Wild Cards: Aces Abroad

George R. R. Martin

Book 4 of Wild Cards

Language: English

Publisher: Gollancz

Published: May 8, 2014

Pages: 613

Description:

Return to the early days of the Wild Cards series, as a group of super-powered Aces set off on a fact-finding tour of the world

Ever since the Wild Card virus spread across New York, people have changed - some becoming superpowered 'Aces', some distorted and bizarre 'Jokers'. But the effects of the virus have spread, and all across the world new mutations are popping up.

Sent by the UN on a world tour, tasked with investigating and recording the spread of the virus - and the reactions of the world - a group of Aces will discover that no matter where in the world they are, one thing will remain the same. Humanity is capable of kindness, acceptance and tolerance. But not all of the time ...

Featuring stories by George R. R. Martin, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Stephen Leigh, Walter Simons and many more, this volume also contains two new stories by Carrie Vaughn and Kevin Andrew Murphy never before published in the UK.

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Soon to be a show on Hulu! Rights to develop Wild Cards for TV have been acquired by Universal Cable Productions, the team that brought you The Magicians and Mr. Robot, with the co-editor ofWild Cards, Melinda Snodgrass as executive producer.The action-packed alternate fantasy returns for a new generation, featuring fiction from #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin, Michael Cassutt, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Lewis Shiner, and more—plus two completely new stories from Kevin Andrew Murphy and bestselling author Carrie Vaughn. Forty years after the Wild Card Virus's release, the World Health Organization decides it's time to take a delegation of Aces, Jokers, politicians, and journalists on a fact-finding mission to learn how other countries are dealing with the virus that reshaped humanity. Leading the team is Gregg Hartmann, a senator with presidential aspirations and a dangerous ace up his sleeve. Joining him is a menagerie of some of the series' best and most popular Wild Cards, including Dr. Tachyon, aces Peregrine and Golden Boy, and jokers Chrysalis, Troll, and Father Squid.From the jungles of Haiti and Peru to the tumultuous political climate of Egypt, from a monastery in Japan to the streets of the most glamorous cities of Europe, the Wild Cards are in for an eye-opening trip. While some are worshiped as actual gods, those possessing the most extreme mutations are treated with a contempt that's all too familiar to the delegates from Jokertown. New alliances will be formed, new enemies will be made, and some actions will fulfill centuries-old prophecies that make ripples throughout the future of the Wild Cards universe.The Wild Cards UniverseThe Original Triad#1 Wild Cards#2 Aces High#3 Jokers WildThe Puppetman Quartet#4: Aces Abroad#5: Down and Dirty#6: Ace in the Hole#7: Dead Man’s HandThe Rox Triad#8: One-Eyed Jacks#9: Jokertown Shuffle#10: Dealer’s Choice#11: Double Solitaire#12: Turn of the CardsThe Card Sharks Triad#13: Card Sharks#14: Marked Cards#15: Black Trump#16: Deuces Down#17: Death Draws FiveThe Committee Triad#18: Inside Straight#19: Busted Flush#20: Suicide KingsThe Fort Freak Triad#21: Fort Freak#22: Lowball#23: High StakesThe American Triad#24: Mississippi Roll#25: Low Chicago#26: Texas Hold 'Em

When a group of SF's most imaginative writers discovered they shared a secret love of the larger-than-life heroes of the four-color comics and Saturday matinee serials, they gave each other a challenge: What would our world be like if these superhuman heroes and villains had been real flesh-and-blood men and women who lived through this century's most turbulent history? In Wild Cards 4: Aces Abroad, it's discovered that, though the Wild Cards virus burst into existence over New York City, the plague that followed was not confined to the United States. It spawned Aces and Jokers in every country on Earth. Now a fact-finding mission seeks the truth about how Wild Cards are treated in other nations. From the jungles of Haiti to the Great Wall of China and behind the Iron Curtain, the Wild Cards team investigates the fate of their fellows everywhere.

When a group of SF's most imaginative writers discovered they shared a secret love of the larger-than-life heroes of the four-color comics and Saturday matinee serials, they gave each other a challenge: What would our world be like if these superhuman heroes and villains had been real flesh-and-blood men and women who lived through this century's most turbulent history? In Wild Cards 4: Aces Abroad, it's discovered that, though the Wild Cards virus burst into existence over New York City, the plague that followed was not confined to the United States. It spawned Aces and Jokers in every country on Earth. Now a fact-finding mission seeks the truth about how Wild Cards are treated in other nations. From the jungles of Haiti to the Great Wall of China and behind the Iron Curtain, the Wild Cards team investigates the fate of their fellows everywhere.