Wild cards I

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.

This is the expanded 2010 edition, with 3 new stories by David D. Levine, Michael Cassutt, and Carrie Vaughn. It's intertwined short stories, set from the end of WWII until the 1960s. It's alternative history, with an alien wild card virus infecting humans just after the war. It causes mutations, killing some, deforming some, and making just a few into all sorts of different superheroes. Wonderful stories, all different but meshing beautifully. David Levine 's story, Power's is heartfelt and exciting.