Dangerous Women - George R. R. Martin & Gardner Dozois

RATING: THREE STARS

Dangerous Women is an anthology of short stories that features female characters as its main protagonists. All of its stories have been written by some of the biggest authors in fantasy, being full of darkness and adversity while women struggle to protect themselves and those they love.

The collection also includes a novella based on A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin called The Princess and the Queen! The story is relatively short, but it's full of depth and describes the events of the first Dance with Dragons where two rival factions of House Targaryen go to war for the Iron Throne. GRRM's addition to the book is by far its must read, but many of the other stories in Dangerous Women are extremely enjoyable and its contents are as follows:

• Some Desperado by Joe Abercrombie
• My Heart Is Either Broken by Megan Abbott
• Nora's Song by Cecelia Holland
• The Hands That Are Not There by Melinda Snodgrass
• Bombshells by Jim Butcher
• Raisa Stepanova by Carrie Vaughn
• Wrestling Jesus by Joe R. Lansdale
• Neighbors by Megan Lindholm (Robin Hobb)
• I Know How To Pick 'Em by Lawrence Block
• Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson
• A Queen In Exile by Sharon Kay Penman
• The Girl in the Mirror by Lev Grossman
• Second Arabesque, Very Slowly by Nancy Kress
• City Lazarus by Diana Rowland
• Virgins by Diana Gabaldon
• Hell Hath No Fury by Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Pronouncing Doom by S. M. Sterling
• Name the Beast by Sam Sykes
• Caretakers by Pat Cadigan
• Lies My Mother Told Me by Caroline Spector
• The Princess and the Queen by George R. R. Martin

The Good

As said above, The Princess and the Queen is the best story in Dangerous Women and is a must-read for all fans of ASoIaF! GRRM has written it in the beautiful prose I have come to expect of him and it's every bit as detailed as the larger books in his series. It's also extremely interesting to read about the history of Westeros and finally see what fully grown dragons are capable of as cities are burnt to the ground and how armies attempt to defend themselves against devastating attacks from the sky!

It's also nice to read stories where women are cast in strong, independent roles as the heroes (instead of men). Women are every bit as capable of greatness as men and it's refreshing to read about them finding the courage to stand against monsters like in Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson. I think too many fantasy authors are still casting women in non-roles (which is a shame for this day-and-age) and Dangerous Women goes a long way to help rectify this.

The Bad

As with any short story anthology written by different authors, some of the stories included are much better than others. The Princess and the Queen, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell and Some Desperado were particularly good, but sadly some of the other stories were actually quite boring. All of the authors included in the book are highly accomplished in the fantasy genre and I think this is a shame since it easily could have been remedied with a bit more imagination and craftsmanship on their parts!

My Thoughts

Dangerous Women is definitely worth a read overall (even if it's only to glimpse a part of Westeros' bloody history) and will make a valuable additional to anybody's bookshelf. It's an entertaining way to spend a few hours and the good stories easily make up for those that are a bit more mundane. The book is a real collection of talent and won't leave many readers feeling cheated!

Unfettered - Shawn Speakman

RATING: THREE STARS

Unfettered is a delightful collection of short stories by some of the biggest names in fantasy, who have all donated their work to an anthology that is raising money for Shawn Speakman's cancer therapy. The authors included have really allowed their imaginations to run wild and the book is filled with magic and excitement. Many authors have based their stories on their best selling series and they provide further insight into their characters for fans and an opening into their worlds for new readers!

The contents of the collection is as follows:

• Imaginary Friends by Terry Brooks 
• How Old Holly Came To Be by Patrick Rothfuss 
• The Old Scale Game by Tad Williams 
• Game of Chance by Carrie Vaughn 
• The Martyr of the Roses by Jacqueline Carey
• Mudboy by Peter V. Brett
• The Sound of Broken Absolutes by Peter Orullian
• The Coach with Big Teeth by R.A. Salvatore
• Keeper of Memory by Todd Lockwood
• Heaven in a Wild Flower by Blake Charlton
• Dogs by Daniel Abraham
• The Chapel Perilous by Kevin Hearne
• Select Mode by Mark Lawrence
• All the Girls Love Michael Stein by David Anthony Durham
• Strange Rain by Jennifer Bosworth
• Nocturne by Robert V.S. Redick
• Unbowed by Eldon Thompson
• In Favour with Their Stars by Naomi Novik
• River of Souls by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
• The Jester by Michael J. Sullivan
• The Duel by Lev Grossman
• Walker and the Shade of Allanon by Terry Brooks
• The Unfettered Knight by Shawn Speakman

The UK edition of Unfettered also includes a bonus story: The Twilight Dragon by Shawn Speakman.

The Good
Some of the stories in Unfettered are superb and I really enjoyed the ones that were linked to the primary works of other pieces. The ones by Terry Brooks were both very good and the anthology also included Mudboy by Peter V. Brett - a short story that introduces a new character that will appear in The Demon Cycle!

Of all the stories in the collection, however, my favourite has to be Unbowed by Eldon Thompson. Thompson has based his entry around a character from his Legend of Asahiel trilogy. The story was exciting and heartbreaking, following the tortuous training and initiation of an assassin, and introduced me to a series that I never knew existed! I'm now very excited to read The Crimson Sword, the first book in Thompson's series, and have already added it to my reading list on Goodreads!

The Bad
Although I enjoyed Unfettered and thought it was good overall, I did find it a bit hit and miss. Some of the stories were much better than others and (rather sadly) a few of them were actually quite bland and boring. I found myself skipping through parts of the book, which is a shame really as all of the authors are very respected and have published many fantastic stories through their career.

I have to say that I was particularly disappointed with the stories by Patrick Rothfuss and Robert V. S. Redick. Both of these men are among my favourite authors of all time and I find it painful even writing this - I was really looking forward to reading their entries, but they just didn't live up to my expectations . . . Both authors had tried to do something new and I feel their stories would have been much more enjoyable if they were based in the worlds they have so loving established in The Kingkiller Chronicle and The Chathrand Voyage.

My Thoughts
Unfettered is a bit inconsistent, but the good stories it contains certainly over weighs the boring ones and I think it's a nice little book to pass the time for avid readers of fantasy (in all of its forms). Furthermore the money raised is going towards Shawn Speakman's cancer therapy, which is as good a reason to buy the book as any! I recommend reading it, but it certainly isn't a memorable book that will stay with you for a long time after you finish it.