Wild Cards V: Down and Dirty

By: George R. R. Martin

Narrated by: Various

Let the secret history of the world be told-of the alien virus that struck Earth after World War II, and of the handful of the survivors who found they now possessed superhuman powers. Some were called Aces, endowed with powerful mental and physical prowess. The others were Jokers, tormented by bizarre mind or body disfigurements. Some served humanity. Others caused terror. And now, forty years later, as a gang war between the Shadow Fists and the mafia rages out of control in the streets of Jokertown, Aces and Jokers go underground--to wage their own war against the powers of the netherworld.

Here, in the fifth volume of the exciting series, ten of science fiction's most gifted writers take readers on a journey of wonder and excitement in an astounding alternate history.

Featuring the talents of John J. Miller, Roger Zelazny, Leanne C. Harper, Arthur Byron Cover, Melina C. Snodgrass, Edward Bryant, Stephen Leigh, Pat Cadigan, Walter Jon Williams, and George R. R. Martin.

Read by a full cast of narrators:
Raphael Sbarge
Sean Astin
Roy Dotrice
Lina Esco
Ray Porter
Scott Brick
Jake Weber
Adrian Paul
Felicia Day
Erin Bennett
Yasmeen Barghouty
Jordan Prentice
Clancy Brown
Stephen McHattie
Emily Rankin

You won't regret it!!

These mosaic novels with their All Star casts are incredible, just makes you want to jump straight to the next one. You won't be disappointed.

is this the end?

I am sad that I don't see anymore audio books in the series. I have really enjoyed the adventures and hope to find out more about the story. loved it

A solid gritty story of a superhero fiction

Would you listen to Wild Cards V: Down and Dirty again? Why?

This is my second read.

What did you like best about this story?

The gang war is excellent and well constructed. There is a fictional concert involving Buddy Holly,U2, Bruce Springsteen, and a range of the other artists. That section is remarkably satisfying.

What three words best describe the narrators’s performance?

Largely pretty good

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

A couple of the Narrators were better than others, but overall I enjoyed it. This is not my favorite Wildcard book, but the parts that hit well are on par with the best of the series.

The ideas were cool...

Yikes. Some writers are MUCH better than others, but to put the ones that suck right before or after the better ones made it much worse. Super cool concepts but just not quite there on the execution. And some of the narrators were painful to listen to.

A little herky jerky but still a fine listen

Book 5 moves the stories along nicely but Martin, admittedly, has editing issues. I fly thru it and really looking forward to book 6 wrapping up the main story lines.