Imagine a world where an alien virus has impacted our planet shortly after World War II, endowing a small percentage of humans with extraordinary powers. Some of those special people use their new gifts for the good of their fellow man and others use them selfishly. OK, actually, that’s pretty easy to imagine because it sounds similar in many ways to the X-Men or other comic book-style concepts. As such, it took me a long time to finally take the plunge and enter this multi-volume shared world of Aces and Jokers…but I’m happy I finally did so.

This is a shared world with highly talented authors contributing individual pieces of the puzzle to form a coherent whole story. I’ve tried other similar shared-world projects and always come away a little disappointed because it seems they always deteriorate into individual, stand-alone stories that might as well be in their own stand-alone universes. They tend to lose their connectivity over time. But this book was different. Each story included in this volume is part of a larger story that is well connected and obviously thought out beforehand. Events from one story impact characters from another story. I really hope this continues through the other 22 (at this point) books in the series.

So a shared world project of science fiction superheroes edited by George R.R. Martin is enough to get me interested, and the well-executed plot interconnectivity keeps me reading. But what really gets my juices flowing is the setting and style. Every one of the stories in this volume is clearly written with a love for the comics of the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s. I can’t really describe it other than it harkens back to a day when superheroes weren’t so common in literature and movies and we mere mortals were actually in awe of what they could do. It reminds me a lot of the feeling I got when I read [b:The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|3985|The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|Michael Chabon|https://d2arxad8u2l0g7.cloudfront.net/books/1355094690s/3985.jpg|2693329]. I’m sure for me, it is part nostalgia but it’s also a fascination and appreciation for well-written pulp-style adventure.

This book is a re-release of the original which was published in 1986. As such, nine stories within it are original and three additional stories from 2010 (one by Carrie Vaughn, one by Michael Cassutt and one by David D. Levine) were added in. Since these newer stories maintain that all-important continuity and connectivity with the larger story lines, I have high hopes for the rest of the series.

As would be expected in a book with numerous authors telling different stories the book is a mix -- some are very good and enjoyable to read, a few are not. Overall, a fun and enjoyable read.

I loved the premise but just couldn’t get into the stories. The cover was great — if this book had captured that pulpy awesomeness and kept it up past the story of Jetboy, I would’ve loved it.

Love this series. It's a great twist on alternate histories and comic books. Croyd and the Turtle are my favorites.

I'm happy that GRRM is reissuing the first few Wild Cards "mosaic novels" in updated editions, and in this case with three new stories. The new stories aren't spectacular, but Wraith gets her own introduction. I preferred the more historical stories. This series has a special place in my heart - although the quality isn't consistent, it's all very entertaining.

A me un po' dispiace, perché in fondo l'idea alla base della raccolta - un virus alieno che contagia la popolazione terrestre trasformando alcuni dei contagiati in supereroi e altri in mostri - è pure divertente, e si vede che c'è parecchia passione dietro allo scenario del post Wild Card Day. Tuttavia il risultato finale non è all'altezza della passione profusa dagli autori. Alcune storie mi hanno lasciato del tutto indifferente, mentre altre avrebbero avuto bisogno di qualche dozzina di pagine in più per riuscire a impressionarmi.

In definitiva, il racconto migliore non è quello di George R.R. Martin, Shell Games (che resta comunque quello scritto meglio, a mio avviso), ma Powers di David D. Levine, che è semplice, divertente, ritmato e incalzante. Il peggiore, invece, è decisamente Degradation Rites di Melinda M. Snodgrass, che non solo è pedante come poco altro, ma ripercorre eventi già esplorati in un racconto precedente solo "romanticizzandoli" un po'.

Historias muy irregulares. La primera mitad del libro me ha gustado bastante, con relatos que dejan buen sabor de boca. Sin embargo hay personajes que no logran despertar el interés y situaciones mal explicadas, quizá no porque el autor sea malo sino porque mezclan estilos muy diferentes. Me esperaba mucho más.

2.5 stars. SUCH. A mixed bag