Jokertown Shuffle

I don't think that anyone blames the authors individually the jumpers are just a terrible story arch. Most of this story is set in a world where a madman released a bomb in 1946 that spawned the Wildcard Virus resulting in "Aces" gifted with superhuman powers and "jokers" cursed with various physical and mental deformities. While most stories are focused primarily on the Aces and the roundabout good they do humanity this one is focused primarily on the character of Hieronymous Bloat. Bloat genuinely concerned about the plight of the jokers and wants to use his mental powers to help. However he also never developed past the mental level of a particularly needy teenager. He quickly becomes a pawn in someone else's game.

Jokertown Shuffle is of similar quality to the last Wild Cards books. We learn more about Bloat and the Rox, and we discover who the man behind the Jumpers is. Dr. Tachyon is still annoying, as he becomes involved with yet another woman, and Blaise is still causing problems. The best part of the book is the mysterious character of Black Shadow getting a star turn, at last. Wild Cards 09 : 01 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 01 - Stephen Leigh Wild Cards 09 : 02 And Hope to Die - John J. Miller Wild Cards 09 : 03 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 02 - Stephen Leigh Wild Cards 09 : 04 Lovers 1 - Melinda M. Snodgrass Wild Cards 09 : 05 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 03 - Stephen Leigh Wild Cards 09 : 06 Lovers 2 - Melinda M. Snodgrass Wild Cards 09 : 07 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 04 - Stephen Leigh Wild Cards 09 : 08 Madman across the Water - Victor Milan Wild Cards 09 : 09 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 05 - Stephen Leigh Wild Cards 09 : 10 Lovers 3 - Melinda M. Snodgrass Wild Cards 09 : 11 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 06 - Stephen Leigh Wild Cards 09 : 12 While Night's Black Agents to Their Preys Do Rouse 1 - Walter Jon Williams Wild Cards 09 : 13 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 07 - Stephen Leigh Wild Cards 09 : 14 Riders - Lewis Shiner Wild Cards 09 : 15 Nobody Does It Alone - Walton Simons Wild Cards 09 : 16 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 08 - Stephen Leigh Wild Cards 09 : 17 Lovers 4 - Melinda M. Snodgrass Wild Cards 09 : 18 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 09 - Stephen Leigh Wild Cards 09 : 19 While Night's Black Agents to Their Preys Do Rouse 2 - Walter Jon Williams Wild Cards 09 : 20 Lovers 5 - Melinda M. Snodgrass Wild Cards 09 : 21 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 10 - Stephen Leigh Wild Cards 09 : 22 Lovers 6 - Melinda M. Snodgrass Wild Cards 09 : 23 The Temptation of Hieronymus Bloat 11 - Stephen Leigh Who is that Bloat guy, anyway? 3.5 out of 5 Brennan and Wraith attacked, Kien Fadeout. 4.5 out of 5 Inner circle looks at the situation. 3.5 out of 5 Docs do it as Blaise descends into Jumper incest crossgender rape. 4 out of 5 Bloat's Walls are shaky. 3 out of 5 Tach discovers gender bladder issues as Blaise continues. 3 out of 5 Latham strategises. 3 out of 5 Drug raids, Rox life, and Trips has to get Flash. 4 out of 5 Durg goes Rox as pressure builds. 3.5 out of 5 Tach pregnant, tad distressed. 3 out of 5 Prime discussions. 3 out of 5 Shadow shakes it, as Sleeper wakes. 4 out of 5 Cage doc. 3 out of 5 Revelations for Veronica and Jerry, sort of secret Aces. 3.5 out of 5 Jerry gets what he wants as he puts his finger on a large part of the problem. 4 out of 5 Gathering of forces. 3 out of 5 Tachyon resistance. 3.5 out of 5 Peanut's death changes Bloat. 3 out of 5 Durg vs Shad as the assault musters. 4 out of 5 Turtles swim better than Takisians. 3.5 out of 5 Bloat rallies as attack begins. 3.5 out of 5 The Turtle has a geometric interv

The other reviews I've read here seem overly harsh to me. The only fantasy I've ever enjoyed was Tolkien, and I'm an avid reader (and critic) of Science Fiction, and I Loved this book, comic book elements and all. Yeah, Tachyon (or, more accurately, Melinda Snodgrass) is getting really boring really quickly, but I thoroughly enjoyed everything else about this book. We are first introduced to Bloat in this book and the events that unfold around him from here on out in the series (the Rox War) I thought were some of the most exciting and well-written of the entire series. I would say this book is well worth the read.