Unfettered II
Edites by Shawn Speakman. Dust jacket illustration by Todd Lockwood. Interior illustrations by Don Maitz.
Life can kick us when we are down.
In Shawn Speakman’s case, he is fighting back.
Lacking health insurance and diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011, Speakman beat the disease as well as the massive medical debt he amassed from its treatment. He did this by publishing Unfettered, an anthology featuring short stories donated by some of the best science fiction and fantasy writers working today.
The fight will not stop there. In an effort to pay forward the aid he received — and to memorialize his mother who passed away from stomach cancer in early 2016 — Speakman has again collaborated with celebrated genre authors to publish Unfettered II. All proceeds from the anthology will either help eliminate medical debt for other authors or be donated to cancer research hubs around the world.
Twenty original new tales comprise this amazing collection and, as the title suggests, the writers were again free to contribute whatever they wished.
Here is the line-up for Unfettered II:
- Foreword by Terry Brooks
- Bradley P. Beaulieu (Song of Shattered Sands)
- Jim Butcher (Dresden Files)
- Rachel Caine
- Sarah Beth Durst (The Queens of Renthia)
- David Farland (Runelords)
- Charlaine Harris
- Mark Lawrence (Gunlaw)
- Erin Lindsey (Bloodbound)
- Seanan McGuire
- Aidan Moher
- Naomi Novik
- Peter Orullian (Vault of Heaven)
- J.A. Pitts
- Anthony Ryan (Raven’s Shadow)
- Brandon Sanderson (Stormlight Archive)
- Scott Sigler
- Shawn Speakman (Annwn Cycle)
- Michael J. Sullivan (The Legends of the First Empire)
- Django Wexler
- Janny Wurts (Wars of Light and Shadow
- Todd Lockwood (Cover Artist)
- Don Maitz (Interior Illustrator)
With the help of New York Times bestselling authors as well as talented newcomers, Speakman has taken the platform Unfettered created to not only confront medical debt but to support the battle against one of our gravest illnesses. Unfettered II is a fantastic sequel anthology but it is more than that; it is proof that we are stronger together than we are apart.
After all, isn’t that what genre fiction is all about?
Shawn Speakman
Shawn Speakman grew up in the beautiful wilds of Washington State near a volcano and surrounded by old-growth forests filled with magic. After moving to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, he befriended New York Times best-selling fantasy author Terry Brooks and became his webmaster, leading to an enchanted life surrounded by words.
He was a manager at one of the largest Barnes & Noble Booksellers in the country for many years and now owns the online bookstore The Signed Page, manages the websites for several authors, and is a freelance writer for Random House.
Unfettered
Unfettered consists of three books. The current recommended reading order for the series is provided below.