Unfettered II

New Tales by Masters of Fantasy

By: Shawn Speakman - editor, Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Brandon Sanderson

Narrated by: Sarah Coomes, Michael Kramer, Emily Woo Zeller, Nick Podehl, Erin Mallon, Tim Gerard Reynolds

Life can kick us when we are down.

In Shawn Speakman's case, he is fighting back.

Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2011, Speakman beat the disease as well as the massive medical debt he amassed from its treatment. He did this by publishing Unfettered, an anthology featuring short stories donated by some of the best science fiction and fantasy writers working today.

The fight will not stop there. In an effort to pay forward the aid he received - and to memorialize his mother who passed away from stomach cancer in early 2016 - Speakman has again collaborated with celebrated genre authors to publish Unfettered II. All proceeds from the anthology will either help eliminate medical debt for other authors or be donated to cancer research hubs around the world.

Twenty original new tales comprise this amazing collection and, as the title suggests, the writers were again free to contribute whatever they wished.

Here is the lineup for Unfettered II:

• Foreword by Terry Brooks
• Bradley Beaulieu (Song of Shattered Sands)
• Jim Butcher (Dresden Files)
• Rachel Caine
• Sarah Beth Durst (The Queens of Renthia)
• David Farland (Runelords)
• Charlaine Harris
• Mark Lawrence
• Erin Lindsey (Bloodbound)
• Seanan McGuire
• Aidan Moher
• Naomi Novik
• Peter Orullian (Vault of Heaven)
• J. A. Pitts
• Anthony Ryan (Raven's Shadow)
• Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive)
• Scott Sigler
• Shawn Speakman (Annwn Cycle)
• Michael J. Sullivan (The Legends of the First Empire)
• Django Wexler
• Janny Wufts (Wars of Light and Shadow)

With the help of New York Times best-selling authors as well as talented newcomers, Speakman has taken the platform Unfettered created to not only confront medical debt but to support the battle against one of our gravest illnesses. Unfettered II is a fantastic sequel anthology, but it is more than that; it is proof that we are stronger together than we are apart.

After all, isn't that what genre fiction is all about?

©2016 Shawn Speakman (P)2017 Audible, Inc.

Great mix of stories

They can't all be gold but they were all at least good. There were a few gems. worth a credit since at least there's a lot to listen to.

most stories were pretty good

while the were a couple stories I didn't find interesting, the majority were decent and a few excellent.
overall feeling of this collection: Grimm style fantasy.
it also gives you a good feeling for several of the authors and narrators.

This is a very nice fantasy anthology.

Speakman has been a very solid job collecting works from a number of accomplished authors. As is often the case the big names are the best. Here, Brandon Sanderson's excerpt from The Stormlight Archive "The Thrill" is the real standout if you are already acquainted with his other work.
"Day One" by Jim Butcher featuring a short story about Butters from The Dresden Files is a must read or listen to any fan of Dresden, Urban fantasy, or Gaming.

I think the Hidden Gem (so to speak) here is "And Men Will Mine the Mountain for Our Souls" by Seanan McGuire. I've never read what I can only describe as a first person introspective by a dragon before. But now that I have I can't imagine anybody could do better.

Not every short story in this or any Anthology is a home run. that said I think there's enough here to satisfy most people. And it's very well produced with a great cast. Even Nick Podell makes an appearance although James Marsters is more noticeably absent.

Plenty of great stories

A motley collection of high fantasy and science fiction that stays modern and fresh. I hope Speakman doesn't need another tragedy in his life to give us book 3.

great collection

Hit and miss stories, as expected in a multi author collection but some made up for any lack and the collection as a whole was great! exposure to similar authors is a big plus

More good than bad on the whole

Ratings for each story individually;

Castle Coeurlieu by Naomi Novik 4 stars
A Slow Kill by Peter Orullian 4 stars
And Men Will Mine the Mountain for Our Souls by Seanan McGuire 1 star
Day One by Jim Butcher 5 stars
Brightwine in the Garden of Tsitsian Village by Bradley P. Beaulieu 5 stars
Aokigahara by John A. Pitts 2 stars
The Decoy by Janny Wurts 5 stars
The King’s Despatcher by David Farland 4 stars
Figures by Rachel Caine 1 star
The Red-Rimmed Eyes of Tóu Maˇ by Aidan Moher 3 stars
Magic Beans by Django Wexler 1 star
The Hedgewitch by Sarah Beth Durst 4 stars
Victim with a Capital V by Scott Sigler 2 stars
A Duel of Evils by Anthony Ryan 3 stars
The Raven by Erin Lindsey 4 stars
Bulletproof by Mark Lawrence 2 stars
The Gunnnie by Charlaine Harris 3 stars
Little Wren and the Big Forest by Michael J. Sullivan 2 stars
The Thrill by Brandon Sanderson 2 stars
The Last Flowers of the Spring Witch by Shawn Speakman 4 stars

Another excellent collection of stories

I really enjoyed Unfettered I and this collection of stories did not disappoint. Knowing that they were all short stories made me want to have more. I may need to start branching out with some new authors.

beautiful, if sad.

This book has a thread of sadness throughout it's various stories, but it stands as a wonderful collection of beautiful.

Mostly engaging

Some very good short stories here. There were enough to make it a worthwhile purchase.

Mixed feelings about the book

I have found with purchasing an audio book that has multiple stories by multiple authors, you love some, and some not-so-much.

I purchased this for Jim Butcher's story and was pleasantly surprised with a tale from Butter's view. The narrator was no James Marsters, however he did a decent job. Overall found some new authors I may like to read/listen - Naomi Novik, John A. Pitts, Sarah Beth Durst, and Aidan Moher.

There were more stories that I couldn't even get through - just not my taste of genre.

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