A well executed story that was perfectly suited for the novella length. I was told it would end in tears but I chose not to believe it, yet still had the audacity to be sheocked when it did. It was beautifully written with a constant sense of foreboding. At the heart this is an exploration of friendship especially when it is toxic. I loved it and are looking forward to more of her short fiction. If you weren't the biggest fan of the Greenbone saga like me, don't fret you're still in for a good time.

Thank you to NetGalley & Tor Books for the ARC of Untethered Sky.

I’m of the belief that it takes great skill and talent to create a well rounded fantasy story that is as short in length as this Novella. Being that it is a stand alone and it does not rely on the readers background knowledge of the world and characters makes it all the more impressive. Did I want more, of course! Was I left dissatisfied, absolutely not.

Not only did Lee introduce me to a world in which two creatures I had no understanding of are central, but she introduced me to characters who I came to care for greatly. Lee somehow created multiple conflicts with enough simplicity not to overwhelm the story and just enough complexity to give it impact.

Finally I am such a sucker for a story about holding the wild close to your heart but being unable to fully tame it. This was that. This novella perfectly illustrates that sometimes loving is worth the inevitable heartbreak.

5 stars

It's a novella about people who train giant birds of prey, known as Rocs, to hunt down the monstrous manticores--beasts with a body of a lion, tail of a scorpion, and head of a man. We follow Ester, a girl who lost her family due to a manticore attack and found a life's purpose to become a ruhker, the people who train and hunt with the Rocs.

It's a short book that cuts to the important area's of Ester's journey of deciding to become a ruhker and then training and hunting with one. I am a bird person so the premise certainly drew me in. I do wish it focused a little bit more on Ester's developing relationship with her Roc, Zahra-- something more like the movie How to Train Your Dragon. It has a little bit of that, don't get me wrong, but as an animal lover I wanted more. Instead it has a nice balance between training with Zahra, developing Ester's relationships with other important characters, and centering the story around an actual plot. Again, it's all done in about 160 pages, so a well-balanced, quick read that sets out to tell a story and accomplishes just that. With what has been established, I don't know if there's really more to explore, but I would try and read more if the author felt so inclined. I love giant birds of prey!

Thank you to the publisher for providing a free eARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

An introspective short story that explores not only a well-made high fantasy setting, but also loss, grief, and found family.

This was a good little novella. I was saddened by the ends that Ester and Darius met with their Rocs, which is a feat for a book this short. Often with novellas, it’s hard for me to connect to the characters in such a short time, but this was not the case for this one. Really good story!

Ester’s mother and brother were killed by a manticore when she was young, spurring her on to become a ruhker. Ruhker’s train and handle the only animals that can kill manticores, giant birds called rocs.

Ester learns to guide but never control her monster of a roc, This short novel shows how animals and humans are reliant on one another but still so different. The characters are endearing and the adventures they go on are exciting.

*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review*

I absolutely loved this story, and the descriptions of everything. The descriptions of Zahra's coloring let me picture it almost perfectly, and I loved how well described everyone was. I did wish there was a bit more plot, especially given the build up of the rocs and manticores, but really enjoyed the story nonetheless. I also really liked the friendship (relationship?) between Darius and Ester, and how they worked so well together with their rocs. The ending was very bittersweet, but felt fitting. I want more of this world, and to know what Nasmin got up to afterwards. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who needs something not too plot heavy but insanely good to read after a bad day.

Fonda Lee hits another home run in this heartwarming tale of camaraderie, vengeance, ambition and ultimately friendship. After a manticore kills Ester’s brother and mom, Ester heads to the royal mews to become the master and hunting partner of a Roc (a large, raptor like bird). Rocs are the natural enemies of manticores, which have began terrorizing the countryside in increasing numbers, snagging the attention of the realm’s King and Crown Prince. Ester is paired with a fledgling Roc named Zara who becomes her soul focus. Properly bonding with a Roc requires the complete sacrifice of all else. There’s just one catch, can an apex predator ever really love you back?

Throughout her journey with Zara, Ester befriends Darius and Nasmin, two equally ambitious Rocers with agendas all their own. As the three’s paths diverge, and outside pressures complicate the realm’s political landscape their relationships hit turbulence and the three face very different obstacles, testing their loyalty and ambition. This is an intriguing, quaint morality tale underscoring the costs of vengeance, and what love can and cannot overcome. Refreshingly, Untethered Sky focuses on the common folk of the realm, rather than the grandstanding heroes and change makers. Overall, a beautiful tale I would recommend to all fantasy lovers.

My highly anticipated book this year! Thank you NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

Manticores are bear-sized animals with long tails and lion-like heads, and their favorite prey is humans. The only animal capable of killing these monsters is the roc (a giant bird).
It's difficult to form a bond with and train a roc, but Ester is determined to become a rukher. It’s her life now—to look after her roc, Zahra, and train it to be the best hunter.

Ester's admiration for her roc grows stronger each day, and she worries that Zahra may abandon her one day.
Ester is a kind character, she accepts her losses with sadness yet understanding. She grows fond of her friends. Rather than feeling jealous, she admires her friends’ success as rukhers. She had a traumatizing childhood after a manticore killed her mother and brother. She's already lost her family she can’t allow the monster to take her friends as well.

I immensely enjoyed this novella. I’m not a huge fan of novellas, as I prefer extensive worldbuilding. However, this book was rewarding. It brought warmth to my heart, was very well written, and the main character was realistic and lovable.

Highly recommended for animal lovers, particularly bird lovers.

Fonda Lee is one of my favorite authors and I will jump at the chance to read anything by her. This new novella is a departure for her. It takes place in a sort of ancient Greek feeling world. The main character, Ester, is given her first roc to bond with. It's hoped that bird and woman will form a relationship and that Ester will eventually be able to fly Zahra the roc on monster killing missions. In this world, rocs are not big enough to ride but are still gigantic enough to be able to hunt and kill wolves, lions, or the ultimate hunt: the manticore.

Lee has clearly done her research into how hunting birds are bonded with their handlers. I fell in love with Zahra just as thoroughly as Ester did. It's made clear that, just like raptors in our world, rocs are in a reciprocal relationship with their handlers and they can always make the decision to leave. Whenever you fly a bird you have to be ready to say goodbye. You're always vulnerable to heartbreak.

The world is one I'd love to visit again. All the characters were richly drawn and human. And I'll always love any book in which there's a such a close and special relationship with an animal. I knew I was putting my heart on the line with this one, too. No regrets.

I’m a sucker for books about birds – so when a favorite author of mine pens a novella about giant hunting birds – I jump on board. In Untethered Sky, Fonda Lee’s words bring life to the majesty and power of the rocs, legendary birds of prey who keep the countryside clear of the monstrous manticores.

Because of its short length, the story doesn’t have room to be overly complex, but Lee has managed to make a simple story poignant and affecting. She made me care deeply for these beautiful winged beasts and the bond they share with their keepers. I’d absolutely sign up for more stories set in this world.

This is the perfect fantasy quick-read and escapism shortcut.

Untethered Sky is quite a departure from the epic urban fantasy and gritty Green Bone Saga, but leave it to Fonda Lee to dive into "traditional" fantasy territory and write the perfectly balanced standalone novella with just the right amount of depth, worldbuilding, well-rounded characters, and action; complete with her trademark emotionally painful story arc.

With beautiful prose and an immersive writing style, Fonda Lee delves into the intricacies of a relationship between a giant bird of prey (known mythically as Roc) trained to serve a kingdom in the fight against a bigger monster, the manticore, and its human partner, Ester, whose life mission is to avenge her family's tragic fate.

This is the first animal-focused fantasy book I've read, and I was surprised by how quickly this world pulled me in. Even if you think big murder birds are not your thing, it's easy to care for the story as the human component is as strong as the back and forth between predator and prey, beast and trainer: the storyline also focuses on the forging and downfall of friendships and alliances, and the built up of a slow burn romance.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐔𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐤𝐲:
- if at times you find yourself staring at nature in awe;
- if you're looking for a short read and/or something different to challenge yourself without leaving the fantasy realm;
- if you need a palate cleanser.

Thank you NetGalley and Tordotcom for the ARC, you made a fangirl very happy.

Rating: 4.25 stars

The only word i have for this is obsessed. I am so obsessed with the characters and the writing style. SO GOOD

WONDERFUL. STUNNING. SPECTACULAR. SOMETHING THAT I COULD READ TIME AND TIME AGAIN! Fonda Lee does it again.

Fonda Lee is now firmly an auto-buy author for me.

Untethered Sky was surprisingly emotional and heart-wrenching for a book about monsters. While I think is unfair for me to compare this to The Greenbone Saga (a trilogy that gives us much more time to become emotionally attached to the characters and the story), how could I not hope for the same big reactions I felt while reading those ones?

I was not disappointed, as Ester and Zarah immediately captured my heart. The action was presented with JUST enough detail that I was on the edge of my seat, and I felt invested in every aspect of this book. Nasmin, Daruis, and Ester's stories all wrapping in SUCH different ways, yet not different at all was POETIC.

Fonda you have my heart and my wallet in your clutches.

I feel like so often novellas let me down--there just isn't enough time for me to get into the world and the characters. But, this was definitely not that. This was such a dreamy and fantastical story with amazing worldbuilding and such interesting themes. The pacing of this was so good and it was so tightly plotted--I loved every page of this! I long for more in this world, please give me more, haha. Another homerun from Fonda Lee, I highly recommend this!

CONTENT WARNING: mention of miscarriage, blood, death, death of a child, death of a parent, gore

I fell in love with Lee’s writing throughout the Greenbone Saga, and I honestly didn’t even need to read the summary to know I wanted to read this book. So I went into this kind of blindly, aside from knowing that this involved rocs and riding them. Even so, I was surprised at how much plot, character, and emotion she was able to pack into a 160-page novella.

We get to meet Ester and see her early years, which have a major influence on her path in life. I liked seeing how she had to work to bond with Zahra, and the story doesn’t shy away from all the nitty gritty aspects of working to train a wild animal. So often, stories just gloss over all the hard work that goes into training, and it could have been easy to do in a short novella, but Lee made the choice to talk about Ester having to constantly work to reinforce behaviors, clean out the enclosure, and get Zahra used to her presence, yet still walk the fine line of knowing that Zahra is a wild animal at heart and can tear her apart at any given moment, especially if her training isn’t up to par.

I also enjoyed seeing how Ester slowly began to form relationships with some of the ruhkers (people who train and work with rocs) around her. She forms close bonds with two people around her, and gets to know them and enjoy their company despite the fact that she seems to be a loner at heart. The two people that she becomes closest to play an integral part in the story, and their personalities are so different, and Lee managed to create well-rounded characters that popped off the page.

At heart, Ester’s dream of becoming a ruhker was to avenge her family and save others from suffering the same pain that she did. She was single-minded in her focus, which became more like an obsession as time went on. Being dedicated wasn’t a bad thing, since it allowed her to be good at what she did, although it did have some consequences for her. Ultimately, it came down to what she was willing to pay to achieve her goal. This was a fantastic story—fast-paced, intriguing, and with some plot twists that I loved, even though the foreshadowing let me know it was probably going to break my heart a little bit. Overall, this just cemented the fact that I’ll continue to read whatever Lee writes, regardless of what it is, since it’s guaranteed to be a winner in my eyes.

Thank you Tor Publishing Group and Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

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.

The story follows Ester, a ruhker (aka trainer/handler) of a roc named Zahra, who is basically a giant bird that is the size of a full grown man. We're taken along Ester's journey as she trains and forms a relationship with Zahra in which they hunt and slay manticores. In this world, manticores are THE WORST.

Untethered Sky was more character driven that I expected. There isn't a ~main conflict~ per say, but the story takes an intimate look at Ester's relationship with Zahra. Since this was a novella, I don't want to say too much and let y'all read and find out for yourselves. It's a much different take on animal companion trope we all know and love in fantasy. I highly recommend and I think y'all are gonna like this one when it comes out in April!

4/5 stars

Untethered Sky is a bright, dreamy and adventurous novella, with lush wordplay and delightful worldbuilding, concerned with exploring vengeance, purpose, and sacrificial love. Our protagonist, Ester, is an irrepressible heroine who is coping with grief not only as an emotion but as a driving force in her life. This is just a very well-executed story- the pacing and momentum is excellent. The story lingers in the right places to immerse the reader and build suspense, and picks up when it needs to to move the plot along. The ending is satisfying and it's a pleasure to read.

Thank you so much for the ARC!

This is the first work I’ve read from Fonda Lee, and I will definitely be picking up more.
What a fantastic novella. The pacing, the atmosphere, the characters; it all drew me in and I was sad when it as over.
This is what I want out of novella’s that I pick up, and while I’m excited to read more of Lee’s longer works, I would pick up another shorter work from her in a heartbeat.
Thanks for the ARC!