The Button Man and the Murder Tree

Wild Cards #21.3

by Cherie Priest

George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards multi-author shared-world universe has been thrilling readers for over 25 years. Now, in addition to overseeing the ongoing publication of new Wild Cards books (like 2011's Fort Freak), Martin is also commissioning and editing new Wild Cards stories for publication on Tor.com. In Cherie Priest's "The Button Man and the Murder Tree," it's Chicago in 1971, and Raul is a button man -- a professional ender of lives that the Mob needs ended. But something's odd about his most recent assignments. And then there are those mushrooms growing out of his skin...

At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Urban Fantasy, Fiction, Superheroes, 21st Century

32 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 15, 2013

About the author

Cherie Priest is the author of about thirty books and novellas, most recently the modern gothics It Was Her House First, The Drowning House, and Cinderwich. She's also the author of the Booking Agents mysteries, horror projects The Toll and The Family Plot – and the hit YA graphic novel mash-ups I Am Princess X and its follow up, The Agony House. But she is perhaps best known for the steampunk pulp adventures of the Clockwork Century, beginning with Boneshaker. She has been nominated for the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award, and the Locus award – which she won with Boneshaker.

Cherie has also written a number of urban fantasy titles, and composed pieces (large and small) for George R. R. Martin’s shared world universe, the Wild Cards. Her short stories and nonfiction articles have appeared in such fine publications as Weird Tales, Publishers Weekly, and numerous anthologies – and her books have been translated into nine languages in eleven countries.

Although she was born in Florida on the day Jimmy Hoffa disappeared, for the last twenty years Cherie has largely divided her time between Chattanooga, TN, and Seattle, WA – where she presently lives with her husband and a menagerie of exceedingly photogenic pets.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

He started at his wrists, since those growths had blossomed first, and were largest. He pruned them one by one, scraping the blade along the clustered stalks. They popped free and dropped into the steel waste bin with a spongy little ping that made his teeth itch. Some as small as his pinky nail. Some the size of his thumb. Brown-capped or gray, with creamy undersides and speckles.

Perfect, round mushrooms. Dozens of them. Hundreds, maybe—if he gave them another hour in the dark, and the sun wouldn’t be up for another six hours if he was lucky.

They were less trouble from dawn ’til dusk, and less prolific when he kept his skin dry. That much Raul knew. He was still learning what worked and what didn’t, but the truth was more horrible every day: He couldn’t stop them. He couldn’t manage them. He could only hide them.

He’d drawn a card, and it’d turned. Simple as a noose.

now that alan brennert has given me an "in" to the wild cards universe with Skin Deep, i'm FINALLY able to go back and appreciate all the wild cards stories tor has so generously posted on their site over the years.

like this excellent piece of noirish urban fantasy.

i'm not wild-cards-savvy enough to know whether this featured character; a hit man whose body inconveniently sprouts mushrooms, is a known entity within the world, or a one-and-done for this piece, but i do know that it's a sharp-glinting, world-weary firecracker of a story and it doesn't require too much background to enjoy. cherie priest has written a number of wild cards stories, and if they're all as good as this one, i really have been missing out all these years.

i'm looking forward to making up for lost time and reading the rest of the wild cards stories as i continue to celebrate my years-long love affair with these free tor shorts.



read it for yourself here:

https://www.tor.com/2013/05/15/the-bu...

come to my blog!!

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A free short story from Tor.Com, available HERE.

This is a short story as a part of the Wild Card series, championed by GRR Martin, but written by various authors. Of course, late to the party I knew nothing about this series, and didn't poke about to find out until after I had read this story.

There is no doubt that it reads as a part of a larger story, but with enough hints as to the background so that it still makes sense to the reader. Set in 1971 Chicago, the story is atmospheric and our protagonist is a hitman for the mafia, but he has a secret that is worrying him - he is growing some kind of mushrooms on his arms and shoulders!

As the story unwinds, we learn how Raul with his mushrooms fits into the larger plot, as he finds out about secrets his targets have been keeping - secrets which link the targets to the hitman.

Beside the toilet squatted a knee-high trash can. He picked it up and set it on the sink’s edge, then reached inside his limp jacket for the inner pocket, and pulled out a switchblade. As quickly as he dared, he sliced the bubbling lesions away.

He started at his wrists, since those growths had blossomed first, and were largest. He pruned them one by one, scraping the blade along the clustered stalks. They popped free and dropped into the steel waste bin with a spongy little ping that made his teeth itch. Some as small as his pinky nail. Some the size of his thumb. Brown-capped or gray, with creamy undersides and speckles.

4 stars

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Update** Well this is probably a first for me - dropping a review by a star after re-reading it. Well I guess there is always a first for everything - and I have to say that if I can drop a star now I am sure I can raise it up again later.

But why the reaction - well I think its because I have been reading a number of these short stories from the Wild Cards recently and now I have a better context to rate them in as well as a better understanding of the universe (although far from ideal) that they are based in.

I think for me the real point I pick up and take away is that this really has under-currents of something more than the surface story (its really tricky to explain without spoilers) but really this story feels like a pre-cursor to something more - either with the characters or the ramifications of that is going on. We shall see as I feel I have to read a lot more of the books now!


This is another short story from the Wild Card universe - and this shows for me another aspect that makes the Wild Cards so fascinating and fun to read- its not just the scope of the stories - (they range from the late 40s when the virus was first unleashed right up to modern day) but also they encompass a whole range of story styles and genres - in this case of this one for me the pulp crime thriller- the gumshoe story at its best but obviously a Wild Card twist

[ᴥ Irena ᴥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Cherie Priest's books and short stories. Whether it is urban fantasy, steampunk, horror, it doesn't matter. They are all great.
The Button Man and the Murder Tree is a weird little creepy story featuring a Mafia assassin. He has a bit of a personal problem - mushrooms are growing all over his body. He hasn't got a clue why.
At the same time, someone is posting the names of the next mark on the Murder Tree. He will soon find out what they all have in common.

You can read it here

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 very imaginative, creepy little story. I’d be interested if this was more fully fleshed out into a book or even a follow up story on Raul. Might have to bump up the series by this author on my tbr shelf.

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hit man for the Chicago mob begins to recognise a pattern in the list of people he's been hired to eliminate.

An interesting thriller, tightly told, with a good examination of the Wild Card virus' problematic effects on the 'Jokers'.

[Anniken Haga · Rating 3 out of 5]

(A little arg because my Kindle marked it as finished before I got around to writing a review. I turned that thing off all the time, but it never stay off. ARG!)

But yeah, back to the novella.
I haven't read any of the other Wild Card stories before - I don't even know what it is for sure - but I picked up this in my quest to read all of Cherie Priest's works.

This novella follows a hit man in old style Chicago, after he has drawn a Joker - which I figure was a deck people could draw from, and those drawing Jokers get changed.

I don't know what I can really say about this without spoiling anything, but it was an OK and fast enough read to distract me while getting a new tattoo. So recommended for that.
Like many other short stories, however, I felt it fell a little short, as there is just so much you can develop in 30 pages, and also because I guess this world has been growing with other authors contributions as well over the years.

[Boadicea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fungus The Hitman!

[Zedsdead · Rating 4 out of 5]

A day in the life of mob killer the Button Man from Fort Freak, back in the 70s after his card turned but before he'd moved to NY.

This was interesting. It showcases the pervasive, rabid anti-jokerism that existed before New York became a sort of safe haven for jokers. And it expands a bit on a minor character from an earlier story.

I don't really get the murder tree though. Setup for a future story, perhaps?


https://www.tor.com/2013/05/15/the-bu...

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm stepping into the Wild Cards universe with this story. This is equal parts exciting and a little terrifying. Here goes...

I love the dark, noir-ish feel of this world. It's one of those places where anything is possible and the stranger it is, the more likely you are to end up seeing it. While it took me a while to figure out what the "Jokers" were, once that clicked, everything made a creepy, startling sense.

Raul's malady/affliction/whatever it's considered is horrifying in itself. His job doesn't leave room for mistakes and his mushrooms don't stop growing while he's out doing the business he's been sent to do. When he starts looking a little more closely into the people he's being sent to end, fast growing mushrooms on his skin seem like the least of his worries.

For a first foray into this series, I'm going to call it a win. Not only did I enjoy the story, I'm very, very intrigued by the world in general and the craziness that springs from it.

-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Wild Cards story, and this one feels very Jeff Vandermeer-ish because of the noir and fungus connection. As always, the world is place in which some people suffer from genetic mutations (that usually give you superpowers), and our protagonist starts growing mushrooms (on himself, of course, not in a garden). Knowing absolutely nothing about the Wild Cards universe, it seems like this is at an early point in the canon, when the laws and reactions are just starting to turn against the "jokers", though this particular story doesn't really fall into the discrimination allegory one would expect as our protagonist is a hired killer. In any case, it's intriguing and I really do need to get my hands on some of the larger works.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not the world's biggest Cherie Priest fan but I liked the flavor of The Button Man and the Murder Tree. It's a very noirish story and it was perfect for a Friday evening read.

[Jamie Revell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story about a hitman suffering from a recently-acquired Joker deformity, this is a well-written story with some strong imagery. But there's not much more to it than that, with the story retreading familiar ground about anti-Joker prejudice and lacking in resolution. Being set in the early '70s it's unlikely to have any relevance elsewhere in the series, either. Yes, it's well done, but it comes across as filler.

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Stuart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Cherie Priest. I love Wild Cards shared-world books. Kind of a no-brainer.

[Costin Manda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short and nothing much happens, but it's well written describing the rise of joker-hate in all layers of society.

[Engrossed Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very good
Made me want to dive back into The Wild Care series.

[Barry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wild Cards and it was okay

[Jasper · Rating 4 out of 5]

originally posted at: http://thebookplank.blogspot.com/2014...

Cherie Priest is an author that I have gotten familiar with by her The Clockwork Century series a steampunk / alternate history zombie mash-up, I still have to read the last book though. With this series, Cherie Priest has marked herself to be an author to watch out for; she knows how to write her characters and has a creative imagination. It's only natural that she was given a spot amongst the ranks of the Wild Card Trust. Her first appearance was in Fort Freak, also the first book in the Wild Card Universe that set with the focus on the Jokers. The Button Man and the Murder Tree is linked to some events of Fort Freak.

The story of The Button Man and the Murder Tree takes the reader back to the Chicago of 1971, when it is still ruled by mobsters wearing fedora styled hats. Here we are introduced to Raul, a button man which is better to be known as an assassin - hitman on call. He is on a current assignment of getting rid of Sammy who thought to be smarter than Moe Shapiro, the Mobster who send Raul to do the dirty work. When Raul is laying the final touches, odd things once again start to happen to him, things start to grow on him, on his chest and on his wrist. Raul doesn't really know what to do with them and just gets out his blade and gently cuts them off his skin... With his job to off Sammy finished, Raul finds himself back at the base of the Murder Tree or as he calls it the Deadman's Tree ready for another assignment. The new target Harriet O'Dwyer, raises some questions for Raul, why is she on the list? He asks his friends and later when he has a face-to-face with Moe there is a debriefing on Sammy and a briefing on the new target Harriet. But for Raul a job is still a job and he sets out to look for Harriet. This is the part where the story takes a turn for the interesting. Harriet is found dead in a tub and when Raul comes closer to inspection... he finds out that Harriet has "pulled" a card as well an she didn't become an ace. Now reflecting on the previous events, Raul starts to add two and two together... and not for the better for Raul.


In the light of all the Wild Cards stories featuring aces with very cool powers, this joker themed story added a great new perspective. The Button Man and the Murder Tree is a short story with only 32 pages in ebook format, but it is quite a ride. As I mentioned above there are two things that Cherie Priest does well building characters and building the setting. Within these few pages, Cherie Priest managed to flesh out Raul's character in quite the detail, he isn't only a button man but he has to deal with the turning of his own card as well and when several things come to surface it doesn't make handling it any easier.


The world of Chicago in the 1970's feel dark and gritty, just as you would have wanted to see a Mobster filled world, it's has this classic noir feeling. Even though the story is contained to only a few locations, just as with the characters, Cherie Priest does a great job with embodiying just the right feeling to raise some goosebumps on your arms. But the question does remain, is this a worthy addition to the Wild Cards series, YES it is, especially when you read the story of Fort Freak! Cherie Priest, in my opinion, may write plenty of more Wild Cards stories, this is just how they should be.

Read the original story on Tor.com here

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great addition to the back story of the Button Man, a character we meet in, Fort Freak, but get little or no feeling for his earlier career as a hit man.
If you never read, Fort Freak, it doesn't spoil your enjoyment of this tidy little psychodrama of a tale. And of course I would say this is more a story for someone already immersed in the world of the, Wild Cards books, rather than someone thinking about checking them out. To appreciate the tension and angst of the Joker underworld and its Nat counterpart it is necessary to know the history of that underworld and its connection to the Mob.
But as I said, for people already living in, George R.R. Martin’s, Wild Cards Universe it is a great story to check out.

[Tac Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story set in the world of Wild Cards by George R.R. Martin. I haven't read Wild Cards but am a fan of Cherie Priest so I decided to check it out. There's not a lot of backstory in the short story about how the Jokers came to be, but the story works without it and I assume that if you've read the book, it makes even more sense. If you're a fan of either the Wild Cards world or Cherie Priest (or both) you'll probably enjoy this story.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gross, but good story. This is the story of a mobster hit man, who happens to have mushrooms growing out of his body at random. This story is part of George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards series.

I am a big fan of Cherie Priest's work. This story sets up a great scenario, and leaves me wanting more. This story is written in a very vivid way, and when the main character is lopping mushrooms off his body with a switchblade, I was thoroughly grossed out.

Fun, fast and gross. Highly recommended.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Button Man and the Murder Tree (ebook)
by Cherie Priest
The Wild Cards virus has changes the world, it changed the universe. The Button man is a hit man, but the virus has not left him in peace. As he completes his missions he finds that their are plots between the powers that be. The recent contracts he has been doing shows the depth of the controversy. This book looks into the motivations of the survivors and those who are afraid of the circumstances of great powers shared.

[Kimikimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Tor.com short story.

This book takes too long to get to the point of the story, but I think that was kind of on purpose? Anyway I guess it's part of a larger story arc because a lot of terminology and world building stuff isn't really explained. I feel like I would have liked it better if I'd read something else set in this place first.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first Wild Cards story I've read (yeah, late to the game I know), and also my introduction to Cherie Priest. I am officially a fan of both now, and will be acquiring everything I can from them.

Thanks to TOR for making this story available, to Cherie Priest for being an amazing author, and of course Mr. Martin for putting it all together way back when.

[Adam Shaeffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another nice glimpse into the Wild Cards universe. Combined with Daniel Abraham's "When We Were Heroes," Tor.com has given plenty of reasons to check out the full length books GRRM and friends are producing.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-done, and only slightly tacky (for a noir story and even so it might just be me being picky). Visually (and olfactory) satisfying. Note that I am not saying [i]pleasant[/i] because it really isn't. Most of the time.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ms. Priest has a knack for the short story. I'd like to know more of Raul.

[Karyn Kar Mun (Thy Evil Queen) · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've seen the cover and read the blurb, you know what to expect, and it's gross.

Grosssssss.

I'm going to put Wild Cards series (specifically, Fort Freak) into my to-read list now :D

[Ceola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in 2011
It was a short story within george martin's wildcard multi author universe