Mississippi Roll (Wild Cards, #24)

by George R.R. Martin

George R.R. Martin (Editor)

The return of the famous shared-world superhero books created and edited by George R. R. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series.

The American Triad Series
#1: Mississippi Roll
#2: Low Chicago
#3: Texas Hold 'Em

Perfect for current fans and new readers alike, Mississippi Roll is an all-new, adventurous jaunt along one of America’s greatest rivers, featuring many beloved characters from the Wild Cards universe

Edited by Number One New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin, Mississippi Roll features the writing talents of Stephen Leigh, David D. Levine, John Jos. Miller, Kevin Andrew Murphy, Cherie Priest, and Carrie Vaughn.

• ISBN13: 9780008283551
• Publish Date: 9 August 2018 (first published 5 December 2017)
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: HarperVoyager
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Mississippi Roll is the 24th book in the Wild Cards series published by Tor Books. There are 5 stories bound together by a segue/interlude story written by Steven Leigh. The book credits G.R.R. Martin and Melinda Snodgrass as editor/assistant editor respectively.

I remember picking up the original books in the series in about 1987(ish) and loving the whole idea of a shared universe anthology series. I'm already a huge fan of anthologies because there are always at least some stories that appeal at any given time and there are always new-to-me authors to follow up on after devouring the anthology. I'm also very fond of short fiction because it provides a whole different set of problems and it's always fun (and often enlightening) to see how authors adapt to the constraints of a shorter narrative.

This book is 336 pages of well edited and curated fantasy goodness. If you're familiar with the wildcards universe and premise, this is a good one. If you're not familiar with wildcards before now, this is a very good standalone novel to introduce the concept and some of the characters.

I loved the character Steam Wilbur ("In the Shadow of Tall Stacks" Steven Leigh). That's him on the cover. Leigh's interlude stories give the whole anthology a nice cohesiveness.

The stories are all strong, but I especially loved "A Big Break in the Small Time" by Carrie Vaughn. I couldn't stop smiling reading it. Deftly written and exciting and I'm a total sucker for couples who really care about one another. Sweet!

Four and a half stars

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.