jdavidhacker1 reviewed Wild Cards by George R. R. Martin (Wild Cards, #1)
None
4 stars
This was a lot of fun. I never read these back when they were coming out, though I have a distinct memory of seeing them on the bookstore shelves. I was a big comicbook fan, and probably would have loved them had I realized the connection. Its a shared world, only loosely organized by George R. R. Martin and a host of other famous genre writers, originally based on their role playing game sessions. This is in the height of the era of some gaming systems which would later get labeled as 'slipstream'...things Rifts, GURPS, and others (of which this particular game is).returnThe world of Wild Cards, is, well, wild. An alien comes, to try to save us from an alien virus, that a bunch of organized criminals decide to release for profit. It kills many people, mutates others (giving some powers and others not) into a variety of …
This was a lot of fun. I never read these back when they were coming out, though I have a distinct memory of seeing them on the bookstore shelves. I was a big comicbook fan, and probably would have loved them had I realized the connection. Its a shared world, only loosely organized by George R. R. Martin and a host of other famous genre writers, originally based on their role playing game sessions. This is in the height of the era of some gaming systems which would later get labeled as 'slipstream'...things Rifts, GURPS, and others (of which this particular game is).returnThe world of Wild Cards, is, well, wild. An alien comes, to try to save us from an alien virus, that a bunch of organized criminals decide to release for profit. It kills many people, mutates others (giving some powers and others not) into a variety of disturbing forms ala Marvel's morlocks (jokers), and gives others wondrous powers of various kinds without the terrible downsides. This first book skips through decades of time from World War 2 up through the end of the 70s and early 80s, giving us a very Watchmen-esque (but predating Watchmen) narrative of how these power afflicted individuals and one human effect the course of modern human history. We also get some pretty interesting and more personal stories. Definitely recommended.
