Wild Cards I

In the days after World War II, an alien device explodes in the skies above New York, blanketing the planet with an extraterrestrial virus. Most of the victims die horrible deaths. A smaller percentage – the “Jokers” – find their bodies mutated in various unpredictable ways. And a scant few draw an “Ace” – superpowers without the consequences of a Joker mutation. Wild Cards is the first in a series of “mosaic novels,” books of stories featuring the work of several writers contributing their own pieces of a larger tapestry that helps build and flesh out a remarkable world. The… show more.

How would superheroes have changed the world if they existed? That’s essentially what George RR Martin’s Wild Cards series. After WW2, an alien virus struck the Earth, endowing a handful of survivors with superhuman attributes—some helpful, some not so much. Featuring stories written by the likes of Roger Zelazny, Carrie Vaughn, and Martin himself, this series provides a fascinating look into how superpowers would really change the world.