2575

I was kind of conned into reading this one. Thinking to expand my exploration of author George R. R. Martin, I ran across this book in the Fantasy and Science Fiction section of my favored public library. It tuned out that he was the co-editor of the book, which was actually written by about a dozen different authors collectively known as The Wild Card Trust. The book describes a battle between a bunch of mutant heroes and a bunch of mutant bad guys.
I still can't say why I finished all 600 pages of it. ( )

Good read. You can tell George RR Martin is involved with this series by the way so many characters you like die. ( )

Dreary, dull, drab.
Dull, dreary, drab.
Drab. Dull. Dreary.

And perhaps a little...repetitive.

Now, George R. R. Martin is a pretty popular author--not really for this book, but in general. And, although I prefer not to make a past-time out of painting a picture of people's problems, I've still got to ask...

What's the matter with you guys?

I mean, if you like Kevin J. Anderson--and haven't noticed that he's a fake fucking failure, the loser--then you'll love this. Or, if you think that Terry-Brooks-on-a-bad-day really *is* a facsimile of Tolkien, or that Robert Jordan really *does* have a deep spiritual understanding of Hindu cosmology, or whatever, (which he acquired in, uh, Vietnam? In the Marines, or something?) then, sure, go right ahead.

Be boyish, bogus, broken.

Seriously, though, do you think you're some soldier? Then get yourself shot in Afghanistan...

What a joke.

The black light.

(6/10) ( )

...A book written by so many different authors will always pose serious challenges for the editor. Martin has done an admirable job in making all these different authors speak with one voice but Suicide Kings also clearly shows some of the drawbacks of this process. Especially in the early parts of the novel the constant jumps between characters made this book though going. Once the direction of the story became clear, my reading speeded up significantly and I must admit the finale of the book is very strong, both emotionally and in terms of the action scenes. I guess on the whole I liked this one better than Busted Flush, which suffered from a meandering plot, but the result is still less than stellar. After the strong opening I am mildly disappointed by the way this trilogy developed but on the other hand I am also impressed by the way the books dare to take on some pretty heavy themes and the way the characters are developed by multiple authors. In short, I am left with mixed feelings about this interesting but challenging project.

Full Random Comments review ( )