It's basically Russian roulette

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Because they are all short stories, if you like fantasy you will enjoy at least one of them, most likely a few. However there are some absolute howlers in here. Quite a few are not even fantasy. Patrick Rothfuss's one was the single worst thing I have listened to on audible, and after terry brooks insulting ( to me as someone who went through childhood leukaemia ) opener I nearly gave up. However I persevered and am enjoying new authors I would no have if I had not listened to this.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Some were good. Most were awful. I assume because it was for charity they were not willing to spend a great deal of money on a good narrator or two, but the result is dreadful. It took me halfway through the mark Lawrence to realise it was his ,as the character is 13-15 from somewhere in a post apocalyptic Europe. but instead the narrator is simple reading the story with his 40 something full blown Brooklyn accent. That's just one example.

Do you think Unfettered needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

If all the authors put in some effort other than just a few and decent narrators were brought in then I would happily listen to a second volume

Any additional comments?

In you in two minds about it then get it. If you don't like a story in the first 5 mins then skip it there will be something on there you do like, and it is all for a good cause anyway.

10 people found this helpful

different stories

It was an unusual book as I was expecting a whole story but I don't remember reading about the book. It was not a disappointment and I found it enjoyable as I could listen to a story then get back on and do something because I get so engrossed in a story that I try to listen to the whole book.

4 people found this helpful

The good bits aren't good enough to carry it.

Any additional comments?

I like Patrick Rothfuss in particular and fantasy in general and I thought this collection might introduce me to some new authors. Maybe I missed out on something but I couldn't finish the collection. Some of the stories sounded more like enthusiastic but unskilled fan-fic than the work of real authors. The tone of a few of the stories was confused, somewhere between self-aware, post-modern and traditional fantasy. The final straw was a terrible attempt at accents in "The Chapel Perilous" by Kevin Hearne. I gave up at that point, maybe all the good stuff happens in the second half.

5 people found this helpful

not for Patrick Rothfuss fans

I bought this purely as I read it had a background to one of Patrick Rothfuss character's from Kingkiller chronicles, it doesn't, don't bother!

1 person found this helpful

Great collection of stories

If you could sum up Unfettered in three words, what would they be?

Sample Many Authors

What did you like best about this story?

Nice variety of writing styles and narration. Most of the tales are exerpts from full novels, A fine way to get some Ideas on where to spend your next credit!Thats not to say each chapter doesnt stand as complete in its own right.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

Vast majority of the narrators are excellent, none of them are poor.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Short stories N/a

Any additional comments?

Worthy complement to your listening library, Good choice if you fancy short bite size chunks rather than a 20hr marathon.

1 person found this helpful

Something for everyone in here.

Would you listen to Unfettered again? Why?

Yes, although I may skip some of the stories now I've listened to them once. This is the reason for giving the book 4 stars. Some of them I would have given 5, but others within the collection would only have got 2 or 3.

What did you like best about this story?

Some of these stories are great, others didn't tickle my fancy as much, but I would say that if you're even vaguely interested in fantasy then there'll be something in here for you.
As always with an audiobook the narrator has a big hand in the quality of the finished product, some were new to me, others I'd heard before.
As a reader of their other work "How Old Holly Came To Be" and "Mudboy" we good (always helpful when you're familiar with the "world")."The Unfettered Knight" was excellent, as was "Keeper of Memory", "The Sound of Broken Absolutes", "Unbowed" and "In Favour with Their Stars". The surprise for me was "All the Girls Love Michael Stein", which I enjoyed greatly, even though after reading it, had you described to me what it was about I wouldn't have expected to do so.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

As always for me the emotion and the ability to give the characters a bit more life through differing voices are the key to any good narration. They can help to set the scene with the tone of their voice, even before they've started uttering the actual text.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A collection of different worlds, and some stories from with them!

1 person found this helpful

A great introduction to a variety of authors

If you could sum up Unfettered in three words, what would they be?

Collection of Short Stories

What was one of the most memorable moments of Unfettered?

The stories are unrelated and cover a lot of different styles. I must admit a couple of stories did not engage me that much, but as they are all short, it is no great hardship.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

The narration of each chapter seemed to suit the material quite well.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The story of the cats I found really enchanting.

Any additional comments?

If you really enjoy one of the tales, it isn't easy to identify which author wrote it, and there is a really bad edit in one chapter (3rd from last if memory serves).
Highly recommended - especially if you like a short story to fill in time.

1 person found this helpful

Gems and coal

There are a couple of great little stories in this collection and a couple that I did not enjoy.
The last one: The unfettered knight was excellent. The jester also a great story and a few others that I enjoyed. Some of the others weren’t anywhere near as good and many where simply depressing. Some performances were tolerable but the harsh American accents made others hard to get through.

Hits and Misses

Overall, a good anthology. Some stories were much better, some were slow and hard to get into, but all anthologies will be like that to some extent. Without exception, all the performances were top-notch. definitely would recommend highly for the really great stories, but be prepared for misses as well as hits!

highly recommend

An eclectic mix of beautifully written and performed stories by some of best authors ever