Published by Grim Oak Press
Age Group: Middle Grade
Format: Anthologies and Short Story Collections
Genres and Categories: Mental Health Representation, Chronic Illness, Mental Health, Physical Disabilities, Trauma, Vision impairment, Action, Adventure, Epic Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Various Magic
Series: Unbound #2, Ink & Sigil #0, Iron Druid Chronics #0
My Rating:
Published on: 28th June 2022
Pages: 482
Disability Representation: Amnesia, Disability as a part of life, Missing Eye, Mobility aid, PTSD, Seizures, Trauma
Buy this Book! Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Blackwells / Bookshop.org US
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Like Unbound and before it, Unbound II boasts a collection of SF&F writers allowed to submit the tales they've been wanting to write for a long time--without the constraints of theme. The result? A new anthology as powerful as the first. The stories gathered here are only bound by how enchanting and enthralling they are.--Amazon.com.
This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!
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Unbound II Review
I have been eager to get my hands on one of the anthologies edited by Shawn Speakman for a while now, so I jumped at the chance to read and review Unbound II: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy. While the Unfettered series Speakman edits are charity anthologies, proceeds going to various causes, the Unbound series is theme free, the authors unbound as it were. With stories from the ‘masters of fantasy’, this anthology promises to be a good read.
With stories from a wonderful selection of SFF writers, Unbound II: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy also offers a short story by editor Shawn Speakman in memory of his father. Out of the seventeen authors, I had only previously read work from five of them, although I was familiar with quite a few of them by name. This anthology was a great chance for me to finally read some of their work.
Despite featuring so many well-known SFF authors, Unbound II: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy was only a three-star read for me. That isn’t to say that the stories were not good quality, just that this anthology includes such a wide variety of genres, content and styles. While some of them were interesting, others just did not catch my attention at all.
The ones that stood out above the rest for me are:
The second story, ‘A Poor Reflection’ by Peter Orullian, is a dense read due to the scientific jargon, but it is one that is worth sticking with for the clever conclusion. I tipped my hat to Orullian when I finished this one. Very well done. It’s followed by an equally clever tale by Saara El-Arifi, an author whose name I’m familiar with, although I’ve yet to read any of her books yet. If ‘The Shadhavar’ is anything to go by, I need to remedy that pronto. El-Arifi’s story is a slick, enticing tale of hunters trying to find a legendary beast.
Kevin Hearne’s story was one of my most anticipated, as it promised to tell the origin story of the mysterious Gladys, a character from his Ink and Sigil series. While this story can be read alone, it is one that readers of that series will enjoy infinitely more. The story did not disappoint, and is Hearne at his absolute best. It’s a must-read for anyone who is reading the Ink and Sigil series.
‘Moonflower Alchemy’ by Jordan Ross is a gorgeously gothic fantasy story filled with dark magic. I loved everything about this and would love to see this world explored further in a book. Anna Stephens also delivers an incredible and heart-warming story in ‘Heart-Eater’. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything by Tamora Pierce that I haven’t loved, and the ‘The Sheriff’s Daughter’ is no different. It was particularly interesting to see her write urban fantasy instead of fantasy, and I hope she writes more in the future!
The final story of the anthology is ‘The Last Arrow of the Autumn Huntsman’ by editor Shawn Speakman and is a beautiful tribute to his father that reflects his father’s struggle with PTSD. It’s linked to a previous story Speakman wrote in Unfettered II to commemorate his mother. I loved that he wrote the first story for his son to learn about his grandmother through his eyes, and reading this story with that in mind just makes it even more beautiful. It is also a brilliant fantasy short story in its own right, and I’m very excited to read Speakman’s upcoming novel, The King-Killing Queen.
The full list of stories in Unbound II: New Tales by Masters of Fantasy is:
- ‘Imperial Court’ by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson
- ‘A Poor Reflection’ by Peter Orullian
- ‘The Shadhavar’ by Saara El-Arifi
- ‘Gladys and the Whale’ by Kevin Hearne
- ‘Business in Great Waters’ by Ken Scholes
- ‘Moonflower Alchemy’ by Jordan Ross
- ‘The True Adventures of Gilgamesh and Enkidu’ by Dyrk Ashton
- ‘Samantha vs. the Shadows in the Basement of the Captain Riddle House’ by Kristen Britain
- ‘Last of the Red Riders’ by Django Wexler
- ‘Heart-Eater’ by Anna Stephens
- ‘Sandra and Me’ by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- ‘Shadow’s Daughter’ by Jon Sprunk
- ‘Homecoming’ by Patrick Swenson
- ‘The Sheriff’s Daughter’ by Tamora Pierce
- ‘Solomon’ by Mark Lawrence
- ‘A Knight Was Once Sent on a Quest by Her Master’ by Anna Smith Spark
- ‘The Last Arrow of the Autumn Huntsman’ by Shawn Speakman
Over to you
Thank you for reading my book review for Unbound II: New Tales By Masters of Fantasy.
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