it (although I do recommend you read the other books first—not completely necessary, but strongly advised).
4.5/5
The thrust of the books is that in 1946, an alien virus is released in the skies above Manhattan and infects the citizens of the island (primarily—it does affect people in other areas and other countries, but mostly it’s New York that feels it). Most people (90%) affected die horribly. A smaller percentage (9%) who are infected become what are called “Jokers"”—they usually suffer horrible mutations (extra or missing limbs, feathers, etc.) and are looked down upon by the unaffected (“nats”). The remaining one percent becomes “aces,” people with meta-human abilities (teleportation, gravity control, flight and so on). The books deal with how these people interact with the world.
This volume takes place during the same week that was the setting for volume 6 (the 1988 Democratic national convention in Atlanta), but takes place mostly in New York. Chrysalis, a woman with invisible skin and one of the leaders of Jokertown—the ghetto where most Jokers live—has been brutally murdered. Jay Ackroyd (aka “Popinjay",” although he hates that moniker) has been hired by Chrysalis to protect her and is the one to find her body. Daniel Brennan (aka “Yeoman”) is implicated because there is an ace of spades on her body, which is his calling card, as it were. Brennan, who was her lover in the past, didn’t do it. Both set out (at first independently) to find the murderer.
There is lots of action and suspense as well as a good mystery. It, like most of the others, is a very fun read and I highly recommend it (although I do recommend you read the other books first—not completely necessary, but strongly advised).
4.5/5