Untethered Sky
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3.9 • 16 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Aurora Award for Best Novella
Nebula Award nominee for Best Novella
Shortlisted for the 2024 RUSA Reading List: Fantasy
A New York Times Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2023 Pick
A Slate Best Books of 2023 Pick
"Gripping action set in vast spaces writ as clean and spare as a dry bone . . . the result is tremendous."—The New York Times
A Most Anticipated in 2023 Pick for Polygon | Book Riot | Paste Magazine
From World Fantasy Award-winning author Fonda Lee comes Untethered Sky, an epic fantasy fable about the pursuit of obsession at all costs.
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.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this uneven standalone novella, World Fantasy Award winner Lee (the Green Bone Saga series) conjures a world where giant birds of prey—rocs—are trained by handlers called ruhkers to hunt manticores. After 18-year-old Ester's mother and brother are killed by manticores, Ester determines to join the ranks of the ruhkers and rid the world of the beasts that destroyed her family. Much of the story consists of her learning to work as a team with her fledgling roc, Zahra, under the guidance of seasoned ruhker Darius and his roc, Minu. Together, Ester and Darius face tragedy and losses that test their strength and perseverance as ruhkers. Unfortunately, the human characters feel disappointingly flat in comparison to the fantastical beasts around them and Ester's matter-of-fact narration dulls the sense of adventure. Excessive foreshadowing, meanwhile, undermines the suspense. It's disappointing, because the premise is strong, offering a fresh take on dragon-rider fantasies of yore. Readers who come for the legendary beasts won't be disappointed, but anyone hoping for more substance can take a pass.
