“Wild Cards” returns!

Today, Tor Books relaunches the popular “Wild Cards” series with “Inside Straight.”  Edited by George R. R. Martin, “Wild Cards” were a series of shared-universe anthology novels that examined a world where superheroes were real.  An alien virus was released on Earth in 1946, killing 9 of every 10 exposed to it. Most of those who survive become deformed, but one in 100 is gifted with amazing powers.  These “jokers” and “aces” are at the heart of the “Wild Cards” series.  This was a favorite for me when they debuted in 1987, and I’m glad, 20 years later, to see the series return.  

Info from Tor:  

Launched in 1987, WILD CARDS is the longest-running series in the shared worlds and fantasy genre. A contemporary world of smart, complicated, and incredibly diverse superheroes is brilliantly re-imagined by this group of acclaimed fantasy writers.

Tor Books is proud to present the re-launch of this landmark series with its eighteenth volume, Inside Straight (A Tor hardcover; $24.95; January 22, 2008). Headed up by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin, a top-notch cast of authors introduce a new generation of young, hip, and messed-up superheroes in an interconnected storyline that spans from Egypt to Hollywood.

Meet the girl whose stuffed dragon becomes a fifty-foot, fire-breathing version of itself (and she has a whole bag full of other little stuffies …), the six-armed drummer man most likely to appear on a Rolling Stones cover, and the fox-tailed Japanese guy who uses mythology to create optical illusions.

It is 2007, and the highest rated show on television is American Hero. Earth Witch, Pop Tart, Curveball, Bugsy, and twenty-four other young superheroes—aka “aces”—battle one other in a series of tasks and stunts. On this reality show like no other, alliances form and rivalries explode, as the aces race to make it to the final showdown.