Unmasked: Tales of Risk and Revelation

by Kevin J. Anderson (Editor)

Overview

From undercover robots to shape shifting soldiers, the twenty-one stories in this wide-ranging anthology explore what happens when the mask comes off.

We all wear masks, whether they are the literal costumes of superheroes and bank robbers or the metaphorical shrouds that obscure our real selves. Unmaksed explores these attempts to conceal, the mysteries beneath, and the price we pay when they’re stripped away. Authors ask what happens when your secret identity is revealed. When the monster is unleashed. When the superhero’s child has no power. When Death himself is caught unawares.

Here are twenty-one tales of speculation and fantasy that center on magical masks, gas masks, death masks, superheroes, secret identities, disguised robots, alien symbionts, a Napoleonic thief, a swindling demon, and even a hidden clown.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781680572278
Publisher:	WordFire Press
Publication date:	06/30/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	340
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Kevin J. Anderson has published more than 170 books, 58 of which have been national or international bestsellers. He has written numerous novels in the Star Wars, X-Files, and Dune universes, as well as unique steampunk fantasy novels Clockwork Angels andClockwork Lives, written with legendary rock drummer Neil Peart. His original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series, the Wake the Dragon and Terra Incognita fantasy trilogies, the Saga of Shadows trilogy, and his humorous horror series featuring Dan Shamble, Zombie PI. He has edited numerous anthologies, written comics and games, and the lyrics to two rock CDs. Anderson is the director of the graduate program in Publishing at Western Colorado University. Anderson and his wife Rebecca Moesta are the publishers of WordFire Press. His most recent novels are Vengewar, Dune: The Duke of Caladan (with Brian Herbert), Stake, Kill Zone (with Doug Beason), and Spine of the Dragon.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Taking off the Mask-Kevin J. Anderson

Pygmalion-Seanan McGuire

I Have No Name-Andi Christopher

Speakeasy-Keltie Zubko

Framing Marta-James Romag

The Green Gas-Liam Hogan

Death by Misadventure-John M. Olsen

The Fog of War-Edward J. Knight

Faces of Death-Ed Burkley

The Quota-Tom Howard

La Marionnette-Alicia Cay

Masque-JL Curtis

Beauty is Lifted from Its Face As a Mask-Eric James Stone

Pagliacci's Joke-Travis Heermann

A New Purpose-Rebecca M. Senese

Eyeless-Gama Ray Martinez

In Defiance of Death-Rebecca E. Treasure

Qualia-Russell Davis

Shot in the Dark-Brennen Hankins

The Hibakusha-Michael Scott Bricker

Mope Not for the Mighty-Michael Nethercott

Sinner, Baker, Fabulist, Priest; Red Mask, Black Mask, Gentleman, Beast-Eugie Foster

For title page, use

Kevin J. Anderson, Executive Editor

Editorial Team: Kelly Adams, Erekson Holt, Deborah Kevin, Melissa Dalton Martinez, Constanza Ontaneda, Dale Sprague, Amanda Montandon, and Matt Wright

Editorial Reviews

04/26/2021

Anderson (editor, Monsters, Movies, & Mayhem) and his graduate students at Western Colorado University bring together 21 speculative shorts that share the timely, if at times belabored, theme of masks. Some of these masks take literal form—as in Seanan McGuire’s “Pygmalion,” in which the daughter of a superhero confronts her family’s legacy—while other stories adopt a more metaphorical approach, including “Masque” by J.L. Curtis, about an 18-year-old Native American boy enlisted in the U.S. Army who uses his ability to transform into a wolf to spy on enemy troops. These fantasies are positioned alongside science fiction pieces like “The Green Gas” by Liam Hogan, which takes readers into a postapocalyptic world where an orphaned girl learns the consequences of being caught in chemical-infested air without a gas mask. Though the emphasis on masks can feel a bit cheesy, the stories offer a wide range of genre and setting, giving readers a varied assortment of adventurous tales to journey with. It’s fun, easy reading best taken in small doses. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"It's fun, easy reading ... a varied assortment of adventurous tales to journey with"-Publishers Weekly

"An appropriate short fiction collection for a pandemic era."-Kaye Lynne Booth, Writing to Be Read

From the Publisher