Unbowed, Unbroken, Unrelenting: An Antihero Anthology: Volume 1 (A DLP Anthology) Paperback – 12 Feb. 2013

I very much enjoyed this anthology and for a lot of different reasons. Each story is unique and, between them all, offer such a good variety of styles and explorations of what it is to be an anti-hero. While I could easily say you might not like one or two, it's hard to when you can feel how much effort went into each one and that enthusiasm infected me while reading.That's not to say that every story is perfect. After the first few, I started noticing which ones were produced by first-time authors, though admittedly some surprised me with their first foray into fiction - of particular note Matt Silver's wonderful glimpse into a fantasy landscape that has me wishing for a novel. The promise of an epic fantasy that dabbles in mind-twistery is something I would very much enjoy.C.M. Carter also puts on a wonderful show with the self-proclaimed redneck protagonist Wade Deppy, who had me doubting his place amongst anti-heroes until the end. It's a well-handled journey that, somewhere along the lines, brought me over to Wade's side and it's a journey that seems like it'll stick with me for a long time.Overall, it's a good mix of experience, enthusiasm and entertainment, which makes for a most promising start. Regardless of what happens in the future though, it's a great initiative from a hobby-group of sorts to go for self-sufficiency as well as giving so many talented authors a chance to get something out there. I'm hoping to have my cake and eat it with more anthologies as well as offerings from the writers that let me peak through the looking-glass.

For a collection of short fiction written by a spattering of semi-pro and amateur authors, this is a remarkably pleasurable read. There are undoubtedly some teething issues in a number of departments, but none are so noticeable as to detract from the reading experience. And, as is the most important thing, the stories themselves are, to a last, well written, interesting concepts with just enough style and breadth to keep you enthralled through each one.Joe Ducie has collected a series of fantastic works and the book is well worth the price of admission.

This is an anthology of short stories centered around the villain, or sometimes un-conventional hero. I'm not usually a fan of short stories because just when you've been drawn in, you're kicked out. But all these stories are very well written by authors who are, to be honest, much better than most of the books I've been reading recently. If you like, or don't hate, short stories I very much recommend this book.