Untethered Sky

Fonda Lee put together such an engaging world in a very small amount of pages. The character work is top tier and you really get invested. Worth a read!

I am always jealous when author can be focused and concise to write a short book in which they can build believable world, set interesting characters and make mundane things, such as training a bird, engaging.

But I am split in my thinking of the book shortness. I am disappointed that the story ended when characters where just set to be fully developed. On the other hand maybe Fonda said everything she had to say, and for me to search for more is just greedy. I am sad that it ended so soon, but good things end soon, which makes this a book good, a very good book indeed.

Cheers.

3.75 stars

would love to see this world fleshed out further in future novel/las.

Wow, Lee's characters are wonderfully compelling and the attention to detail in the training of rocs is fascinating. The ending was heartwrenching and I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would at the beginning.

This was fine. I’m struggling to say much more. A girl hunts with a (admittedly very large) bird; things happen. Stakes are not too high. It was short, and it got where it was going efficiently, but I don’t think it will stay with me.

This was delightful from beginning to end. I know there's lots of comments here about slow starts, but I appreciate that the author was able to cram in so much of Ester's backstory and motivation into so few pages without me losing interest and without it feeling exposition-y. We learn a lot about rocs, about the kingdom, about the main players, about the rookery, and about Ester herself in the beginning, and I think all of that is needed to appreciate the payoff in the second half.

I would definitely read a full-size story about Ester and Zahra, but I also think this was exactly as many pages as it needed to be to tell her story. I think my only complaint (and it's very minor) was the inclusion of (story spoilers here) Nasmin and the prince and the brief love triangle drama we had. It didn't really bring much to the story, and aside from Nasmin's roc being the catalyst of Darius' maiming later on, Nasmin herself and the prince as well was pretty much out of the story after that. It didn't fit in well with the rest of the book.

Still, a really great story. I picked it up to try and get my Goodreads goal back on track, and wasn't expecting it to be this great.

Short, sweet, and entertaining. This makes me excited to read more from this author.

This is really good! I loved the rocs. I thought the whole premise was fascinating.

Different from her other works, but a nice well written novella that was good, quick read.

Untethered Sky is somehow a good meld of dark and happy. This was my introduction to Fonda Lee and I enjoyed the author's writing. The story had good pacing and at times I was surprised where it went. A quick and enjoyable read.

Slow start.. then KAPOWWW!!! The end. I couldn't decided whether I liked it or loved it so.. 4 stars!

3,5 stars.

The author manages the story very well aware of the limits she has. She knows where she has to focus: what to tell and what not to tell. It was an enjoyable read, but for me too short to have a good grasp on the world. The characterization was done very well instead I got affectionated to Ester pretty quickly. It also has a little of a bittersweet end.

I think I was a bit disappointed in this one because I wanted something on the level of the Green Bones Saga, and this is definitely not that. I also don't love the humans vs. giant predator that doesn't follow basic evolutionary predator behavior trope. The rocs in this book are awesome, but I don't love the manticore conception at all.

That said, once I managed to stop thinking about how the manticore makes no sense in the ecosystem of this world, I did enjoy the quiet, human drama that Fonda Lee really excels at, and the ending was perfectly melancholy and well done. So mixed feelings, but I still think Lee is one of the best of this generation of fantasy writers.

I've been having a very hard reading these days, so all my arcs and books have fallen on the wayside. But when I found an audiobook for this book, I thought it would be a good short one to accompany me during my resting periods. And it worked very well.

For a novella, this book is emotionally very strong, evoking so many feelings in me like joy, shock, despair and more. The writing is just sublime and very easy to read, while also getting to know the details of this world full of monsters, where you can't be sure of even the monsters that are supposed to be on your side. The relationship between the rocs and the ruhkers was shown very beautifully, through multiple characters and their companions, but ultimately it was the fact that the animal companions are never gonna feel the same as their human handlers was what made this a heartfelt but ultimately bittersweet tale of unlikely friendships.

This book shows that Fonda Lee is amazing in any format of books, capturing so much in such a short book and leaving a strong impression on the reader. And it was strongly supported by very emotional narration by Nikki Massoud. Definitely recommend this if you wanna be carried away into a new world but are short on time.

Absolutely gorgeous.

I adore The Greenbone Saga, so the minute this was announced, I was all in, no questions asked. Then I saw the price. And I found out I was all in, with at least one question asked. I'm going to preface this review with the disclaimer that this is not worth the hardback cost, unless you are a die hard Fonda Lee fan. This book is good, but it's not “full novel price” good.

Untethered Sky is a book that is entirely focused on the training of Rocs, giant birds of prey that their trainers, known as Ruhkers, use to hunt Manticores, beasts that prey on humans. And it does this really well. If you want to see someone train a really cool animal companion, and be very good at it, this is the book for you.

However, there are a good few issues with this book, that knock it down a little bit for me.
For one, the worldbuilding is almost nonexistent. You get told the aforementioned bit about Rocs and Manticores, and learn some minor details about the empire it takes place in. But for the most part, the book is entirely focused on the training of the Rocs, and hunting Manticores. In my opinion, this is a massive misssed opportunity, as the glimpses that we see of the world make it seem like a really vibrant culture. I hope that down the line, Fonda decides to make this into a larger scale series so that we get to properly experience what's on offer.

Something else it does very well, is characters. For anyone that read Greenbone, this is not gonna be shocking. Fonda has the ability to craft characters that you fall in love with within pages, so it's almost a guarantee that you'll click with someone in her cast. This is no exception, with the two main characters being excellent.

The big difference between this and Greenbone in my opnion, is perspective. This book is told in First-person, in the style of a memoir, which fits really well in my opinion. It allowed me to get into the character's head perfectly, which I appreciated.

The story itself is ok, I guess. I'm not in love with it, but I don't dislike it either. It serves it purpose perfectly, but isn't all that rich, and I wasn't really all that invested in the minutiae of it.
I liked the structure of the book, with it just being 4 long chapters, each one denoting a specific part of the main character's growth as a trainer. It allowed for timeskips where necessary, without it feeling jarring like they can in other books. This is also helped by the PoV being a first person memoir too.

Overall, though it lacked things that I look for in a lot of my books, I found myself very content with the book, albeit wanting more from the universe as a whole. A solid 4/5 if you get it digitally or in paperback. I still stand by the fact that Tor and Gollancz have massively overpriced this book, and I really hope that doesn't become the norm for novellas, since I think it will all but kill them long term

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.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

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