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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A New Start for the Series, January 31, 2008
This review is from: Inside Straight (Wild Cards Novel) (Hardcover)
I've been a huge fan of the Wild Cards series since 1990. I read the first eight books without a break, and stopped only because I had to wait for the ninth volume to be published.
This volume is the 18th entry in the series, and introduces several new characters and several new contributors. All the ingredients for a new start to the series are here, but there's something vital lacking.
For the first time, I seriously considered setting this book aside and reading something else. I struggled to get through the last couple of chapters. It was worth hanging in, as the final sequences are satisfying and are a good setup for further adventures of these new characters.
The story just doesn't have much punch. Most Wild Cards books are intensely compelling, but this one, which focuses on aces participating in an American Idol style competition (called American Hero), drags in places. Even George R.R. Martin's story, his first contribution since Volume 11, lacks the sparkle of his short work. The plot isn't completely without interest, but it is slow.
A little more than halfway through the book, a crisis erupts in Egypt, and the story segues into real action. You'd expect things to pick up at this point, but it still felt flat to me. It wasn't until the very end that things picked up again and delivered a satisfying wrap-up.
I've never been truly disappointed in a Wild Cards book before, although Volume 16, Deuces Down, was more of an anthology than a mosaic novel. Still, that won't stop me from picking up the next volume. Since each book contains a different mix of writers, you never know quite what will happen next, and the basic concept is still a great one.
If you haven't read the series before, I strongly recommend that you start with the first book and read them in sequence. There is a lot of continuity in these books and the later volumes will be much more enjoyable if you're familiar with the background. Plus, if truth be told, the first six or seven volumes are the best, sustaining a very high level of quality that later books don't quite match.
And if you're thinking of buying this book only because George R. R. Martin's name is on it, and you know his work through the Song of Ice and Fire series, I'd advise against it. This is a completely different style and genre. Ice and Fire is heroic fantasy; Wild Cards is comic-book based science fiction. You might do better to pick up an anthology of Martin's earlier short stories, as there are numerous gems among them.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sophisticated, realistic superhero story, March 2, 2008
This review is from: Inside Straight (Wild Cards Novel) (Hardcover)
I'm a long time fan of the Wild Cards series, and I loved this book, but it also can be enjoyed by newcomers the series, as it makes a pretty good entry point.
Though the book is technically a collection of short stories by several writers, "Inside Straight" feels much more like a true novel instead. Even though we had a rotating point of view, it is truly a single story. So, I'll not be reviewing each individual tale, like I planned to. I'll just write my thoughts in no particular order.
First, it's a very hopeful, heart-warming book. While I'm a self-confessed fan of the darkness of the former books of the Wild Cards series, I couldn't help but cheer the heroes on this one. Their journey from fake TV heroes to real heroes is impossible not to root for. The book is a crescendo of dramatic, moving moments.
These superheroes (aces) are very much different from the usual superheroes you see in the comics and movies. They're inexperienced, ordinary people with superpowers, much like the "Heroes" TV show. Most of them are like you and me, but with powers.
Except for Stuntman and Double Helix, all of the protagonists are extremely sympathetic. Following the book's general theme of rite of passage, they're all on a journey to heroism and personal redemption. Each one of them is very different, each one of them will realize their potential in a different way, but all of them are very uplifting. Some go from cynicism to the discovery that there are things worth fighting for. Some are ugly ducklings that will come out of their shells. Some want to erase past impressions.
Another new great thing in this book is the presence of strong female protagonists. Perhaps one of the few negative points of the old Wild Cards series, that usually had very few kick-ass female heroes. Curveball, Bubbles, and Earth Witch are all great. Both "Chosen Ones" and "Metagames" feature relationships between two female characters as the main point of the stories, giving the new female characters more realism: they're not there just as romantic interests for the guys.
One last thing I liked a lot. This book is also very "epic". Great superhero battles, change the world stuff, superpowers used in the world stage of global politics.
It struck me how great the Wild Card characters are in this sort of war/political/spy story. They're powerful enough to do things, but they're not so powerful that they overwhelm the other side too easily (as would happen if you had, say, DC Comics' Justice League going to a war). They can take armies, but they're not unbeatable, and this mantains the tension and suspense.
The politics of the book also, thankfully, avoid being "partisan" or panfletary. While you do have at least two characters that have Christian undertones (Crusader and Holy Roller) battling Muslims, it's hard to categorize this book as "right-wing", when a lot of it revolve around the very pagan Egyptian Gods and John Fortune, and characters such as lesbians, debauched rock stars, gender-bending hermaphrodites, and liberal bloggers joining the good fight.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wild Cards for the 21st Century!, January 30, 2008
This review is from: Inside Straight (Wild Cards Novel) (Hardcover)
The Wild Cards series has a special place in my heart and library, and I was very pleased with this latest installment. I think it's the best Wild Card book in a long time. I cannot imagine the cooperation and planning needed to pull off a coherent shared-universe novel with multiple authors, but Inside Straight accomplished this, if not seamlessly, then certainly logically and readably.
Bracketed, as ever, by the iconic figure of Jetboy, and spiced with blog posts incorporated into the story, this is a book for new Wild Cards fans. There are enough sly references to the old guard to keep long-time fans happy, but the musings of the new aces as they try to find their place amid the falseness and consumerism of Hollywood and reality tv shows, as well as their experiences ofwar and prejudice, make for poignant and enjoyable reading. Recommended.
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