About the Book San Antonio, home of the Alamo, is also host to the nations top high school jazz competition, and the musicians at Xavier Desmond High are excited to outplay their rivals. They are also jokers, kids with strange abilities and even stranger looks. On top of that, well, they are teenagers, apt for mischief, mishaps, and romantic misunderstandings. Michelle Pond, aka The Amazing Bubbles, thinks that her superhero (and supermom) know-how has prepared her to chaperone the event. But when her students start going wayward, shell soon discover the true meaning of Dont mess with Texas--Dust jacket flap. Book Synopsis Texas Holdem: A Wild Cards Novel is an adventure in the bestselling shared-universe science fiction superhero series, edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin. San Antonio, home of the Alamo, is also host to the nations top high school jazz competition, and the musicians at Xavier Desmond High are excited to outplay their rivals. They are also jokers, kids with strange abilities and even stranger looks. On top of that, well, they are teenagers , apt for mischief, mishaps, and romantic misunderstandings. Michelle Pond, aka The Amazing Bubbles, thinks that her superhero (and supermom) know-how has prepared her to chaperone the event. But when her students start going wayward, shell soon discover the true meaning of Dont mess with Texas. Texas Holdem features the writing talents of David Anthony Durham (Acacia Trilogy), Max Gladstone (the Craft Sequence), Victor Milan (Dinosaur Lords series), Diana Rowland (Kara Gillian and White Trash Zombie series), Walton Simons, Caroline Spector and William F. Wu. The Wild Cards Universe The Original Triad #1 Wild Cards #2 Aces High #3 Jokers Wild The Puppetman Quartet #4: Aces Abroad #5: Down and Dirty #6: Ace in the Hole #7: Dead Mans Hand The Rox Triad #8: One-Eyed Jacks #9: Jokertown Shuffle #10: Dealers Choice #11: Double Solitaire #12: Turn of the Cards The Card Sharks Triad #13: Card Sharks #14: Marked Cards #15: Black Trump #16: Deuces Down #17: Death Draws Five The Committee Triad #18: Inside Straight #19: Busted Flush #20: Suicide Kings The Fort Freak Triad #21: Fort Freak #22: Lowball #23: High Stakes The American Triad #24: Mississippi Roll #25: Low Chicago #26: Texas Hold Em Review Quotes Overall, this collection feels less intense than previous volumes, with more comedic undertones to balance the seriousness, and less darkness in general. With its ensemble cast of returning favorites and intriguing newcomers, its a welcome change of pace, a satisfying palate cleanser before the series begins its next big arc. -- Publishers Weekly Praise for the Wild Cards series Perhaps the most original and provocative of the shared worlds books. --Peter S. Beagle, author of The Last Unicorn Delicious...Everything I hoped for in a new Wild Cards book. The character interactions and plot twists have exactly the complexity, surprise, and unsentimental realism Id expect out of a George R. R. Martin project. --Austin Grossman, author of Soon I Will be Invincible on Inside Straight This is a wild ride of good, blood-pumping fun that packs a surprisingly emotional punch for a book that looks on the surface like just another superhero adventure. -- Publishers Weekly on High Stakes Emotionally powerful. Wild Cards deals up the variety of short fiction without losing the continuity of a novel.-- The Seattle Times A delightfully imaginative speculation.-- The Toronto Star Martin has assembled an impressive array of writers. . . . Progressing through the decades, Wild Cards keeps its momentum to the end. -- Locus The shared-world series known as Wild Cards has had a long and illustrious history of contributors and achievements. -- SciFi.com New readers and fans of the long-running series will both love the fast-paced plotting and the ever-expanding history of the Wild Card virus on this alternate Earth, where even the superheroes are human. -- Shelf Awareness on Lowball Highly recommended. -- SFRevu on Lowball About the Author GEORGE R. R. MARTIN is the author of the acclaimed, internationally bestselling fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, which is the basis for HBOs popular Game of Thrones television series. Martin has won multiple science fiction awards, including four Hugos, two Nebulas, the Bram Stoker, the Locus Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Daedelus, the Balrog, and the Daikon (Japanese Hugo).