What is "wild cards"

n. (wild card English)

Wild Cards is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels written by a collection of thirty authors referred to as the Wild Cards Trust and edited by George R. R. Martin and Melinda M. Snodgrass. Set largely during an alternate history of post- World War II United States, the series follows humans who contracted the Wild Card virus, an alien virus that rewrites DNA and mutates survivors; those who acquire minor or crippling physical conditions are known as Jokers, and those who acquire superhuman abilities are known as Aces.

The series originated from a long-running campaign of the Superworld role-playing game, gamemastered by Martin and involving many of the original authors. The framework of the series was developed by Martin and Snodgrass, including the origin of the characters' superhuman abilities and the card-based terminology.

The first installment, Wild Cards, was released in January 1987 by Bantam Books, and as of November 2014, twenty-two books have been released through four publishers; a forthcoming book is expecting release in August 2016 through Tor Books, while three more volumes are in the work. The series has also been adapted to comics and role-playing games.