Rating: 
Summary: A fantastic new world of heroes!
Review: A month ago (as of this writing) I'd never ever heard of this series, but now I'm eagerly awaiting the next volume. George R.R. Martin has assembled some fantastic writers to concoct an entire universe of "Wild Card" superheroes that parallels our own world even moreso than the worlds of Marvel and DC Comics which serve as much of the inspiration.Here's the concept -- in the days after World War II a bomb went off in the skies above New York City, blanketing the people in a virus. Most of them died. Some, the "jokers" underwent a terrible transformation. A select few drew "aces" -- superpowers without a deformity. Each writer in this collection (an intriguing device martin calls a "Mosaic Novel") tells the story of an ace or joker of his or her creation. All of the stories stand on their own, although many feel very much like a chapter in a longer tale (John J. Miller's "Comes the Hunter" especially) and I hope these threads are picked up in the later books. As with any collection of diverse writers, some stories are better than others. Martin's own "Shell Games" is my favorite in this volume -- I could have done without the sewer tale, "Down Deep." Even with that lesser story, the concept and execution is wonderful -- I for one am hoping Martin deals out a few more Wild Cards in the future.
Rating:
Summary: A triumph
Review: Aces High delivers on the promise of Wild Cards. It is a magnificent story, and an addicting one at that. Unlike the first Wild Cards book, Aces High is a tightly written tale, following some threads to their end, more or less. It means that, generally , the individual stories are less note worthy( with the exception of the remarkable "Winter's Chill"and the half comic "Ashes to Ashes") but the overall quality is high. The book introduces us some new heros. the most entertaining of them are Jube, an extra terrestrial who knows more jokes than anyone else around, and Kid Dinausaur, a boy who can change into any dinausaur he wishes, thought they're always tiny. We have some new villans, only hinted to in the first book. It is more of a comic book than the grim first volume. The writing seemed to have risen, and it is, all by all, a much more entertaining tale. A special notice deserves George R R Martin. After writing the frankly disappointing 'Shell Games' in Wild Cards, Martin returns in full shape with a remarkable, touching story. Winter's Chill is the story in Aces High most resembling the WILD CARDS town, and is also the best. If you can find this, BUY IT
Rating:
Summary: A pleasant surprise
Review: As a huge fan of Martin's SONG OF ICE AND FIRE series, I too picked up some of his older work. The WILD CARDS series was a pleasant surprise. The series has an interesting concept, and good writers participating (esp Roger Zelazny, who's Sleeper-character stole my heart). The WILD CARDS stories are all different, dealing with different times and storylines, but they are without failing interesting and original. Some of the stories had me secretly wiping away some tears (the Turtle, Golden Boy), others had me chuckling (the Sleeper)or reading with my heart in my throat (Fortunato). In retrospect, the first two books were a setup for the grand happenings of Book 3, when all hell bursts loose on Wild Card Day. I loved the way the stories were weaved together in JOKERS WILD, where everything seemed to come together. It had a superb story/tension arc, and the characterization was without failing very well done. I have only read the first three books so far, but I'm definitely keeping an eye out for other installments of this series. I give the authors involved a big thumbs up for an original project like this!
Rating:
Summary: Why all comic readers need this book
Review: For those of you out there that grew up on comic books as I did, this book is a must. From the get-go the collaborative authors strip down super-heroes to their roots and show how truly heroic people are. There aren't any fancy teams or 2 dimensional characters. These are all people that you might meet and love, hate, want... etc. Except some of them have weird powers and some of them as bizarrely misshapen. Oh, and make sure to watch a little boy name Tom become a true hero, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TURTLE, through the books.
Rating: 
Summary: Perhaps For Fans of Comic Books (really 2.5 Stars)
Review: I am a fan of George R. R. Martin, I think he is one of the most talented writers around today. Furthermore, Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" Series is a masterpiece of writing. Additionally, I have enjoyed some of his short stories. However, I would caution anyone about the "Wild Cards". This is not at all like Martin's other works. "Wild Cards" is a single plot carried over many different short stories written by many authors. The plot is interesting and initially it sounded great. A deadly virus infects earth after World War II and humans that are infected undergo various physiological and mental changes. Each author brings his own style to the story and some are outstanding. I especially enjoyed Roger Zelazny's story "Ashes to Ashes". However, overall I could not get into the story. Trying to follow a single story line over many short stories is difficult enough but having to contend with different author's styles, makes it tedious. Some of the stories are down right boring, others are hard to follow. This is very unfortunate because I had great hopes for this book.
Rating:
Summary: A perfect balance between fantacy and the reality
Review: I have regrettably just completed "Black Trump" the final book in the a second series of Wildcard books. I have read all 15 of the Wildcard books and thouroughly enjoyed them all. The real strengh of the series lies in the collaborative efforts of the cadry of talented writers who contributed to the plots and characters. George Martin did and excellent job of correographing the short stories and charaters and maintained the kind of continuity neccessary to create a believable alternate Earth reality. A Wildcard wish list should include: A new Wildcard series, A book of quality Wildcard character illustrations and a movie or T.V. Series.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't get into the stories
Review: I purchased this because I *loved* the A Song of Ice and Fires series, and because I used to love comic books. Well, I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as I'd hoped. I found that with a couple of exceptions, I didn't find myself connecting with the characters, and the stories were not that exciting.
Rating:
Summary: A golden oldie
Review: I read this series when it was originally released. I wasnt happy with where the series eventually ended up late in the series, but the earlier works are fond favorites. People buying this book (or others in the series) because they are fans of GRRMartins Song of Ice and Fire series are likely to be disapointed due to misaligned expectations. The only thing this series has in common with the Song of Ice and Fire is a gritty certainty that favorite characters will get killed....or worse, and the use of widely scattered often disconnected characters and plotlines that sometimes may cross but also might never. Further, as this is a 'mosaic' novel, GRRMartin isnt the sole proprietor of the stories. Treated as a seperate entity from GRRMartin's more recent series, the Wild Cards series is a fairly unique and often brilliant body of work. Due to its nature, not all of the short stories will appeal to everyone; to be sure there are stories and story arcs that dont appeal to me either. Regardless, taken as a whole the series is really something special. Its similar to a massive wall mural which cant be appreciated from up close; you have to pull back abit and look at it in its entirety to fully appreciate the overall effect. The strength of the series lays in its deft characterizations. Some of my favorite fictional characters are from this series; the Turtle, Croyd Crenson (the Sleeper), Golden Boy, Mackie Messer, Carnifex, Mr Nobody, Jumpin Jack Flash (et al), Kid Dinosaur.....the list goes on and on. The series really picks up in the second book, but the 1st is where all of the necessary background resides. Unfortunately, the books are being released in a grossly overpriced large softbound edition; my advice it to find the original paperbacks in a used book store.
Rating:
Summary: New comments on an Old Review
Review: I wrote this when I only read the First book of the series, almost two and a half years ago. I was somewhat overly optimistic, but generally this still stands. Snodgras never wrote anything worthwhile for the Wild Cards again. The only Wild Card book I've read so far, this is very promising. I think I'll start with the bad things first. Too many of the stories don't work. Some, like Witness, are bad, while many (maybe most) seem to be a beginning, setting the stage without solving anything. ( that is especially true of stories like ' The long night of Fortunato') Also, there are to many characters, and the story isn't focused enough. It covers thirty years, but most of the time its not very vivid. The early stories, at least, all feature Tchyon as a main character, but then he disappears, and that's a shame. Now for the good part. First, the intervals are great. Especially the one summing up the red scare, and the one with the quotes. Also the one with about the science behind the wild Card virus. Then we have the premise, which is great. The world, and many of the characters, seem fascinating. I love the wild card virus. Also, three of the stories are simply exellent. Those are, Sleeper, by Roger Zealany, Strings, by Stephan Leigh, and especially, Degredation Rites, by Mellinda sondgrass, which is a touching, tragic love story, as well, as a powerful political tale. The best thing about the book, though, is the great promise it contains. It thrills me, and I'm sure I'm gonna love the next books.
Rating:
Summary: New comments on an Old Review
Review: I wrote this when I only read the First book of the series, almost two and a half years ago. I was somewhat overly optimistic, but generally this still stands. Snodgras never wrote anything worthwhile for the Wild Cards again. The only Wild Card book I've read so far, this is very promising. I think I'll start with the bad things first. Too many of the stories don't work. Some, like Witness, are bad, while many (maybe most) seem to be a beginning, setting the stage without solving anything. ( that is especially true of stories like ' The long night of Fortunato') Also, there are to many characters, and the story isn't focused enough. It covers thirty years, but most of the time its not very vivid. The early stories, at least, all feature Tchyon as a main character, but then he disappears, and that's a shame. Now for the good part. First, the intervals are great. Especially the one summing up the red scare, and the one with the quotes. Also the one with about the science behind the wild Card virus. Then we have the premise, which is great. The world, and many of the characters, seem fascinating. I love the wild card virus. Also, three of the stories are simply exellent. Those are, Sleeper, by Roger Zealany, Strings, by Stephan Leigh, and especially, Degredation Rites, by Mellinda sondgrass, which is a touching, tragic love story, as well, as a powerful political tale. The best thing about the book, though, is the great promise it contains. It thrills me, and I'm sure I'm gonna love the next books.
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