chukg's review against another edition
5.0
Probably my favourite Wild Cards book. You know how you read a series with a lot of characters and try to figure out who'd win if they fought? This book answered all my questions in that area. It parallels events in book 7 and has satisfying resolutions to several plots.
scottydee's review
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
curgoth's review against another edition
Audiobook re-read.
I had good memories of this, and was surprised that it mostly held up. Tachyon and Braun are awful people, but they are supposed to be. Tachyon's arrogance and self-absorption just ruins everything.
I also remember hating Blaise intensely every time he showed up, and that still remains true.
The last couple Wild Cards books felt a bit like a slog, but with this one I was actively looking for ways to listen to *just a little more*. This is partly that the writing is pretty strong, but also because the voice work is great - same voice actors as previous novels, but the characters in focus here mean we get a lot of both Stephen McHattie and the always exceptional Clancy Brown. Even if no one can ever remember what Hiram Worcester is supposed to sound like from chapter to chapter.
The women characters aren't terribly well-served here, being defined almost entirely by the men around them, and I'm pretty sure we have Bechdel fail here.
We also get a stellar example of how to write a truly indestructible character like Superman. I like Golden Boy best when he loses while trying so very hard to do the right thing.
This wraps up the second trilogy and takes care of Puppetman. Next up, we have the Jumpers, Bloat and Blaise becoming a teenager. I am going to try to get through the Jumper trilogy, but I may tap out and jump ahead to the 2000s at that point.
I had good memories of this, and was surprised that it mostly held up. Tachyon and Braun are awful people, but they are supposed to be. Tachyon's arrogance and self-absorption just ruins everything.
I also remember hating Blaise intensely every time he showed up, and that still remains true.
The last couple Wild Cards books felt a bit like a slog, but with this one I was actively looking for ways to listen to *just a little more*. This is partly that the writing is pretty strong, but also because the voice work is great - same voice actors as previous novels, but the characters in focus here mean we get a lot of both Stephen McHattie and the always exceptional Clancy Brown. Even if no one can ever remember what Hiram Worcester is supposed to sound like from chapter to chapter.
The women characters aren't terribly well-served here, being defined almost entirely by the men around them, and I'm pretty sure we have Bechdel fail here.
We also get a stellar example of how to write a truly indestructible character like Superman. I like Golden Boy best when he loses while trying so very hard to do the right thing.
This wraps up the second trilogy and takes care of Puppetman. Next up, we have the Jumpers, Bloat and Blaise becoming a teenager. I am going to try to get through the Jumper trilogy, but I may tap out and jump ahead to the 2000s at that point.
agoldstarforyou's review against another edition
4.0
This has unfortunately been one of my least enjoyed books in the series so far; though I found a small redemption in the drawing of conclusions to some unanswered questions of the series. I look forward to moving on to what is shaping to be a next generation wave of wildcards.
brandt's review against another edition
5.0
Great mosaic novel. Multiple characters saw growth. Love how it is intertwined with the seventh book.
bent's review against another edition
2.0
Kind of a boring entry in the series. When I started reading the wild card books, I never thought "superheroes are OK, but I'd really like a fictionalized account of a nomination process for a presidential candidate." But that's what we got.
Besides the boring plot, we have a number of characters milling around, not really getting anywhere, building to what is supposed to be a climatic scene. But that scene is a bit of a letdown. I will admit that I read the first two books in this particular arc a little while ago, so I might have appreciated this book more if there was less of a gap, but in general, I found that this book spent most of its time on characters that didn't really grab the attention. Spectre was probably the most compelling character.
There were elements of what I love about the Wild Card books, but not enough to hold my attention. A real letdown for what had been until now, an excellent series.
Besides the boring plot, we have a number of characters milling around, not really getting anywhere, building to what is supposed to be a climatic scene. But that scene is a bit of a letdown. I will admit that I read the first two books in this particular arc a little while ago, so I might have appreciated this book more if there was less of a gap, but in general, I found that this book spent most of its time on characters that didn't really grab the attention. Spectre was probably the most compelling character.
There were elements of what I love about the Wild Card books, but not enough to hold my attention. A real letdown for what had been until now, an excellent series.
jpv0's review
5.0
[b:Ace in the Hole|1281216|Ace in the Hole (Wild Cards, #6)|George R.R. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328368345l/1281216._SY75_.jpg|1270234] completes the second internal trilogy of the Wild Cards, finishing up many of the plotlines of [b:Aces Abroad|984792|Aces Abroad (Wild Cards, #4)|George R.R. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375859628l/984792._SY75_.jpg|970287] and [b:Down and Dirty|67959|Down and Dirty (Wild Cards, #5)|George R.R. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375859712l/67959._SY75_.jpg|1037828] and bringing the Puppetman plotline to the end. The main plot centers around a presidential convention, which is already a bizarre enough system on its own. Bring super powers and assassins--and super powered assassins into the mix--and things go very very sideways.
This book really does show what makes the Wild Cards books shine, with just enough real world (and real world characters) to make it feel like a solid 'what if' while at the same time, bringing in the Wild Card and how it changed the world at every level. It's good to meet a wide variety of previous characters on both sides and, as the stories go on, to see some of those same characters fall.
The fall of Puppetman--while it was almost guaranteed to happen after the events of the last two books; it had to happen if there were any justice in this fictional world--was... intense. Getting final confirmation that was quite a thing.
Unfortunately, so far as I can tell, only [b:Dead Man's Hand|147912|Dead Man's Hand (Wild Cards, #7)|George R.R. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391680749l/147912._SY75_.jpg|142745] seems to be released on audiobook. If I continue the series, I'll probably switch to text versions from here. Although who knows how long that will take...
Edit: Dead Man's Hand seems to be a continuation of the stories in Ace in the Hole, so I'll listen to that one before changing instead.
This book really does show what makes the Wild Cards books shine, with just enough real world (and real world characters) to make it feel like a solid 'what if' while at the same time, bringing in the Wild Card and how it changed the world at every level. It's good to meet a wide variety of previous characters on both sides and, as the stories go on, to see some of those same characters fall.
The fall of Puppetman--while it was almost guaranteed to happen after the events of the last two books; it had to happen if there were any justice in this fictional world--was... intense. Getting final confirmation that
Spoiler
Puppetman was a fragment of Hartman's personality and not a seperate entity all alongUnfortunately, so far as I can tell, only [b:Dead Man's Hand|147912|Dead Man's Hand (Wild Cards, #7)|George R.R. Martin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1391680749l/147912._SY75_.jpg|142745] seems to be released on audiobook. If I continue the series, I'll probably switch to text versions from here. Although who knows how long that will take...
Edit: Dead Man's Hand seems to be a continuation of the stories in Ace in the Hole, so I'll listen to that one before changing instead.
rrosas's review
4.0
Great action-packed conclusion to the Puppetman trilogy, and one of the strongest books in the Wild Cards series as a whole. This is primarily due to the POV characters we get, who are some of the most interesting in the whole series. The only flaw in this one, I think, is that the main source of conflict for many of the characters (Tachyon and Braun in particular) is that they haven't yet figured out that (which, of course, readers have known since Wild Cards #1); instead of being all that interesting, this dramatic irony makes their actions seem a little pointless and frustrating albeit still entertaining.
Spoiler
Hartmann is Puppetmanapostrophen's review
5.0
This was by far the best of the Wild Card series to date that I've read. The villain, "Puppetman"/Gregg Hartman, was a truly chilling villain.
If you've not read the series at all, you do need to start with the first book, but the general overview is thus: an alien virus, called the "wild card" is released into Earth's atmosphere around the end of WW2. The virus kills 9 of 10 infected people - called "Drawing the Black Queen"(luckily, infection isn't all that common), and of the survivors, 9 in ten mutate into deformed figures - called "Drawing the Joker." Of those few one-in-one-hundred survivors, there is "Drawing an Ace," (basically, becoming a superhero), or "Drawing a Deuce," (getting a negligible power, like changing skin colour at will).
The villain in this piece is Gregg Hartman, who we've seen since the very beginning, a man who wants to be president, and is at the Atlanta Democratic National Convention in 1988. All the big players are there, Aces, Jokers, Naturals, etc, and things are beyond tense. Gregg is a secret Ace, a man who has another personality inside him, "The Puppetman," who can worm its way into another's mind after touching, and then release all their darker impulses, and feed on the hate and pain.
The climax of this tale is superb, the character growth all around is astounding, and some of my favourites made cameos (The Great and Powerful Turtle, Popinjay, and Goldenboy, among them). Stupendous!
Cudos and blame again to Jaybird who got me hooked on this series.
If you've not read the series at all, you do need to start with the first book, but the general overview is thus: an alien virus, called the "wild card" is released into Earth's atmosphere around the end of WW2. The virus kills 9 of 10 infected people - called "Drawing the Black Queen"(luckily, infection isn't all that common), and of the survivors, 9 in ten mutate into deformed figures - called "Drawing the Joker." Of those few one-in-one-hundred survivors, there is "Drawing an Ace," (basically, becoming a superhero), or "Drawing a Deuce," (getting a negligible power, like changing skin colour at will).
The villain in this piece is Gregg Hartman, who we've seen since the very beginning, a man who wants to be president, and is at the Atlanta Democratic National Convention in 1988. All the big players are there, Aces, Jokers, Naturals, etc, and things are beyond tense. Gregg is a secret Ace, a man who has another personality inside him, "The Puppetman," who can worm its way into another's mind after touching, and then release all their darker impulses, and feed on the hate and pain.
The climax of this tale is superb, the character growth all around is astounding, and some of my favourites made cameos (The Great and Powerful Turtle, Popinjay, and Goldenboy, among them). Stupendous!
Cudos and blame again to Jaybird who got me hooked on this series.
shane's review
4.0
This is one of the 'mosaic' novels that rather than being written by numerous authors in the form of short stories that are then edited together, are written by one or two authors with a definite story-line, much more like an ordinary novel. I prefer the numerous authors and their short stories though.
This one was set around a political campaign, which I wouldn't normally be interested in at all if it wasn't for the various characters. The Jokers and Aces that fill the pages of these wild card novels are just wonderful and this is what held my attention and to be honest, what always holds my attention with these books, even if the story isn't to my liking per se.
The next book was originally a part of this one but they felt it would be too long to publish as one novel, and I have to say, I think I agree with them. Apparently it follows the investigation into the murder of Chrysalis who was one of my favourite characters and whom I shall miss terribly now.
A good read. Looking forward to the next one more though, even though it is another 'mosaic' novel.
Very good.
This one was set around a political campaign, which I wouldn't normally be interested in at all if it wasn't for the various characters. The Jokers and Aces that fill the pages of these wild card novels are just wonderful and this is what held my attention and to be honest, what always holds my attention with these books, even if the story isn't to my liking per se.
The next book was originally a part of this one but they felt it would be too long to publish as one novel, and I have to say, I think I agree with them. Apparently it follows the investigation into the murder of Chrysalis who was one of my favourite characters and whom I shall miss terribly now.
A good read. Looking forward to the next one more though, even though it is another 'mosaic' novel.
Very good.