A great collection of stories!

1. Half-Breed by Joe Jackson

Good

As is usual for an anthology, a mixed bag. I liked some of these, I really loved a couple, and I disliked a couple. Definitely worth reading, I've added several new authors to my TBR list and that makes me happy.

This is the second indie fantasy anthology I read this year and as with the other one I would highly recommend it. There were ones I enjoyed, ones I really loved, and ones that didn't work for me, but overall the experience was worth it. Here are my thoughts on each of the stories in the order in which they appear in the anthology:

Half-Breed by Joe Jackson
This was a good tale to the start the anthology with. It follows Eli, an orphan who found work with a gang protecting their assassins when they go out on missions. When an assassination he's involved in starts to go wrong he is thrown into an adventure in which he beings to learn more about his city and himself. Great stuff.

The Dwarven Dragon by Jeramy Goble
Another great story. This time it follows a young dwarf in the mines. What I loved about this story was that it was about her relationships with her family and friends, her skills, her dreams, and her slow growth and determination. It went at a slow pace, with hardly a battle in sight for the first 90% of the story, but never got boring. I cared about the character and wanted her to succeed in her efforts. And in the end there's a big showy finale for those who love the more action-packed aspects of fantasy. One of the stand-outs in the this anthology in my opinion.

Fresh off the Boat by K. S. Villoso
This was another story that was more about the character and his growth than the action or magic. It was a tale about a man who had just moved from his own land to this empire, a man who was reuniting with his wife and trying to find his footing in a place that was completely unfamiliar to him. At one point half-way through I was starting to feel like he had been up to way too much just on his first night in the empire, but the story flows along so well that I didn't really care, just wanted to see what happened next. The story was also unique in the feel and tone. Another great tale.

Paternus: The Death of Osiris by Dyrk Ashton
This one didn't work for me at all. It was all a whole bunch of gods and half-gods in ancient Egypt trying to outsmart each other or keep each other in check or whatever, which is not a thing I enjoy at all.

Small Teacher by Jeffrey Hall
I absolutely loved this one. Great, great story with a protagonist that's very easy to empathize with, but who is also flawed in a couple of different ways. The story is great and well paced, but also shows a deep world-building with all kinds of creatures and magic that's revealed in a smooth way as the action progresses.

Is Dumb by M. D. Presley
This story has something to say about the genre and about the meaning of the word hero. To that end we start with what seems to be almost a generic set up for the story and then suddenly realize that not everything is as it seems. Definitely recommend.

Final Word by Mike Shel
For the part of this I managed to read I felt like I was in a Sanderson or GGK novel style-wise. But I really didn't get very far. Maybe there was a turning point that would have made it worth it or put a twist on it or whatever, but I really just couldn't press on with this one past the first few pages because of the subject matter.

What Needs to be Done by David Benem
A bunch of heroes gather to hunt down demons that are causing havoc in this fantasy world. Lots of battles and monsters and such, but at the same time it also explores the main character's struggle
with bravery and cowardice and shows a bit of backstory for him. Overall, a good tale.

Hardgrave by Phil Tucker
A bloodthirsty general is about to arrive in a town. He's razed all the previous towns to the ground, basically, so there's a sense of impending doom, but at the same time it's a quiet story about being a hero and doing what's right and about the effects of war on ordinary people. Great story.

Holding Out by Derek Alan Siddoway
This was unbelievably boring for me and it just wouldn't end. I ended up skimming a lot of it and man, was it pointless. It was basically about a cowboy roaming around on his own - just existing for pages and pages and pages - but he rode a gryphon instead of a horse.

The Custodian by Matt Moss
Lowly custodian in a medieval castle longs to become a hero. It was a little ridiculous to me that this dude didn't realize how messed up his society was and actually wanted to be accepted as a hero so badly. I mean, these people were extremely nasty to him at every turn and yet he longed to dedicate his life to saving them... why? In that sense it was extremely cliche and didn't really say anything profound about anything, seemed a bit too... trapped in the genre. But at least there were things happening constantly unlike the previous story in this anthology.

The Altar by Daniel Potter
I also didn't get very far into this. Skipped to the end and was glad I hadn't bothered. Who knows, I may have missed something interesting, but I don't have enough hours in my life to spare slogging through something that immediately puts me off.

All End by Quenby Olsen
I picked up a full length book by Quenby Olsen on a free promo a few weeks ago and started in and then started to feel very creeped out. Her writing is excellent, but I just... don't really have a stomach for horror and I didn't feel like I wanted to continue that story and test it out.

So I was excited to read this shorter tale because I felt that it would, hopefully be short enough a dose of creepy for me to be able to handle.

Anyway, it was good. Great, actually. Good characterization, interesting magical dilemma, a bit of mystery and a backstory for the main character. A lot was packed into such a short story and even though it's not my usual genre, as I mentioned, I really enjoyed this one!

The Savior of Garen's Gate by Will Wight
This was a decent stand-alone tale about a hero struggling with his own failures and mortality. I got the sense that it would work much better or be more meaningful if I was already invested in the world or characters, if it was some prologue or epilogue to a larger series. And maybe that's what it is. Anyway, not bad at all.

Indomitable by Andy Peloquin
Reading this story felt very much like reading a traditionally published fantasy story. You know what I'm talking about: there's a set amount of romance that has to be in them, a certain type of story arc, lots of borrowing of words and names, in this case from Arabic, just for setting, etc. Ok story, but not super memorable and didn't have much to say about the genre or much to make me care.

The Ashmoore Affair by Michael J. Sullivan
Ok, but, again, not too exciting.

False Heirs by J. C. Kang
This story was at the same time much more well-written than some of the others in this anthology but also much more disappointing. It wasn't really its own stand-alone thing. It wasn't even a prequel to an existing series. It was just the first few pages of a book... which is fine, but not in an anthology where everything else stands alone so well.

Ulroc's Redemption by Ben Galley
Again, this one was well-written, but didn't really work for me because of my own genre preferences. It just wasn't my type of thing. It felt like the world building was a thin layer that had been applied over the actual setting the author had in mind. Also not sure where redemotion comes into it.

Ratman by Laua M. Hughes
I almost quit in the first half. A couple of times. Very dark/gross and seemingly pointless. It picked up a bit in the second half or second one quarter, but just became a more typical/cliche type story instead. Anyway, really not my thing.



As you can see, overall, there were things I loved, things I hated, and also some meh stories, but overall it was pretty good. Definitely check it out if you're into fantasy! There's a little bit of everything and some very engaging and unique gems to discover within.

I'm at a bit of a loss on how to grade anthologies. If I were to score every story in this book individually and then average them all out, this probably wouldn't 'score' as a five-star book. I'm getting pretty tired of assigning numbers and grades in reviews.

But the overall package -- the author selection, the various ways that the subject is approached, the vast creativity at work, the massive differences in approach that each author takes -- it all adds up to an incredibly rewarding, no-brainer, five-star read.

Even though I'm familiar with many of these authors from the previous works, I was happily surprised to discover that many of these stories were nothing like I had expected. While some of the stories took place in one of the author's pre-established worlds, the tone of each story felt new and refreshing.

There were a lot of standout stories. The anthology started strong, and ended with two of the best of the bunch. Some of my favorites include:
- Joe Jackson's "Half Breed"
- Jeramy Goble's "The Dwarven Dragon"
- Jeffrey Hall's "Small Teachers"
- Mike Shel's "Final Word"
- Daniel Potter's "The Altar"
- Quenby Olson's "All Ends"
- Ben Galley's "Urloc's Redemption"
- Laura M. Hughes' "Ratman"

There are several other stories I enjoyed: Phil Tucker's, Will Wight's, David Benem's, Dyrk Ashton's. There were a couple that didn't land for me, but nothing that I outright disliked.

With a book like this, I think the intention is to for an author pull some of their readers in and introduce them to other authors they might like, and in turn get a new audience for themselves as well. In my case, this is mission: accomplished. I haven't read 'Danse Macabre' or 'God of Gnomes,' but Hughes' 'Ratman' has turned me into a fan. I wasn't familiar with Joe Jackson before this book, and came away very impressed with his opening story, which set a high bar for the rest of the book.

Let's wrap things up. You're going to find some stuff you'll really love. You'll probably find some stories you don't care for. But if you're open-minded towards finding new authors to explore, you're going to finish this book with a lot of fresh ammunition for your next book splurge. And with the ebook being free, go get it. Put it on your phone. Read a story when you're waiting for your next appointment, or while you eat lunch, or when you're driving down the Autobahn--- uh, maybe not that last one.

So, yeah. Between the authors, the presentation, the variety, the skill level involved -- there is no doubt that the Heroes Wanted anthology is a five-star experience.