Untethered Sky

By: Fonda Lee

Narrated by: Nikki Massoud

Length: 3 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

From World Fantasy Award-winning author Fonda Lee comes 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.

©2023 Fonda Lee (P)2023 Recorded Books

Great for falconers.

It is an easy read. Great for actual falconers. Or those who appreciate the art/sport.

Interesting novella with great narration

I picked this up because I enjoy the narrator, and while it wasn’t for me in the same way that a lot of people loved it, I found Jade War trilogy to have some incredible world building and really WANTED to love the characters. This one felt a little similar to me—I found the world really interesting, but didn’t totally connect with the characters as much, however, that might be more because it’s a novella than anything else? Overall, it was enjoyable and left me continuing to be impressed by Fonda Lee’s mind, but still a little wanting. Def worth a few hours listen though!

A must read for falconers or those who wish they were

The writer clearly has intimate falconry experience or knowledge and it shows! sure, it's a fantastical read, but the elements and emotions are all there and so true to my falconry experience. loved it!

Wonderful Performance, Fantastic Worldbuilding

Everything about this book hit the mark for me. Loved the story, the writing style, the characters, the performance, and the world itself. My one criticism is that it wasn't long enough. I ended up listening to it another three times just to sate my fill.

About as Good as a Novella can get

Too often novellas feel unfinished, or too short to really engage me, but this story ticked all the boxes a full novel would for me. Interesting characters, interesting world, full story arc, and leaves me wanting more. There’s not much more you can ask for in such an abbreviated format.

The narrator was solid, enjoyable, and most importantly, unobtrusive.

If I had one criticism, it would be that the world building was not as fully fleshed out as I'd prefer, but considering the page count, it was impressive. Hopefully a sequel is on the way and we can see some more of this world.

Kudos to Fonda Lee for showing once again that she is one of the freshest new writers in the genre.

Enchanting!

What a glorious book that binds the spirit of falconer and bird to heart. While reading, I remembered every detail of my most incredible hunts, kills, losses, and the very essence of living a life on the wing.

I’ll be reading it again and again.

Worth It

This book was enjoyable! The descriptions of action amongst the rocs, manticore, and their prey was fantastic! I found the story quite captivating. I struggled to fully engage with the main character at times, but I really feel that was the fault of a less than stellar audio book narrator. Oof. She read that book as dryly as if she were reading a textbook. For some odd reason, it also bothered me how many times the phrase, “took a crap” appeared in this rather short work. LOL! Speaking of which, that is many people’s main complaint about the book — that it is just far too short. I disagree, though. It was clean, concise, and nonetheless full bodied. There was undeniable character development — better than many longer books I could make. I think it was exactly as long as it needed to be, and I have utmost respect for any author that can get their story told satisfactorily in short order. Very strong. I’d recommend it for sure!

Good Novella

It took a little bit to get into, but in the end, I found myself only wanting more.

a gentle reminder of nature

I really enjoyed the journey of this book and how it expanded and grew. the topics of loss and finding life again was amazing. the nature connection and honesty was beautiful also.

Takes you into her world amazing emotional story

I was inteigued the whole time. Like a television playing a movie produced by the mind and this book. Very good story.