Review of Wild Cards Vol. 4

I took my time with George R. R. Martin's fourth instalment in the "Wild Cards" series, not because I wanted to savour the experience, but because I kept finding better things to do. Usually when this happens I put the book down, and add it to the stack waiting to be shelved. This time I pushed through. The only reason I managed to finish this volume is due to constant reminders of the size of the series, and the number of contributing writers. In a series that spans twenty plus volumes, well there are going to be stinkers included in the titles. There is no way of getting around it. I am not ready to turn my back on the "Wild Cards" series simply because the fourth volume was sloppier than uncontained diarrhoea. Besides, there were some excellent moments in this volume, and some wonderful promises--the latter mostly concerned with Senator Hartman. The excerpts from Desmond's journal held the weaker stories together. And the final third! Wow! Talk about a rally! The book finally begins to take off, to its stride, and return to the quality story arcs and story telling that made the first three such fun. Still, it was not enough to wash away the bad taste the first two thirds left in my mouth. I will read the fifth volume, but I'm not looking forward to it as much as I had with the previous instalments.