Wild Cards IV - Aces Abroad: A Wild Cards Mosaic Novel

Wild Cards is a science fiction and superhero anthology series set in a shared universe. The series was created by a group of New Mexico science fiction authors, and mostly edited by George R. R. Martin. While most of the books are made up of individual short stories, they generally focus on a central theme or event. There were also several longer storylines which run through several of the books. Some volumes use the format of a mosaic novel. This involved several writers writing individual story lines which were then edited together into one novel length story. Finally, some volumes are a complete novel written by a single author. Wild Cards was inspired by superhero comics, and many of the authors play with the conventions of the medium, while some characters are based on existing heroes (for example, Jetboy was modeled on the Hillman Periodicals' character Airboy). Many of the original authors were also inspired by a long-running Albuquerque, New Mexico campaign of the role-playing game Superworld, gamemastered by George R. R. Martin, and many modeled their characters on their in-game persona. There are certain broad classes of characters in the Wild Cards universe of superhero novels started by George R. R. Martin. Aces: To be classified as an Ace, the person must still be basically human in appearance and generally be able to "pass" in society as normal people--as opposed to the physical mutations affecting those known as Jokers, resulting in various physical deformities or debilitating conditions. Certain individuals with both powers and physical alterations are still considered Aces, such as the celebrity Ace known as Peregrine, who despite having a pair of feathered wings growing from her shoulder blades is otherwise physically attractive in appearance.