''Wild Cards'' is a series of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where one or more writers (or other artists) independently contribute works that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, charact ...

anthologies,

mosaic novel A mosaic novel is a novel in which individual chapters or short stories share a common setting or set of characters with the aim of telling a linear story from beginning to end, with the individual chapters, however, refracting a plurality of viewp ...

s, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by

George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948) also known by the initials G.R.R.M. is an American author, television writer, and television producer. He is best known as the author of the unfinished series of Hi ...

and Melinda M. Snodgrass. Set largely during an

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

of post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

United States, the series follows humans who contracted the Wild Card virus, an alien virus that rewrites

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

and mutates survivors. Those who acquire crippling and/or repulsive physical conditions are known as Jokers, while those who acquire superhuman abilities are known as Aces, and those few who acquire minor, insignificant powers not worthy of being called aces are known as Deuces. The series originated from a long-running campaign of the ''

Superworld ''Superworld'' is a superhero-themed role-playing game published by Chaosium in 1983 that uses the generic ''Basic Role-Playing'' rules system. The game began as just one part of the '' Worlds of Wonder'' product before being published as a sta ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...

gamemaster A gamemaster (GM; also known as game master, game manager, game moderator, referee, storyteller, or master of ceremonies) is a person who acts as a facilitator, organizer, officiant regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer r ...

ed by Martin and involving many of the original authors. The framework of the series was developed by Martin and Snodgrass, including the origin of the characters' superhuman abilities and the card-based terminology. The first installment, ''Wild Cards'', was released in January 1987 by

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin Jr., Sidney B. K ...

and, as of February 2025, thirty-three books have been released through four publishers. The series has been adapted to comic books, graphic novels, and role-playing games.

Premise

Set during an

of post–

United States, the series follows events after an airborne alien virus is released over New York City in 1946 and eventually infects tens of thousands globally. The virus, designed to rewrite

, was developed as a bioweapon by a noble family on the planet Takis, and it is taken to Earth to test on humans, who are genetically identical to the people of Takis. Dr. Tachyon, a member of this family, objects and attempts to stop them. However, his attempt crashes their ship, releasing the virus. The virus affects each individual differently, and it becomes known as the Wild Card virus because of these "random and unpredictable" symptoms. It kills 90% of those who contract it and mutates the remaining percentage. 9% survive but become Jokers, who develop minor or crippling physical conditions. The remaining 1% become Aces, who remain human or mostly human in appearance but develop superhuman abilities; Aces whose abilities are too trivial or specific to be generally valuable are called Deuces.

Origin

''Wild Cards'' began as a two-year-long campaign of the ''

, gifted to

Victor Milán Victor Woodward Milán (August 3, 1954 – February 13, 2018) was an American writer known for libertarian science fiction and an interest in cybernetics. Life and career Milán was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1986 Milán won the Prometheus Awa ...

, in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

; the players were science fiction writers, including Gail Gerstner-Miller, Milán, John J. Miller, Melinda M. Snodgrass, and

Walter Jon Williams Walter Jon Williams (born October 28, 1953) is an American writer, primarily of science fiction. Previously he wrote nautical adventure fiction under the name Jon Williams, in particular, ''Privateers and Gentlemen'' (1981–1984), a series of hi ...

, and Martin served as

. Because of the amount of time and creative energy put into the campaign, Martin initially thought to write a novel on his character, Turtle. However, he realized this would have "rescued one character from he''SuperWorld'' campaign, but would have meant discarding all the rest". Since the game had been built by a group, he felt it should be a

anthology, which were popular at the time. Martin invited other writers he believed would be interested in the universe, including

Roger Zelazny Roger Joseph Zelazny (May 13, 1937 – June 14, 1995) was an American fantasy and science fiction writer known for his short stories and novels, best known for '' The Chronicles of Amber''. He won the Nebula Award three times (out of 14 nominatio ...

Lewis Shiner Lewis Shiner (born December 30, 1950, in Eugene, Oregon) is an American writer. Shiner began his career as a science fiction writer, and then identified with cyberpunk. He later wrote more mainstream novels, albeit often with magical realism and ...

Pat Cadigan Patricia Oren Kearney Cadigan (born September 10, 1953) is a British-American science fiction author, whose work is most often identified with the cyberpunk movement. Her novels and short stories often explore the relationship between the human ...

Howard Waldrop Howard Waldrop (September 15, 1946 – January 14, 2024) was an American science fiction author who worked primarily in short fiction. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2021. Early life Born in Houston, Mississippi, ...

Edward Bryant Edward Winslow Bryant Jr. (August 27, 1945 – February 10, 2017) was an American science fiction and horror fiction, horror writer sometimes associated with the Dangerous Visions series of anthologies that bolstered New Wave (science fiction), ...

, and

Stephen Leigh Stephen W. Leigh (born February 27, 1951) is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, artist, and musician. He also works as a lecturer at Northern Kentucky University, teaching creative writing. He has published speculative fiction as St ...

. Martin said that the group loved comic books and superheroes but wanted to approach the material in a "grittier, more adult manner than what we were seeing in the '80s". He cited the series' "sense of history" as a strength and expressed frustration with the

retroactive continuity Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...

of mainstream comics. Martin also felt that the multitude of sources for superpowers in comics strained

suspension of disbelief Suspension of disbelief is the avoidance—often described as willing—of critical thinking and logic in understanding something that is unreal or impossible in reality, such as something in a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe i ...

when taken together, and he believed a single plausible source was needed. Snodgrass suggested a virus, which allowed for the superpowered Aces, the "monsters and freaks" Jokers, and a high death toll. Snodgrass and Martin also developed the card based terminology, and Milán developed the

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...

of the series. The series was originally meant to be set in a then contemporary 1985, but Waldrop, who was to write the first story, insisted that his story take place right after World War II. This created a forty-year gap between the first chapter and the remaining stories, pushing later contributions to fill in the intervening decades. Martin noted that this forced the authors to write about events they would have otherwise ignored, particularly the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 19 ...

and the McCarthy hearings, which gave rise to characters and plot points that "added immeasurable richness to our world and depth of our characters". Waldrop's story also forced Williams to rewrite a new story, "Witness", which became the only shared world story to appear on the final ballot for a

Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...

. British writer

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...

met with Martin in 1987 and pitched a ''Wild Cards'' story about a character who lives in a world of dreams. Martin declined due to Gaiman's lack of prior credits at the time. Gaiman went on to publish his story as '' The Sandman''.

Publishing history

Bantam Books (1987–1993)

, under its Spectra

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

, published twelve books between 1987 and 1993, including two solo novels written by Melinda M. Snodgrass and

. * 1987 ''Wild Cards'' * 1987 ''Aces High'' * 1987 ''Jokers Wild'' * 1988 ''Aces Abroad'' * 1988 ''Down and Dirty'' * 1990 ''Ace in the Hole'' * 1990 ''Dead Man's Hand'' * 1991 ''One-Eyed Jacks'' * 1991 ''Jokertown Shuffle'' * 1992 ''Double Solitaire'' (novel by Snodgrass) * 1992 ''Dealer's Choice'' * 1993 ''Turn of the Cards'' (novel by Milán)

Baen Books (1993–1995)

Baen Books Baen Books () is an American publishing house for science fiction and fantasy. In science fiction, it emphasizes space opera, hard science fiction, and military science fiction. The company was established in 1983 by science fiction publisher an ...

published a new triad between 1993 and 1995 subtitled ''of a New Cycle''. In 2002, Martin commented that he felt the triad was creatively "three of the strongest volumes ''Wild Cards'' ever had" and that the series "came back strong" after stumbling with a previous storyline; he conceded, however, that the triad was "very dark", acknowledging it was a commonly-voiced complaint, and that he felt switching publishers was a mistake. * 1993 ''Card Sharks'' * 1994 ''Marked Cards'' * 1995 ''Black Trump''

ibooks Inc. (2002–2006)

In 2000, ibooks Inc. purchased two new installments and the rights to reprint the first eight books of the series; the two new books were published between 2002 and 2006, including a solo novel by John J. Miller, and reprints for six of the first eight books were issued. The company filed for

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''re ...

in July 2005, shortly after the death of founder

Byron Preiss Byron Preiss (April 11, 1953 – July 9, 2005)Byron Preiss
at the

. In December 2006, J. Bolyston & Co. Publishers, parent company of the Brick Tower Press imprint, acquired all of Preiss' assets, including those of ibooks, for $125,000. Brick Tower Press offered

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...

versions of its titles, including ''Deuces Down'' and ''Death Draws Five'' via

Humble Bundle Humble Bundle, Inc. is a digital storefront for video games, which grew out of its original offering of Humble Bundles, collections of games sold at a price determined by the purchaser and with a portion of the price going towards charity and ...

in February 2016. * 2002 ''Deuces Down'' * 2006 ''Death Draws Five'' (novel by Miller)

Tor Books (2008–2022)

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...

, an imprint under

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

, published the series in both print and e-book format. It released thirteen new installments from November 2008 to August 2022. Tor Books also reprinted the first twelve, sixteenth & seventeenth novels as of November 2021. * 2008 ''Inside Straight'' * 2008 ''Busted Flush'' * 2009 ''Suicide Kings'' * 2011 ''Fort Freak'' * 2014 ''Lowball'' * 2016 ''High Stakes'' * 2017 ''Mississippi Roll'' * 2018 ''Low Chicago'' * 2018 ''Texas Hold 'Em'' * 2019 ''Knaves Over Queens'' * 2021 ''Joker Moon'' * 2022 ''Three Kings'' * 2022 ''Full House'' Tor Books also published online supplementary material. A multi-author blog supporting ''Inside Straight'' opened in February 2008. The blog followed ''American Hero'', the fictional

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

show in the book, and posted in-character "confessionals" from the twenty-eight characters competing on the show. That supplemental material was republished by Tor as an e-book titled ''American Hero: A Wild Cards Novel'' on March 3, 2020. Twenty-three short stories were published through the Tor Books website from January 2013 through July 2022: * 2013 "When We Were Heroes" by Daniel Abraham * 2013 "The Button Man and the Murder Tree" by

Cherie Priest Cherie Priest (born July 30, 1975) is an American novelist and blogger living in Seattle, Washington. Biography Priest is a Florida native, born in Tampa in 1975. She graduated from Forest Lake Academy, a Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh- ...

* 2013 "The Elephant in the Room" by

Paul Cornell Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer. He has worked in television drama and ''Doctor Who'' fiction, being the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield. Other British television dramas f ...

* 2014 "Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza" by

Carrie Vaughn Carrie Vaughn (born January 28, 1973) is an American writer, the author of the urban fantasy '' Kitty Norville'' series. She has published more than 60 short stories in science fiction and fantasy magazines as well as short story anthologies and ...

* 2014 "Prompt. Professional. Pop!" by

* 2016 "Discards" by David D. Levine * 2016 "The Thing About Growing Up in Jokertown" by Carrie Vaughn * 2017 "The Atonement Tango" by

* 2017 "When the Devil Drives" by Melissa Snodgrass * 2018 "EverNight" by Victor Milán * 2018 "The Flight of Morpho Girl" by Caroline Spector and

Bradley Denton Bradley Clayton Denton (born 1958) is an American science fiction author. He has also written other types of fiction, such as the black comedy of his novel ''Blackburn'', about a sympathetic serial killer. He was born in Towanda, Kansas, and atte ...

* 2018 "Fitting In" by

Max Gladstone Max Gladstone (born May 28, 1984) is an American fantasy author. He is best known for his 2012 debut novel ''Three Parts Dead'', which is part of '' The Craft Sequence'', his urban fantasy serial ''Bookburners'', and for co-writing '' This Is How Y ...

* 2019 "How to Move Spheres and Influence People" by Marko Kloos * 2019 "Long Is The Way" by Carrie Vaughn and

Sage Walker Sage Walker is an American science-fiction writer based in New Mexico. She contributed to the ''Wild Cards'' series and won the Locus Award in 1997 for her debut novel, ''Whiteout''. She was born in Oklahoma. She earned a B.S. in Zoology and then ...

* 2019 "The City That Never Sleeps" by

Walton Simons ''Deus Ex'' is a 2000 action role-playing game developed by Ion Storm and published by Eidos Interactive. Originally released for Microsoft Windows, it was released for Mac OS the same year, and for PlayStation 2 in 2002. The gameplay—combinin ...

* 2019 "Naked, Stoned, and Stabbed" by

* 2020 "The Visitor: Kill or Cure" by Mark Lawrence * 2020 "Berlin is Never Berlin" by

Marko Kloos Marko Kloos is a German author of military science fiction and high fantasy. Born in Germany, Kloos lives and works in the United States. Work Kloos is best known for his ''Frontlines'' series of military science fiction novels. Featuring the p ...

* 2020 "Hammer and Tongs and a Rusty Nail" by Ian Tregillis * 2021 "Ripple Effects" by Laura J. Mixon * 2021 "Skin Deep" by

Alan Brennert Alan Brennert (born May 30, 1954) is an American author, television producer, and screenwriter. Brennert has lived in Southern California since 1973 and completed graduate work in screenwriting at the University of California, Los Angeles. Care ...

* 2022 "Hearts of Stone" by

Emma Newman Emma Newman is a British science fiction and fantasy writer, Podcast, podcaster and audiobook narrator. Her award nominations include the British Fantasy Award (categories: "best fantasy novel", "best newcomer") for ''Between Two Thorns'' in 201 ...

* 2022 "Grow" by Carrie Vaughn A short story, titled "Lies My Mother Told Me" by Caroline Spector, was published in the '' Dangerous Women'' anthology, also edited by Martin. The anthology was released in December 2013. An additional short story, titled "I Have No Voice and I Must Zoom Meeting" by

, was published on the official Wild Cards website in July 2020.

Bantam Books (2023–present)

The series returned to Bantam Books in July 2023. Upcoming books include ''House Rules''. * 2023 ''Pairing Up'' * 2024 ''Sleeper Straddle'' * 2025 ''House Rules'' Bantam also began publishing original graphic novels featuring stories set within the Wild Cards universe. * 2023 ''George R. R. Martin Presents Wild Cards: Now and Then: A Graphic Novel'' (Written by Carrie Vaughn with art by Renae De Liz) * 2023 ''George R. R. Martin Presents Wild Cards: Sins of the Father: A Graphic Novel'' (Written by Melinda M. Snodgrass with art by Michael Komarck and Elizabeth Leggett)

Contributors

The collection of authors who have contributed to the ''Wild Card'' series is known as the Wild Cards Trust or the Wild Card consortium. As of ''Joker Moon'', published in July 2021, forty-four authors have written for the series. Five authors have written for at least one novel released by each publisher of the series:

Michael Cassutt Michael Joseph Cassutt (born April 13, 1954) is an American television producer, screenwriter, and author. His notable TV work includes producing or writing, or both, for '' The Outer Limits'', '' Eerie, Indiana'', ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', and '' ...

(often writing as S. L. Farrell), John J. Miller, Walton Simons, and Snodgrass. Every installment was edited by Martin, who has also contributed as an author to ten books; later installments were co-edited by Snodgrass.

In other media

Role-playing games

''Wild Cards'' was adapted into a role-playing game format by

Steve Jackson Games Steve Jackson Games (SJGames) is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and (until 2019) the gaming magazine ''Pyramid''. History Founded in 1980, six years after the cr ...

. Written by John J. Miller and published in June 1989, the sourcebook used

GURPS Supers ''GURPS Supers'' is a superhero roleplaying game written by Loyd Blankenship and published by Steve Jackson Games. The first edition was published in 1989. Contents ''GURPS Supers'' is a supplement of rules for comic-book superhero characters and ...

rules and contained descriptions of sixty of the characters. A supplement titled ''Aces Abroad'', written by

Kevin Andrew Murphy Kevin Andrew Murphy is an American novelist and game writer from Northern California. Education He is a graduate of University of California at Santa Cruz and has a Master of Arts from University of Southern California. Career He has written ga ...

, was released in 1991.

Green Ronin Publishing Green Ronin Publishing is an American company based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2000 by Chris Pramas and Nicole Lindroos, they have published several role-playing game–related products. They won several awards for their games includi ...

published ''Wild Cards Campaign Setting'', written by Miller, for its ''

Mutants & Masterminds ''Mutants & Masterminds'' (abbreviated "M&M" or "MnM") is a superhero role-playing game written by Steve Kenson and published by Green Ronin Publishing based on a variant of the d20 System by Wizards of the Coast. The game system is designed to ...

'' RPG in August 2008; the game debuted at

Gen Con Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playing ...

that year. Two supplements were released: an adventure anthology titled ''All-in'' and a character book titled ''Aces & Jokers''.

Comics

A four-issue ''Wild Cards''

limited series In the field of comic books, and particularly in the United States, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined ...

was released in 1990 by

Epic Comics Epic Comics (also known as the Epic Comics Group)Shooter, Jim. "Bullpen Bulletins: The Truth About the Epic Comics Group!" Marvel comics cover-dated November 1982. was an imprint of American publishing company Marvel Comics, active from 1982 to ...

, an imprint of

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. The issues were then collected and published as a trade paperback in October 1991. They were also included in ''Epic: An Anthology'', released in 1992. A second limited series titled ''Wild Cards: The Hard Call'', written by Daniel Abraham and illustrated by

Eric Battle Eric Battle is an American illustrator. Battle's body of work consists mainly of contemporary American-style comic illustrations and fully painted illustration for publishing. He has illustrated numerous iconic characters for DC Comics and Marvel ...

, was published over six issues from April to September 2008 by

Dabel Brothers Productions Dabel Brothers Productions (also known as DB Pro, DBPro, Dabel Brothers Publishing and sometimes Dabel Brothers Production) is a U.S. publishing company of comic books and graphic novels. It was founded in 2001 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. I ...

. Dabel Brothers partnered with Del Rey to collect the titles in July 2008, including ''Wild Cards: The Hard Call'', as

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

s beginning in fall 2008. The issues were collected in a hardcover edition published by Dynamite Entertainment in February 2011.

Marvel Entertainment Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and Marvel Enterprises, Inc.) was an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, formed by the merger of #Marvel Entertainment Group, Marvel Ente ...

began publishing a 4-issue comic book limited series ''Wild Cards: The Drawing of Cards'' scripted by

in July 2022. The series adapted material from the first ''Wild Cards'' novel. Bantam Books published two original ''Wild Cards'' graphic novels in 2023: ''George R. R. Martin Presents Wild Cards: Now & Then'' by writer Carrie Vaughn and artist Renae De Liz, and ''George R. R. Martin Presents Wild Cards: Sins of the Father'' by writer Melinda Snodgrass and artists Michael Komarck and Elizabeth Leggett.

Audiobooks

Unabridged audiobook versions of the first five books have been released. Audiobooks of the first two installments were released by

Brilliance Audio Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos in Bellevu ...

in November and December 2011. Versions of the third, fourth, and fifth novels were released by

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

from February to March 2016, featuring voice talents for each character. The sixth and seventh installments were released in February and June 2017. Commencing in August 2018, HarperAudio (UK) began releasing a new set of audiobooks in the series. The first three (''Mississippi Roll'', ''Low Chicago'' and ''Texas Hold'em'') were narrated by William Hope. Next, Peter Noble narrated the two UK Wild Cards works (''Knaves Over Queens'' and ''Three Kings''). The sixth audiobook from HarperAudio (UK) (which was released in August 2021), ''Joker Moon'', was performed by Maya Saroya. On a side note, in the UK, ''Three Kings'' has been released before ''Joker Moon'', while the opposite is set to happen in the US.

Film

In October 2011, Syfy Films, a joint venture between Syfy Channel and

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

, acquired screen rights to ''Wild Cards'' under the direction of Gregory Noveck, senior vice president of production. Snodgrass was asked to write the screenplay, and she and Martin were to serve as executive producers. At the time of announcement, the film was intended to have a contemporary setting and the Sleeper among its characters. This was the second time the series was optioned.

Television

In August 2016,

Universal Cable Productions Universal Content Productions LLC (UCP) is an American television production company operating within the Universal Studio Group division of NBCUniversal, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. History Universal Cable Productions In July ...

acquired the rights to create a television series. Martin stated that the development was in early stages and that the production was working on choosing characters and stories to adapt. Because of his exclusivity contract with

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

, which aired ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

'' based on Martin's ''

A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of high fantasy novels by the American author George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the first volume, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and published it in 1996. Martin, who originally envisioned the ser ...

'', Martin said he will not be involved in the adaptation. Snodgrass is to serve as an executive producer. In a blog post, Martin said that Noveck is also to serve as an executive producer. Universal Cable Productions was teaming up with

Hulu Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...

in November 2018 to develop two series based on the novels to establish a potential connected ''Wild Cards'' universe for the streaming service, but as of 2021, the upcoming series was moved from Hulu to

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

Explanatory notes

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.wildcardsworld.com/
''Wild Cards'' series
at

, parent company of

Wild Cards cover art gallery
a
Wild Cards
official website
''Wild Cards''
at ''

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'' (''SFE'') is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo Award, Hugo, Locus Award, Locus and BSFA Award, British SF Awards. Two print editions appea ...

''
Wild Cards Universe
at the

Internet Speculative Fiction Database The Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB) is a database of bibliographic information on genres considered speculative fiction, including science fiction and related genres such as fantasy, alternate history, and horror fiction. The ISFDB ...

Book series introduced in 1987 Books by Chris Claremont Novels by Roger Zelazny Works by George R. R. Martin