So something different.  I have already reviewed a book that was co-authored by George R R Martin, which I liked a lot.  He is definitely worth reading for the stuff he writes, but how about the stuff he edits.

Wild cards was recommended to me by a friend, he only managed to get  a copy through a library in Elliot Lake, which is half way to beyond.  I had it for just a few days and absorbed it through my skin.  The basic idea is that a large group of writers came up with a very concrete idea which comes down to an alternative history post world war II and they all wrote stories in that history.  One of the things that makes this great is that if you read it not knowing that each story is a different writer, you could easily believe they are all written by the same person.

The premise for the alternate universe is simple, but complex.  At the end of world war II a flying saucer (yes a flying saucer) lands and a guy gets out who wants to be taken to the leader.  Unfortunately, he does not really get to see the leader...  and so the other flying saucer he wanted to find (that was loaded with a weapon) does not get found by the good guys.  The bad guys who do find the other flying saucer, with its pilots dead, end up dropping the weapon over New York.  This is bad new for New York.

The weapon is awful and wonderful, the stuff of dreams and nightmares.  A virus that kills most people who catch it and the ones who are left are either blessed with strange powers and/or physical changes, or cursed with bizarre abilities and or deformities.  Aliens have essentially turned the earth into a large lab experiment, and super heros, and villains, are a reality.  The ones who are gifted become known as Aces, the ones with deformities etc are Jokers.  The people with powers are not really super heroes like the kind we are used to though, they are more real, flawed, and still live at the whims of the people in the world around them.

Out of the writers I had only read anything by two of them, the immortal Zelazny and Martin himself who wrote one of the stories.  I enjoyed every one of the stories and am keeping my eyes open for more.  The thread is so strong that if you do not like short stories and prefer the novel you would probably like this.  I did.  Thanks Rich.