Wild Cards III jokers wild Edited by George RR martin

Wild Cards was a series of Mosaic novels that first started coming out in the 80s. They usually were a collection of interconnected short stories. And were edited by George RR Martin. The basic plot is back right after WWII. This alien ship comes to Earth and sets off a genetic bomb. The bomb releases a virus,and the people that catch it have 1 of 3 things happen to them. 75% of the people died also known as drawing the Black Queen. 20% of the people end up mutated into various non-human forms,AKA drawing a joker. And the remaining 5% gain some kind of super power AKA drawing an Ace. This volume is mostly about an evil ace known as the Astronomer. Who wants revenge against a group of Aces who defeated him a few years ago. The Astronomer recruits some other aces and goes around killing the people who opposed him. I have loved this series of novels for years. But sadly most of them are now out of print and kinda costly. A few years ago Mr Martin revived the line and has been publishing one or two new novels a year.If you like super hero comics,sci fi,or just well written short stories this is a series you should try. Wild Cards III jokers wild gets a perfect A+.