Rick Riordan's Reviews > Untethered Sky

My first read from Fonda Lee, this novella offers stunning world-building and a deeply human story. We find ourselves in a kingdom at war -- not just against its foreign enemies, but against monstrous animals called manticores, which some believe are supernatural curses sent by the Deceiver. With their insatiable appetite for human flesh, their impossibly thick hides and venomous bites, manticore cannot be killed by any means known to man . . . except one: the massive raptors called rocs. These huge birds are hunting machines, and while they are just as dangerous as manticores in their own way, rocs can be trained to hunt with human companions, ruhkers, in the service of the king. The ruhkers are charged with finding and killing manticores and keeping the people safe. Ester joins the royal ruhkers as a young girl, after a terrible family tragedy, and is paired with a young roc named Zahra. We follow their adventures from early training through apprenticeship, through their journeyman hunts and finally into a great climactic encounter that will test their bond and their mettle like never before. Lee makes us care about all her characters, human and roc, and builds a world so rich and real it could serve as the basis for many adventures. I enjoyed my time with the ruhkers greatly, and hope to see them again in future books!