Wild Cards

[soulsinging]

Has anyone read these books? They seem to be up my alley but 1) I think many are out of print and 2) I can't seem to figure out where the series starts and I'd like to read them in order.

Anyone got any tips for someone new to this other area of his work?

 

[philzilla]

Has anyone read these books? They seem to be up my alley but 1) I think many are out of print and 2) I can't seem to figure out where the series starts and I'd like to read them in order.

Anyone got any tips for someone new to this other area of his work?

well ideally you would want to start with book #1 Wild Cards, but if you are having trouble finding it you could start with the new trilogy of books since it deals with a new group of characters. I think that Tor is planning to reprint the first books sometime.

Wild Cards Volume 1 - WILD CARDS
Wild Cards Volume 2 - ACES HIGH
Wild Cards Volume 3 - JOKERS WILD
Wild Cards Volume 4 - ACES ABROAD
Wild Cards Volume 5 - DOWN AND DIRTY
Wild Cards Volume 6 - ACE IN THE HOLE
Wild Cards Volume 7 - DEAD MAN'S HAND
Wild Cards Volume 8 - ONE-EYED JACKS
Wild Cards Volume 9 - JOKERTOWN SHUFFLE
Wild Cards Volume 10 - DOUBLE SOLITAIRE
Wild Cards Volume 11 - DEALER'S CHOICE
Wild Cards Volume 12 - TURN OF THE CARDS
Wild Cards Volume 13 - CARD SHARKS
Wild Cards Volume 14 - MARKED CARDS
Wild Cards Volume 15 - BLACK TRUMP
Wild Cards Volume 16 - DEUCES DOWN
Wild Cards Volume 17 - DEATH DRAWS FIVE
Wild Cards Volume 18 - INSIDE STRAIGHT
Wild Cards Volume 19 - BUSTED FLUSH
Wild Cards Volume 20 - SUICIDE KINGS

the hard ones to find are DEUCES DOWN and DEATH DRAWS FIVE

 

[Steve Jordan]

This was a great series, basically providing a believable background for an alternate world of superheroes and villains, just slightly rotated out of kilter from ours. If you're a fan of SF-based pulp heroes and alternate universes, I'd highly recommend them.

Various authors participated in writing individual chapters devoted to certain characters of their devising, with many of the characters finally meeting up in a Big Finish climax at the end of each book. The many voices managed to gel with GRRM's guidance, something I wouldn't have expected to work so well when I first started reading the books. The result is an ongoing story of epic proportions, much more human and heroic than any traditional superhero content.

I'd love to be able to get all of these books in ebook format myself (I have all of the books in printed or ebook format now); but it seems the difficulty of getting all of the authors' rights on these books is about as easy as herding quarks with a spatula, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

However, the books are being reissued now, starting with #1, and complete with improved cover art, so you may be able to buy all of the books as they come out.

 

[the smiling weirwood]

That's kind of funny, Deuces Down and Death Draws Five are the only ones I have.

 

[Steve Jordan]

That's kind of funny, Deuces Down and Death Draws Five are the only ones I have.

Then count yourself lucky... and watch your back.

 

[JustPassingThrough]

Okay, I had to search for this thread so I am assuming (which I know makes an ass out of Ming the Merciless or something like that) that there are are not many WildCard readers here.

(Just looked at the dates of the post. Geez! Okay. Just wanted to check and see. I'll go now)

 

[juleska]

Try abebooks.com. Great source for old, out of print books and CHEAP!!! Most of the time cheap anyway, depends on what you're looking for. If it's really rare the seller might charge a lot for it, but it's not uncommon to find a book for under $2 there.

 

[JustPassingThrough]

Oh, no. I've been mistaken sir. I have all the books, I meant to see if there were any Wild Cards fans. But thank you for letting me know about abebooks