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Unfettered

(Unfettered #1)

Shawn Speakman (Goodreads Author) (Editor),

Robert Jordan (Contributor),

Patrick Rothfuss (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

Terry Brooks (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

Brandon Sanderson (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

Jacqueline Carey (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

Tad Williams (Goodreads Author) (Contributor),

R.A. Salvatore (Contributor),

more…

3.80 · Rating details · 5,227 ratings · 469 reviews

You define life or it defines you.

In Shawn Speakman’s case, it was both.

Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hogdkin’s lymphoma in 2011, Shawn quickly accrued a massive medical debt that he did not have the ability to pay. That’s when New York Times best-selling author Terry Brooks offered to donate a short story Shawn could sell toward alleviating those bills—and s ...more

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Hardcover, 574 pages

Published June 21st 2013 by Grim Oak Press

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· 5,227 ratings · 469 reviews

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Oct 08, 2012 Patrick added it · (Review from the author)

Shelves: books-i-would-blurb

Over the last couple weeks, people have been asking me about this anthology, where my first-ever short story published.

But I can't write an honest review of it yet, as I haven't had a chance to read it all the way through.

I can say that what I've read so far, I've really liked.

In addition to that, I did write the introduction to the book, and since that explains what the anthology is all about, I'm going to put that up here so people can see it.

* * *

Can I be honest here? I don't read forewor ...more

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Oct 01, 2012 Michael rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

Shelves: fantasy, short-story, anthologies-i-ve-contributed-to

Yes, I have a story in this anthology so my rating comes from all stories except "The Jester" - I'll leave it to others to say how well I did on that particular piece. I am going to provide the brief intro to my piece, though, in the hopes that finding out what my story is about will help others take a look.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The characters of Royce and Hadrian came to me during my self-imposed ten-year hiatus from writing. After crafti ...more

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Jun 24, 2013 Shawn Speakman rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

I admit it.

I'm biased.

I think Unfettered is more badass than Patrick Rothfuss's beard.

That said, I am a fantasy fan first. I always will be. And I am perhaps even more judgmental of projects that I am working on than those I'm not. So when I say Unfettered is a solid fantasy anthology and deserves to be read, I mean it.

There are several short stories in here that should be nominated for Hugo Awards. No joke. And the rest are solid entries. There are two I'd love to see grown into full length nov ...more

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Oct 10, 2013 Evgeny rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

This is an anthology of short stories taking place in well-knows fantasy series. I will update my review as I read more stories, but for now this is only a partial one.

River of Souls. Series: Wheel of Time, Author: Brandon Sanderson. I admit this was the main attraction for me. The whole story is a big spoiler for something which is revealed in the last book of the huge series, so even the slightest hint on the plot would contain some. I will try to at least minimize them and just mention that This is an anthology of short stories taking place in well-knows fantasy series. I will update my review as I read more stories, but for now this is only a partial one.

River of Souls. Series: Wheel of Time, Author: Brandon Sanderson. I admit this was the main attraction for me. The whole story is a big spoiler for something which is revealed in the last book of the huge series, so even the slightest hint on the plot would contain some. I will try to at least minimize them and just mention that it gives a glimpse on the answer to the question which bothered the fans of the series since book 6: what the heck was Demandred up to?

I already mentioned spoilers. The only appropriate time to read the story is after you finish the main series. It cannot even be read right before the last book. I need to mention something else: this is not a canon story. Jordan said several times that he will not write anything related to the subject it deals with. Sanderson decided the subject needs some explanation, so he wrote this part. According to late Jordan's wishes it was cut off the main books, but it made its way to the anthology. For the fans of the series who have read everything else it provides a nice if short last journey into the world build by Robert Jordan.

3.5 stars.

The Jester. Series: Riyria Revelations, Author: Michael J. Sullivan. ~~The dynamic duo~~, I mean ~~Riyria~~, I mean Hadrian and Royce undertook a job to recover a hidden treasure of late royal jester who also happened to be a dwarf. All they need to do is overcome lots and lots of obstacles in form of monsters and traps.

The biggest and the only weakness of the story it its length: it is way too short. We are dumped in the middle of the action right when the party is being chased by a monster. I would love for this tale to start at least from the beginning of journey. Still the dynamics between two main heroes which made the series is present as well as some humor.

3.5 stars.

Despite the average rating for the stories I reviews I will round it up just out of respect for both series: 4 stars. ...more

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Apr 27, 2017 Markus rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017, fantasy

This was a rather enjoyable anthology. I read some stories, skimmed others and skipped some. I might go back and read/re-read some of these in the future, but for now, here are individual ratings of the ones I did read.

Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks: 3 stars
How Old Holly Came To Be by Patrick Rothfuss: 2 stars
The Old Scale Game by Tad Williams: 2 stars
The Martyr of the Roses by Jacqueline Carey: 4 stars
Mudboy by Peter V. Brett: 3 stars
Select Mode by Mark Lawrence: 4 stars
River of Souls by Rob ...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Mark Lawrence marked it as to-read · (Review from the author)

Well I've yet to read any of the stories except mine ... but mine's off the hook :D go buy this!

http://grimoakpress.com/2012/08/unfet...

Apparently the leather-bound + signed by all the author copies went in a hurry but you can still snag a fine trade edition.

I expect some of those other guys are ok too... ...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Brandon Zarzyczny rated it it was amazing

I've started reading this short story collection, and so far I'm definitely enjoying it. I'll keep updating my review as I progress through it.

- Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks => I really enjoyed this story, it's very well written and I liked the combination of the two worlds, with how each fantastical adventure was preceded by a hit on the head. It made for an interesting story, where you could view it as all in the kid's imagination, or that it was real. The whole brain cancer (or whatev ...more

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Jan 13, 2015 Andreas rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2015, reviewed, fantasy

★

Meta: ISFDB, edited by Shawn Speakman

Dozois praised this anthology to be one of the year's best. The author list is impressing as well, any hard core fan of Brooks, Rothfuss, Williams etc. would probably order it instantly. Especially knowing that it is a kind of charity where authors donated stories to help the editor out of financial debts imposed by his medical situation, treating cancer. This alone is a curiosity for my cultural background: Here in Germany, everyone has health insurance, no ...more

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Jul 24, 2014 Kaitlin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is an Anthology put together by Shawn Speakman in order to help to pay off his medical bills which came after getting cancer for the second time. Due to being a cancer survivor before he was unable to get insurance and is now very much in need of financial help. All of the stories were donated by various authors and there were no restraints put on what they could include and write about.
It's hard to rate the book as a whole because there are such a mix of authors, stories, lengths and genre ...more

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Jul 06, 2013 Mike rated it it was amazing

The editor of this Anthology, Shawn Speakman, was diagnosed with cancer in 2011. Because he had no health insurance, Terry Brooks offered to give him a short story to help defray the medical costs. He also told Shawn that he should ask other authors to contribute to as well. This book is what came of that.

Most of the stories are very good, with a few that are outstanding, and only 1 or 2 were duds. Here is a list of the stories, and what I thought about them.

Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks ...more

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May 31, 2013 Cyn Armistead rated it it was amazing

What a wonderful anthology! I have fallen off on reading collections lately, but I am such a total Kevin Hearne fangirl that I started looking for this one as soon as he mentioned it on Facebook. I bought it as soon as I heard of its release, and womanfully resisted skipping straight to the Iron Druid story.

I truly enjoyed most of the stories included. I did just stop reading the baseball story when I realized that it was horror, and skipped over "Dogs" for the same reason. Terry Brooks' piece d ...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Eric rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Fantasy fans

Shelves: fantasy, signed, short-stories

All in all, I found the quality of the stories I read to be excellent and would definitely highly recommend this anthology. The stories I read from this collection are:

'Imaginary Friends' by Terry Brooks

This story about a boy defeating a mythical manifestation of his own cancer functions not only as a good opening story, introducing the anthology and hinting at the kind of material it features, but also as a nod to the purpose behind it, as the stories in this anthology were all donated by the ...more

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Jul 12, 2013 Matt LeFevers rated it really liked it

I'm assuredly not the only person who bought this anthology just for the Wheel of Time story, "River of Souls". I've had this release on my calendar ever since Brandon Sanderson revealed that this story would be in it, and having spent fourteen-plus Wheel of Time books wondering about the mysterious country off the edge of the map, it was worth it just for a glimpse of the fabled Shara.

Having satisfied my curiosity by jumping straight to the Wheel of Time entry, I then backtracked and read the e I'm assuredly not the only person who bought this anthology just for the Wheel of Time story, "River of Souls". I've had this release on my calendar ever since Brandon Sanderson revealed that this story would be in it, and having spent fourteen-plus Wheel of Time books wondering about the mysterious country off the edge of the map, it was worth it just for a glimpse of the fabled Shara.

Having satisfied my curiosity by jumping straight to the Wheel of Time entry, I then backtracked and read the entire book start-to-finish. Reading any anthology of different authors front-to-back is a mixed bag, but I'm happy to say there was nothing in here I really disliked, and quite a few that I loved.

Patrick Rothfuss's story was the other main selling point for me, and while it's a bit left of the center, I can't say I was let down. It reads more like a song or a children's rhyme than a narrative, but Rothfuss is a master craftsman of words and always, always worth reading.

Because this is fantasy, nearly all of these stories are tiny offshoots of larger universes, but the fact that I haven't read most of these authors' trilogies or series didn't blunt my enjoyment. There is a range of tone here, from the slightly silly dragon-comedy of "The Old Scale Game" by Tad Williams to Todd Lockwood's very haunting "Keeper of Memory". "Heaven in a Wild Flower" by Blake Charlton feels like magical realism in a beautiful, surreal way, and "The Unfettered Knight" (by the book's own editor, Shawn Speakman) is a clever Dan Brown-esque mashup of Celtic myth, Catholicism, and vampires.

My favorite entry in the entire thing is by an author I have never heard of, Peter Orullian. "The Sound of Broken Absolutes" is a novella about a magic system based on music theory, with notes that can heal a broken body and a song that will tear a man apart. The writing is spectacular, rich with grief and regret, and I was completely absorbed and haunted by it.

I didn't hate any of the stories, but a couple were slightly frustrating. "The Chapel Perilous" had a little too much -- for lack of a better word -- smug-hero-coolness for me, and Lev Grossman's "The Duel" is written so informally and with so much slang that it feels like a high school kid watched a great fantasy movie and then tried to describe it to you. The Naomi Novik story was bewildering because I actually have read some of her Temeraire series, and this dragons-on-Mars sci-fi story apparently has nothing at all to do with it except for sharing character names (odd). Even the weaker stories are worthwhile, though... I didn't get to the end of any of them and wish for my time back or anything.

I would recommend the entire book based solely on the Orullian story, though. ...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Ron rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebook, anthology, fantasy

Perhaps the best anthology of fantasy stories I've read. Some better than others, but no real duds.

As an added bonus, several authors contributed tales related to their greater corpus, which for one reason or another haven't or couldn't previously be published. The reader gets a sampler of the the best current fantasy writers unfettered by commercial, logical or continuity demands.

Patrick Rothfuss is correct: the introductory remarks--his, Shawn's and the authors--are largely a waste of time.

A v ...more

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Jan 28, 2020 Becky rated it it was ok

Shelves: mythology, reviewed, fantasy, shortstories-collections, abandoned, 2020, ebook_kindle, multi-dimensional

This collection was selected as the group read in one of my groups, as we like to try to do a collection to start off the year. Kind of easing into things, you know. Lots of little stories, generally a lot of discussion going on... nothing too crazy. But the last two years have been a bust for me. I did actually finish last year's selection, but it was not enjoyable.

This year... I'm abandoning ship. It's not that the stories aren't good, or the writing is crap... It's just that I really have lo This collection was selected as the group read in one of my groups, as we like to try to do a collection to start off the year. Kind of easing into things, you know. Lots of little stories, generally a lot of discussion going on... nothing too crazy. But the last two years have been a bust for me. I did actually finish last year's selection, but it was not enjoyable.

This year... I'm abandoning ship. It's not that the stories aren't good, or the writing is crap... It's just that I really have lost interest. Quite early in the collection, and mid-story, even. Never a good sign. I left it on my Currently Reading shelf for a long time after I last put it down, hoping that it would call to me... but in 22 days, it hasn't.

This collection was written to raise money for Shawn Speakman's medical bills, and I think that's awesome. It's really a great thing that he was in a position to know people who have audiences and who were willing to put out additional content that those audiences might enjoy and thus buy this collection to read. (Let's also just chat, for a moment, about the ridiculous bullshit medical system we have in the US that makes such measures necessary in order to not bankrupt oneself trying to get healthcare. Because that's not healthcare, it's profiting off of illness, off of the backs of the very people that its supposed to serve. We really need to do better. We pay into a system that doesn't benefit us. Why continue doing something that clearly isn't working?)

Anyway, as the authors in this collection were doing it for a good cause, Speakman was unwilling to dictate what type of stories they should submit. And so, this comes out as a very mixed bag of stories, with no real rhyme or reason to their being collected here, except as an act of generosity.

Apparently, quite a few of the stories are tie-ins to their particular author's larger body of work, and as I have not read many of the authors in this book, it really didn't do much for me. I appreciate tie-in short stories when they are solid enough to stand alone, or when I have benefit of the context of the larger work. And it was hit or miss in that aspect for me.

My favorite story of those that I read was "The Old Scale Game" by Tad Williams. I really enjoyed that, and it was definitely story enough on its own without my having to have ever read Williams before to enjoy it. My least favorite by far was "How Old Holly Came To Be" by Patrick Rothfuss, though I only read 6 stories, and was on the 7th when I just... lost interest.

It goes that way sometimes. Such is life. ...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Doug marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: on-hold

Terry Brooks' 1st story was pretty rubbish, fluff urban fantasy. A product of its time for sure.

Patrick Rothfuss' entry was better the 2nd time through (It's only 1700 words long) and actually does work quite well if read aloud. Quite clever, but I can see people getting annoyed with it for being style over substance.

Tad Williams' story is actually quite funny in a daft, eye-rolling sort of way. I enjoyed it.

Carrie Vaughn's entry is stunning - easily the best one I've read so far. Very well wr ...more

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Jul 05, 2013 Bradley Staples rated it really liked it

I'm of mixed opinions. I'd buy the book just to help out Shawn, so the money is well spent.

Many stories were great (Tad Williams, Peter Brett, Todd Lockwood, Kevin Hearne, Eldon Thompson, Michael Sullivan, and Shawn Speakman).

Two I had high hopes for but wasn't impressed (Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson). Both lacked enough substance for me.

A few more weren't even fantasy (!!!) for whatever reason, so those sucked (RA Salvatore, Daniel Abraham, David Durham). I was also really unimpressed w ...more

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Oct 24, 2012 Rebecca Lovatt rated it it was amazing

Originally posted on The ArchedDoorway

Normally in my reviews I’ll take a step back, and try to remove all bias. They’re formulaic: a description, the good, the bad, something else good, a general summary, and the release date of the novel, or the sequel, if there is one. That’s not something I did here. Be warned, this is a long one.

Unfettered is a fantasy anthology, containing stories from many of the biggest names in fantasy out there right now. It’s a wonderful amalgamation of talent, put tog ...more

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Jul 15, 2013 Billy Vazquez rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: fantasy fans

Shelves: fantasy, anthology

Shawn Speakman delivers a powerful and wonderful anthology. This is a must read for any fantasy fan. Go now and get yourself a copy. This is the TLDR ( too long didn't read) version of the review.

Now for those interested in the why's and why not's then reader further.

Imaginary Friends - Terry Brooks
A master of fantasy writing, Terry Brooks gives us this wonderful story of magic in the real world. Told through the eyes of a child that experiences a fantastic world of elves and dragons. Do you ...more

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Feb 12, 2014 Kevin rated it liked it

As with another anthology I did recently, I will(have to) grade each story separately and use the average to give the book the overall score; seeing as how the book isn't all by one author taking place in the same universe.

The average rating is 2.4 Star out of 22 stories(didn't finish one of the stories)

"Imaginary Friends" by Terry Brooks
It's good that Terry put his life on hold and placed time and effort into helping out a friend without looking for any compensation in return.... doesn't change ...more

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Jun 19, 2015 Claudia rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, z-to-a-m-j-sullivan, fairytales, z-to-a-jordan-w-o-t, z-to-a-sanderson, anthologies-collections

Searching for some references related to Wheel of Time universe, I came across upon this anthology and I have found to be a very admirably initiative in creating it - around 20 well-known writers contributed with a story to help the editor, Shawn Speakman, to cover his expenses related to cancer treatment.

However, with the tales themselves, it is another story... Half of them are built upon a tragic disease, or a death, or something alike. Maybe it's just me, but, given the circumstances this a ...more

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Oct 09, 2012 ༺Kiki༻ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, magic, contemporary, alternate-history, short-stories, science-fiction, beautiful-writing, hic-sunt-beluae, hic-sunt-dracones, anthology

★★★☆☆ Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks
★★★★★ How Old Holly Came To Be by Patrick Rothfuss (Tales from Temerant 2.3)
★★★★☆ The Old Scale Game by Tad Williams
★★★★★ Game of Chance by Carrie Vaughn
★★★★☆ The Martyr of the Roses by Jacqueline Carey (Kushiel's Universe)
★★★★☆ Mudboy by Peter V. Brett
★★★★★ The Sound of Broken Absolutes by Peter Orullian (Vault of Heaven 0.7)
★★☆☆☆ The Coach with Big Teeth by R.A. Salvatore
★★★★★ Keeper of Memory by Todd Lockwood
★★★★☆ Heaven in a Wild Flower by Blake Charlto ...more

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Jul 06, 2013 Travis Robinson rated it it was amazing

This collection literally (literally!) has something that every fantasy reader can enjoy. I read 96% of the pages, and with 24 authors I thought for sure there would be something I didn't like, and it turned out to be very, very little. Some highlights for me were:

"Imaginary Friends" - Terry Brooks. Heart wrenching and heart lifting, a perfect opening for the collection.

"Game of Chance" - Carrie Vaughn. Can't beat a redemption story.

"The Sound of Broken Absolutes" - Peter Orullian. A completel ...more

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Jul 12, 2013 Michael rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I am so glad that I bought this anthology.

Firstly, it was for a good cause. The American healthcare system is so weird and scary, and just thinking that you would have to declare bankruptcy because you cannot afford cancer treatment scares the crap out of me. Here's for a speedy recovery, Sean!

Second, a lot of these authors pop up on my recommendations list and I'm never sure whether to make the leap or not to try out someone new. Having sampled their writing styles and gotten a taste of their w ...more

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Nov 24, 2013 Stephan van Velzen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: speculative-fiction

Great stories, great cause, great authors, amazing collection. I've added a lot of new authors to my to-read pile because of this anthology. I believe that was exactly what Shawn Speakman was aiming for.

My favorite story was without a doubt The Sound of Broken Absolutes by Peter Orullian. Here's what I wrote about that story, because it deserves being mentioned:

At about 22,500 words, Peter Orullian’s The Sound of Broken Absolutes can just barely be classified as a novella. It is short fiction, t ...more

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Jun 28, 2013 Danielle rated it really liked it

Heard about this from Kevin Hearne on FB a while ago and it slipped my mind. Saw it this morning on Patrick Rothfuss' blog....bought it immediately! I want to start it now, but I have to finish Infinity Blade by Brandon Sanderson first. I haven't read it yet, so I cannot give it an accurate review, but given the compilation of authors I am sure this is going to be a very enjoyable read.

UPDATE
Now that I've finished it, I ended up buying some new authors. I was expecting more from some authors I'v ...more

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Feb 01, 2013 G33z3r rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: ebook, fantasy, sff-2015-shorts-challenge, anthology, sfhf-group-discussion, sff-2015-reading-challenge, sff-2015-discussion-challenge

I picked this up back when released to read a couple of very specific stories by authors I was already following, and then it sort of got lost on my shelf. Now I've finally got a round tuit.

I think it's safe to say that this anthology has more valleys than hills, and it's partly in the nature of the anthology itself. There's no overarching theme to the stories, many are from authors who don't usually write short form fantasy fiction, and given the donation nature of the collection, I suppose the ...more

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Jan 18, 2020 colleen the convivial curmudgeon rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, group-read, science-fantasy, horror-esque

Ugh.

***

These are the comments/mini-reviews I posted in the group that I read this with. Overall I'll say that the book is overlong, a lot of the stories are overlong and either tedious or mediocre. Also, several of them are set in established worlds and don't do enough to introduce or make people not already familiar with them care about them.

There were a few gems, though:

Imaginary Friends was super predictable and, imo, the writing was pretty bland. 2 stars.

Old Holly - what in the actual fuck? ...more

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Jul 30, 2013 Austin rated it it was amazing

I haven't read every single story yet, but from the ones I have read, I can still comment on the book as a whole.

First off, just after hearing about the situatuon Shawn was in, I just thought "why not help?" I get an awesome anthology, and in some small way, maybe I've contributed to a good cause. I don't have any connection to Shawn, just a fan of reading, and the authors in this book. So, if you're thinking of buying this anthology, I only say..."Why not?"

Now, to the review. I haven't read a I haven't read every single story yet, but from the ones I have read, I can still comment on the book as a whole.

First off, just after hearing about the situatuon Shawn was in, I just thought "why not help?" I get an awesome anthology, and in some small way, maybe I've contributed to a good cause. I don't have any connection to Shawn, just a fan of reading, and the authors in this book. So, if you're thinking of buying this anthology, I only say..."Why not?"

Now, to the review. I haven't read all of these authors previously, but I've read some of them. I started with those, only because I'm famliar with the worlds.

How Old Holly Came to be-Patrick Rothfuss: I read this one firs because, well, because it was only 8 pages. I'm a huge fan of Rothfuss, his books are some of the best I've ever read in any genre. I'll be honest, I didn't totally enjoy this. But I do get it. It's a song or short story from the Four Corners World. And if you think about the story like that, then it is a lot better. It's got a unqiue style, I think it's meant to be read more lyrical. Overall, short, not great, not bad
3/5 stars.

The Sound of Broken Absolutes-Peter Orullian: So, I didn't read all these short stories straight through. My main book right now is actually a rather large novel that I've been reading for about 2-3 weeks now. As of today, I have 20 pages left. That book just happens to be Peter Orullian's The Unremembered. Obviosuly I haven't read the end, but The Unremembered so far, is a calssic fantasy story, but with some extremely unique characters. Because I'm reading both of Orullian's stories at the same time, I can draw parallels between them. The most obvious is the musical aspect in both works. In the novel, it's sort of undefined, Wendra(one of the main characters) can just do it. I think the next book in the Vault of Heaven will explore it further, but in the short story in this anthology, the music/magic system is just magical. This short work by Peter(actually, I think it's the longest entry in the book) is a wonderful exploration of pain, loss, friendship, and healing through the power of song. I can tell Peter absolutely poured his heart and soul into this story, and because of that, it's not just the best story I've read in this anthology, it's one of the best stories I've ever read. Peter Orullian is not as big of a name as some of these others authors, but if you take nothing else away from this review, just take a chance and read Peter Orullian. With this work, and the anticipation I have of finishing The Unremembered, I find myself wanting more and more of Peter's writing, because however cliche it may sound, reading his words fill a small part of me that would otherwise be empty. This story is amazing Peter, thank you. 5/5 stars.

Select Mode-Mark Lawrence: I was eager to read this story once I learned it was a Broken Empire tale. If you've never read Mark, I urge you to do so. The main character, Jorg, is a bit of an anti-hero. However, that is a very simple lable for a extremely complex character. I've heard, or read a lot of people who can't get past Jorg in the start of the book...read on, trust me. In this short story, we see Jorg before the events of Prince of Thorns. I really like this story. Although short, it presents an interesting situation for a character I love. I also liked to see The Nuban in it, he might be equally as interesting as Jorg...in my opinion. Overall, if you've never read Mark Lawrence, you might not be used to a character like Jorg, but this really is a tight story, that's very entertaining. 4.5/5 stars

River of Souls-Brandon Sanderson/Robert Jordan: Never read The Wheel of Time, but I've read every single Sanderson book except Warbreaker. So, I don't quite know EXACTLY what's going on in this story, but it seems it can be apprciated as a stand-alone. Sanderson is brilliant, if you don't know it yet, I assure you that you will soon. WHat can I say, he's a master. I wish I could give more justice to this story, but alas, I can't. Overall though, I really liked it. 4/5 stars.

So far, That's all I've read. Going to keep reading throughout the upcoming weeks, and I'm sure I'll be finished with them soon. I look foward to reading the rest, and I have a felling I'm going to find some new authors to read after I'm done. I wish Shawn the best, and I hope he never again has to go through what he's already been forced to. As Shawn has said, this book is more than an anthology, it's a testament to the fact that sci-fi/fantasy is a commuinity that's willing to get behind something, or someone. Best wishes Shawn! And I can't wait to read and review your story! ...more

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Jan 12, 2014 Joseph Lopez rated it it was amazing

If you're actively involved in the fantasy community, chances are you've run across Shawn Speakman at some point. He's the webmaster for Terry Brooks and Naomi Novik, runs The Signed Page, writes articles for Suvudu, and does all kinds of other assorted work. This has led to him being relatively well-connected in the speculative fiction genre.

Shawn had been diagnosed with cancer and beaten it before. When it struck a second time, he had no medical insurance and accumulated a seemingly insurmount If you're actively involved in the fantasy community, chances are you've run across Shawn Speakman at some point. He's the webmaster for Terry Brooks and Naomi Novik, runs The Signed Page, writes articles for Suvudu, and does all kinds of other assorted work. This has led to him being relatively well-connected in the speculative fiction genre.

Shawn had been diagnosed with cancer and beaten it before. When it struck a second time, he had no medical insurance and accumulated a seemingly insurmountable amount of debt. At the same time, his manuscript The Dark Thorn had been passed up by just about every major agent. This would have been enough to crush most people (I honestly can't say I would have been able to handle it) but Shawn took adversity and turned it into opportunity.

He had the resources that defined "self-publishing" differently for him than it did most people. He launched his own imprint, Grim Oak Press, and self-published The Dark Thorn. Flying in the face of rejection, the book has sold and reviewed well. Terry Brooks then suggested that Shawn call upon his friends and create an anthology to help pay down his debt. And Shawn's friends answered the call in resounding fashion!

The background should be enough to inspire you to purchase this anthology. I have never been prouder to be an SFF nerd than when I saw so many people in the genre rush to Shawn's aid. The authors by contributing stories, various websites by promoting the book, and the readers through purchasing it. Shawn now has successfully paid back his medical bills, and I believe intends to donate the remaining profits to charity.

But if you need an additional reason to purchase this anthology, how about this - it's really good! Look at the line-up of authors! I enjoyed the entries from some of my favorites, even if some of them were atypical (Rothfuss and Salvatore, in particular, do not submit the type of stories you might expect from them). But what made this even more worthwhile was the ability it gave me to sample authors I'd never read before. Peter Orullian is a name that kept popping up in various places, and his story (rather long for a "short" story!) allowed me to finally read one of his works. The music-as-magic element really appealed to me, and now I feel it would be a worthwhile investment to check out one of his novels.

Good cause, good reads (pun intended). You can check out new stories from authors you love, or sample authors you might be interested in. This anthology is a complete package, and earns from me a very well-deserved five stars. ...more

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Flights of Fantasy: Jan 2020 Anthology BotM: Unfettered edited by Shawn Speakman	214	25	Jan 24, 2020 04:11PM
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About Shawn Speakman

Shawn Speakman

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Shawn Speakman grew up in the beautiful wilds of Washington State near a volcano and surrounded by old-growth forests filled with magic. After moving to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, he befriended New York Times best-selling fantasy author Terry Brooks and became his webmaster, leading to an enchanted life surrounded by words.

He was a manager at one of the largest Barnes & Noble ...more

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Unfettered (3 books)

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Unfettered II: New Tales By Masters of Fantasy (Unfettered, #2)

Unfettered III: New Tales By Masters of Fantasy (Unfettered, #3)

The Twilight Dragon & Other Tales of Annwn: Preludes to The Everwinter Wraith (The Annwn Cycle)

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Quotes from Unfettered

“Normally I miss deadlines like a storm trooper misses Jedi.” — 32 likes

“It wasn’t necessary. Wilmer offered his piece of the map in exchange for a fair share. His only condition was to come along.”

“And Maribor’s beard, was that ever a mistake,” Wilmer said. “Might have been better if you had killed me.” He looked at the thief. “Would have been quick and painless, right?”

Royce shrugged. “Sure, why not.” — 9 likes

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