WILD CARDS

The Books >> Featured Book: Inside Straight

Inside Straight

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On Sale: 1/22/2008
ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-1781-0
ISBN-10: 0-7653-1781-8
Size: 6.125" x 9.25"
Pages: 384

From terrorism in Egypt to the top reality show in Hollywood, you’ve never seen superheroes like these...

The exciting re-launch of a landmark fantasy series.

Launched in 1987, WILD CARDS is one of the longest-running series in the shared worlds and fantasy genre. A contemporary world of smart, complicated, and incredibly diverse superheroes is brilliantly re-imagined by this group of acclaimed fantasy writers.

Tor Books is proud to present the re-launch of this landmark series with its eighteenth volume, Inside Straight (A Tor hardcover; $24.95; January 22, 2008). Headed up by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin, a top-notch cast of authors introduce a new generation of young, hip, and messed-up superheroes in an interconnected storyline that spans from Egypt to Hollywood.

Meet the girl whose stuffed dragon becomes a fifty-foot, fire-breathing version of itself (and she has a whole bag full of other little stuffies …), the six-armed drummer man most likely to appear on a Rolling Stones cover, and the fox-tailed Japanese guy who uses mythology to create optical illusions.

It is 2007, and the highest rated show on television is American Hero. Earth Witch, Pop Tart, Curveball, Bugsy, and twenty-four other young superheroes—aka “aces”—battle one other in a series of tasks and stunts. On this reality show like no other, alliances form and rivalries explode, as the aces race to make it to the final showdown.

Many years ago, a DNA-altering alien virus was accidentally unleashed, killing 90 percent of those infected. Nine percent of the survivors mutated into “jokers,” tragically deformed creatures—while the other one percent, the “aces,” found themselves transformed with superpowers.

Others still carried the “wild card” within them, never knowing the day when their card would turn . . .

Now a new generation has come of age, a generation born into the world of the wild card. Computer geeks, hip-hop freaks, rock stars, and Bohemian slackers—these are the new aces for the millennium. They don’t really understand what the first generation went through—but they know that the world still needs saving and that their parents didn’t quite do the job.

As intrigue boils on and off the set of the American Hero reality show—with a few surprises, tricksters, and old friends shaking up the act—an incident in the Middle East escalates a worldwide event that will involve all the superheroes . . . no matter which side they’re on.

With cameo appearances by the first generation “aces,” INSIDE STRAIGHT is action-packed dangerous fun with an unforgettable and unpredictable cast of characters. This is only the beginning of a projected triad of volumes—so let the games begin.

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Bag Lady is the first Wild Cards story ever written. Walter Jon Williams wrote it back in the early 80's, before the series had been sold. It was never published as part of the series for various reasons, but the full story can be found as the first edition of our hidden Lost Archives section. Simply enter your email on our sign up page and a link will be sent to you shortly. For those who would like a preview, an excerpt is provided below.

Click to Read a Preview of
Bag Lady
by Walter Jon Williams