More recent Wild Cards readers will be pleased to find a partly reconstituted Committee making an appearance, even though it comes across more like a super-powered episode of Friends. Older fans will be cheered slightly to see Father Squid and Croyd Crenson, plus cameos from Jube the walrus, and Carnifex, the Wild Card answer to Wolverine. Sadly, only one of them plays a significant part, and that is shamefully reduced to a plot device. But by far the biggest sin here is that much of Lowdown is little more than a police procedural. As if the writers are embarrassed to be writing about super-powered characters. Switching focus to Jokers and Deuces (the almost Ace powered denizens of Wild Cards history) is not a bad idea. Indeed, there are Jokers and Deuces fully deserving of time in the spotlight. However, when this backdrop plays second fiddle to the Nat police force, the central premise of Wild Cards is shot to pieces. Adding to the confusion is a boring subplot that winds up having almost nothing to do with the main theme. That theme concerns a Joker Fight Club, where kidnapped victims are made to fight to the death. Again, this bristles with possibility, and to be fair there are some exciting set piece scenes, and good individual character development. Unfortunately, these all lead to an ending that is abrupt as a car crash. It resolves very little, crudely terminates an interesting thread about a main player, with little hope of explanation, and then dusts its hands. Two of the more intriguing characters get clobbered with all the subtlety of Ben Grimm suffering a migraine, and Infamous Black Tongue, the main anti-hero of Lowdown, is left out on a limb. Okay, this is the middle book of a trilogy, but that's still no excuse for what happens. Especially in a book edited by a super famous author, and written by award winning contributors. That should be a winning team, but isn't. The writing here borders on insulting the classic era of Wild Cards.

Everything moves on, and there's nothing wrong with attempting to keep a series fresh and current. Yet the editors and writers seem to have forgotten that new characters replacing old favourites must be their equals. If new characters come across as less interesting, depth free and underpowered by comparison, then the brand is weakened. While reading this book I found myself remembering how, as a naive young writer, long before the Internet, I once wrote a fan letter to George R.R. Martin. I was dreaming of submitting my own Wild Card scenario, and thought all I needed to do was make it good enough in order to have it considered. George graciously replied, explaining how Wild Cards was an invitation only club, and being a previously successful writer was a prerequisite. This was fair enough, providing those writers were turning in good stories, full of vim and vigour. For many years they did, resulting in thrilling, complex, character rich novels. Now though, it seems as if some of those in the privileged position of being Wild Cards writers don't really understand what they're writing about, or have much enthusiasm for their task. If it's just a job to them, that's not nearly good enough. Wild Cards has been a success for much longer than Game of Thrones and great things could still be achieved in its current world. But only if there's a will to get back on track. The editors need to remember that quality story-telling, respect for the premise, and passion to write within that framework, should always trump individual fame. As things stand it pains me to see my all-time favourite series slowly bleeding out, and that no one with the power to save it has even noticed.