There are some gems in this one

The thing with anthologies that the quality of the stories varies. It may not be the objective quality, but the type of the story and the author voice that you like or don't like, which translates to a kind of subjective quality of the story. Do I make sense here? The point is that I loved some stories, especially those that were written by my favorite authors, there were some which were OK, and I found a few that I just couldn't appreciate. I expected it, so no big surprise there. Giving three stars is a bit lame, because how can you make an average of good and bad stories? But I cannot rate the stories individually, so there is that. Nevertheless, Jim Butcher, Joe Abercrombie and Michael J. Sullivan didn't let me down (just to mention a few of my favorite authors), and I discovered authors that I haven't read so far (e.g. Brian McClellan).

7 people found this helpful

overall good stories

as expected some stories were better than others. not all fit my tastes but were still performed well.

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very good listen

I enjoyed this anthology, it was perfomed well and the stories were interesting. I would recommend this book.

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New Stories Worth Hearing

As a fiction and fantasy fan of more than fifty years it’s always great to find new stories from authors unfamiliar, except for Terry Brooks and his new tale with some old “friends”. All the narrators were very good and this book is a wonderful listen.

1 person found this helpful

Really Love most of these stories

I think this book is great. I really like the concept of being introduced into new narrators and authors without having to spend 1 credit on trying each of them. I really love all of the stories except 1 of them which I say is great odds for this size of this collection. I only wish there were a couple more narrators because the book used Tim a lot. I really like Tim as a narrator, but he was highly active in this anthology.

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A pretty great anthology!

This one was surprising in that I actually liked almost every story in it. Some of them were slower than others, but I didn't outright dislike any, which is rare for an anthology that has more than 5 stories in it.

My Favorites:

Rachel Caine - Madwalls - This. Story. Was. Amazeballs. I didn't dig the narrator (in fact I'm not at all a fan of Allyson Johnson as a narrator... so... this audiobook was less awesome for that since she narrates goddamn nearly a third of it.) Anyway, Rachel Caine writes djinn and things like them really well. The Weather Warden series rocked my socks and was definitely my gateway book into full fledged Urban Fantasy, so I have a real soft spot for her writing. This... being she's created was just awesome. I also loved the main character. You don't see Sikhs in fantasy too often. Awesome.

Delilah Dawson - Uncharming - I also really *really* love the Blud series. It is among the most well written Paranormal Romance I've ever read (with some of the worst covers, lol). It's para-romance with an actual plot, and character that are so... so wickedly well written. This story was about a background character from the third book in the series and it was neat getting a behind the scenes there. Loved it!

Terry Brooks - An Unfortunate Influx of Fillipians - Oh Landover. Never stop being ridiculous. I read the Landover series way back in high school and remember liking it slightly more than the Shannara series (with the exception of Elfstones which I will always love for being the first Fantasy book I ever read that wasn't LotR). I really liked that the narrator made Strabo sound like a gangster. Because he sort of is, in a way.

Brian Staveley - The Farmboy Prince - This story was short, full of cursing, and was really quite a good look into the farmboy prince trope from the POV of the other peasants. Awesomesauce.

Michael J. Sullivan - The Game - The idea that an NPC in an MMO suddenly gains sentience and what that would mean in the real world was a really great premise, and he has totally nailed it with this story. How does he write such *annoying* people so well? Also, reference in this story to a game called 'Elan Online' - I would play the absolute hell out of this game. OMG. - So, in conclusion here, Michael Sullivan and Tim Gerard Reynolds teamed up to get me all teary-eyed at work about a character I had known for approximately 20 minutes. Thanks, guys.

Jim Butcher - Jury Duty - I love how Jim Butcher can make a story about Harry Dresden getting jury duty entertaining. I also loved the introduction where he explained that sometimes he just likes to make Harry realistic in the fact that he has to do some real stuff. He has to do laundry and get his mail, fix his car, and stuff like that. I like that too. Harry does these things in a very entertaining way that usually involves White Court vampires or Winter Fae.

In conclusion, this anthology was overall a winner! I can't wait for Unfettered II!

4 people found this helpful

Hit and miss

Some of the stories are VERY good. Some of them I can't sit through. Some of the stories seem a bit under edited.

2 people found this helpful

Good collection!

Madwalls” by Rachel Caine
Kind of a weird story. Not a great reader. 2/5

“Stories Are Gods” by Peter Orullian
A thought-provoking story and well-written. 4/5

“River and Echo” by John Marco
You fall in love with these two characters. 5/5

“A Dichotomy of Paradigms” by Mary Robinette Kowal
These clever characters made me smile. 4/5

“Son of Crimea” by Jason M. Hough
Like a really good Twilight Zone episode. I loved it! Gotta look for this author. 5/5

“An Unfortunate Influx of Filipians” by Terry Brooks
A silly story. And I never much liked the Landover novels anyway. Meh minus. 2/5

“The Way into Oblivion” by Harry Connolly
Interesting but strangely out of context. Maybe you have to be familiar with the other books. 3/5

“Uncharming” by Delilah S. Dawson
Compelling and a bit horrifying, as it was meant to be. 5/5

“A Good Name” by Mark Lawrence
A sort of coming of age story. As is always important to me, I really liked the characters. 4/5

“All in a Night’s Work” by David Anthony Durham
A very enjoyable kid/young adult story that had me engrossed and entertained. He was thinking about writing a whole novel and series. He did! I’m definitely going to read it. 5/5

“Seven Tongues” by Tim Marquitz
Stories about assassins always intrigue me and this one was no exception. 4/5

“Fiber” by Seanan McGuire
I grew out of potty humor when I was 15. 2/5

“The Hall of the Diamond Queen” by Anthony Ryan
Ryan is a good writer. 4/5

“The Farmboy Prince” by Brian Staveley
Dripping with cynicism. 2/5

“Heart’s Desire” by Kat Richardson
A glimpse into madness and much chewing of the scenery. 3/5

“The Game” by Michael J. Sullivan
There are sone eye-rolling moments but its well-written and I t actually asks sone important questions we should all ponder. 4/5

“The Ethical Heresy” by Sam Sykes.
Sweet, yet powerful. 5/5

“Small Kindnesses” by Joe Abercrombie
Compelling characters but they think as much about sex as they do about anything else. 4/5

“The Rat” by Mazarkis Williams
Just ok but I’m not sure where the story was heading. 2/5

“The Siege of Tilpur” by Brian McClellan
I enjoyed the Powder Mage books very much. I think I might have enjoyed this story even more. 5/5

“Mr. Island” by Kristen Britain
Loved this one! 5/5

“Jury Duty” by Jim Butcher
Harry Dresden does jury duty. Very entertaining! 5/5

“The Dead’s Revenant” by Shawn Speakman
Kept me in rapt attention but :-(. 2/5

A great anthology

I enjoyed the book of stories on a whole. Tim Gerard Reynolds was fantastic! I enjoyed the Jim Butcher short story a great deal, and Shawn’s own story at the end was also well done.

I like stories about villains. They’re a rare treat among the genre.

Joe Ambercrombe put out a great story that made me want to read more. It was a story I’ve been looking at in another book of his own for quite some time, and now that I’ve heard it, I recognize that I like his gritty heroic story style.

Mark Lawrence gave me a Nuban story. I’m very happy with that.

Brian McClellan gave me an early story about Tamas of Powder Mage fame, and it was really good as well.

But, the truly unexpected standout was the story about the Diamond Queen. I need more from that one. Another villainous character.

Overall, I enjoyed what I read.

Fun book, just like it's predicesor

Each story is so different and that alone makes this a refreshing read (...listen?...)
Highly recommend both books!