Customer Reviews

Wild Cards XVI - Deuces Down (Vol 5)

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3 star:		(6)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

"Deuces Down" is the sixteenth book in the Wild Cards canon, arriving after a seven-year publishing hiatus that had most fans of this wonderful series assuming that the franchise was pretty much extinct. For those who don't know, Wild Cards is a "shared world" series of book,s by multiple authors, that chronicles the adventures of people with superhuman powers in a "real-world" context. It is, simply, the finest example or prose superhero writing ever produced. (Skip those awful novels and short story collections based on Marvel characters like The Hulk or X-Men -- Wild Cards should be the first choice for the discriminating superhero fan.)

"Deuces" is a somewhat modest offering-- seven stories spread throughout history (a la Books One and Thirteen), with the loose theme being "deuces" (Wild Card lingo for characters whose powers are negligable compared to supercharged "aces"). The stories get better as the book progresses, with the opening story by Michael Cassutt being competent but uninteresting, and the final story by Kevin Andrew Murphy being an absolute joy -- partly by virtue of being the only story in the volume set in the present day, allowing longtime fans a glimpse into what the WC universe looks like in the new millennium.

Some breif commentary on each story...

Cassutt's "Storming Space" is a sequel of sorts to his offering in Book Thirteen. Cassutt's style is good, but his Wild Cards stories are so slight that they almost disappear. He tends to put some interesting things around the edges of his tales, but the actual meat doesn't really satisfy. It makes for an unfortunately modest opener.

John Miller's story is more fun. The story's primary flaw is that it gets bogged down in the details of baseball games -- and if you're not a fan of the sport, you might start to doze. However, his characterization of a teenage Digger Downs (a minor character in the series, most enjoyably utilized back in Book Seven) is affectionate and endearing. A good "origin" tale.

Walton Simons delivers a limp tale of two rather uninteresting new characters -- somewhat surprisingly, since his two primary Wild Cards creations, Demise and Mr. Nobody, are both great (indeed, both Demise and Nobody are used in "Deuces" by other writers-- and quite entertainingly!). Kind of drab, this one, and like Cassutt's, it's damaged by its feeling vaguely inconsequential.

The collection kicks up a notch in its second half, starting with Melinda Snodgrass' wonderful "Face for the Cutting Room Floor," a tale of Wild Cards Hollywood, every bit as good as Kevin Murphy's Hollywood excursion in Book 13. Starring Snodgrass' creation Bradley Finn (a "joker," or character with some unusual physical oddity rather than superpower-- in Finn's case, a body like that of mythical centaurs), it's filled with wonderful humor and clever little twists, as well as great characterization.

Daniel Abraham's story "Father Henry's Little Miracle" is quite nice. Abraham is a newcomer to the Wild Card Trust of writers, but he seems utterly confident in spite of this, weaving -- in fantastic prose -- a tale that takes place in the midst of the gang wars from Book Five. Abraham's new character, Father Henry, is fun and instantly likeable, particularly in an entertaining confrontation with Simons' Demise (perfectly characterized here).

Stephen Leigh's story, about a bit player from Book Fifteen, is warm, rich and evocative (if rushed in the beginning). Utterly inconsequential to the greater workings of the Wild Card universe, but still a great read in its own right. And it's restrained too-- mercifully not filled to bursting with the grotesquerie of Leigh's Puppetman and Bloat tales from earlier volumes.

Kevin Andrew Murphy's concluding story, "With a Flourish and a Flair," is alone worth the price of admission. A meditation on magic -- both real and artificial-- in the Wild Cards universe, it's layered and fascinating. It's also joyously packed with characters, some familiar to WC readers, and some of Murphy's own ingenious design. The "Jokertown Boys" are a fresh and fun new addition to the WC mythos, demanding more screen time in future volumes of the series.
Meanwhile, Murphy gleefully and unrestrainedly tosses in clever references to previous stories and old, half-forgetten characters-- his affection for the intricacies of the Wild Cards practically leaping from every page.

"Flourish" makes polishing off this latest Wild Cards volume a pleasure, and leaves the reader starved for the next installment in this happily-returned series.

Browsing in a bookstore circa 1986 I came upon the first Wild Cards book. Curious, I bought it . .. and devoured it in a night.That set a patern I would follow with the release of all the subsequent books. The premise, the shared milieu, the contributions of the various writers, the twists, turns, and thrills, it was just so much fun. Like other fans, I was sorry when the series seemed to end, but I understood that the death of Roger Zelazny might want to make the others involved retire the concept. What cause for celebration then to see the Wild Cards resurrected! So, okay, this is not the most exciting entry in the series, dealing as it does with deuces, wild carders who powers seem to be useless. Not so, of course, the authors are quite ingenious at making those useless powers pivotal. There are cameos by some old favorite characters, and the last story, involving a frantic search for a specific top hat, is quite entertaining. But this book does differ from its predecessors in that it does not begin, suspensefully continue, or slam-bang conclude a story arc. I miss that Saturday serial kind of anticipatory excitement, and uneasily wonder if that means the series will not be continued any time soon. If not, too bad. I always left the Wild Cards world wanting more. I always hoped for a story about the Harlem Hammer, or the Troll, and like most fans, wondered whatever happened next to the Radical. C'mon, George R. R. Martin and co., don't leave us hanging!

Without any fan fare we've suddenly got the first new Wild Cards book in seven years. Like the first Wild Cards book and Card Sharks this is a series of stories set throughout the history of the Wild Cards universe and linked around a theme. In the case of Card Sharks it was about encounters with an anti-Wild Card conspiracy. In this case it's about Deuces, those with useless or negligble powers. For those who haven't read the previous books I'd recommend starting with Wild Cards volume I which has recently been republished. For long time readers the sight of a new Wild Cards novel will be a nice surprise.
As a whole the book suffers a bit from a surprising nuymber of typos and a poor cover desing that makes the title almost unreadable. Like any anthology book the stories are a mixed bag. There's no Martin story but there are tales from founding Wild Carders such as John J Miller, Melinda Snodgrass, and Stephen Leigh. Unfortunately the book leads off with Michael Cassutts story. Its put first because it takes place first but the story is probably the worst in the book (it revolves around Cassuts fetish for Wild Card space travel particularly a ludicrous clandestine flight to the moon) and because it doesn't fit the theme. The main characters tactile telekinesis is hardly a negligable power. Fortunately John J Millers story is next and is a lot better. It's a very nice story about a young Digger Downs trying to uncover the secret Ace behind the Dodgers incredible winning streak. A nice look at a young supporting character from the original books and a twist ending that makes sense and is very heartwarming, even if Digger doesn't see it that way. There's a fairly average story involving a nightclub owner saving a woman from the Great Ape in 1977. One thing that bothered me a bit about it is that I think this is the first usage of Croyd Crenson we've seen since Roger Zelaznys death. It seemed a little sacreliious. Melinda Snodgrass gives us a good story involving Dr Flinn as a young med student working his way through school in Hollywood, even if the ending doesn't make sense. There's a pretty good story written by newcomer Daniel Abraham involving a deuce priest trying to protect a young hooker in the midst of a gang war. Oddly the story heavily involves Demise even though it's not written by Demise's creator Walton Simons (who instead supplies the story involving the Great Ape. The stand out story is Stephen Leigh's "Promises". Unlike the others there's not really any action at all. Instead the story is a romance set on an Irish Island that's the Irish version of Jokertown and involves a throw away character from the last book (the pilot who flew Gregg Hartmann and Hannah Davis to Britain). A really touching story about a good man who makes finds love unexpectedly and with tragic results. THe final Story is from Kevin Andrew Murphy and is a decent, but not great, tale that takes palce during a manic halloween concert in Jokertown. It's okay but suffers somewhat from some poor motivation for the story (it's essentially a madcap search for the ace Topper's hat) and for some of the characters (folks seem to lose interest in their main motivation simply because the plot requires us to be introduced to some people). It is notable because it gives us what I think is the first appearance of Fortunato and Peregrines son (oddly, given his parentage, he's still a virgin at fifteen). So in summation it's decent but not great. OTOH the other two collections where the stories have been spread over time rather than grouped around a central set of events, have been some of the weaker parts of the Wild Cards series. Here's hoping that this book means that we'll be seeing more of the Wild Cards in coming years. There's certainly plot threads out there: the return of Tachyon, Zoe's revenge etc. Hopefully new novels will also include some new stories by guys like George RR Martin, and Lew Shiner.

Another good instalment in the Wild Card series, even if much delayed. Focusing on aces with powers of seemingly little consequence, some of whom are jokers as well, this book is a little more upbeat, or even lighthearted at times.

Plenty of aces make cameos, even Cameo, not to mention Demise. So lots of old favorites are around. Peregrine's son, also, as a teenager.

Fidel Castro has a different job, and Grace Kelly's husband has been very good for her, as two of the more tongue-in-cheek tales unfold.

You like Wild Cards, or this sort of thing, you will certainly like this. This book a series of stories, again.


Wild Cards 16 : 01 Storming Space - Michael Cassutt
Wild Cards 16 : 02 Four Days in October - John J. Miller
Wild Cards 16 : 03 Walking the Floor Over You - Walton Simons
Wild Cards 16 : 04 A Face for the Cutting Room Floor - Melinda M. Snodgrass
Wild Cards 16 : 05 Father Henry's Little Miracle - Daniel Abraham
Wild Cards 16 : 06 Promises - Stephen Leigh
Wild Cards 16 : 07 With a Flourish and a Flair - Kevin Andrew Murphy




Shoestring spaceflight triangle.

4 out of 5


Kid reporter baseball investigation.

3.5 out of 5


Comedy babe's secret Sleeper save.

3.5 out of 5


Centaur porn and the beauty secrets of the famous.

4 out of 5


Priest protection to prevent a Demise.

3 out of 5


Petrified of family life.

3 out of 5


Hats in fashion unto the seventh generation.

4 out of 5

While this collection of Wild Card stories involving Deuces (very minor Aces) does justice to the series, it can't match the excellence of its prececessors. The fact that it's a short, quick read is also disappointing.

Still, it's nice to see a scattering of old, familiar faces, particularly Bradley Finn in his pre-doctor days, the chillingly uncaring Demise (aka Warren Spector), and The Sleeper (aka Croyd Crenson).

This isn't one of the better Wild Cards books. It's focused on "Deuces," those with negligible or useless super-powers, as opposed to Jokes, those who received some sort of negative mutation or deformity from the Wild Card virus and the fortunate minority of Aces, this fictional universe's equivilent of super heroes (or villians). This book is for the serious Wild Cards completist only.

For this book to be good, one must just just have to read it. To be great, one must know the back story.

First things first. If you haven't read the previous books in this series, don't buy this one. Don't even bother reading this review. Check out the reviews for the first book and take it from there. The stories in this volume contain so many references to characters and events developed in earlier books that some bits won't make sense unless you're well versed in Wild Card lore.

Also, if you're a fan of George R. R. Martin's work in the Song of Ice and Fire stories, you should know that the Wild Cards series is nothing like that. Martin does write a fair amount of material, particularly in the earlier volumes of the series, but this is a peculiar kind of science fiction without any of the elements that have made Ice and Fire so popular.

Fans of the series may find this new book disappointing. The theme is "deuces" --- wild cards with minor or even seemingly silly abilities --- and the stories are set in different time periods, from the late sixties till the present day. Although the title page carries the usual "mosaic novel" tag, this is really an anthology of seven stories, and since there is no connecting narrative or sequence of events to tie the pieces together, the book lacks the impact of earlier volumes. Part of the genius of the "mosaic novel" concept was the cumulative effect of several shorter pieces that fit smoothly into a greater whole, and that is noticeably absent here.

That's not to say that there is isn't the usual fine writing. I was particularly impressed by first time contributor David Abraham's story, which is touching, suspenseful, and moving. John J. Miller provides a brilliant baseball story, and Melinda Snodgrass's Hollywood tale is enjoyable. Kevin Andrew Murphy's piece is the weakest; although it bristles with fascinating ideas, the plot lumbers along and doesn't quite support the weight of the concepts. Michael Cassutt's and Walton Simons's contributions are good, but not spectacular; and Stephen Leigh's story is slightly below par for him.

Of course this is essential reading, but not quite up to the standard set by earlier books, particularly Volumes 1-7. It would have been more satisfying if the stories had been connected in some way to provide the extra punch of the "mosaic novel."

My perspective on this collection of stories is different than the other reviewers,because this is the first and only collection from the Wild Card series that I have read. To be honest, I did not think much of the stories in general, but one story stood out as excellent.

Daniel Abraham's story, "Father Henry's Little Miracle" is the best short story I have read in sometime. The two main characters of the story are Father Henry and Gina. When I had read the story, I really wanted to take Father Henry out for a beer, and I really wanted to sleep with Gina.

It was nice to visit the wild cards again... especially the Sleeper... However it was a bit sad knowing that Zelazny was not at the helm of that story... I also miss the Turtle and some of the other gang... but i guess this was a book for the deuces... i hope that there is another effort to revitalise this series. with GRR Martin's massive popularity (very deserved i might add) there should be an effot to get some writters together and have some adventures... Now that the jumpers and the rox is gone, hopefully we can get back to the 3 books per villain structure... although it will be hard to top the astromomer, or the swarm...

It was nice to go back and visit again... but next time i want aces and jokers...