Wild Cards (anthology)
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The first volume in the Wild Cards shared universe fiction series edited by George R. R. Martin. It was first published in 1987 and contained a dozen short stories establishing the Wild Cards universe, introducing the main characters and setting up plot threads that still continue to play out over the rest of the on-going series. In 2010 this volume was reissued with three new stories by three new writers added to the volume's original contents. These expanded the original Wild Cards history to reflect new story and character developments introduced in later volumes of the on-going series.
[edit] Stories
The original 1987 Wild Cards volume contains the following dozen short stories:
| Story | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| "Prologue" | George R. R. Martin | Introduces Dr. Tachyon and Xenovirus Takis-A. |
| "Thirty Minutes Over Broadway!" | Howard Waldrop | Introduces Jetboy and his failed attempt to prevent the release of Xenovirus Takis-A. |
| "The Sleeper" | Roger Zelazny | Introduces Croyd Crenson, "the Sleeper". |
| "Witness" | Walter Jon Williams | Introduces Golden Boy and the Four Aces. |
| "Degradation Rites" | Melinda M. Snodgrass | Details Dr. Tachyon's doomed love story with Blythe van Renssaeler |
| "Shell Games" | George R. R. Martin | Introduces the Great and Powerful Turtle. |
| "The Long, Dark Night of Fortunato" | Lewis Shiner | Introduces Fortunato and the Masonic conspiracy that will influence the plot of the next two books in the series. |
| "Transfigurations" | Victor Milán | Introduces Mark Meadows, aka Captain Trips. |
| "Down Deep" | Edward Bryant Leanne C. Harper |
Introduces Rosemary Muldoon, "Sewer" Jack Robicheaux and Bagabond. Sets up the mob storyline that will come to fruition in later books. |
| "Strings" | Stephen Leigh | Introduces Puppetman and Gimli and sets up the political plot threads that will play out in later books. |
| "Comes a Hunter" | John J. Miller | Introduces Yeoman and Chrysalis and sets up the Asian gang plot threads. |
| "Epilogue: Third Generation" | Lewis Shiner | Introduces Kid Dinosaur. |
In addition, there are several interludes (written by Martin) between stories that expand upon the background of the Wild Cards world and an appendix on "The Science of the Wild Card Virus" (written by Milán) that explains how Xenovirus Takis-A works. Both the interludes and the appendix take the form of excerpts from literature within the universe.
In 2010 Tor Books reissued the anthology along with the addition of three new chapters, "Captain Cathode and the Secret Ace" by Michael Cassutt, "Powers" by David Levine, and "Ghost Girl Takes Manhattan" by Carrie Vaughn.[1]
| Preceded by (none) |
Wild Cards 1987 |
Succeeded by Aces High |
