So, back to the books... After the first true novel in the series took a detour, it was time to get down to business. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are finally at the concluding novel of the "Rox Triad" with Book Eleven: Dealer's Choice.
While Book Ten dealt with wrapping up Dr. Tachyon's story in space, Book Eleven returns to Earth to deal with the other dangling plot threads. In Books Eight and Nine, the joker terrorist known as Bloat had transformed Ellis Island an independent Joker nationstate known as the Rox. To this end, he had allied himself with the Jumpers, a street gang who had been gifted with ability to steal peoples bodies by the criminal Ace known as Prime. In Dealer's Choice, the US government assembles a group of Aces to invade the Rox and take out Bloat once and for all.As is the case with most story arc finales in Wild Cards, the finale blends multiple perspectives together to tell a single story. The immobile Bloat (written by Stephen Leigh) find himself fighting a war with the outside world just as his ability to literally make his dreams reality begins to spiral out of control. Unfortunately, fighting for his people means allying himself with some unsavory people such as Zelda, a Jumper introduced in previous books, who has returned as that organization's new leader, the psychotic Bodysnatcher (written by George R.R. Martin).
On the other side of the equation, two strike teams of Aces are sent to invade the Rox. The Great and Powerful Turtle (also written by George R.R. Martin) is part of a group of flying Aces sent in from the air while Carnifex (written by John. Jos. Miller) joins another group of Aces on a stealth mission to find Bloat himself. Meanwhile, the android hero Modular Man (written by Walter John Williams) starts off as part of the Turtle's group. However when his creator choses to side with Bloat, Modular Man's programming forces him to defect to the other side. Finally, a third party emerges as the Australian aboriginal ace Wyungare (written by Stephen Bryant) comes to the Rox on a mission to prevent Bloat's increasing powers from going out of control.
As wrap ups go, this ending is better then the "Rox Triad" arguably deserves. By this point, the Rox storyline had gone on for over four books including series low point, Book Nine. I'm pretty sure that at this point, the writers and the readers were both anxious for this storyline to be over.
Of the story threads, the Carnifex thread is the stand-out. The character has appeared since Book Three and, although he is a hero, up to this point in the series his function has mostly been to be manipulated into fighting other heroes. This book takes his perspective for the first time and fleshes him out some. While the character remains the violence-loving fighter of the earlier books, he is also shown to have a sense of morality that he abides by which,. paradoxically makes him one of the more honorable characters in the book.
Book Eleven is permeated with a sense of moral ambiguity. While the heroes of Wild Cards are hardly paragons of virtue, the villains usually compensate for that by being undeniably and irredeemably evil. However, Bloat is merely fighting back against a system that dehumanizes and degrades people like him. On the other hand, the book doesn't let him off the hook completely, pointing out that Bloat and his allies have harmed innocent people and left a large body count in their wake. Even relatively traditional heroes like the Turtle wind up crossing moral lines in this story and more outright evil characters like the Bodysnatcher are given sympathetic moments.
In keeping with this theme, while Bloat and his cohorts are the main "antagonists", it becomes clear that there's a greater evil hiding in the shadows.Various government official and powerful men begin showing an unusual interest in the proceedings. As it turns out, the true villains aren't super-powered terrorists like Bloat and his colleagues but rather seemingly ordinary men who use power and privilege to harm the powerless. (Actually come, to think of it, this part of the book has aged really well).
As to what doesn't work, there are, of course, plot threads that are never paid off in later books. Furthermore, a subplot where various mystic Aces attempt to stop Bloat doesn't really work. Mostly, this is done to justify Wyungare's involvement in the plot. This is unfortunate, because Wyungare is really not that interesting. His role is giving the other characters sage advice and helping them out of tight spots. The character has no agency of his own which is a little problematic. Also, I'd like to point out that having Buddy Holly be a) alive and b) one of the mystic Aces is just kind of weird and off putting.
Overall, this book is the best part of a bad storyline. Lest I be seen as damning with faint praise, I should clarify that even on its own, it's a good book, and taken as the end of a trilogy, it does its job admirability. I just find myself wishing that the buildup was worth the payoff.
Addenda: One of the new aces introduced in this book is Cameo, an ace medium who can channel the spirit and personality of dead Aces. Another new hero that is introduced it Legion, an Ace with a single consciousness and multiple bodies. Important government officials like George G. Battle (a thinly veiled version of G. Gordon Liddy), Dr. Pan Rudo and others offer assistance to the Aces in their fight against Bloat but are implied to be serving their own agenda. Mr. Nobody from Books Eight and Nine reappears, having apparently become a private detective since we last saw him.
