From the editor of the award-winning anthology Unfettered comes the newest installment in the science fiction and fantasy series, Unfettered III.Lacking health insurance when he was diagnosed with cancer, Shawn Speakman asked friends in the science fiction and fantasy writing community to donate short stories he could use to counter mounting medical debt. The result was Unfettered, an anthology offering tales from some of the best authors...

Clarkesworld is a Hugo and World Fantasy Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Each month we bring you a mix of fiction, articles, interviews and art. Our May 2021 issue (#176) contains:Original fiction by David D. Levine ("Best-Laid Plans"), Amal Singh ("A Home for Mrs. Biswas"), Bo Balder ("The Force Exerted on the Mass of a Body"), Robert V.S. Redick ("Vanishing Point"), Sameem Siddiqui ("Dancing With Ereshkigal"), Tang Fei ("Spore"), and Kai Hudson ("A Star ...

Kandri Hinjuman was never meant to be a soldier. His brother Mektu was never meant for this world. Rivals since childhood, they are drafted into a horrific war led by a madwoman-Prophet, and survive each day only by hiding their disbelief. Kandri is good at blending in, but Mektu is hopeless: impulsive, erratic—and certain that a demon is stalking him. Is this madness or a second sense? Either way, Kandri knows that Mektu's antics will land them both in early graves.But all bets ar...

The worst of rivals, closest of friends, the two most wanted men in a war-torn world: Kandri and Mektu Hinjuman have cheated death so often it's begun to feel like a way of life. But nothing has prepared them for the danger and enchantment of the Ravenous Lands. This sprawling, lethal desert is the brothers' last hope, for they have killed the favorite son of Her Radiance the Prophet, and her death-priests and magical servants are hunting them.There are dangers even within their ca...

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 ...

What if an innocent boy discovered an ancient book and it possessed dark magic? Would that boy be able to control it? Or would the book subjugate his inherent goodness?  And what if that book was UNFETTERED?  THE UNLOCKED TOME is a short story—only 2800 words—that features the origin story of Lachlan Wood, a boy from a broken home who will figure prominently in a future Annwn Cycle novel. The short story will open the Signed & Numbered edition of UNF...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A thrilling collection of twenty-one original stories by an all-star list of contributors—including a new A Game of Thrones story by George R. R. Martin!If you’re a fan of fiction that is more than just black and white, this latest story collection from #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois is filled with subtle shades of gray. Twenty-one all-original s...

An old friend urges Shea Ohmsford to take a dangerous risk in the concluding story of this gripping Shannara eBook series by New York Times bestselling fantasy master Terry Brooks.Shea Ohmsford has had quite enough of quests. A year after surviving a harrowing odyssey, he is still plagued by troubling memories and dreams. A mysterious trafficker in spells and potions provides a restorative nostrum for the stricken Shea . . . along with a warning: Shea will...

The World Fantasy Award–winning anthology featuring an original Game of Thrones novella and new stories from Diana Gabaldon, Jim Butcher, and many more.The twenty-one stories in Dangerous Women showcase some of the best and bravest female characters from across genre fiction—from women warriors and fighter pilots to female serial killers, superheroes, wizards, and bandits.With work from twelve New York Times bestsellers, readers wi...

A city besieged by a powerful warlock seeks salvation from a fabled warrior in the second of three gripping new stand-alone eBook short stories set in the world of the fantasy-fiction phenomenon that is Shannara—by beloved New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks.His extraordinary—and deadly—skills have earned Garet Jax renown and infamy as the man called the Weapons Master. Rootless, solitary, and endlessly sought after, he roams the Four Lands, loy...