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A review by hellsfire
Wild Cards by George R.R. Martin
3.0
I wish I had known more about this book before I read it. It might have softened some of the problems I had with it. For one, I didn't know it was an anthology. All I see is GRRM's name plastered on it. Not that that's a bad thing, but it kind of is here. It also made the book super long.
Because it was an anthology, some of the stories are hit or miss. My biggest problem was the fact that when I got into some stories, they just ended and I wanted to know more. My other problem was that a lot of the stories or interludes were told instead of shown. I felt as if they wasted a huge opportunity. The following stories sometimes made up for that, but not always.
Another failing was probably the sci-fi portion. The alien bit was cool, but looks aside, the doctor just seemed too human. Not to mention the naming of the disease just happened. I don't remember poker or cards being that big back in the 50s.
What I liked most about the book were the powers. The aces had all the boring powers like you would find on the X-Men or Heroes. The Jokers had the far more interesting powers like those found on 4400. Their stories when it didn't deal with discrimination were better.
I don't know if I'll be reading more. I might because the publisher is finally re-releasing them since they've been out of print as affordable ebooks. But we'll see.
Because it was an anthology, some of the stories are hit or miss. My biggest problem was the fact that when I got into some stories, they just ended and I wanted to know more. My other problem was that a lot of the stories or interludes were told instead of shown. I felt as if they wasted a huge opportunity. The following stories sometimes made up for that, but not always.
Another failing was probably the sci-fi portion. The alien bit was cool, but looks aside, the doctor just seemed too human. Not to mention the naming of the disease just happened. I don't remember poker or cards being that big back in the 50s.
What I liked most about the book were the powers. The aces had all the boring powers like you would find on the X-Men or Heroes. The Jokers had the far more interesting powers like those found on 4400. Their stories when it didn't deal with discrimination were better.
I don't know if I'll be reading more. I might because the publisher is finally re-releasing them since they've been out of print as affordable ebooks. But we'll see.