Untethered Sky

English language

Published Dec. 17, 2023 by Doherty Associates, LLC, Tom.

ISBN:: 9781250842473

(1 review)

Ester's family was torn apart when a manticore killed her mother and baby brother, leaving her with nothing but her father's painful silence and a single, overwhelming need to kill the monsters that took her family.

Ester's path leads her to the King's Royal Mews, where the giant rocs of legend are flown to hunt manticores by their brave and dedicated ruhkers. Paired with a fledgling roc named Zahra, Ester finds purpose and acclaim by devoting herself to a calling that demands absolute sacrifice and a creature that will never return her love. The terrifying partnership between woman and roc leads Ester not only on the empire's most dangerous manticore hunt, but on a journey of perseverance and acceptance.

2 editions

enne📚 reviewed Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

4 stars

This was a fun novella. It's an "animal companion" story of sorts, where it focuses largely on Ester's relationship with her new roc Zahra. It's about dealing with grief, unrequited love and obsession with animals, and the awkwardness of what it means to "train" and "keep" a giant murderbird who could fly away at any time with your heart (metaphorically or literally).

There was just enough world-building and a hint of politics to keep me intrigued about the rest of the world, and the ending quite neatly brought a number of different story threads together to a satisfying finish.

I also enjoyed this conversation between Fonda Lee and Alex Harrow, including a bunch of details about this novella: www.tor.com/2023/04/27/author-interviews-conversation-with-fonda-lee-and-alix-e-harrow/