The alien virus arrived on Earth just after World War II-and the world was never the same. For those who become infected, there are two results: death, or transformation. And depending on the recipient, death is sometimes the preferable outcome. Only a few lucky ones become super-human "aces" as a side effect of the virus; the rest are turned into horrible, grotesque "jokers." It's a strange and wonderful, terrible and terrifying world where anything can go. A world that, in a twist of fate, could lie just outside your door. A world of Wild Cards.
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[Bonham's Flying Service of Shanktank, New Jersey was socked in - THIRTY MINUTES OVER BROADWAY! BY HOWARD WALDROP]***
(@gollancz, 1 March 2002, first published 1 December 1986, 575 pages, ebook, borrowed from @GlasgowLib via @OverDriveLibs, edited by @GRRMspeaking)
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So, I'm aware of the Wild Cards series, more than twenty and counting but for some reason I've never read them before. Each story is linked because they take place in the same world and some feature the same characters. It took a couple of stories to get my head around this. This is my first time reading the series so I can't judge whether this concept works or not. I wasn't really aware of the links between the stories as I read if that means anything. I'd only heard of a few of the writers before, so most were new to me. I enjoyed every story on offer and will likely read other books in the series as I'm curious to see how the concept develops. The best stories were Thirty Minutes Over Broadway!, Captain Cathode And The Secret Ace, The Long, Dark Night Of Fortunato, Ghost Girl Takes Manhattan and Comes A Hunter.
