Unfettered

Tales By Masters of Fantasy

By: Terry Brooks, Patrick Rothfuss, Robert Jordan, Jacqueline Carey, R.A. Salvatore, Naomi Novik, Shawn Speakman - editor, Peter V. Brett

Narrated by: Peter Ganim, Marc Vietor, Bronson Pinchot, Jay Snyder

You define life or it defines you. In Shawn Speakman’s case, it was both. Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin’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 that Shawn could sell to help alleviate those bills - and suggested he ask the same of his other writer friends. Unfettered is the result: An anthology built in order to relieve that debt, featuring short stories by some of the best fantasy writers in the genre.

Twenty-three tales comprise this incredible collection, and as the title suggests, the writers were free to contribute whatever they wished. Here is the table of contents:

• Foreword by Patrick Rothfuss
• Introduction: On Becoming Unfettered
• Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks
• How Old Holly Came to Be by Patrick Rothfuss
• The Old Scale Game by Tad Williams
• Game of Chance by Carrie Vaughn
• The Martyr of the Roses by Jacqueline Carey
• Mudboy by Peter V. Brett
• The Sound of Broken Absolutes by Peter Orullian
• The Coach with Big Teeth by R. A. Salvatore
• Keeper of Memory by Todd Lockwood
• Heaven in a Wild Flower by Blake Charlton
• Dogs by Daniel Abraham
• The Chapel Perilous by Kevin Hearne
• Select Mode by Mark Lawrence
• All the Girls Love Michael Stein by David Anthony Durham
• Strange Rain by Jennifer Bosworth
• Nocturne by Robert V. S. Redick
• Unbowed by Eldon Thompson
• In Favour with Their Stars by Naomi Novik
• River of Souls by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
• The Jester by Michael J. Sullivan
• The Duel by Lev Grossman
• Walker and the Shade of Allanon by Terry Brooks
• The Unfettered Knight by Shawn Speakman

  With the help of stalwart friends and these wonderful short stories, Shawn has taken the gravest of life’s hardships and created something magical. Unfettered is not only a fantastic anthology in its own right, but it’s a testament to the generosity found in the science fiction and fantasy community—proof that humanity can give beyond itself when the need arises. After all, isn’t that the driving narrative in fantasy literature?

©2013 Shawn Speakman (P)2013 Audible Inc.

Most stories are good. A couple gems.

most stories are good. A couple of them are Jim's. But, several of the stories feel unfinished, even for short stories.

My kids even liked it.

Most of the books were appropriate for my 10 and 12 year old. I recommend!

Primary Reason: WOT

I only got this for The Wheel of Time story. Some were interesting, others were obviously part of a larger storyline in which I was lost, and others were...not my taste. But! There is something for everyone. All the voice actors read beautifully.

meh....

Thought I was getting a volume of science fiction but it's rather short on science. A decent book of fantasy stories, I suppose.

Mixed bag

A couple really good short stories and several that bordered on awful. I don’t think all of these “legends “ but their best effort into some of these short stories.

Compilation of Fantasy

so many different stories unrelated to eachnother with the respect that they are all famtasy. different voice actors per story.

Wonderful Fantasy Anthologies

Best collection of fantasy shorts I've ever read. Great way to find new authors. More!

Great stories, great authors

Great stories, great authors and a multitude of top class narrators doing top notch readings. This collection is one of the best fantasy collections I have ever read. It was great to see so many authors and readers come together to help a fellow author and reader in need. Fantasy fans can't go wrong with this collection edited by Shawn Speakman who also contributed a story from his Annwn Cycle series.

Wonderful collection for a great cause

Would you consider the audio edition of Unfettered to be better than the print version?

I loved the audio version, but the printed version does have extras, IE; Forward, Introduction etc Explaining why the book was put together. Also at the start of each short story there is a note from the author stating why they submitted this story for the collection. (It would have been nice if that was added to each story, but I'm not complaining.) Still a great collection of stories by many writes I know and some I don't.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Out of the 23 stories I have to say I enjoyed most of them the one's I enjoyed most (not in order) are: Imaginary Friends, The Old Scale Game, The Martyr of the Roses,Mud Boy, The Sound of Broken Absolutes,Keeper of Memory, Heaven Is a Wildflower, The Chapel Perilous, All the Girls Love Michael Stein,Strange Rain, Nocturne, Unbowed, River of Souls,The Jester, The Duel, The Unfettered Knight. I just listed MY favorites.

Any additional comments?

This was put together for a wonderful cause. The authors put together some great stories too. I know I'll listen to again.

Generally good anthology of tales

Generally a pretty mixed bag in terms of story and narration quality. Most are well done, but there are definitely some misses. Would reccomend however, as it gave me a good introduction to several authors I was not familiar with.