Wild Cards is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels written by a collection of authors known as the Wild Cards Trust and edited by George R. R. Martin and Melinda M. Snodgrass. Set largely during an alternate history of post–World War II United States, the series follows humans who contracted the Wild Card virus, an alien virus that rewrites DNA and mutates survivors; those who acquire minor or crippling physical conditions are known as Jokers, and those who acquire superhuman abilities are known as Aces.
As of the publication of Aces Full in November 2025, the series consists of thirty-four books. Wild Cards began publication through Bantam Books, under its Spectra imprint, in January 1987. Bantam published the series until 1993 and released twelve installments. Baen Books published three books from 1993 to 1995. From 2002 to 2005, ibooks Inc. published two more installments, including one solo novel.
Starting in 2008, Wild Cards was published by Tor Books, an imprint under Macmillan Publishers. By August 2022, Tor Books had released thirteen novels. Tor also reprinted several earlier novels. Reprinting rights to the first eight novels were acquired by ibooks Inc. in 2000. The company reissued the first six novels before declaring Chapter 7 bankruptcy shortly after the death of founder Byron Preiss; ibooks' assets were acquired by Brick Tower Press. As of November 2021, Tor Books reprinted the first, twelve, sixteenth, and seventeenth novels.
Wild Cards is currently published by Bantam Books, with three novels released between 2023 and 2025.
Marvel Entertainment has published two Wild Cards miniseries, thirty-two years apart. The first, released via their Epic Comics imprint, was published from September to December 1990 and featured an original storyline based on events that occurred in the early novels. A second limited series, this time adapting stories from the first novel, ran from June through October 2022.
Bantam Books, under its Spectra imprint, published twelve books between 1987 and 1993, including two solo novels written by Melinda M. Snodgrass and Victor Milán.
| No. | Title | Original release | ibooks Inc. reprint release | Tor Books release | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wild Cards Edited by George R. R. Martin |
January 1987 ISBN 978-0-553-26190-5 |
July 31, 2001 ISBN 978-0-7434-2380-9 |
November 23, 2010 ISBN 978-0-7653-2615-7 | |||
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| 2 | Aces High Edited by Martin |
April 1987 ISBN 978-0-553-26464-7 |
October 2001 ISBN 978-1-59687-283-7 |
December 20, 2011 ISBN 978-0-7653-2616-4 | |||
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| 3 | Jokers Wild Edited by Martin |
October 1987 ISBN 978-0-553-26699-3 |
February 2002 ISBN 978-1-59687-284-4 |
February 11, 2014 ISBN 978-0-7653-2617-1 | |||
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| 4 | Aces Abroad Edited by Martin |
May 1988 ISBN 978-0-553-27628-2 |
August 27, 2002 ISBN 978-0-7434-5241-0 |
January 13, 2015 ISBN 978-0-7653-3558-6 | |||
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| 5 | Down and Dirty Edited by Martin |
November 1988 ISBN 978-0-553-27463-9 |
January 7, 2003 | October 27, 2015 ISBN 978-0-7653-3559-3 | |||
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| 6 | Ace in the Hole Edited by Martin |
January 1990 ISBN 978-0-553-28253-5 |
February 25, 2003 ISBN 978-0-7434-5837-5 |
October 4, 2016 ISBN 978-0-7653-3560-9 | |||
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| 7 | Dead Man's Hand Edited by Martin |
July 1990 ISBN 978-0-553-28569-7 |
N/a | June 13, 2017 | |||
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| 8 | One-Eyed Jacks Edited by Martin |
January 1991 ISBN 978-0-553-28852-0 |
N/a | August 7, 2018 | |||
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| 9 | Jokertown Shuffle Edited by Martin |
August 1991 ISBN 978-0-553-29174-2 |
N/a | April 30, 2019 | |||
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| 10 | Double Solitaire Written by Snodgrass and edited by Martin |
March 1992 ISBN 978-0-553-29493-4 |
N/a | December 3, 2019 | |||
| 11 | Dealer's Choice Edited by Martin |
October 1992 ISBN 978-0-553-29161-2 |
N/a | September 1, 2020 | |||
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| 12 | Turn of the Cards Written by Milán and edited by Martin |
January 1993 ISBN 978-0-553-56152-4 |
N/a | November 9, 2021 | |||
Baen Books 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; however, he conceded that the triad was "very dark", acknowledging it was a commonly voiced complaint, and that he felt switching publishers was a mistake.
| No. | Title | Original release |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Card Sharks Edited by Martin |
February 1993 ISBN 978-0-671-72159-6 |
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| 14 | Marked Cards Edited by Martin |
March 1994 ISBN 978-0-671-72212-8 |
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| 15 | Black Trump Edited by Martin |
July 1995 ISBN 978-0-671-87679-1 |
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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. The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in July 2005, shortly after the death of founder Byron Preiss. 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 versions of its titles, including Deuces Down and Death Draws Five, via Humble Bundle in February 2016.
| No. | Title | Original release | Tor Books release |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Deuces Down Edited by Martin |
June 25, 2002 ISBN 978-0-7434-4505-4 |
January 5, 2021 |
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| 17 | Death Draws Five Written by Miller and edited by Martin |
February 1, 2006 ISBN 978-1-59687-297-4 |
November 9, 2021 |
Tor Books, an imprint under Macmillan Publishers, published the series in both print and e-book format, releasing thirteen new installments from November 2008 to August 2022.
| No. | Title | Original release | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Inside Straight Edited by Martin with assistance from Snodgrass |
January 22, 2008 ISBN 978-0-641-91260-3 | |||
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| 19 | Busted Flush Edited by Martin with assistance from Snodgrass |
December 9, 2008 ISBN 978-0-7653-1782-7 | |||
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| 20 | Suicide Kings Edited by Martin with assistance from Snodgrass |
December 22, 2009 ISBN 978-0-7653-1783-4 | |||
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| 21 | Fort Freak Edited by Martin with assistance from Snodgrass |
June 21, 2011 ISBN 978-0-7653-2570-9 | |||
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| 22 | Lowball Edited by Martin and Snodgrass |
November 4, 2014 ISBN 978-0-7653-3195-3 | |||
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| 23 | High Stakes Edited by Martin and Snodgrass |
August 30, 2016 ISBN 978-0-7653-3562-3 | |||
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| 24 | Mississippi Roll Edited by Martin and Snodgrass |
December 5, 2017 ISBN 978-0-7653-9052-3 | |||
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| 25 | Low Chicago Edited by Martin |
June 12, 2018 | |||
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A mosaic novel edited by George R. R. Martin assisted by Melinda M. Snodgrass. There are stories from eight authors that were woven into the novel. The stories, in the order of their first appearance in the novel are:
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| 26 | Texas Hold 'Em | November 6, 2018 | |||
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A mosaic novel edited by George R. R. Martin assisted by Melinda M. Snodgrass. There are stories from seven authors that were woven into the novel. The stories, in the order of their first appearance in the novel are:
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| 27 | Knaves Over Queens Edited by Martin with assistance from Snodgrass |
August 13, 2019 | |||
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| 28 | Joker Moon Edited by Martin with assistance from Snodgrass |
July 6, 2021 | |||
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| 29 | Three Kings Edited by Snodgrass with assistance from Martin |
March 15, 2022 | |||
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There are stories from five authors that were woven into the novel.
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| 30 | Full House Edited by Martin with assistance from Snodgrass |
August 2, 2022 | |||
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Collects ten stories that had been previously published only on Tor's website or in anthologies outside the Wild Cards series.
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Wild Cards returned to its original publisher, Bantam Books, in 2023.
| No. | Title | Original release |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Pairing Up Edited by Martin with assistance from Snodgrass |
July 11, 2023 ISBN 978-0-593-35786-6 |
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| 32 | Sleeper Straddle Edited by Martin with assistance from Snodgrass |
February 6, 2024 ISBN 978-0-593-35783-5 |
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| 33 | House Rules Edited by Martin with assistance from Snodgrass |
February 25, 2025 ISBN 978-0-593-35772-9 |
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Two years after the series returned to Bantam Books, Tor Books released a fourteenth book, Aces Full, which was a second collection of short stories that had first appeared on its website.
| No. | Title | Original release |
|---|---|---|
| 34 | Aces Full Edited by Martin with assistance from Snodgrass |
November 11, 2025 ISBN 978-1250396891 |
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Collects twelve stories that had been previously published only on Tor's website.
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Tor.com published 23 short stories Via its website from January 2013 to July 2022. With the exception of "Fitting In", "The Visitor: Kill or Cure" and "I Have No Voice and I Must Zoom Meeting", these were reprinted in the Wild Cards anthologies Full House and Aces Full.