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laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Untethered Sky follows Ester, a young person training to be a hunter in the Royal Mews partnered with a roc named Zahra; in this world, humans and rocs hunt together to keep the villages of the countryside safe, particularly from terrifying manticores whose preferred prey is humans. This novella is well written and I enjoyed Ester as a protagonist as well as some of the supporting characters. I do think it reads quite predictably, and is far too YA-feeling for my tastes (it isn't marketed as YA, I assume because there is some fairly graphic violence, but it feels that way to me). There are some issues with inconsistent pacing, but overall I enjoyed the story - a quick read in one sitting. Untethered Sky is my first experience of Fonda Lee's writing, and based on it I'm looking forward to reading more.
Content warnings: animal cruelty, animal death, gore, injury detail, blood, grief, death of a child, death of a parent, miscarriage, some sexist comments
Content warnings: animal cruelty, animal death, gore, injury detail, blood, grief, death of a child, death of a parent, miscarriage, some sexist comments
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Child death, Grief, and Animal death
Moderate: Miscarriage, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexism
tungstenmouse's review
The amount of animal cruelty/violence, while necessary to the story, is overwhelming. May try again later.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Pregnancy
The prose is amazing but the killing of the animals and humans is very realistic.btwnprintedpgs's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Child death, Gore, Death, and Animal death
daniellestarredpages's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Fonda Lee, I am humbly begging you for more to this story
Review:
The biggest compliment I can give this book is that I holding out for an addition to the story. Fonda Lee had me hooked from beginning to end, and when I finally finished it was way too soon.
Given this was a novella, there wasn't much time to flesh out the world in this book but Fonda Lee managed to give us enough information to leave readers feeling comfortable in the world. Personally, I would love to know more about this world, but what was there was quite sufficient.
The relationships in this book were also done really well, whether we look at Ester and her roc, Zahra or the friendship which developed into the idea of something more between Ester and Darius.
Fonda Lee masterfully creates an image of Ester's character through her relationship with Zahra and it was lovely to read.
In conclusion, Untethered Sky was amazing but I wish it was a full length novel.
Review:
The biggest compliment I can give this book is that I holding out for an addition to the story. Fonda Lee had me hooked from beginning to end, and when I finally finished it was way too soon.
Given this was a novella, there wasn't much time to flesh out the world in this book but Fonda Lee managed to give us enough information to leave readers feeling comfortable in the world. Personally, I would love to know more about this world, but what was there was quite sufficient.
The relationships in this book were also done really well, whether we look at Ester and her roc, Zahra or the friendship which developed into the idea of something more between Ester and Darius.
Fonda Lee masterfully creates an image of Ester's character through her relationship with Zahra and it was lovely to read.
In conclusion, Untethered Sky was amazing but I wish it was a full length novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Physical abuse and Sexual harassment
anahisa's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
it’s actually so sick and twisted that no matter how much we love wild things we cannot alter their nature!!!
The more I think about it, it’s actually such a great little exploration of the inherit conflict between humanity and nature. One possessive, the other untamable, and both monsters in their own way.
Wasn’t expecting the end to make me sob? But it’s fonda lee and even if it’s a novella she will not hesitate to wreak havoc on my emotions!
And in the end, what can we do but rely on each other as we continue indulging the vices that sustain us???
The more I think about it, it’s actually such a great little exploration of the inherit conflict between humanity and nature. One possessive, the other untamable, and both monsters in their own way.
Wasn’t expecting the end to make me sob? But it’s fonda lee and even if it’s a novella she will not hesitate to wreak havoc on my emotions!
And in the end, what can we do but rely on each other as we continue indulging the vices that sustain us???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Grief, Death of parent, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Death
irenemarie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Animal death
Moderate: Child death and Death of parent
kitausu's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Loved this!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gore, Animal death, Child death, Death, and Violence
valjeanval's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I wanted to love this more than I did. I think I wanted more Green Bones which this is decidedly not. The writing is still Lee, but the plot and world-building is a bit thin for me. I don’t love the “man-eating monster” trope, so I was kind of turned off from page one, but I liked the ending enough to still give it 4 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
moonytoast's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Tordotcom for providing me with a digital ARC of this book!
Untethered Sky is a solid, engaging fantasy novella inspired by Persian and Arabian folklore which details the story of a young girl, Ester, whose mother and brother are lost to the brutality of a raging manticore. In this world Fonda Lee constructs, there is only one natural predator that can rival and potentially cull a manticore: the roc, a giant falcon featured in Persian myth. Ester then resolves herself to a life of hunting and killing manticores by training to become a ruhker, a highly skilled roc trainer.
Told from the first person perspective of Ester, the story follows her as she slowly develops a trusting relationship with the adolescent roc she is tasked to train named Zahra and shifts from apprentice at the Royal Mews to a fully-fledged manticore hunter. The trusting—yet deeply tenuous—relationship between Ester and Zahra is the cornerstone and highlight of the novella. Lee plays heavily on this concept of the relationship between humankind and nature through the complex dynamic ruhkers have with their rocs. Ruhkers build an intensely personal attachment with their rocs while also maintaining the understanding that these are wild creatures who cannot be owned or reciprocate such attachments.
Despite its length, Untethered Sky is full of complexity and a luscious, intricately carved world tattered by the existence and destruction of manticores. This is my first foray into Fonda Lee’s work and I’m impressed by her concise yet deeply evocative writing style here. The prose never feels understated and deftly conveys the complexity of Ester’s narrative journey which culminates with her killing the heterochromic-eyed manticore... at a cost.
A sharply earnest coming-of-age fantasy story about finding one’s calling, the power of mythical beasts, and how our love for a wild animal cannot restrain them—yet we care for them anyway.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, and Death of parent
heartbrekker's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Fonda Lee is the writer that always triumphs. Her writing constantly brings me to tears, and I cannot stop adoring the characters that she creates. I was a bit worried with this novella that Fonda wouldn't have enough time to create an attachment between reader and protagonist, but I was entirely wrong. I've been starting to get into novella's lately, and Untethered Sky is one of the few that uses its short length to its advantage. With action packed sequences of rocs in flight to a fated manticore hunt by the crown prince, this novella is a 1000% worth the read. No one will be surprised that Fonda is able to create such a masterful story within only a 160 page novella.
Ester, the protagonist, is very different from Fonda's cast back in the Greenbone Saga. The closest comparison that I can think of is probably Anden. Ester is a much more reserved lead, and she is constantly awkward and anxious. After the trauma of her childhood, none of this is surprising, but she has this need to be better for that younger version of herself who essentially lost everything. She has pretty much vowed to become a ruhker due to those events, which is an incredibly dangerous job— not only due to the manticore hunting but also the fact that giant rocs are wild creatures themselves. Ester looks past this danger not because she's merely brave, but because she wants to protect the world from manticores, especially since she couldn't protect herself long ago. It's these complexities that make her a dynamic, compelling lead.
Moreover, to not spoil anything, the ending of this book is extremely unique. It's a creature/ human relationship based novella, and I think when a lot of people hear this, they interpret that a particular way. I certainly did. Books with animals in the main plot always remind me of my own kitties curled up next to me while I read. But Untethered Sky is not like the "aww, cute" feelings. It's a reminder of nature vs. nurture as well as partnership vs. duty. It's going to poke holes into humanity's relationship to the wild in a way that most people won't ever think about. Can we ever really tame the wild, or do our egos merely trick us into believing so? There's something so profound about Fonda forcing us to look at the truth when we definitely don't want to.
Thank you Tordotcom for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Ester, the protagonist, is very different from Fonda's cast back in the Greenbone Saga. The closest comparison that I can think of is probably Anden. Ester is a much more reserved lead, and she is constantly awkward and anxious. After the trauma of her childhood, none of this is surprising, but she has this need to be better for that younger version of herself who essentially lost everything. She has pretty much vowed to become a ruhker due to those events, which is an incredibly dangerous job— not only due to the manticore hunting but also the fact that giant rocs are wild creatures themselves. Ester looks past this danger not because she's merely brave, but because she wants to protect the world from manticores, especially since she couldn't protect herself long ago. It's these complexities that make her a dynamic, compelling lead.
Moreover, to not spoil anything, the ending of this book is extremely unique. It's a creature/ human relationship based novella, and I think when a lot of people hear this, they interpret that a particular way. I certainly did. Books with animals in the main plot always remind me of my own kitties curled up next to me while I read. But Untethered Sky is not like the "aww, cute" feelings. It's a reminder of nature vs. nurture as well as partnership vs. duty. It's going to poke holes into humanity's relationship to the wild in a way that most people won't ever think about. Can we ever really tame the wild, or do our egos merely trick us into believing so? There's something so profound about Fonda forcing us to look at the truth when we definitely don't want to.
Thank you Tordotcom for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Child death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage