George R. R. Martin presents Wild Cards: Pairing up : tales of love & lust from the world of the Wild Cards

Superheroes and villains do battle over the human heart in this delightful anthology featuring all-new stories from a wide range of contributors, all set in the Wild Cards universe, where an alien virus mutates some and grants superpowers to others, created by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Thrones. An alien virus ravages the world, its results as random as a hand of cards. Those infected either draw the black queen and die, draw an ace and receive superpowers, or draw the joker and are bizarrely mutated.Nevertheless, human nature reigns supreme. And one of the most enduring human drives is the search for love. Aces and jokers alike both want to find it, or have lost it . . . or perhaps just want to use it for personal gain. Crazy, unconventional, touching, strange, and oh-so-familiar, this is love, Wild Cards-style.Within these stories: • A jewel thief seduces a popular actor just so she can track down a long-lost treasure. • A teenager trapped in the body of a giant snail attempts to win his love à la Cyrano de Bergerac. • A man discovers his purpose in life after meeting a beautiful butterfly woman. • A young hero who has been awarded the hideous name of Hero McHeroface finds some solace in the arms of an astrologer hiding her own unique powers.Pairing Up is the Wild Cards take on love—finding it, seeking it, losing it, or achieving it—as aces and jokers enter into the highest stake game of all: gambling on their heart's desire.Featuring stories from: Kevin Andrew Murphy • Christopher Rowe • Marko Kloos • Melinda M. Snodgrass • Bradley Denton • Walton Simons • Peter Newman • Gwenda Bond • David Anthony Durham • Edited by George R. R. Martin Superheroes and villains do battle over the human heart in this delightful anthology featuring all-new stories from a wide range of contributors, all set in the Wild Cards universe, where an alien virus mutates some and grants superpowers to others, created by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Thrones . An alien virus ravages the world, its results as random as a hand of cards. Those infected either draw the black queen and die, draw an ace and receive superpowers, or draw the joker and are bizarrely mutated. Nevertheless, human nature reigns supreme. And one of the most enduring human drives is the search for love. Aces and jokers alike both want to find it, or have lost it . . . or perhaps just want to use it for personal gain. Crazy, unconventional, touching, strange, and oh-so-familiar, this is love, Wild Cards-style. Within these stories: • A jewel thief seduces a popular actor just so she can track down a long-lost treasure. • A teenager trapped in the body of a giant snail attempts to win his love à la Cyrano de Bergerac. • A man discovers his purpose in life after meeting a beautiful butterfly woman. • A young hero who has been awarded the hideous name of Hero McHeroface finds some solace in the arms of an astrologer hiding her own unique powers. Pairing Up is the Wild Cards take on love—finding it, seeking it, losing it, or achieving it—as aces and jokers enter into the highest-stake game of all: gambling on their heart's desire. With stories by Kevin Andrew Murphy • Christopher Rowe • Marko Kloos • Melinda M. Snodgrass • Bradley Denton • Walton Simons • Peter Newman • Gwenda Bond • David Anthony Durham • Edited by George R. R. Martin Superheroes and villains battle over the human heart in this delightful anthology featuring brand-new stories from a wide range of contributors, all set in the Wild Cards universe, where an alien virus mutates some and grants superpowers to others, created by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Thrones . An alien virus ravages the world, its results as random as a hand of cards. Those infected either draw the black queen and die, draw an ace and receive superpowers, or draw the joker and are bizarrely mutated. Nevertheless, human nature reigns supreme. And one of the most enduring human drives is the search for love. Aces and jokers alike both want to find it, or have lost it . . . or perhaps just want to use it for personal gain. Within these stories, you will find love, Wild Cards-style: crazy, unconventional, touching, strange, and oh-so-familiar. Among these tales are: - a jewel thief seduces a popular actor just so she can track down a long-lost treasure - a teenager trapped in the body of a giant snail attempts to win his love la Cyrano de Bergerac - a man discovers his purpose in life after meeting a beautiful butterfly woman - a young hero who has been awarded the hideous name of Hero McHeroface finds some solace in the arms of an astrologer hiding her own unique powers Pairing Up is the Wild Cards take on love--finding it, seeking it, losing it, or achieving it--as aces and jokers enter into the highest stake game of all: gambling on their heart's desire. "An alien virus ravages the world, its results as random as a hand of cards. Those infected either draw the black queen and die, draw and ace and receive superpowers, or draw the joker and are bizarrely mutated. Nevertheless, human nature reigns supreme. And one fo the most enduring human drives is the search for love. Aces and jokers alike both want to find it, or have lost it...or perhaps just want to use it for personal gain. Within these stories, you will find love, Wild Cards style-crazy, unconventional, touching, strange, and oh-so-familiar. Here we have a jewel thief who seduces a popular actor just so she can track down a long-lost treasure; a teenager trapped in the body of giant snail who attempts to win his love Cyrano de Bergerac style; a fierce bodyguard whose romance at an isolated resort takes an unexpected turn; a police detective with PTSD who finds healing in an unlikely place; a young roadie whose vacation crush is the woman sent to protect him; an older man reflecting back on his great lost love; a man who discovers his purpose in life after meeting a beautiful butterfly woman; and a young hero who has been awarded the hideous name of Hero McHeroface finding some solace in the arms of a beautiful astrologer. Pairing Up is the Wild Cards take on love-finding it, seeking it, losing it, or achieving it-as aces and jokers enter into the highest stake game of all: gambling on their heart's desire"-- Provided by publisher