This is the 28th installment in the decades-long-running series called Wild Cards, not counting e-books or graphic novels. This is the second novel in the British Arc trilogy. The stories and many of the authors are UK-based.  The next numbered novel, #29 Joker Moon, was published before this one (which was sort of weird) and is briefly referred to in this story.

For those of you who have not yet encountered Martin's Wild Cards universe, here's a brief background:  in the 1940s, some aliens decided to use Earth as a proving ground for a virus designed to create super-powered humans.  The virus was released over New York City and can have one of four effects:  mostly normal-appearing but super-powered known as Aces; mostly normal-appearing with a less-than-impressive superpower known as Deuces, a completely non-human, deformed appearance known as Jokers or death by drawing a Black Queen.  A Knave is an Ace who is deformed by the virus.  The stories have followed different groups of characters since the 1940s.  The series is unique in that each story is a composite done by several authors; it is not an anthology, it is a complete novel.

The first book in this trilogy introduced several new characters, all based in the UK.  Once all the origin stories were out of the way, I expected the team to expand a story using them and they didn't disappoint.  This is a short novel, a little disappointing in the page count, but still a satisfying story.

This is a little comparable to a "game of thrones" in that the British throne is vacant with the death of beloved Queen Margaret.  She has two sons, neither of which are particularly suited to rule; Henry and Richard.  Richard is the golden boy of the noble aristocracy; handsome, virile but gay.  He is expected to rule but a jealous husband put paid to that idea; leaving the throne to Henry.  Henry is virulently anti-joker and makes no apologies for his hatred and hard lines drawn.  He is sure to create a UK that is hostile to all Jokers and provoke more violence in the streets; causing untold misery for many innocents.

The two main protagonists are Alan Turing, known as Enigma, and Noel Mathews, known as Double Helix.  Alan is present at the Queen's deathbed when she makes the startling announcement that she doesn't consider either of her sons suitable for the crown and directs Alan to find "the other."  "The other" is, apparently, the son of Margaret's sister, Elizabeth, who ruled before Margaret.  The secret child was born a joker and spirited away before the public could learn of its live birth.  Queen Margaret urges Alan to find the child, now a man, and determine his suitability.  His birthright gives him precedence over Henry for the crown.  With Alan's special gift of processing data, she thinks him the best person to make a determination for the future of Britain.

Noel was a secret agent to the Crown for many years and King Henry assigns him the task of finding this "lost prince" before the public does…and taking care of him.  Noel despises the assignment and his new King but is blackmailed into agreeing when Henry threatens to intercede in his court case for custody of his son…and not in a supportive fashion.  Noel is a teleporter and also inhabits several different bodies; which makes him an excellent secret agent.

The Green Man, formerly Roger Barnes, is the leader of the Twisted Fists; an underground defense league for jokers, prone to demonstrations and the occasional murder.  Green Man learns of the existence of the "lost prince" and determines that he might be part of his organization of Jokers.  After hearing the joker hatred diatribe from their new King Henry, Green Man decides anyone, even a Joker, is a better choice; maybe especially a Joker.

All of this drama, jockeying for power, and the potential for violence is an irresistible lure for Babd, in Ireland.  She's in an old woman body now and definitely needs a regeneration, and soon.  In the turmoil in London, she's sure to find an opportunity to instigate a situation for a Hero to emerge.  Babd requires a Hero's sacrifice in order to regenerate but she has to be close to the Hero when it happens.  With her crows acting as her eyes and ears, she can listen in anywhere, to anyone.  And she uses the information to influence or manipulate the players towards the outcome that she desires; albeit an outcome sure to cause much mayhem and death.

As each of the searchers closes in on identifying the lost prince, they make common cause with each other; knowing that all of them desire the same outcome: a worthy King to unite Britain.  But when Green Man identifies the Joker born to Queen Elizabeth; they are all dismayed that he is such a reprehensible man.  How to choose between him and King Henry…surely this man couldn't have come from Queen Elizabeth…only his DNA will confirm his right to the throne.  No matter what the results of the DNA test, it is only a matter of time before the country blows up into a civil war.

This was a very good plot but the shortness of the book didn't contribute much to character development.  I did enjoy it, nonetheless.  The best characters were an Ace named Constance who has a way with needles and thread, and her partner, Bobbin, a joker born with needles for fingers.  Together they run an elite dressmaking business.  I liked them best but I was fascinated with Babd, a more horrific Ace I don't think we've met yet.  We didn't get much in the way of character development but we did get an upclose view of her ruthlessness.  The end was a bit of a surprise and I was happy for it; even with the trite name chosen for the "lost prince."  It was a bit pat and anticlimactic but it warmed my heart for the Wild Card enterprise.  Keep 'em coming, team, and I'll keep buying them.  ~~ Catherine Book

Contributing authors are:
Mary Anne Mohanraj
Peter Newman
Peadar O Guilin
Melinda M. Snodgrass
Caroline Spector

For more books in the Wild Cards series, click here
For more titles by George R R Martin click here