Into a world hungry for peace, comes a spaceship ferrying chaos...
An alien bomb is detonated above the planet, shedding an indiscriminate gene virus on an Earth barely recovered from the horrors of World War ll. The result: Wild Cards. ACES blessed with superhuman powers and JOKERS cursed with bizarre physical and mental disfigurements.
And so began a series of shared-world anthologies that would bring the metahuman into the real world - our world. Everything up until 1946 is how we remember it. After that watershed year, many things will have changed.
Welcome to WildCardsOnline, the guide to all things Wild Card. Want to know how it all started? What each book is about? Who the main characters are? Chances are you'll find what you want here. If not, let us know and we'll try to do something about it. In the meantime...
WILD CARDS NEWS
May 23 2013
ANOTHER NEW WILD CARDS SHORT STORY
A second brand new eBook format short story is now available to read on the Tor website. Written by Cherie Priest, ''The Button Man and The Murder Tree' is an origin story for the character last seen in Fort Freak.
May 1 2013
'LOWBALL' NEWS & SOME NEW FOREIGN EDITIONS
The manuscript for 'Lowball', the 22nd Wild Cards volume, has been delivered to Tor and will likely be released in the summer of 2014. Chapter titles and featured characters can be found on George RR Martin's blog post here.
Also, JOKERS WILD is now set for a trade paperback release in February 2014. As can be seen on the left, Michael Komarck has delivered another stunning cover, this time featuring Wraith.
LeYa, the Brazilian publisher of the Wild Cards, has also commissioned Marc Simonetti to paint new covers for their first three volumes, and the first one (featuring Golden Boy) can be found on our Miscellaneous page.
In addition, the first three volumes have been reissued in Russia, with new covers by D. Borozdina. George very kindly sent along scans which are now up on the same page.
January 19 2013
NEW WILD CARDS STORY ONLINE
Daniel Abraham has written a new Wild Cards story called 'When We Were Heroes', starring Curveball and Bugsy. It's currently only available in eBook format and can be read or downloaded at the Tor website here. As can be seen on the left, it's also got a great cover by John Picacio (click on the image for a larger version).
On George RR Martin's blog, he says this is planned as the first in a series of online originals which might then all get collected in book format further down the line.
August 6 2012
NEW BOOKS AND SOME MORE REPRINTS
According to George RR Martin's blog, the editing of the latest Wild Cards installment, LOWBALL, is close to being finished and the manuscript will shortly be submitted to Tor. Interestingly, George says this volume will count as the second part of the curent triad, of which FORT FREAK was the first. He also states that contracts have already been signed for the concluding volume, a full-on mosaic novel to be titled HIGH STAKES.
In other news, Tor will continue issuing new trade paperback versions of the earlier volumes all the way up to DEAD MAN'S HAND (and possibly beyond). Similar to the reissue of WILD CARDS volume one, three additional new stories will be included for ACES ABROAD.
On the international front, Gollancz/Orion have agreed to publish British editions of the first three volumes, as well as INSIDE STRAIGHT, BUSTED FLUSH, SUICIDE KINGS, FORT FREAK and LOWBALL. In addition, contracts have been signed with J'ai Lu for French translations of the first six volumes. George also hints that additional foreign deals are currently being negotiated.
November 3 2011
AUDIOBOOKS, REPRINTS AND MOVIE NEWS
As previously reported, the second Wild Cards volume, ACES HIGH, will be reissued by Tor five days before Christmas on 20th December and can be pre-ordered from Amazon. Once again, the stories are presented under a glorious cover by Michael Komarck. The cover star this time is Water Lily. Click on the thumbnail for a larger version.
Also coming soon are CD audiobook versions of the first two volumes. Published by Brilliance Audio, they are totally unabridged, come with newly designed covers and are read by Luke Daniels. The first book is released on November 8, consists of 16 CDs and lasts 19 hours. You can order it here. The second volume will be released on December 20 and will comprise 13 CDs lasting 15 hours. This one can be pre-ordered from Amazon.
Perhaps more importantly for the long-term fan, however, is the news reported on George's blog that movie and television rights to the series have been optioned by SyFy Films, a new joint venture of Universal Pictures and the SyFy Channel. The plan is for a theatrically released feature film first, with more features and/or a TV series to follow if successful. Co-creators George RR Martin and Melinda Snodgrass will act as executive producers, while Melinda is writing the first screenplay draft.
Best news of all? There's a link within the blog that takes you to the trade article in The Hollywood Reporter, wherein George mentions that The Sleeper will be part of the roll call.
July 7 2011
NEWS UPDATE
As all true Wild Cards fans must know by now, the 21st Wild Cards volume, FORT FREAK, is currently on sale and GRRM kindly sent along a high-res version of the new cover artwork by Michael Komarck. As usual, click on the image to see it in its full glory. You can also order it from Amazon.
As a taster, one of the stories, Melinda Snodgrass's 'The Rook', is currently available to read on the Tor website, while George has posted a second sample - Cherie Priest's 'The Rat Race' - on his own website. GRRM also hints on his blog that he's working on the plotline for the next Wild Cards instalment, to be called LOWBALL.
In other news, DEATH DRAWS FIVE is finally back in print for those of us who prefer reading their stories on actual paper. Don't believe us? Check it out here. Brick Tower Press, who acquired most of iBooks' assets after they went bankrupt, has released it this time in a trade paperback edition.
And with the first volume back on sale again too, Tor is letting you read Carrie Vaughn's 'Ghost Girl Takes Manhattan,' one of the three brand-new stories written specially for this edition. And on the same subject, Amazon is currently listing the second volume, ACES HIGH, as coming out on December 20, 2011. GRRM has mentioned on his site that this (and the third volume, to be rereleased mid-2012) will not contain any new stories.
September 15 2010
DEATH DRAWS FIVE - A CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE
Finally, it seems there's at last a way to buy the ridiculously rare (only 600 published copies, apparently) Death Draws Five without taking out a bank loan. Amazon have been selling a Kindle version of the book for a while now, but there was always a glitch that prevented it from opening properly. From reading the more recent customer reviews, it appears Amazon have now rectified the problem - although one customer does report that there are a few transcription errors to go alongside the original proofreading mistakes. But if you can get past that, you'll be rewarded with a great, almost retro, addition to the Wild Cards series.
Special thanks to Denny for the update (who also says he's tried the book on the Mac version of Kindle and that it works just fine). Those who are interested can buy the book here. And those who want to download the free Kindle software for their PC or Mac can do so here.
August 5 2010
NEW VOLUME ONE COVER
George RR Martin has kindly sent along a rough of the new cover to the reissued first volume, featuring an iconic image of Jetboy by artist, Michael Komarck. Click on the thumbnail for a larger version.
May 30 2010
VOLUME ONE TO BE REISSUED
George RR Martin has sent us news that Tor has scheduled the reissue of Wild Cards volume one this coming November. It will be an expanded edition with new stories by Michael Cassutt, David D. Levine and Carrie Vaughn.
May 25 2010
NEW WILD CARDS VOLUME DELIVERED TO TOR
According to his 'Not a Blog' site, George RR Martin has just sent the 600 page manuscript of the next Wild Cards instalment, FORT FREAK, to Tor for eventual publication in 2011. This 21st volume in the series, which concerns itself with the lives of cops and crooks of the Jokertown precinct in NYC, will features stories by Melinda Snodgrass, John Jos. Miller, Stephen Leigh, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Victor Milan, along with a few newcomers to the series. More details can be found on George's site here, along with the welcome news that Croyd Crenson will be appearing in some capacity.