Unbound - Embrace the Darkness product reviews

This is an excellent collection of fantasy stories based on the hidden Underworld model, with Vampires, Werewolves (or Lycanths), and the other assorted Undead menagerie. I admit that not being a great 'fantasy' genre fan in the past, I haven't come across these authors much, though the names are familiar from the bookshelves of fantasy readers I know. However, now that I have read these tasty tidbits I will be keeping a wary eye out at any second-hand bookstores I visit.

The styles are all different, yet there is a common 'vibe' running through this book that keeps it a cohesive read, even when the characters are so utterly dissimilar. Ranging from a thumb-sized pixie who has a new calling as a general fix-it man for the faeriefolk, a vampire with a killer on the loose and a cohort waiting in the wings for her to stuff up so he take her back to her origins, to an pre-transformation glaistig who doesn't want to follow the family line, there are characters that will appeal to almost any fantasy reader... and a few who don't yet realise they are fantasy fans.

I would be very hard pressed to say "This one is my favourite of the five..." because they all hold some excellent points, each in a different way... but if I simply had to pick one, it would have to be "The Dead, The Damned and the Forgotten" by Jocelynn Drake, as it is the sort of tale I could easily see being converted to a TV series or film script. I had to have a giggle at "Dark Matters" by Vicki Pettersson, as it runs along an awfully familiar theme, that of the movie "Night Watch" - Two warring sides, hidden amongst mortal humans, each fighting a standing battle while waiting for the arrival of a superior being who will tip the balance in favour of whichever power they side with.

Overall, this is a great little sampler for those new to fantasy, and a bit of an eye-opener to those who have always dismissed this genre as "fairytales and dragons".