Customer Reviews

George R.R. Martin's Wild Card Universe: Death Draws Five

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a long time wild cards fan, I had long given up hope of ever seeing another book. A satisfying read in more ways than one...fun story, finishes up at least one long dormant story line, new insight into familiar characters and most importantly, like a trip back to the old neighborhood. The main difference here is that you CAN go home again.

While I wasn't blown away by Death Draws Five, if you're like me, nostalgic for the old Wild Cards series, then you should be pretty satisfied.

The story revolves around the child of the union of Fortunato and Peregrine, John Fortune, who may be the messiah or the devil, but in reality is just a teenager who supposedly just "turned an Ace." I won't get too much into the plot, but overall, it's a fast and fun read.

Through amazing coincidences, several of our favorite Wild Cards characters make appearances, and after a very long absence, we get to witness the return of Fortunato.

I will admit that I was a little disappointed by Deuces Down and even though the Card Sharks storyline was the most recent one, I can't recall much about those books. Given that Miller (the author) was one of the earliest Wild Cards authors, it definitely has the feel of the older books.

One nitpick - there are way too many typos. iBooks needs to hire a few more proofreaders next time. Anyway, enjoy!

The Wild Cards series of books is THE BEST SUPERHERO FICTION/PROSE EVER WRITTEN. "Death Draws Five" is absolutely a worthy installment. The author, John Miller, is a warmhearted and friendly person, and this book is a reflection of the man. Your first clue is that he dedicates the book to his dearly departed dog; the second is that he smooths a bit of the edge off of some of the characters whose previous appearances in prior installments have been described as "dark" or "depressing." Too much detail here would amount to a "spoiler," so suffice to say that "Death Draws Five," on whole, is uplifting without being predictable, derivative or phony.

Any criticism is solely the fault of the publisher. Typos are peppered throughout. This, according to rumor, was the trend at iBooks, inc., where both the authors and editor's corrections were consistently ignored.

The story develops fast, and keeps a rapid-fire pace that virtually demands a cover-to-cover read in one sitting. The loyal fan of the Wild Cards series will pick-up on a reference or two from prior titles, but a first time reader will have no problem stepping into this universe at this point. "Death Draws Five," can, and does stand alone from other titles in the series. I strongly recommend it to fans of comic-books, science fiction, pulp-fiction and adventure fiction.

It breaks my heart to even think that "Death Draws Five" may be the last installment in the Wild Cards "universe," but with the failure of the publisher (iBooks, inc.), I'm not sure where or if the Wild Cards will find a new home. As good as "Death Draws Five" is, surely other publishers are fighting for rights to a follow-up!!??...

Respectfully,

Chris Yates

Death Draws Five is a great installment for the Wild Cards Series. At long last the ace Fortunato has retuned in order to assist his son who has just had the wild card virus affect him. Young John Fortune has turned over an ace - or has he? Some groups think he is the messiah, while others believe that they must destroy him at all costs. Old Friends Popinjay, Billy Ray, Digger Downs, Father Squid, Yeoman and Peregrine all make appearances. The Mysterious "The Angel" (not Angel) makes an excellent addition to the shared universe.
This is a fun book, written in a light manner, where everyone is chasing everyone, and always one step behind. There are plenty of laughs and a lot of action.

Five Stars for Death Draws Five.


Relic113

I agree with the other reviewer that this book has quite a few typos and odd sloppy sentence constructions but I attribute that to the DIY nature of self publishing giant IBooks. I loved this book. If a few typos are the price for more Wild Cards books, then please more!

I feel bad giving this a negative review because I do want to see more Wild Cards novels and that may depend on sales of this book. However, Death Draws Five just isn't that great. In fact it was mediocre enough to make me question if my fond memories of the original series were deserved. First the good: It's always nice to see Billy Ray in action. Not a real nuanced character but that's some of his appeal. We also get to see some of the old early guard of Wild Cards characters including Fortunato and Yeoman. There's also a somewhat interesting new Ace introduced although he's not used as much as he perhaps should have been.
Now for the bad. Part of this is just production values. The proofreading on the book is abysmal. The plot feeds off of the more ridiculous aspects of Wild Card history, and makes The DaVinci Code look like the height of realistic theological discourse. I'm not even religious and I was offended by the portrayal of virtually every Christian in this book as a violent fanatic. The plot is a little thin, revolving around two religious groups fighting over John Fortune, the son of Peregrine and Fortunato. Mostly it involves them running from place to place getting into fights. One of the problems is that it seems John J Miller has never met a teenager, or at least has no idea how to write one. John Fortune acts more like a kid than a teenager. When he is originally kidnapped his mother is shot and left for dead but when he is finally "rescued" by one of the groups he doesn't seem particularly concerned over her fate but responds the prospect of travelling to the groups amusement park headquarters as something that's fun. Most teenagers I've known would be a bit more concerned over their mothers life. Another problem is Leo Barnett. Barnett leads one of the groups in the book. In previous volumes he had always been portrayed in a complex manner, a man who hated the Wild Card but genuinely seemed to love its victims an who had complex motivations. Here he comes off as a cartoon version of the fundamentalist preacher believing in the End Times and cynically pursuing a range of sexual conquests. Speaking of which there's the fact that most of the women in the book are portrayed as sex objects. Wild Cards has always come in for some criticism for its sexual aspects but in this book I really noticed it. In particular the female main character seems to be a clear case of "virgin-whore" cheescake an the "romance" subplot that they have for her is written like bad internet porn.
Overall I think the book is mainly for completists who need to own all the books. If you're looking to get into the series skip this one and get one of the older books or wait for the projected new volumes to come out.

The latest Wild Card novel, while a new story, is a little bit of a homage to the past, with some old friends turning up. Give the title, you know there will be casualties.

Fortunato returns from Japan, Billy Ray is working for ex-President Leo Barnett, and actually mellowing. Jerry Strauss is bodyguarding Peregrine's son, and working with Jay Ackroyd. Digger Downs is still doing his thing. Cameo makes a cameo, and when the conflict over Peregrine son, the man theme of the book, erupts, Daniel Brennan is there to lend at hand, at one stage.

All very enjoyable for the fan, and new characters - Midnight Angel (the woman on the cover), Nighthawk, and a Cardinal in charge of a bunch of Dominicans tied to the Inquisition. One group thinks Fortune is the antichrist, the other, the opposite. A whole bunch of old friends are caught in the middle.

Not quite a four, but brings a smile to the face with a more than welcome return for this series.

Death Draws Five is one of the best books I have ever read. It keeps one's intrest from beginning to end. John J. Miller has created some of the most intriguing characters you will ever encounter set in a world with suprises around every corner. Definitely check out some of the other books by John J. Miller, he is an excellent writer.

TJ

I read another poster's review and almost didn't buy this book but decided to see for myself how bad it might be.
Maybe it was because the bar had been set low so my expectation were low whatever the case the book was not bad.
Yes the characters are cartoonish.
Yes all they do is travel from one place to another and fight.
Yes the plot is cartoonish.

But it's a series about super heroes what do you expect War and Peace?
It has been years since I read the original series so when I received this book I was not expecting to find very adult oriented group of characters with real problems looking for real solutions in a spectacular world. After so many years my perspective and my life has changed enough that I realize what I thought the world to be at 13 is a lot different at 31.
I don't want to give excuses for bad editing, poor storylines, or ridiculous plots, but hey if you are basing your review on what you remembered the books to be and what they are a sad realization is in your future.
If you read the original series and liked it, then I think you will like this story simply for a chance to revisit the Wild Card's world.

Yep, good but not great - if you're a fan of the series, I think you'll like the updates to the characters (the somewhat wiser and slower Billy ray was probably my favorite) In fact all of the returning characters seem more grown up (to a point) which was interesting. The old characters in this book (Fortunato, Mr. Nobody, Popinjay) weren't really ever my favorites, but they're OK. I'd say bring back the Sleeper and Modular Man!

As far as the actual plot, I thought it was OK, but not as good as the heyday of the series. I think there were a few flubs in there, too. The typos that other folks have mentioned are in there, but that didn't bug me nearly as much as the fact that 2 of the main characters named John (as well as the author... I mean, really.)? That was kind of distracting.

So, overall, a 3.