Evil is a Matter of Perspective

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky, Courtney Schafer, Mazarkis Williams, Alex Marshall, Jeff Salyards, Shawn Speakman, Brian Staveley, Teresa Frohock, Marc Turner, R. Scott Bakker, Michael R. Fletcher

Narrated by: Greg Patmore

Villains take center stage in this collection of 19 dark and magical stories. Listeners will be cheering for all the wrong heroes as some of the most fearsome, devious, and brutal antagonists perform savage deeds towards wicked ends. And why not? These characters are the champions of their own stories - evil is a matter of perspective. Contributors also include Mark Adler, Bradley P. Beaulieu, E.V. Morrigan, Peter Orullian, Matthew Ward, Kaaron Warren, Deborah A. Wolf, and Janny Wurts.

©2017 Adrian Collins (P)2019 David N. Wilson

Absolutely brilliant

Baker’s open comments are something that everyone should read or hear. As a PhD scientist and engineering and lover of all sci-fi and fantasy I have never heard such a more powerful opening as this book. The case for grim dark and the rules for story tell are powerfully explained I was left with my jaw on the floor.

I will be recommending this series for the the next ten years if not more. This is a classical exposition on the moral dilemma we call humanity in a fun dark, intellectual, brilliant, set of stories that we as lover of fantasy should read. This will open your mind and blur the boundary of what we conceive as evil and good. You will relate and hate that you relate to the characters given because it is who we are in nature.

I want to thank all the authors who made this brilliant piece of work. This is true grimdark at its finest. Real people real feelings real actions real story telling. They don’t not shy away from the true good and evil in the human soul.

Please enjoy this exciting journey into the dark you will not regret it!

Evil is a Matter of Perspective

This is an interesting collection of stories told from the villain’s point of view. Each story brings the listener into a new and engaging places. As with most collections there were some that I enjoyed more than others. This book has numerous worlds and characters that will grab your attention. Each story brings you into another world and adventure. I enjoyed the idea behind these stories, and it was interesting to see these kinds of stories told from the villain’s viewpoint. This is a nice way to try out the various authors works, and I have found a few that I will be looking for more from. Narrator Greg Patmore does a good job of bringing these stories to life and pulling the listener in.

I received this audiobook at my request, and I voluntarily wrote a review.

found new authors

I found some new authors I'm going to look more into; I can't decide which story is my favorite in this collection.

I enjoyed

I listened to the audiobook and I very much enjoyed it.

I do admit I haven't read grimdark stories before or I don't think I have, but I will now because I enjoyed these stories.

Great fun

Great stories, but I wish they had given the story name and author in the chapter names on the app. I had to keep restarting the chapter to find out more about each author.

Pretty good and some were even better.

The stories were good in this unconventionally dark but intriguing collection and a few were remarkable! The narrator and producer surprised me a few times on how brilliant his range was. The ones that really stood out helped make this shadowed narrative as a whole show that even the darkest ideals can be a matter of perspective.

GOOD READ!

I liked it. The narration was good and kept me entertained. There is something for everyone to enjoy in this collection! As with most collections, there will be duds but overall pretty good. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.

Intriguing

Good listen with multiple stories. Little slow at first but once it gets going not bad. Another great performance by Greg Patmore!

Are you one who wants the bad guy to win sometimes

I have always been one to occasionally want to see the story differently than the author wants you to. I always want the hero to win and the villain to lose. Sometimes the villain is the hero.
If any of the above describes you: this was made for you. I won’t get into plots and spoilers, but this group of short stories will satisfy your dark side. I won’t say all of the stories are 5 star but production, narration, and overall storylines are well worth the five star rating. Stories told from the dark side, and making the villains relatable what more can you ask for. I will be listening to these short stories more than once. Love it.
This audiobook was provided by the publisher, author(s), or narrator, for an honest review.

What a deliciously dark collection!

I'm not usually big on short stories, but herein you'll find an excellent group of stories to suit almost any taste.

As always, Greg Patmore does a fantastic job narrating the audiobook. He's one of the rare narrators who can manage both male and female voices of almost any description and do so convincingly. His vocal inflections are spot on and his tempo shifts are subtle but effective.

There are so many fantastic characters, excellent plots, and shocking twists in these stories, I hardly know where to begin.

Going into this, the only authors I had previously read were Shawn Speakman, Michael Fletcher, and Scott Bakker. While I knew of Adrian Tchaikovsky, I had never read any of his work.

So, to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this collection is a serious understatement.

Here we have stories about monsters, assassins, antiheroes, villains, bad people doing good things, and good people doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. Not all of them have happy endings.

Which, of course, means it's exactly the sort of thing I really enjoy!

I honestly didn't encounter a single story that I didn't enjoy, which is a rarity for me. Even Unfettered included stories I didn't enjoy.

Naturally, each story has a different focus and will appeal to different readers. But anyone who enjoys Grimdark or antiheroes, or finds themselves rooting for the villain, is likely to find more than a few stories to enjoy here.