| Author: George R.R. Martin | Series: Wild Cards |
| Rating: 10 (Jeremy's Scale) | Reviewer: Jeremy |
| Genre: SciFi | Publisher:Tor |
| Pages: 384 | Orig Pub Date: January, 2008 |
| Binding: Paperback |
How are an American reality TV series "American Hero" and a crisis in Egypt related? Read this excellent novel set in the Wild Cards universe and find out. An 11 on my 10 scale!
“Inside Straight” is a Wild Cards novel. The Wild Cards universe is a shared universe that was created in 1987 by George R. R. Martin. A number of authors write individual chapters/short stories focusing on a specific character, which Martin then edits together into an overall story. “Inside Straight” is the 18th novel set in the universe.
In the Wild Cards Universe, an alien virus that re-writes human DNA was released on Earth in 1946. It killed 90% of the people it infected. 9% were mutated into Jokers, who were deformed into a wide variety of non-human looking appearances. 1% gained superpowers as a result of their exposure and became known as “Aces”.
In 2008, 62 years have passed since the wild card was introduced into the world. An entire generation has grown up with it. The first generation of aces has grown up, become famous for their status and powers, had children, and in some cases died.
“Inside Straight” now focuses on the new generation, which has grown up with this as part of their lives and imprinted into society’s popular culture. Familiarity with the other books is not necessary. Many of the heroes and events from those books are spoken about, often reverently, by this younger generation. These were the stories that they’d heard every day as they grew up. These were their childhood heroes, and the people that they looked up to. “Inside Straight” does a good job of weaving that into a rich history of the world.
Even when one has superpowers, there are enough other aces around that it is a struggle to stand out, or to find one’ niche in the universe. “Inside Straight” firmly plugs into the culture of the day. On the very first page of the book Daniel Abraham brings us the character of Jonathan Hive, as seen through the postings he makes on his blog. The very first sentence of the book sends the message that this character is going to be edgy, complex, well detailed, and easy for the reader to relate to, whether he has an ace ability to not. Mr. Hive’s ability is that he can turn into a swarm of wasps. In spite of that, he has other ambitions and dreams. He wants to be a writer. His perspectives as seen through his blog are hilarious, brilliant, and serve to continue to tie the various chapters of the book together as the larger plot continues to unfold. I especially liked the blog chapters in the book. It was very cool to see a character just casually talking directly to us, the reader. The style also provided much of the comic relief in the book.
Jonathan Hive knows that what he needs to get his foot in the door of a writing career is exposure. He needs more people to read his blog. So to get that exposure he does what many people in the 2007 real world do. He appears on a reality TV show.
He is not alone. He is joined by a unique and varied cast of characters, such as Jetboy, Drummer Boy, Stuntman, the Maharajah, Water Lilly, Rosa Lotera, Jade Blossom, Diver, Digger Downs, Brave Hawk, Mistral, The Candle, Toad Man, Spasm, Father Henry Obst, Hard Hat, The Amazing Bubbles, Tiffani, Rustbelt, Earth Witch, Curveball, and Wild Fox.
“American Hero” will give one lucky ace the chance to win a million dollars and become the next big ace hero. Not only that but it gave me chapter and chapters of amusement and laughter. This reality show was better done on paper than most reality shows I’ve ever watched. The authors nailed the character interactions, as all the contestants interacted in the house and in their various team challenges for the show. Personalities came together and clashed. Certain ace abilities were more spectacular than others. Some were downright comical. But were any of them useless? That was part of the lesson of the reality show and of the book as a whole.
There’s much more to the book than a bunch of superheroes competing in a reality show. On the other side of the world there is big trouble in Egypt. A new Caliph had united Syria, Palestine, Iraq, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia, and now Egypt, under his rule. Unified Muslim rule was beginning to sweep the Middle East. But in Egypt 6000 + years of culture had caused many Jokers to mutate to the appearance of ancient Egyptian gods and other beings from their mythology. This had led to a rebirth of the old religion that had been in place before the rise of Islam or Christianity. Now in 2008 the rise of a new religious movement and the rise of the old were clashing violently. Not that anyone in the United States was noticing, as the “American Hero” craze swept the nation.
Have no fear. Everything meshes together. Jonathan Hive and his blog is the thread that weaves its way through the story until the big “Aha” moments when it all comes together. “Inside Straight” brilliantly pulls no punches, whether it be characters with colorful language, issues of sexuality, issues of race, the fact that many characters are deep and are not entirely what they appear to be, or just being brave enough to put it out there that even if someone is a superhero sometimes they will die in the performance of heroic duty. This is not “Superfriends” where everyone returns back to the Hall of Justice unscathed to fight another day. If I had to compare it to anything it’s like “Heroes”. But Wild Cards and its group of authors came up with this idea 19 years ago.
“Inside Straight” is a brilliant rendition of people with super powers living in a real and contemporary world. In some cases they are just trying to live normal lives. Almost every contestant gets a chance throughout the various chapters to move to the forefront for character development. The chapters are each told from the perspective of a particular character, so the book gives many opportunities to get into the head of one character after another.
I can say this without a doubt for “Inside Straight”. This is the 22nd book that I’ve reviewed for the site. It was funny. It was deep. It was original (I’ve not read any other books in the Wild Cards universe. In fact I have to admit that I’d never heard of it). In my opinion this is the best book I’ve read so far. That includes my two beloved DragonLance novels. It takes a pretty original telling of the superhero concept to get my attention. I am not a comic book fan. Tales of invulnerable superheroes flying around are usually dull to me. But these characters are not indestructible superbeings who can only be foiled by radioactive rocks from outer space, being bathed in sunlight, from a red star, or other Achilles’ Heels so exotic that it stretches my suspension of disbelief to see them manage to appear with regularity. Most of the characters in this book are regular people, most with regular jobs, who “drew an ace” and happen to have an ability as a result of their response to the alien virus which did not destroy their lives.
I would never have thought that a “book by committee” could have come together so cohesively and seamlessly. I wondered if there would be any inconsistency in character personality or behavior as we saw them through the eyes of a different author. That never happened. I absolutely give a standing ovation to the fine writing of Daniel Abraham, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Carrie Vaughn, Michael Cassutt, Caroline Spector, John Jos Miller, George R. R. Martin, Ian Tregillis, and S.L. Farrell, and to the outstanding editing done by George R.R. Martin. “Inside Straight” makes me re-write my rating scale. I’ve given several other 10’s over the course of the previous 21 books. Based on that I would absolutely have to give “Inside Straight” an 11.
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