After the concluding events of Lowball, Officer Francis Black of Fort Freak, vigilante joker Marcus 'The Infamous Black Tongue' Morgan, and ace thief Mollie 'Tesseract' Steunenberg get stuck in Talas, Kazakhstan. There, the coldblooded Baba Yaga forces jokers into an illegal fighting ring, but her hidden agenda is much darker: her fighters' deaths serve to placate a vicious monster from another dimension. When the last line of defense against this world weakens, all hell breaks loose, literally....
The Committee in New York sends a team of aces to investigate. One by one, each falls victim to evil forces - including the dark impulses within themselves. Only the perseverance of the most unlikely of heroes has a chance of saving the world before utter chaos erupts on Earth.
Edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin, HIGH STAKES features the writing talents of Melinda M. Snodgrass, John Jos. Miller, David Anthony Durham, Caroline Spector, Stephen Leigh and Ian Tregillis.
Now in development for TV: rights to develop WILD CARDS for TV have been acquired by Universal Cable Productions, the team that brought you The Magicians and Mr. Robot, with the co-editor of WILD CARDS, Melinda Snodgrass as executive producer.
Read MoreThis exhilarating 23rd collaborative novel in the Wild Cards series . . . 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 WeeklyThe shared-world series known as Wild Cards has had a long and illustrious history of contributors and achievements - SciFi.comEminently readable, and stands alone well, this has laugh out loud moments, pathos and action aplenty to please even the most discerning of readers [LOWBALL review] - British Fantasy SocietyLowball for me is a winner through and through, I have been counting down the days until there would be another full length book released and I devoured it in one sitting. The characters are memorable and the setting of the story is continuing to give a certain uniqueness. Even though the series has been going on for twenty-two books so far, there is never a dull moment to be found . . . I just cannot get enough of the Wild Cards universe. High quality and should be on everyones reading list . . . Bring on the next please! - The Book Plank