Suicide Kings (Wild Cards Novel) [Hardcover]

At times it feels as though I'm one of the seemingly few readers who gave this newest Wild Cards triad a chance. As good and entertaining as both Inside Straight and Busted Flush were, it's a pity that so little noise has been made about them. Having enjoyed its two predecessors more than I ever thought I would, I was curious to discover how George R. R. Martin and co. would close the show in Suicide Kings.

The action occurs not long following the events chronicled in Busted Flush. The forces of the People's Paradise of Africa clash with the armies of the Caliphate of Arabia. But the PPA, aided by Tom Weathers, have begun a nightmarish program to help them turn the tide of the war. The Wild Cards virus is being injected into thousands of child soldiers, in an attempt to create a new army of powerful aces and jokers. In the aftermath of the nucear explosion in the heart of New Orleans, Michelle Pond remains unconscious. But a little girl named Adesina invades her dreams and beckons. Noel Matthews, spy and assassin, swore never to get involved in international intrigue now that Niobe is part of his life. Yet he realizes that the world needs him for one last mission. Without the UN's blessing, Rustbelt and Gardener embark on a journey which will take them into the heart of Africa to save a boy's life, while committees are bogged down in procedures as they assess how to deal with the PPA. And amidst all the international turmoil, Bugsy manages to make things go from bad to worse every time he opens his mouth.

As always, Suicide Kings was edited by George R. R. Martin and Melinda Snodgrass. This latest mosaic novel was produced by Daniel Abraham, S. L. Farrell, Victor Milán, Caroline Spector, Ian Tregillis, and Melinda Snodgrass.

I feel that Suicide Kings was more political than the first two volumes of the triad. The People's Paradise of Africa's storylines reminds us of the First and Second Congo Wars. Yet the United Nations' inability to deal with such tragedies in a timely fashion also brings to mind the terrible genocide in Rwanda. Which demonstrated yet again how much of a travesty the UN Security Council truly is. Bill Clinton, François Mitterand, Kofi Annan, and various other politicians deserve to be shot in the belly and left to die of a gut wound for letting such atrocities take place during their watch. But I digress. . . In any event, I felt that the politicking between the PPA, the West, and the Middle East was particularly well-done. There are never fully back or white answers to such questions, and I think that the shade of gray which always shrouds such matters was handled adroitely.

I mentioned before that one of the problems with Busted Flush was that the book was all over the place in terms of plotlines. Not so with Suicide Kings, however. There are fewer storylines and a tighter focus on how they are linked to one another.

The characterization remains my favorite facet of the Wild Cards mosaic novels. At times funny, at times touching, and at times butt-kicking, a pretty good balance was struck in this third volume. With a number of all-star characters having been killed and others turning their backs on the Committee, two unlikely heroes emerge in this one. Realizing that both Rustbelt and Gardener would take center stage in Suicide Kings made me raise an eyebrow at the beginning, but they made me a believer early on. We witness a lot of character growth where these two are concerned, which makes their storylines as heartbreaking as they are entertaining.

There are a few touching moments between Noel and Niobe, and the relationship between Tom Weathers and Sun Hei-lan takes a few unexpected turns. But it's the poignant finale that makes this one special. Bittersweet, yes (Would you expect anything less from GRRM?), yet a satisfying ending to a solid trilogy.

Although tragic in many ways, Suicide Kings leaves the door open for a lot of things to come. And judging by the quality of this newest Wild Cards triad, I think it's safe to say that the franchise is in very good hands. Which bodes well for the future of this long-running series!

To all the authors involved in this latest Wild Cards project, kudos for a job well-done! You've made me a Wild Cards fan!

this series of books has left the original idea formatted in Wild Cards. Now there is one storey and all the characters racing alongit, with the players written by different authors, when they do cross sect this is where you get some truly awsome writing.

Suicide Kings deals mainly with a large non exsitant African nation , not present in outr world, along the way we have spys, love mad super villians( or are they?) child soldiers, and the usual wil they wont they love intrest.

The best writing in this book is for The Rustbelt plot, a true hero as he isnt trying to be one, he starts off slow, and could of quite easily been overwhealmed by the other storeys , but i found myself wanting to read about his journey more than anything else.

Usual suspects from the later series of books make an appearence.

Bubbles
Hoodoo Mama
Radical
Bugsy
Double Helix
Popinjay
Rustbelt
Gardener

No doubt the child aces will make returns in later books .

not a bad tale, but you will ahve had to read some of the earlier books to get the references for example the Rox.

Enjoy

and has to be the darkest, most brutal Wild Cards yet, which is saying something with the number of titles there are now and is certainly not one for the kids or grandma.

The central theme of the book is child soldiers and they and every character involved suffers and none are immune from death. Both new and old characters are maimed and killed, some within the chapter they are introduced in, although this will be of no great surprise to any old readers.

For new readers the characters have been fleshed out from the first two volumes and should be familiar enough to give an indication what they have missed in the back history. For an old reader like myself the new characters are much more defined and enjoyable to read despite pining for the old ones.

I hope there is more of the new characters in the future and of the old ones a number of their final fates are recorded, especially in the case of Mark Meadows who has been in the series since the beginning despite a long absence.

There is also more dipping into the back history, Jokertown, Popinjay, Dr Finn, the Jokertown Clinic and Kimberly Meadows all make brief appearances and provide the strength that a series now this old can use.

There are a lot of story strands and there are long gaps between some that you forget about until they pop up again. As usual they weave themselves to the conclusion whereby most characters end up in the same place for the finale.

This and the finale are the weakest aspects, I just found the resolution to the three books a bit weak and an anticlimax in comparison to the rest of the quality of the whole of the third book overall.

As a series it started well, the second book being a bit weak and the third rounding it off nicely. It allows new readers to access the Wild Cards Universe at a convenient point and not at too much at a disadvantage for the back catalogue and for old readers resolutions of storylines decades old.

The greatest credit to Martin and the other authors is that they never seem to lose the quality that defines this series and plagues other franchises. Whilst not always classics they are always of a minimum quality and I never regret buying a WC title.

Well worth reading as a set and at some point in the future I will reread them expecting to get more out the second time understanding the overall story and characters better.

And definitely looking forward to Fort Freak.