A review by scottishben
Unfettered by Shawn Speakman
3.0
Usually when you buy a collection of short stories you get a much smaller book than this one. This is really pretty much the length of a "best of" anthology.
I read a lot of fiction at all lengths and it is very often not the writers who are best at novels that write the best short fiction so whilst the roster of Patrick Rothfuss, R.A. Salvatore, Tad Williams, Brandon Sanderson, Peter Brett etc. etc. sounds very impressive many of these writers are first and foremost novelists and not short story writers.
None of the writers got paid for their contributions and they were definitely given broad scope for what they could include. Many either wrote stories set in the same world as their well known series and many took parts of their novels that ended on the cutting room floor - as such if you are a fan of any of the novelists featured you are in for a real treat. If you are not familiar with a particular novelist then you get a taster of what they and their world is like and you can see if it is for you. The end mix of content that this process has produced definitely enables this volume to stand out from the crowd and that is really what is needed when there are so many different short story collections out there.
So far I am only half way through and I have not loved every story (short stories are always a matter of taste and to have liked them all would have been unusual) but I already feel I have got great value out of the collection. There are one or two authors who I was reminded why I liked them and others that I had not read anything by but might well check out. It is much easier to read a short story by a writer than to undertake a full 4 volume 2000 page saga to see if they are your cup of tea.
I didnt like the Rothfuss story at all but credit to him for trying something different and being willing to share it. It is a very short story and liking it or not will vary person to person.
If you are a fan of the fantasy genre and are open to either reading short fiction or getting a unique glimpse at many great fantasy authors then this collection is well worth checking out. As yet I have not read any stories that in them selves would be among my favourite short works i have read this year but reading the book has been (and continues to be a very enjoyable experience.
I read a lot of fiction at all lengths and it is very often not the writers who are best at novels that write the best short fiction so whilst the roster of Patrick Rothfuss, R.A. Salvatore, Tad Williams, Brandon Sanderson, Peter Brett etc. etc. sounds very impressive many of these writers are first and foremost novelists and not short story writers.
None of the writers got paid for their contributions and they were definitely given broad scope for what they could include. Many either wrote stories set in the same world as their well known series and many took parts of their novels that ended on the cutting room floor - as such if you are a fan of any of the novelists featured you are in for a real treat. If you are not familiar with a particular novelist then you get a taster of what they and their world is like and you can see if it is for you. The end mix of content that this process has produced definitely enables this volume to stand out from the crowd and that is really what is needed when there are so many different short story collections out there.
So far I am only half way through and I have not loved every story (short stories are always a matter of taste and to have liked them all would have been unusual) but I already feel I have got great value out of the collection. There are one or two authors who I was reminded why I liked them and others that I had not read anything by but might well check out. It is much easier to read a short story by a writer than to undertake a full 4 volume 2000 page saga to see if they are your cup of tea.
I didnt like the Rothfuss story at all but credit to him for trying something different and being willing to share it. It is a very short story and liking it or not will vary person to person.
If you are a fan of the fantasy genre and are open to either reading short fiction or getting a unique glimpse at many great fantasy authors then this collection is well worth checking out. As yet I have not read any stories that in them selves would be among my favourite short works i have read this year but reading the book has been (and continues to be a very enjoyable experience.