Untethered Sky

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I relieved myself in a straw-filled chamber pot and received one change of clothes through the bars. I drank water from my canteen in small sips every few minutes, but even so I wore my throat down. Ruhkers can barely talk at all after the dark days. What I said was not important, only the sound of my voice. So I told Zahra about how long I had been waiting for her. I told her about the other rocs and ruhkers in her new home. I told her about our future, about how we would always hunt together. I told her everything about my family and the place I grew up: olive trees and goats, the stone house, creek water ice-cold from the mountains, falcons waiting on above. Mother and Father and Arnan. When boredom and exhaustion turned my constant talk into babbling nonsense and dragged my chin to my chest, I slept.

Lee’s series will stand as a pillar of epic fantasy and family drama.”— Library Journal, starred review, on Jade Legacy Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing! Ester’s path leads her to join the King’s Royal Mews, where the giant rocs of legend are flown to hunt manticores by their brave and dedicated rukhers. 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. I do wish we spent a little more time focused on the relationship between Ester and her roc as I feel that would have allowed me to get more emotionally invested in their storyline than I did, but I still liked Ester as a character throughout the entire novella.thank you, i whispered, as she disappeared from my straining sight for the last time. for allowing me to hunt with you. for letting me borrow your strength. for lending me your wings. ” 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. I have seen this compared to dragonriders of Pern, and not so, IMO; the roc training here is pretty clearly falconry like. No riding, no telepathy, just plain old falconry but with extra big and mean birds and prey.

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. Untethered Skyspends a lot of timeexploring Ester’s relationship with her roc, Zahra. Lee consulted with falconry experts to get deeper insights into what it’s like to raise a bird of prey as a companion, and that authenticity really comes across in the book. The passages where Ester flushes out prey for her roc feel immediate and detailed, as do the descriptions of animal behavior and even the materials used for things like jesses and lures. If you like extremely tense political maneuvering and intrigue, you will love Jade City. Fonda Lee is the new Mario Puzo; Jade City has officially dethroned The Godfather."—Sarah Gailey A delicious morsel of heart’s flesh, its story as wild and yet poised in its craft as a stooping hawk. Fonda Lee’s characters are so real, broken and raw that they need no crowns, no wars, no prophesies to enlarge them. They simply, believably are, and in so being, they sweep us into a story as magical and wondrous as it is deft. One of the best fantasy novellas I’ve had the pleasure to read."—Christopher Buehlman

But aside from the feels, the two works are very different, which just showcases Fonda Lee’s incredible range. 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 The length of this novella was also just right, which is not something I get to say often. But just as Lee knew to keep the story simple, she also knew exactly how to pace it and when to end it. The plot flowed smoothly, moving naturally from scenes of thrilling action and adventure to softer, more sorrowful moments without feeling rushed or experiencing any lulls. Perhaps the only exception to this was the ending, but I can’t decide if it was actually too abrupt or if I’m just letting my emotions get the better of me! Admittedly, it wasn’t the most satisfying conclusion, but I can also accept that it was appropriate given the overall themes and tone of the book. When you love a person, you are expected to give them their freedom, but when you love a monster, you keep it caged. I loved Untethered Sky. As I said, I do wish the novella was longer, but that’s only because I can’t get enough of Lee’s writing and storytelling quality. Fonda Lee hasn’t let me down yet with her books. And I believe this trend will only ceaselessly continue, especially with Jade Shards upcoming publication later this year and more.

Sacrifices also had to be made to world-building, often leaving it up to readers to infer certain details about the wider world rather than spelling it all out, but here is where a narrower scope is advantageous to the story. The author can spend more time developing the culture and customs of rukhers when they’re socializing in the Royal Mews or when they’re on the hunt, going into fascinating detail into everything from training methods to the proper care of rocs. The x-factor in books for me tipping them over from just good to freaking amazing seems to be a combination of pacing and momentum. This story had the perfect balance of both, leaving me reeling at the end of the book in the best way possible. I haven’t finished Green Bone yet, but if this novella and the wild popularity of that series are any indication, I’m in for quite the ride. Judging this by my novella standards, Untethered Sky is one of the best standalone novellas I’ve read. But while Lee spends time on Ester’s personal tragedy, and her masterful foreshadowing in Ester’s voice bridges each section, tying the past to the future on vibrating threads, much of the book glows with joy. Lee’s description of the rocs and their relationships with their trainers is full of awe and wonder. The irritation many ruhkers feel about the nobility they must occasionally entertain feels reminiscent of the residents of any tourist town, irked when strangers wander into their territory to prevent them from doing their work. But the court of Dartha also has its wonders, and the temple to the Almighty Fire Bringer, Dartha’s god, makes an impression with its beauty and sense of sacredness, despite its short appearance.The book also gives manticores their due as well. For all propaganda claiming they’re devil-spawn, we get the idea beneath it all they’re also just animals. While chillingly intelligent, they still often behave like terrifying wild animals rather than some far-flung fantasy creature, which is impressive when you consider that they have the face of an ape, a leonine body encased in quills, and a scorpion-like tail. 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.” 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