The latest volume in the Wild Cards saga has been published by Tor Books. Busted Flush, the second book in the Committe triad, includes "Political Science," a story co-authored by Ian Tregillis and Bud. Among the new characters is Drake Thomas, aka Little Fat Boy, Bud's most recent addition to the Wild Cards universe.

The challenges faced by Committee members this time around include hurricanes, a fuel shortage, genocide in Nigeria, and a mysterious nuclear explosion in Texas.

The American Hero website is live. Visitors can view a wealth of new material by Wild Cards authors, which will be regularly updated, related to the aces-on-aces competition featured in Inside Straight, now on sale from Tor books.

The unpleasant-looking fellow on the left is Bud's creation Joe Twitch, one of eight members of team Diamonds, who hopes to be the last one standing. Think he has a chance?

Busted Flush, the second in the trilogy of new Wild Cards mosaic novels that began with Inside Straight (out this January at a bookstore near you), and the nineteenth volume of the overall series, has been completed and delivered to editor Patrick Nielsen Hayden at Tor. The book is scheduled to be published in late 2008.

To promote the publication of Inside Straight, the first volume in the new Wild Cards triad, Tor Books has launched a Wild Cards website. Vistors can check out author bios, interviews, character sketches, and much more. Inside Straight is set for publication in January 2008. Read an excerpt here.

The following text is an excerpt from Deuces Down and is copyright © 2002 by George R.R. Martin and the Wild Card Trust.

That the Wild Cards series is still alive and kicking after over 15 years might be a surprise to some, but not to me. Then again, I'm the creator of James Spector, aka Demise, who died from the Wild Card virus but still managed to stay alive long enough to wreak havoc through several volumes of the series. The book you're getting ready to read, Deuces Down, is not only the first new Wild Card opus in quite some time but also proof that the story ideas and concepts nurtured by the series' writers have a way of coming to fruition eventually.