I very much enjoyed this novella and I actually wished it had been a little bit longer. I am huge fan of Fonda Lee’s writing and I couldn’t get enough. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when I started this but I found myself hooked from the beginning. Ester is an excellent character and I loved seeing her passion and her drive to achieve her goals. Her family life was destroyed when a manticore attacks her home leaving her with ideas of revenge and the determination to become a ruhker ( an elite roc trainer)

I loved the descriptions and the rocs. The world building and mechanisms for training and flying giant birds of prey to hunt down monsters was fascinating. The slow build up of trust Ester and her roc Zahra had gave this story real depth. I was nervous for Ester and Zahra each time they were sent on and hunt. This story isn’t only about hunting and training the rocs. The human relationships that were formed throughout the story really gave this a nice balance from the cold reality that the rocs are not pets. They did not reciprocate love or affection.

Overall this is a fast paced novella that I definitely recommend. I do think personally you have to be in the right mood for this type of story. It’s by no means warm and fuzzy and cheerful. The ending was bittersweet and there were definitely moments throughout the book that made me sad. If you’re an animal lover be prepared to have all the feels.

4.5/5

Thank you Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tordotcom for gifting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would have liked a lot more of the obsession and monstrosity the narrator kept saying was there, BUT if I ignore that, this was a gorgeous, racing, richly textured yet bite-sized fantasy with all the dynamic action and strong character I trust Fonda to bring, and fuelled my continual love for birds of prey. Maybe that was my problem because I simply cannot conceive of these birds being monsters when this is my literal dream. I love when characters are good at their jobs, and I loved the found family brought together by passion for their creatures. If this was longer I would have liked to see more of Ester, Nasmin and Darius as a trio, but it was still satisfying.

Anyway, I want a roc.

I wasn't expecting an animal based fantasy story, but that is exactly what this is- I was expecting more of a revenge type plot, but this really was about the bonding between people and ye fantasy creatures. This does such a wonderful job describing the rocs (I am picturing these as griffins but I may be off there :)) and particularly our MC's connection to her roc. For a novella, this covers a lot of ground very elegantly, starting with Ester as a rookie and following her as she and her fellow ruhkars hunt down manticores. The ending made me cry so... gotta be a pretty solid tale!

This novella is full of action, friendships, and truly makes you feel the terror of the rukhers as they are hunting their prey. Ester trains to be a rukher one of the few who can handle a roc (a very large bird of prey) and teach it to hunt for her. It has Lee's usual stunning writing, and I world where I would NOT want to live for fear of being eaten by a manticore, but this story packed a punch even in novella form.
I really came to care for Ester and wanted to see her succeed in all of her hunts with Zahra, and wanted to watch her friendships grow even more throughout the story.
It's hard to say much more without giving anything away, but if you've enjoyed Lee's previous works, I think you will find a refreshingly new world created here. I really enjoyed my time with it and can't wait to pick up a physical copy when release day comes!

A huge thank you to TOR for the early copy. All opinions are my own.

Fonda Lee’s Green Bone Saga is one of my all-time favorite series. When I heard about Untethered Sky, her new novella, I literally jumped on it at NetGalley. I have mixed feelings after finishing it (in one sitting, but it’s no feat given it’s only 160 pages).

Ester hates Manticores - one of them killed her family. That’s why she became a rukhter. Paired with a fledgling roc (giant predatory bird) named Zahra, she devoted herself to a calling that would allow her to seek revenge on the creatures that had taken her loved ones from her. There’s loss, tragedy, drama, and love here, all wrapped up in a tight plot revolving around a young girl with tragic backstory, her relationship with wild creature and potential romance.

For such a short book, Untethered Sky covers a pretty long period, taking readers all the way through her first steps as a rukhter to the final manticore hunt.

I liked the story, but I felt too much of it was focused on introducing the world and its mechanics. As a result, I didn’t connect with it as strongly as with Lee’s other works. Not a bad book by any means, just the one that didn’t fully captivate me. That said, if Fonda Lee ever writes more in this world, I’ll be there to read it!

4.5 rounded up to 5/5 ⭐️


A roc is always a wild thing, always God’s monster alone.



ARC provided by the publisher Tordotcom through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Untethered Sky is a solid adventurous fantasy novella that combines the sport of falconry with giant birds of prey, meaningful friendships, and connection.

It is no secret that I am a big supporter of Fonda Lee, especially The Green Bone Saga trilogy that concluded a couple of years ago. When Fonda announced that she will release a brand new fantasy novella set to release 2023—I needed to get my hands on the ARC. Thankfully Tordotcom kindly sent me an eARC of Untethered Sky. Before I dive into the review, I would like to appreciate the amazing and beautiful cover of this book illustrated by Jaime Jones, the same artist that illustrated the cover of A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. The illustration of Ester on her chariot with Zahra in flying the sky is just the perfect visuals representing the essence of the whole book.

Untethered Sky is a story about an apprentice Ruhker, a ranger that trains predatory birds to hunt, named Ester that has recently been tasked to bond with a roc, a giant majestic predatory bird, named Zahra. All of Ester’s hard work has come to this moment where she will stay with the young roc and bond for many nights in the dark. It is a sweeping tale about a slice of Ester’s life as a ruhker, the trials and tribulations that shaped her early on in her career, and the deep connection Ester feels for Zahra.

Fonda Lee’s writing style is incredibly engaging and immersive, bringing in details about the world in small portions throughout the book to flesh out not only the characters but also the world itself. It is Fonda’s masterful ability to create worlds from barebones building them up without dumping an avalanche of information in the first few chapters. As a reader that admires Fonda Lee’s previous series, reading this book feels satisfying. Everything about the world and characters didn’t take long for me to warm up to. Fonda delivers the story in a clear, structured, and well thought out manner from start to end.

My love was entirely possessive. When you love a person, you are expected to give them their freedom, but when you love a monster, you keep it caged. A monster can’t love you back, so there’s none of the guilt of a reciprocal relationship.


The story of Untethered Sky is told from a singular POV of Ester as it is a story about her life. Ester is a character that is well fleshed out, she has a clear set of motivations and intentions in her existence. She has dedicated her whole life to become a ruhker and with that much dedication, of course, Ester comes with a lot of baggage as a character that readers will find out throughout the book.

Ester’s development as a character is subtle compared to the development of Fonda’s previous characters but to be fair this book is much shorter than a three book series. But that doesn’t mean the story of Untethered Sky didn’t have memorable characters. Fonda’s greatest strength as a writer, in my opinion, are her characters. Each character in this book is wonderfully fleshed out with distinct personalities and voices. They each can stand on their own on page and make their presence known. Though I have a bit of a gripe with Ester, that I can forgive, she is a young adult in this story so her inner monologues reads a bit young.

The other two characters that carried a lot of significance are Darius and Nasmin. They are Ester’s closest companions that have helped her during her early days as an apprentice. Seeing the bonds between the three develop throughout the book gives me goosebumps. If you are a reader that has picked up a book by Fonda Lee you’ll know the coil of dread looming in the background ready to slam readers with a twist at the most surprising times. For this book, I’d say Fonda is more subtle but the way it was presented is equally harrowing and emotional.

Due to how short this book is, I will not elaborate about the details of the world. Though I would like to praise Fonda for creating such a vivid and immersive world. Fonda layered details of the world from the society, the basics in ruhking, details about the roc, and many more. This book combines being a ranger, animal handling, and giant birds of prey complete with a dash of politics. Overall a well crafted world, as expected for a Fonda Lee book.

People have short memories, but nature is patient and implacable.


Final thoughts, Untethered Sky is an adventurous story about rangers, the sport of falconry with giant birds, and friendship. Fonda’s masterful writing brought life to the world that set as the perfect background for the story. All the characters are colourful in personality and voice that develop wonderfully throughout the story. It is an entertaining story that is hard to put down a. K. a. unputdownable. The pacing is fast and engaging that will immerse readers immediately from the very first page. Honestly, I am a bit biased because I love Fonda Lee and I will read anything she publishes. But trust me on this, Fonda Lee’s books are good! I highly recommend you to pick up this book once it releases and The Green Bone Saga. This book is also a perfect beginner book for readers who are interested in getting into adult fantasy.

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

4.5 rounded up to 5/5 ⭐️


A roc is always a wild thing, always God’s monster alone.


ARC provided by the publisher Tordotcom through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Untethered Sky is a solid adventurous fantasy novella that combines the sport of falconry with giant birds of prey, meaningful friendships, and connection.

It is no secret that I am a big supporter of Fonda Lee, especially The Green Bone Saga trilogy that concluded a couple of years ago. When Fonda announced that she will release a brand new fantasy novella set to release 2023—I needed to get my hands on the ARC. Thankfully Tordotcom kindly sent me an eARC of Untethered Sky. Before I dive into the review, I would like to appreciate the amazing and beautiful cover of this book illustrated by Jaime Jones, the same artist that illustrated the cover of A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine. The illustration of Ester on her chariot with Zahra in flying the sky is just the perfect visuals representing the essence of the whole book.

Untethered Sky is a story about an apprentice Ruhker, a ranger that trains predatory birds to hunt, named Ester that has recently been tasked to bond with a roc, a giant majestic predatory bird, named Zahra. All of Ester’s hard work has come to this moment where she will stay with the young roc and bond for many nights in the dark. It is a sweeping tale about a slice of Ester’s life as a ruhker, the trials and tribulations that shaped her early on in her career, and the deep connection Ester feels for Zahra.

Fonda Lee’s writing style is incredibly engaging and immersive, bringing in details about the world in small portions throughout the book to flesh out not only the characters but also the world itself. It is Fonda’s masterful ability to create worlds from barebones building them up without dumping an avalanche of information in the first few chapters. As a reader that admires Fonda Lee’s previous series, reading this book feels satisfying. Everything about the world and characters didn’t take long for me to warm up to. Fonda delivers the story in a clear, structured, and well thought out manner from start to end.

My love was entirely possessive. When you love a person, you are expected to give them their freedom, but when you love a monster, you keep it caged. A monster can’t love you back, so there’s none of the guilt of a reciprocal relationship.


The story of Untethered Sky is told from a singular POV of Ester as it is a story about her life. Ester is a character that is well fleshed out, she has a clear set of motivations and intentions in her existence. She has dedicated her whole life to become a ruhker and with that much dedication, of course, Ester comes with a lot of baggage as a character that readers will find out throughout the book.

Ester’s development as a character is subtle compared to the development of Fonda’s previous characters but to be fair this book is much shorter than a three book series. But that doesn’t mean the story of Untethered Sky didn’t have memorable characters. Fonda’s greatest strength as a writer, in my opinion, are her characters. Each character in this book is wonderfully fleshed out with distinct personalities and voices. They each can stand on their own on page and make their presence known. Though I have a bit of a gripe with Ester, that I can forgive, she is a young adult in this story so her inner monologues reads a bit young.

The other two characters that carried a lot of significance are Darius and Nasmin. They are Ester’s closest companions that have helped her during her early days as an apprentice. Seeing the bonds between the three develop throughout the book gives me goosebumps. If you are a reader that has picked up a book by Fonda Lee you’ll know the coil of dread looming in the background ready to slam readers with a twist at the most surprising times. For this book, I’d say Fonda is more subtle but the way it was presented is equally harrowing and emotional.

Due to how short this book is, I will not elaborate about the details of the world. Though I would like to praise Fonda for creating such a vivid and immersive world. Fonda layered details of the world from the society, the basics in ruhking, details about the roc, and many more. This book combines being a ranger, animal handling, and giant birds of prey complete with a dash of politics. Overall a well crafted world, as expected for a Fonda Lee book.

People have short memories, but nature is patient and implacable.


Final thoughts, Untethered Sky is an adventurous story about rangers, the sport of falconry with giant birds, and friendship. Fonda’s masterful writing brought life to the world that set as the perfect background for the story. All the characters are colourful in personality and voice that develop wonderfully throughout the story. It is an entertaining story that is hard to put down a. K. a. unputdownable. The pacing is fast and engaging that will immerse readers immediately from the very first page. Honestly, I am a bit biased because I love Fonda Lee and I will read anything she publishes. But trust me on this, Fonda Lee’s books are good! I highly recommend you to pick up this book once it releases and The Green Bone Saga. This book is also a perfect beginner book for readers who are interested in getting into adult fantasy.

The quotes in this review were taken from an ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

Untethered Sky is a story about grief, vengeance, acceptance, and loss. Ester becomes a ruhker (a roc trainer) to avenge her mother and brother's deaths after a manticore attack. It is a tale simultaneously about love and loss and the bittersweet acceptance of a fleeting bond between woman and beast. I didn't believe a story about training and hunting with a large bird would win me over so completely, but I found myself falling in love with Ester and Zahra's story. I adored Lee's prose and can't find a fault in her compelling yet compact novella.

I recommend this to anyone looking for a book about slaying enemies and finding an unflinching love for nature along the way.

Untethered Sky is a novella about a woman’s journey taming rocs, enormous legendary birds of prey in the popular mythology of the Middle East.

This novella is only 160 pages, but Lee got into the nitty gritty of roc training and the bond formed between roc and trainer without it feeling like a waste of time. At its heart, Untethered Sky is a novella about perseverance and acceptance. Readers watch as Ester forms a bond with her roc as well as other roc trainers.

Despite the focus on the intricacies of roc training, Untethered Sky is full of action. Watching Ester and her roc hunt with chariots and horses was truly spectacular.

Overall, Untethered Sky is a quick read full of fantastic character and relationship development, and world building that some full-length novels do not accomplish.

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.

In a world inspired by sort-of Anatolia, Ester is a rukher - a royal falconer, except her falcon is an 8 foot tall female roc named Zahra, and their prey are lions, manticores, and other threats to the people of the kingdom.

I've not read any Fonda Lee before, though I've heard great things about JADE CITY in particular - I was intrigued when I saw the blurb and the cover of this one, not realising that it was a novella!

I quite enjoyed this. Ester is a good protagonist, and the concept of royal roc handlers hunting manticores is kind of badass on the face of it. We follow Ester from her first meeting with Zahra, hooded in a darkened room, through to their career hunting monsters.

I don't know anything about falconry so I can't say whether any of the training is based in any kind of reality, but it certainly felt believable - acclimatising the massive bird to relying on Ester for food, getting used to her voice and touch, etc. It's quite elaborate and well thought out, if it's not true, but it sounded a lot like how you would train a real falcon.

The rocs are depicted as being barely leashed monsters in their own right - the descriptions of their brief battles with various prey from deer through to manticores are quite brutal and punchy and well written. They're portrayed as aloof and temperamental, like enormous feathery cats.

I'm torn between wishing for a full-length novel version of UNTETHERED SKY and being happy with it left as a novella. It's a cool world, and I like the concept, but the story is pretty self contained and I'm not sure how much more could be done with it before becoming bloated.

Goodreads also has this listed as fantasy, which I suppose technically it is, but it is utterly unfantastical in its execution. It feels like it could be historical fiction - if 8 foot hunting birds existed.

Really good! This has made me all the more interested in the author's other work.

Thankyou to NetGalley and Tor Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A really stunning read, the first one of its kind that I've read and enjoyed thoroughly. It's a beautiful exploratory journey of the protagonist, Ester, as she trains to be a ruhker -- a highly dangerous but reveled profession where a few dedicated individuals capture, raise, and handle rocs which are essentially giant raptors. These enormous apex predators are the only things that can hunt man-killing manticores so humanity is desperate to capture and raise them in captivity until they're old enough to hunt. However, the rule of nature has always been that it never has and never will be tamed or possessed by mankind no matter how much they yearn to believe it. To believe that there is something transcendent with their bonds with something as beautiful, wild, and monstrous as a roc is folly and this is something Ester is so dearly aware of with all of her fragile, human being.

This book is comparatively very short to the books in the Green Bone Saga and not a single line is wasted. I see, hear, and feel the world Fonda Lee creates so readily with this short novel and she never fails to deliver on this front! Great read :)

This was a great book with a well-researched Persian-inspired setting, and I enjoyed reading it. What was missing, however, was any actual takeaway in terms of commentary, lessons learned or profound statements. It’s not that I expect every book to have that, it’s just that the lack thereof is very apparent in a book that is so well-written with so many scary or gut wrenching moments.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

'Untethered Sky' is my first Fonda Lee title--and for a tiny package? It packs a HUGE punch. I am not certain I can even properly list all the themes touched upon? Personal tragedy. Grief. Obsession. Man vs. Nature. Captor and captivity. Propaganda. Public image vs. reality. Fear. Loss. Vengeance. Sacrifice. Perseverance...

And while I adore stories that challenge perception and demand thought, this one also offered beautiful writing. The world described might not be the one I live in now, but I could absolutely imagine myself there with the sun beating down and the wind whipping my face as I rode a chariot through the desert, while a roc flew above.

This is one of those novellas I will be thinking about for a long time to come and will definitely reread (even if it hurts). 5 Stars

I feel bad about this, but UNTETHERED SKY was just all right for me. I never warmed to it, not for any particular reason. The book is well-written (though nothing about the writing did much for me), the character arcs make sense, the world-building is (theoretically) interesting, and the presence of the manticores is genuinely frightening (this is one of the few things that 100% worked for me). Maybe this needed to be a full novel for it to work for me? Regardless, not the best first experience to have with an author, a resounding 'meh'.

Our main character is Ester, whose family was devastated by a manticore when she was very young. She grew up wanting to hunt monsters, and this led her to want to become a ruhker, the people who train and fly rocs (very large birds of prey, though not as large as most myths would have them) which are the only known predator that can kill a manticore. We follow as Ester trains, and is finally given a roc, a juvenile female named Zahra.

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.

The thing is, this is a book I should have loved. I love animals in books, especially ones that develop special bonds with humans; I love training sequences; I love when we get to watch characters grow from childhood; I hate manticores bc they are scary. But none of this made any sort of dent on my emotions. I just felt really emotionally removed from all of it while reading. Chalk it up to the writing style just not being for me, I guess. I hope many people have better experiences with this book than I did, but the results here aren't making me want to jump up and go check out any of Fonda Lee's other books any time soon.

I don’t think Fonda Lee could ever disappoint me. Her writing is addictive and I always fall in love with her stories. I thought this book was excellent.

A propulsive, fast-paced story—this novella by Fonda Lee was a short, but sweet book that managed to create a fully fleshed out character with motivations and a backstory that had me invested immediately. I would 100% read a long series set in this world with these characters where we got to explore more of the story and more of said world

Super excited to be given the opportunity to read an early e-ARC from Tor and Netgalley!

This book is great for when you’re in a fantasy mood, but don’t want to commit to a giant fantasy brick (as they often are), as Untethered Sky weighs in at just 160 pages.

It’s slower-paced, but full of rich details and an interesting world, one in which the countryside is often terrorized by manticores.

Enter the book’s coolest creatures, giant rocs. Our main character, Ester, works in the Royal Mews, and is in the process of taming Zahra, a recently captured roc fledgling, in order to train her to take out manticores like a death lightning bolt from the sky.

Read if: you like creepy monsters who have a taste for yummy hoomans (😬) & the giant eagles in LOTR.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Untethered Sky releases April 11, 2023.

Untethered Sky follows Ester on her journey to becoming a ruhker, one of a select few able to guide and partner with a roc, the legendary creatures able to destroy the monstrous manticores that prey on her world.

I absolutely devoured Lee's Green Bone Saga in 2022 (10/10 recommend if you haven't already) and while her writing is as beautiful here in Untethered Sky, I found myself struggling to connect with the story and characters in the same way. The focus here is very much on the mechanics of Ester's world and her passion and connection with her roc, something I found myself disconnected from. Perhaps I am too much of a softy, and was yearning for more feelings all round. Overall though, this was an enjoyable and quick read and Lee's worldbuilding is stunning as always. I could very much see Ester's world as I read, I just struggled a bit to feel it as well.

This was my first time reading a book from Fonda Lee but I have heard many incredible things about her as a writer before now and I can definitely see why she gets so much praise. This was masterfully crafted with amazing pacing and the writing was so harrowing and beautiful at the same time. You really begin to feel a connection to the creatures and people you are introduced to throughout the course of this novella which is hard to do when you consider the smaller page count. This book loses points for me because it is a novella with a small page count. Having less time within which to tell the story led to the world-building being pushed aside. You still see snippets of the world but never learn the true extent of all the different regions, the political side of the world or even how we get to the point where we are at during the start of the story. There is also the fact that there are pretty big time jumps throughout which are counteracted by the amazing pacing but you sometimes get a sense that you've missed so much. Overall, this book was fantastic but could have done with maybe being a full length novel.

"I wanted to be the monster that kills other monsters."

What an absolutely stunning sff novella. I wasn't the biggest fan of Fonda Lee's Greenbone Saga (I loved her writing, just didn't vibe with the slower plot and heavy politics) so I was a little cautious going into this one but I absolutely loved it. Fonda Lee really blew me away with this book!

From the beginning we are immersed in this fantasy world full of dangerous creatures and the brave people who tame and hunt them. Our main character has always dreamed of becoming a ruhker so watching that journey was incredible. Especially because her story is so engrained in revenge, wanting to kill every manticore she can to find some peace with how her family perished. The mix of present and past stories flowed so seamlessly. I wish this had been a full novel or even an entire series.

If you like adult fantasy, brave female characters, giant birds and man eating monsters, plot twists that will make you feel every emotion, this novella is for you.