Book Review: "Wild Cards" Edited By: George R.R. Martin

Wild Cards is a collection of stories based on an alternate world, which branches off from ours in the 1940s after World War II. The major difference is the introduction of an alien virus that changes human genetics, most of the time for the worse. A small percent is lucky to receive superhuman powers and are called 'aces,' but the less fortunate, the 'jokers,' who survive the mutation must live with defects, even if death would have been preferable.

When I first picked up this book, I didn't realize it was a collection of short stories, but I'm not disappointed with it in the least. The time-line is held tightly together and all the stories flow into each other. I loved how they tended to reference each other, which wasn't hard since the book spanned thirty-five years. The first story about Jetboy illustrates this, as he is the one who lays the groundwork for the rest of the stories, even though he never shows up again. What makes the referencing neat is to see just how that character affects the rest in the different stories, however small or large. You also get different views of the characters this way, and can learn more about them.

Another good point about this book is its characters. It has a wide variety of different people represented, from the young, the homeless, military, politicians, prostitutes, and more. One of my favorite characters was Dr. Tachyon, the alien who tried to prevent the Wild Card virus from happening, but is in fact part of the race who used it on Earth. His development and struggles throughout this book are both deep and amazing, and also a good read. He has his good moments and his bad moments and is most certainly not a flat or static character. His flamboyant personality and eccentric clothes are sure to entertain, but it's his compassion that will really make you love him.

The time-line follows our own very closely, inserting the aces and jokers neatly into it. They have their golden moments fighting Communism, but also must face their own 'Red Scare' perpetrated by McCarthy. They experience drugs, the Summer of Love, Vietnam, and Korea, but nothing seems forced and follows a natural progression of the events. These stories are a good study in what would probably have happened if the virus had hit Earth.

You'll find a great variety of stories in here, and are sure to have at least one you enjoy. I would recommend this collection, but would warn you that it has it's graphic moments, both with violence and sex. It's a worthwhile read, and has some good depth for a science fiction collection.