Big Dick McGee
If you don't know, now ya know
Christmas Eve I stopped by the local B&N in Rancho Cucamonga to pick up a couple of last-minute gifts (Everyday Italian by Giada DeLaurentiis for Mom and Italian Home Cooking by Giada DeLaurentiis for LG), and, as per usual, I quickly browsed the sci-fi section. Darthsikle had told me there was a new Wild Cards book available, but to be honest, the ones that came out in the early 2000's weren't that good.
However, Inside Straight, the newest book, is pretty damned awesome. So good, it made me want to re-read the first series. Sadly, I only hung on to random books in the series, and they're long out of print. A copy of Wild Cards #1 (subtitled "Ace in the Hole") goes for over $75 on ebay. No way I'd pay that for a paberback I've already read.
Man, the early volumes were fantastic. They were mostly "mosaic" novels, with different characters being written by different authors, with a small plot thread connecting them. Most of the authors were top-notch, and the whole series is edited (and occasionally written) by George R.R. Martin.
Basically, there was an alien virus called the "Wild Card" released over NYC in the early 1940's. A hero named Jetboy died while trying to stop it. The virus infected scores of people, and when the virus manifests they refer to it as one's "wild card turning". Over 90% of the people drew the Black Queen, or instand death. About 9% of the rest became hideously deformed "Jokers", some with powers, some just deformed. The other 1% became "Aces", with super-hero type powers. Flight, invulernability, the wholen nine. Some had really weird powers like "Popinjay" who could teleport someone by looking at them and making a little "gun" gesture with his hand. Some, like the winged Ace Perergrine, were actually Jokers with deformities that gave them Ace-like abilities.
One member of the alien race, Dr.Tachyon stayed behind to help the human race deal with the after effects, and he turned into a boozing, womanizing, self-loathing man.
The books were pretty controversial, as they dealt with subjects like human rights, race relations, U.S. foreign policy and abortion, all within the framework of this fantasy setting. One Ace named Fortunato was a half-black, half-Asian pimp turned hero, who got his mystical powers by practicint Tantra. So, he'd have sex, but instead of ejaculating, he'd stop, which would cause his sexual energy to "back up", and his forehead would swell, giving him powers. Pretty wild stuff.
So, anyone else read these books? Anyone know where I can score some of the old volumes without spending a fortune? A pretty good website is here
However, Inside Straight, the newest book, is pretty damned awesome. So good, it made me want to re-read the first series. Sadly, I only hung on to random books in the series, and they're long out of print. A copy of Wild Cards #1 (subtitled "Ace in the Hole") goes for over $75 on ebay. No way I'd pay that for a paberback I've already read.
Man, the early volumes were fantastic. They were mostly "mosaic" novels, with different characters being written by different authors, with a small plot thread connecting them. Most of the authors were top-notch, and the whole series is edited (and occasionally written) by George R.R. Martin.
Basically, there was an alien virus called the "Wild Card" released over NYC in the early 1940's. A hero named Jetboy died while trying to stop it. The virus infected scores of people, and when the virus manifests they refer to it as one's "wild card turning". Over 90% of the people drew the Black Queen, or instand death. About 9% of the rest became hideously deformed "Jokers", some with powers, some just deformed. The other 1% became "Aces", with super-hero type powers. Flight, invulernability, the wholen nine. Some had really weird powers like "Popinjay" who could teleport someone by looking at them and making a little "gun" gesture with his hand. Some, like the winged Ace Perergrine, were actually Jokers with deformities that gave them Ace-like abilities.
One member of the alien race, Dr.Tachyon stayed behind to help the human race deal with the after effects, and he turned into a boozing, womanizing, self-loathing man.
The books were pretty controversial, as they dealt with subjects like human rights, race relations, U.S. foreign policy and abortion, all within the framework of this fantasy setting. One Ace named Fortunato was a half-black, half-Asian pimp turned hero, who got his mystical powers by practicint Tantra. So, he'd have sex, but instead of ejaculating, he'd stop, which would cause his sexual energy to "back up", and his forehead would swell, giving him powers. Pretty wild stuff.
So, anyone else read these books? Anyone know where I can score some of the old volumes without spending a fortune? A pretty good website is here
