Title:

Untethered Sky

Author:

Fonda Lee

Category:

Science Fiction / Fantasy

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

June 18, 2023

ntethered Sky is a novella by Fonda Lee, it tells a complete story in 150 pages. I like that this story is not padded to a novel length, the tale fits nicely into this size without a lot of distracting story arcs or flashbacks. I picked the book up one evening, and then finished it the following afternoon.

One day when Ester was thirteen, a manticore sprang from the jungle and killed her four year old brother, her mother, and several of the household staff. Ester survives the assault by climbing down into the well, where she is out of reach of the manticore's deadly claws. Ester's father also escapes with his life, but he is emotionally scarred ever after. Ester burns for revenge against this terrible monster, but manticores are nearly impossible to kill. They possess teeth like daggers, their hide is a nearly impenetrable mass of tough quills, and the lashing tail of the manticore is equip with a deadly poison. Armed men rarely prevail against these vicious animals. The only creature that can reliably kill a manticore is a roc. Rocs are gigantic raptors, capable of killing a lion with ease. A manticore can be a tough fight for a roc, unless the roc can deliver a lethal blow on the diving attack.

At the royal mews, apprentices train to become "ruhkers" - people who train and fly the rocs, much like a falconer goes hunting with a trained bird. Unlike falcons, rocs are huge, they are easily capable of ripping their handlers apart with their huge talons and vicious beak. Ester is not deterred by the danger, she volunteers to become an apprentice. Soon, Ester is paired with a recently captured fledgling named Zahra. There is a period of training and teaching of Zahra, getting her (all captured rocs are females) to respond to the lure and whistles. Ester and Zahra pass their tests, and then the real work begins - hunting the deadly manticores. It seems that as the kingdom spreads eastward, it has encountered more and more manticores. The king is anxious for the threat of the manticores to be neutralized in his new lands.

Despite their huge size, the ruhkers do not fly upon the backs of their rocs. Not even a roc could carry a warrior clad in armor, equipped with a shield and various weapons. Instead, the ruhkers drive chariots across the landscape, while the hooded rocs ride along on a giant wooden perch called a cadge. Once a manticore is sighted, the hood is removed and the roc is launched to circle and attack. I was a bit surprised that Ester never mentions anything about her team of highly trained horses, I would think that she would grow to care as much about the horses as Zahra.

Ester is reserved and quiet, but she does make a couple of friends: Darius, another quiet but skilled ruhker, and the beautiful and personable Nasmin. For a while, these three friends work as a team, bonded by shared love of their rocs and the dangers of their profession. But events and circumstances can upset even the most harmonious friendship.

Untethered Sky is well worth the few hours needed to read it. I liked it!