zahra was not yet in my life, but she would be. she answered the question in my soul and made me worthwhile. and you were not yet in my life either, but then you came into it. you’re part of the answer and even without your roc, you’re worth more to me than you could ever know. ” And then she was aloft. It seems impossible, when you think about it. How something so huge can conquer gravity. But we’ve always known that rocs are more than mere birds. There’s a reason they’re the subject of myths, why they adorn royal crests and are carved into the sides of temples.”

After years of not reading novellas, I am really coming around to the format, and books like Untethered Sky demonstrate the power that novellas can have. It is a tightly plotted and told story with the feeling of a much longer epic fantasy. While I was completely satisfied with the ending, I would love to be able to revisit this world again and again. Highly recommended. zahra and i were complete; we were the sun and the wind, the sky and the earth, life and death, above the world and untouchable. ” The hunt scenes are breathtaking. Using a combination of chariots, horses, and lures, Lee writes beautiful and lifelike scenes of launching rocs above the spacious grasslands around the kingdom. It’s easy to become attached to the majestic Zahra, Ester’s roc. And when Ester begins a bond with a fellow ruhker named Darius, the shared love of their chosen paths is endearing. The MC was my favorite part of the book. She had such a poignant connection to the overall conflict of the story that I couldn’t help but be drawn in. She really believed in her cause, and that personal connection and motive behind becoming a roc trainer added a lot of meaningful depth to the story. I also loved her awkward navigations when dealing with other humans – she was incredibly endearing. I don't suppose my father ever guessed that I asked it as endlessly as he did. Some say ruhking is a calling. For me it was an answer to a question that had bored clear through my soul. I had a hole worn through my center, like one of Arnan's interesting blue river stones. People have admired rocs for centuries. Artists paint them, sculpt them, tell stories about them. I wanted to be one. I wanted to be the monster that kills other monsters.For such a small book, this covers a pretty long period of time, taking us all the way through until Ester is an adult and full ruhker, when she and all the other ruhkers are involved in a nationwide effort to kill as many manticores as possible. I’m astonished at how Fonda Lee managed to evoke specific, piercing emotions in me in such a short book. The ending left me in tears. This is a story I’ve been waiting for: spare, gracefully told, filled with feelings of overwhelming awe and quiet aching. It feels like a folktale, complete with the incoming dread of a fable, yet balanced with the same comfort and warmth. I will treasure Untethered Sky for years to come. Ester has sought purpose ever since a manticore murdered her mother and baby brother. Her path leads her to the Royal Mews and the rocs, the giant birds who are the only things capable of killing a manticore…but the bond between roc and ruhker is as dangerous as it is strong. As in her Green Bone Saga, Fonda Lee excels at nuanced characterization of complex interpersonal relationships. In Untethered Sky, these relationships include those between ruhkers and rocs and amongst the ruhkers themselves. All these relationships are built on mutual respect and collegiality but with an unspoken barrier preventing deeper connections. The cautiously affectionate interactions between Ester and her fellow ruhker Darius are especially poignant.

Despite its shortcomings, “Untethered Sky” includes several standout scenes, such as the brutal murder of Ester’s mother and brother at the beginning of the novella. This scene is expertly crafted, evoking intense emotions of grief, fear, and horror. Lee’s decision to include unsettling details adds to the situation’s visceral realism and heightens the impact of the tragedy and the horror a young Ester must have felt. This scene serves as a gripping introduction to the story and expertly establishes Ester’s motivation for becoming a ruhker. It is a testament to Lee’s skill that this scene remains vividly etched in the reader’s mind long after the book is finished. Sometimes I read a book that feels just so tailored to my personal interests and strange niches that I cannot believe it exists, but this is one of them. I was so hesitant going into this book, so much so that I put it off for months - my friends who have read it haven't really sung its praises, and I didn't love Lee's last novella as much as I was hoping to have - but all my worries were completely unfounded. Growing up, if you asked me what my dream job would be if I didn't have to worry about money, I would've told you I wanted to be a falcon trainer. Why? I honestly could never really explain it, but reading this book made me feel like Fonda Lee put into words how I've always felt about birds of prey - it so accurately captures the emotions of awe, respect, and fear for these magnificent creatures, and because of that, this book felt so special to me. Thank you Tor Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. Anywho, if you want to fall in love with a giant bird and read about a complicated and fierce animal-human bond that will crush your soul and leave you heaving with tears streaming down your face, read this. Untethered Sky marked the first time I read a book by Fonda Lee that doesn't take place in The Green Bone Saga series. And as a diehard fan of The Green Bone Saga, I will let you know now that Untethered Sky is a different kind of book compared to The Green Bone Saga. First, the novella is told through the first-person perspective of Ester, unlike The Green Bone Saga which uses multiple third-person POV chapters. Untethered Sky is also more high-fantasy in its nature than The Green Bone Saga's urban epic fantasy. And I liked the change in direction here.Untethered Sky couldn't be more different from Lee's beloved Green Bone Saga. I loved that Lee pivoted in a different direction to give us a novella about a rukher and her roc. Lest you get the wrong idea though, this is far from your cutesy How to Train Your Dragon type story with a heartwarming ending where everyone gets to go home happy. Ester is ever aware that the love she has for Zahra can never be returned, for no matter how well they are trained, rocs are nature’s creatures bound by instinct. And yet, I found this situation bittersweet and touching in its own way, watching the protagonist give her whole heart to Zahra even knowing full well the roc may break it one day. Out of every five apprentice ruhkers, two will be killed or crippled, two will leave or be sent away, and only one will ever fly a roc. And the dangers do not diminish after that. Babak had seen apprentices come and go. He would place no odds on my success, yet his equanimity was an odd comfort, because I shared his blunt assessment: Either I would become a ruhker, or I would die trying. I would train and care for Zahra, yet she could never belong to me. In name, she belonged to Antrius the Bold and the Kingdom of Dartha, but even that was not true. A roc is always a wild thing, always God’s monster alone.

Middle-eastern based fantasy world (Persian mostly I think, with -polis named city) with extreme power falconry: big rocs are trained to hunt big animals particularly vicious human eating manticores by dedicated trainers. And this is about our fmc (I think she is female, she is so bland I hardly remember and I only read it last night) training her roc, them hunting and more stuff having to do with rocs and our trainer and her roc. The End. Ester,” my mother said, “you’re a miracle. You’re our one and only. Don’t ever get married, don’t ever leave your father and me alone.” Even though she was a sad and unhealthy woman, my mother was still sweet to me. She was undemanding, generous to the servants, and didn’t make a fuss over getting things done in a certain way or by a certain time. She thought life ought to be enjoyed in the moment, messiness tolerated, and even children and slaves should feel free to sing and dance.

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Fonda Lee weaves an enchanted world of giant majestic birds, those who would bond with them, and the terrifying monsters they must pursue. In this beautifully spun tale, a woman driven by loss and the pursuit of justice will be tested by the limits of her endurance, and how much she is willing to sacrifice."—P. Djèlí Clark