In 1946, an alien virus that rewrites human DNA was accidentally unleashed in the skies over New York City. It killed ninety percent of those it infected.  Nine percent survived to mutate into tragically deformed creatures.  And one percent gained superpowers.  The Wild Cards shared-universe series, created and edited since 1987 by New York Times #1 bestseller George R. R. Martin ("The American Tolkien" --Time magazine) along with Melinda Snodgrass, is the tale of the history of the world since then—and of the heroes among the one percent.

Now a new generation of heroes has taken its place on the world stage, its members crucial players in international events. At the United Nations, veteran ace John Fortune has assembled a team of young aces known as the Committee, to assist at trouble spots around the world–including a genocidal was in the Niger Delta, an invasion of zombies in hurricane ravaged New Orleans, and a freak nuclear explosion in a small Texas town.

"The sequel to 2008's Inside Straight, a revamp of the shared Wild Cards universe, features crises ripped directly from today's newspaper headlines and summer blockbusters. A burgeoning gas shortage has sparked an invasion into the Middle East; New Orleans is hurricane-beset and zombie-ravaged; someone has set off a nuclear explosion in Texas; and genocide rages in Nigeria. The conflicts between the compellingly human superheroes on the U.N.'s Committee shape this fast-paced alternate history. Veteran contributor and now assistant editor Melinda M. Snodgrass pens standout chapters featuring British triple-agent Double Helix, who drives the plot while posing as both seductive Committee member Lilith and Middle Eastern assassin Bahir. While those unfamiliar with the Wild Cards mosaic novels will flounder, the clever twists on today's political landscape and the unique powers of several new 'aces' will lure back past readers." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

From the #1 New York Times bestseller, the second of a new generation of "Wild Cards" tales

In 1946, an alien virus that rewrites human DNA was accidentally unleashed in the skies over New York City. It killed 90 percent of those it infected, but one percent gained superpowers. The latest book in the The Wild Cards series is the tale of the history of the world since then--and the heroes among the one percent.

GEORGE R. R. MARTIN’s “Song of Ice and Fire” series, beginning with A Game of Thrones (Bantam, 1996), are among the top-selling fantasies of the last ten years.  He lives in New Mexico.

Contributors to this volume are:

Melinda Snodgrass

Caroline Spector

Carrie Vaughn

Walton Simons & Ian Tregillis

John Jos. Miller

Victor Milan

Stephen Leigh

Kevin Andrew Murphy