The thing that impressed me is how readable this Novella is.
It's actually a very simple coming of age story. Girl's family is killed by a monster. Girl learns to kill monsters. Learning about life, love and politics along the way.
What sets it apart is the Middle Eastern setting and enormous hunting bird action, as well as an ending that doesn't involve marrying a prince.
“Any defiance of the wild leads at best to a fragile, temporary victory. Nature and fate are their own capricious monsters, ones that cannot be tamed any more than a roc ever truly belongs to her ruhker.”
Immediately intrigued by this novella, I was excited to read something that featured creatures from Persian myths, like manticores and rocs. It can be hard to do fantasy well in fewer pages, but Fonda crafts the world of Untethered Sky vividly nonetheless. The characters are, more or less, vehicles to the storytelling and to the atmosphere. There are a few meandering wisps of plot and moments of tension, but the ambiance was the real star of this show. It was almost inspiring to read about Ester and her dedication to a calling that is not only brutally violent but occasionally deadly; despite the risks, being a ‘ruhker’ is a vital position in Ester’s …
“Any defiance of the wild leads at best to a fragile, temporary victory. Nature and fate are their own capricious monsters, ones that cannot be tamed any more than a roc ever truly belongs to her ruhker.”
Immediately intrigued by this novella, I was excited to read something that featured creatures from Persian myths, like manticores and rocs. It can be hard to do fantasy well in fewer pages, but Fonda crafts the world of Untethered Sky vividly nonetheless. The characters are, more or less, vehicles to the storytelling and to the atmosphere. There are a few meandering wisps of plot and moments of tension, but the ambiance was the real star of this show. It was almost inspiring to read about Ester and her dedication to a calling that is not only brutally violent but occasionally deadly; despite the risks, being a ‘ruhker’ is a vital position in Ester’s society. Ester is given a fairly standard tragic backstory, and her relationships with her fellow ruhkers is almost besides the point—though I did appreciate the side-stepping of the unnecessary romantic angle you see often in adult fantasy these days. The central relationship is between Ester and Zahra, her roc. (Her relationship to fellow ruhker Darius was also really enjoyable—their interactions felt quite realistic, but also endearing.)The storytelling is inviting and immersive; Fonda’s writing style was concise, which served the narrative well. You get these small segments of scenes more than full encounters, which makes it feel somewhat like a tasting course. But it helps establish the breadth of worldbuilding, even if some of it ends up being more superficial. This is a delightful fantasy novella that treads over new grounds, which is a hard enough task in this genre; it may be short, but what it lacks in volume and depth it more than makes up for in ideas, sentiments, and its remarkable world.
A fascinaing story where humans use huge rocs to hunt even more deadly manticores.
4 stars
A fascinating story set in a world where huge rocs, bigger than humans, fly and hunt terrifying prey: manticores that prey on humans. Human have made a dangerous pact with the rocs, and now hunt the manticores together.
The story focuses on Ester, a ruhker (roc partner) who at the beginning of the story is paired with a fledgling roc named Zahra. After winning Zahra's trust, and not getting eaten in the process, they train together to hunt smaller prey before they are considered ready, with the help of senior ruhkers, to take on the manticores.
The heart of the story is Ester's relationship with Zahra: for while Ester adores Zahra and trusts her, Zahra may not reciprocate, for she was bought in from the wild and could leave (or kill) Ester at any time. Ester's training and relationship with Zahra are about the only thing keeping them together as …
A fascinating story set in a world where huge rocs, bigger than humans, fly and hunt terrifying prey: manticores that prey on humans. Human have made a dangerous pact with the rocs, and now hunt the manticores together.
The story focuses on Ester, a ruhker (roc partner) who at the beginning of the story is paired with a fledgling roc named Zahra. After winning Zahra's trust, and not getting eaten in the process, they train together to hunt smaller prey before they are considered ready, with the help of senior ruhkers, to take on the manticores.
The heart of the story is Ester's relationship with Zahra: for while Ester adores Zahra and trusts her, Zahra may not reciprocate, for she was bought in from the wild and could leave (or kill) Ester at any time. Ester's training and relationship with Zahra are about the only thing keeping them together as they journey through the kingdom, being called to hunt manticores that have killed other humans.
That relationship would be put to the test at the end when tragedy strikes, and Ester must now put her trust in Zahra; for in most manticore hunts, the ruhker is the bait to draw out the manticores for the kill. Ester and Zahra's relationship with each other, and with other ruhkers would never be the same.
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.
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.
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.
