George R.R. Martin is the editor and grand overseer of the long-running sci-fi saga Wild Cards, but he’s only one of several writers who have contributed stories and characters to the novels through the years. Generally speaking, each author is the custodian of his or her own creations. However, not every author is featured in every book. This unique circumstance creates a narrative structure wherein various arcs and plot threads flow in, over, under and around other ones, the directional currents of the narrative decided in part by which writers have or have not contributed to a particular volume.
With roughly thirty novels in the saga, crafted by more than forty different authors over the course of nearly four decades, the narrative latticework that’s now in place has an almost crystalline beauty and complexity. The Wild Cards authors will often end up playing a very long game with the readers, planting seeds early on that can take years to finally flourish. When they do, it’s all the more satisfying for the wait.
Below are some of the most gratifying long-term payoffs in the Wild Cards saga—kept as spoiler-free as possible, of course.
