Enjoy fast, FREE delivery, exclusive deals and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery
Amazon Prime includes:
Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
- Instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV episodes with Prime Video
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
- Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
Buy new:
$16.79$16.79
FREE delivery: Tuesday, Oct 3 on orders over $35.00 shipped by Amazon.
Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com
Buy used: $11.54
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Untethered Sky Hardcover – April 11, 2023
| Price | New from | Used from |
|
Audible Audiobook, Unabridged
"Please retry" |
$0.00
| Free with your Audible trial | |
Purchase options and add-ons
From World Fantasy Award-winning author Fonda Lee comes Untethered Sky, an epic fantasy fable about the pursuit of obsession at all costs.
"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
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.
- Print length160 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTordotcom
- Publication dateApril 11, 2023
- Dimensions5.6 x 0.65 x 8.5 inches
- ISBN-101250842468
- ISBN-13978-1250842466
Frequently bought together

Similar items that may ship from close to you
Editorial Reviews
Review
Praise for Untethered Sky
"Gripping action set in vast spaces writ as clean and spare as a dry bone . . . the result is tremendous."―The New York Times
"A perfect afternoon escape under desert skies with legendary beasts."―The Wall Street Journal
"A setting so rich, with a narrator so engaging, in fact, that readers will hope Lee returns to it in future works―perhaps always keeping the narrative as tightly bound to the novella format as a rukher is bound to her roc."―Paste
"Fonda Lee wonderfully and brutally reimagines the mythic monster hunter with one of the most iconic and compelling literary duos I've ever read." - Matt Wallace, Hugo Award winner and author of the Savage Rebellion Trilogy
"A delicious morsel of heart’s flesh, its story as wild and yet poised in its craft as a stooping hawk. Fonda Lee’s characters are so real, broken and raw that they need no crowns, no wars, no prophesies to enlarge them. They simply, believably are, and in so being, they sweep us into a story as magical and wondrous as it is deft. One of the best fantasy novellas I’ve had the pleasure to read."―Christopher Buehlman
"A beautifully told story of a young woman, her magnificent, monstrous raptor, and her journey through grief, obsession, courage, and love."―Kate Elliott
"Fonda Lee weaves an enchanted world of giant majestic birds, those who would bond with them, and the terrifying monsters they must pursue. In this beautifully spun tale, a woman driven by loss and the pursuit of justice will be tested by the limits of her endurance, and how much she is willing to sacrifice."―P. Djèlí Clark
"Lee follows up her phenomenal Green Bone Saga trilogy with this fantastic stand-alone epic fantasy novella that feels like a classic folktale....Untethered Sky is an evocative, emotional novella you’ll want to finish in a single sitting because it’s just that good"―BuzzFeed
"Fonda Lee explores a new world via a standalone fantasy novella with a focus as razor-sharp as the talons of its deadly rocs."―Literary Hub
"[A] powerful story of emotional freedom and learning to love without regret."―Library Journal
"Disarmingly lovely."―Locus
Praise for The Green Bone Saga
"The Green Bone Saga is the best fantasy series I've read this decade."―S.A. Chakraborty
“Lee’s Green Bone Saga is The Godfather with an Asian cast, Game of Thrones in a suit, tie and sunglasses. It has all the earmarks of a modern, international gangster epic juiced with boardroom intrigue, economic theory and swordfights.”―NPR on Jade Legacy
“Lee’s series will stand as a pillar of epic fantasy and family drama.”―Library Journal, starred review, on Jade Legacy
"[Lee] juggles the personal and the epic with deft, admirable skill, weaving a story that is equally sweeping and intimate."―NPR on Jade War
"Sweeping, leisurely, and epic, and combines political intrigue with sharply choreographed action scenes, but it's a character-driven family drama at its heart."―Publishers Weekly, starred review, on Jade War
"If you like extremely tense political maneuvering and intrigue, you will love Jade City. Fonda Lee is the new Mario Puzo; Jade City has officially dethroned The Godfather."―Sarah Gailey
"Stylish and action-packed, full of ambitious families and guilt-ridden loves, Jade City is an epic drama reminiscent of the best classic Hong Kong gangster films but set in a fantasy metropolis so gritty and well-imagined that you'll forget you're reading a book."―Ken Liu
"Jade City has it all: a beautifully realized setting, a great cast of characters, and dramatic action scenes. What a fun, gripping read!"―Ann Leckie
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Tordotcom (April 11, 2023)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 160 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1250842468
- ISBN-13 : 978-1250842466
- Item Weight : 1 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.6 x 0.65 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #457,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,906 in Coming of Age Fantasy (Books)
- #4,589 in Sword & Sorcery Fantasy (Books)
- #6,753 in Fantasy Action & Adventure
- Customer Reviews:
Important information
To report an issue with this product, click here.
About the author

Fonda Lee is the World Fantasy Award-winning author of the Green Bone Saga, beginning with Jade City and continuing in Jade War and Jade Legacy. She is also the author of the acclaimed young adult science fiction novels Zeroboxer, Exo and Cross Fire, and has written comics for Marvel. Fonda is a three-time winner of the Aurora Award, and a multiple finalist for the Nebula and Locus Awards. Fonda is a recovering corporate strategist, black belt martial artist, Eggs Benedict enthusiast, and action movie aficionado. Born and raised in Canada, she now resides in Portland, Oregon. Follow Fonda online at www.fondalee.com and on Twitter @fondajlee.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonReviews with images
Submit a report
- Harassment, profanity
- Spam, advertisement, promotions
- Given in exchange for cash, discounts
Sorry, there was an error
Please try again later.-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Overall good but it's kind of dreary and melancholy. The main character is too ruminative.
I do think that it has good potential. It needs more in the middle to show some real conflict. Or something going on. Anything. Anything at all. A whole lot more telling rather than showing. No real character development. World-building was decent, though.
So there are rocs that you can train, and if you do well, she'll stay with you forever (because they train only male rocs). They're the natural predators of manticores. Exciting premise, right? But I was bored. I can't even remember a single character's name.
The subject had real possibilities, but was squandered in what appeared to be a hastily written rush to complete and market.
The pacing in this very pared-down story was odd and it wasn't always satisfyingly filled out. That being said, it's a short very well written story about a roc handler and her charge, Zahra. It's a traditional fantasy setting, and the characters are well rendered and believable (in context). I don't think the author has ever produced a bad piece of writing, and this is no exception. She's outstanding at character and setting and this short novel is enjoyable.
Four stars. Odd pacing, short in stature, and spare, it's nonetheless worthwhile to seek out.
Ester had a tragedy in your youth losing both a brother and mother to a manticore attack. It gave her the determination and single-minded focus needed to become part of an elite group who work with giant birds, Rocs, to kill the manticores. It isn't an easy life, the training of a deadly bird is not for the weak of spirit. They are killers and as a handler you need to remember that at all times or end up dead yourself.
Zahra is Esters Roc and this story goes through the training of her Roc with the help of a friend Darius. Together they take their birds to patrol the area and search for manticores and other dangers to the people and cattle.
This was such an interesting story going through the training and how to treat the birds along with the unusual friendships that Ester finds at the rookery. She basically grows up there and while there are a few disappointments there are some great wins as well.
“When you love a person, you are expected to give them their freedom, but when you love a monster, you keep it caged.”
I enjoyed this story and this world. It is great when you read something and see how it could be expanded into a bigger story. While I don't think there are any plans for that I will be on the lookout for more stories set in this world.
Top reviews from other countries
This is a novella, and you need to set that expectation going into it.
This isn't the rich sprawling fantastical experience of Fonda Lee's saga. Here, you will find unexplored character arcs aplenty and dead-end roads of adrift possibility that The Green Bone saga will have spoilt you to expect.
Positives:
The main character, Ester, is interesting, and I was nicely surprised when this didn't immediately become a simple revenge-trope tale.
I loved the Persian fable-feel enriched by Fonda Lee's skilled prose and the inclusion of Rocs.
Negatives:
For a novella, it covers a huge period of time, which is probably why I felt like I was reading a Fonda Lee minimalistic story.
Personally, I was left unsatisfied by the ending.
The novella is essentially about how you need a monster to catch a monster, whilst carrying the hefty weight of reality by reminding us that monsters cannot be tamed.
Therefore, when Ester's last sentence states, "Where, come spring, there would be new monsters to tame"... it was a depressing reminder of the futilities we go through as humans to feel safe in a monster-tamed world, when the reality is that monsters can't never be tamed.
The only one who was tamed in the novella, was Ester.











