The first volume in the Wild Cards

Wild Cards

Wild Cards is a science fiction and superhero anthology series set in a shared universe. The series was created by a group of New Mexico science fiction authors, but it is mostly pulled together and edited by best-selling author George R. R. Martin with assistance by Melinda Snodgrass, also a...

shared universe

Shared universe

A shared universe is a fictional universe to which more than one writer contributes. Work set in a shared universe share characters and other elements with varying degrees of consistency. Shared universes are contrasted with collaborative writing, in which multiple authors work on a single story....

 fiction series edited by George R. R. Martin

George R. R. Martin

George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...

. It was first published in 1987 and contained a dozen short stories establishing the Wild Cards universe, introducing the main characters and setting up plot threads that still continue to play out over the rest of the on-going series. In 2010 this volume was reissued with three new stories by three new writers added to the volume's original contents. These expanded the original Wild Cards history to reflect new story and character developments introduced in later volumes of the on-going series.

Stories

The original 1987 Wild Cards volume contains the following dozen short stories:

Story	Author(s)	Description
"Prologue"	George R. R. Martin George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...	Introduces Dr. Tachyon Dr. Tachyon Dr. Tachyon is a character from the Wild Cards series of books. He was created for the books by Melinda M. Snodgrass. Tachyon is a geneticist from the planet Takis, whose people naturally developed various telepathic powers...  and Xenovirus Takis-A.
"Thirty Minutes Over Broadway"	Howard Waldrop Howard Waldrop Howard Waldrop is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction.Waldrop's stories combine elements such as alternate history, American popular culture, the American South, old movies , classical mythology, and rock 'n' roll music. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical...	Introduces Jetboy Jetboy Jetboy is a fictional character from the Wild Cards book series. He appeared in the short story "Thirty Minutes Over Broadway!" by Howard Waldrop, but is referenced throughout the Wild Cards series. Jetboy is based on pulp magazine and Golden Age "air ace" characters, particularly Airboy...  and his failed attempt to prevent the release of Xenovirus Takis-A.
"The Sleeper"	Roger Zelazny Roger Zelazny Roger Joseph Zelazny was an American writer of fantasy and science fiction short stories and novels, best known for his The Chronicles of Amber series...	Introduces Croyd Crenson, "the Sleeper The Sleeper (Wild Cards) The Sleeper is a fictional character from the Wild Cards series of books.In September 1946, ninth-grader Croyd Crenson, native of an unspecified borough of the New York City metropolitan area, was one of the first victims of the alien virus dubbed "the Wild Card", which generates random mutations... ".
"Witness"	Walter Jon Williams Walter Jon Williams Walter Jon Williams is an American writer, primarily of science fiction.Several of Williams' novels have a distinct cyberpunk feel to them, notably Hardwired , Voice of the Whirlwind and Angel Stationn...	Introduces Golden Boy Golden Boy (Wild Cards) Golden Boy is a character from the Wild Cards series of books and a member of The Four Aces.-Powers:He is regarded, in the series, as possibly the strongest man in the world. His force field, which has a golden glow when active, grants him immunity from virtually anything. He is especially...  and the Four Aces Four Aces (Wild Cards) The Four Aces are a fictional team of superheroes, appearing in the Wild Cards anthology series, first appearing in the story "Witness" by Walter Jon Williams in the first book of the series, Wild Cards.-Overview:... .
"Degradation Rites"	Melinda M. Snodgrass Melinda M. Snodgrass Melinda M. Snodgrass is a professional writer best known for her work in science fiction for print and television media....	Details Dr. Tachyon's doomed love story with Blythe van Renssaeler Brain Trust (Wild Cards) Brain Trust was a fictional character from the first book in the Wild Cards anthology series and a member of The Four Aces, appearing in the stories "Witness" by Walter Jon Williams and "Degradation Rites" by Melinda M. Snodgrass .-Biography:Blythe was the wife of domineering New York Congressman...
"Shell Games"	George R. R. Martin George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an American author and screenwriter of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, his bestselling series of epic fantasy novels that HBO adapted for their dramatic pay-cable series Game of...	Introduces the Great and Powerful Turtle The Great and Powerful Turtle The Great and Powerful Turtle is a fictional character from the Wild Cards series of books. Created by series editor George R. R. Martin, Turtle has appeared in several stories penned by his creator as well as a supporting character of varying levels of importance in stories by other Wild Card... .
"The Long, Dark Night of Fortunato"	Lewis Shiner Lewis Shiner Lewis Shiner is an American writer.Shiner began his career as a science fiction writer, identified early on with cyberpunk, and later wrote more mainstream novels, albeit often with magical realism and fantasy elements...	Introduces Fortunato Fortunato (Wild Cards) Fortunato is a character from the Wild Cards series of books. He is a pimp, but prefers to downplay, even to himself, the negative aspects of his "escort" business . Fortunato is also an ace. His wild card grants him immense telepathic and telekinetic powers...  and the Masonic conspiracy that will influence the plot of the next two books in the series.
"Transfigurations"	Victor Milán Victor Milan Victor Woodward Milán is an American writer known for libertarian science fiction and an interest in cybernetics. In 1986 he won the Prometheus Award for Cybernetic Samurai. He has also written several shared universe works for the Forgotten Realms, Star Trek, and Wild Cards Universes...	Introduces Mark Meadows, aka Captain Trips Captain Trips (Wild Cards) Captain Trips, also known as Dr. Mark Meadows, is a character from the Wild Cards series of books. Meadows is a renowned biochemist and a burned-out hippie, with the ability to use various drugs to transform into several other forms, each with their own powers and individual personalities... .
"Down Deep"	Edward Bryant Edward Bryant Edward Winslow Bryant Jr. is a science fiction and horror writer sometimes associated with the Dangerous Visions series of anthologies that bolstered The New Wave.... Leanne C. Harper	Introduces Rosemary Muldoon, "Sewer" Jack Robicheaux and Bagabond. Sets up the mob storyline that will come to fruition in later books.
"Strings"	Stephen Leigh Stephen Leigh Stephen W. Leigh is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, artist, and musician. He also works as a lecturer at Northern Kentucky University, teaching creative writing.Steve Leigh lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.- Works :...	Introduces Puppetman Puppetman Puppetman, the alias of Gregg Hartmann, a U.S. Senator and Candidate for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, is a fictional character from the Wild Cards series of books. He first appeared in the story "Strings" by Stephen Leigh in the first book in the series, and plays an important role in...  and Gimli and sets up the political plot threads that will play out in later books.
"Comes a Hunter"	John J. Miller John J. Miller (author) John Joseph Miller is a science fiction author known for his work in the Wild Cards shared universe. He has published four novels, as well as a handful of short stories. He also wrote GURPS Wild Cards, a supplement for the GURPS role-playing system published in 1989...	Introduces Yeoman Yeoman (Wild Cards) Yeoman is a fictional character in the Wild Cards series of books. He was created by John J. Miller and first appeared in the short story Comes a Hunter in the first book of the series...  and Chrysalis Chrysalis (Wild Cards) Chrysalis is a character from the Wild Cards series of books. Chrysalis is the current owner/operator of the Crystal Palace, one of Jokertown's most well known nightclubs. She has blue eyes, almost totally transparent skin and muscle tissue, and no hair. She usually wears minimal amounts of...  and sets up the Asian gang plot threads.
"Epilogue: Third Generation"	Lewis Shiner Lewis Shiner Lewis Shiner is an American writer.Shiner began his career as a science fiction writer, identified early on with cyberpunk, and later wrote more mainstream novels, albeit often with magical realism and fantasy elements...	Introduces Kid Dinosaur Kid Dinosaur Kid Dinosaur was a fictional character from the Wild Cards anthology series, and was created by Lewis Shiner.Arnie Fentner was a normal kid, obsessed with Dinosaurs and comic books, just on the cusp of puberty, when the dormant Wild Card virus he'd inherited from his mother turned active, altering... .

In addition, there are several interludes (written by Martin) between stories that expand upon the background of the Wild Cards world and an appendix on "The Science of the Wild Card Virus" (written by Milán) that explains how Xenovirus Takis-A works. Both the interludes and the appendix take the form of excerpts from literature within the universe.