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To Shape a Dragon's Breath

The First Book of Nampeshiweisit

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To Shape a Dragon's Breath

By: Moniquill Blackgoose
Narrated by: Charley Flyte
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About this listen

 NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE ASTOUNDING, NEBULA, AND LODESTAR AWARDS • FINALIST FOR THE LOCUS AND BRITISH FANTASY NEWCOMER AWARDS • “My favorite book of the year . . . a coming-of-age story that is cozy and hair-raising in equal measure.”—Charlie Jane Anders, The Washington Post

“I tore through it, caught up in an enthusiasm for dragons that I hadn’t experienced since I was a teenager obsessed with Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea and Anne McCaffrey’s Pern.”—NPR

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, PopSugar, Chicago Public Library, Polygon, She Reads, Autostraddle

The remote island of Masquapaug has not seen a dragon in many generations—until fifteen-year-old Anequs finds a dragon’s egg and bonds with its hatchling. Her people are delighted, for all remember the tales of the days when dragons lived among them and danced away the storms of autumn, enabling the people to thrive. To them, Anequs is revered as Nampeshiweisit—a person in a unique relationship with a dragon.

Unfortunately for Anequs, the Anglish conquerors of her land have different opinions. They have a very specific idea of how a dragon should be raised, and who should be doing the raising—and Anequs does not meet any of their requirements. Only with great reluctance do they allow Anequs to enroll in a proper Anglish dragon school on the mainland. If she cannot succeed there, her dragon will be killed.

For a girl with no formal schooling, a non-Anglish upbringing, and a very different understanding of the history of her land, challenges abound—both socially and academically. But Anequs is smart, determined, and resolved to learn what she needs to help her dragon, even if it means teaching herself. The one thing she refuses to do, however, is become the meek Anglish miss that everyone expects.

Anequs and her dragon may be coming of age, but they’re also coming to power, and that brings an important realization: the world needs changing—and they might just be the ones to do it. Dragons & Mythical Creatures Fantasy Fiction World Literature Dragons Mythology Native American

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Critic reviews

“Imagine a world full of dragons where a newborn chooses you to be its caregiver. Imagine you have to go to a special school to learn how to train it. Imagine that almost no one at the school wants you there. This is how the well-written, compelling tale of To Shape a Dragon’s Breath begins, and once underway it doesn’t let you go.”—New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks

“My favorite book of the year . . . a coming-of-age story that is cozy and hair-raising in equal measure.”—Charlie Jane Anders, The Washington Post

“I tore through it, caught up in an enthusiasm for dragons that I hadn’t experienced since I was a teenager obsessed with Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea and Anne McCaffrey’s Pern.”—NPR

“Blackgoose uses the social microcosm of the school world to focus on the issue of assimilation and resistance, and the relations of power—cultural, social, and economic— between coloniser and those that they have colonised. . . . Blackgoose is deft with her characters, good at showing the interiority of individuals other than her viewpoint protagonist. . . . It’s tensely explosive and deftly done. To Shape a Dragon’s Breath is an entertaining story and a striking debut.”—Locus

“A thorough delight . . . To Shape a Dragon’s Breath reveals a world that is complex and political through deft, thoughtfully drawn characters who, like their world, are complicated and believable. I love Anequs!”—K. Eason, author of How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse

“This is a classic fantasy at its finest . . . The indigenous quest to maintain culture and identity within a paralyzingly restrictive imperialism determined to stamp out natives and their beliefs, and Anequs’ stubborn will to remain herself, create a fresh take on this setup and make this a must-read high-fantasy series.”—Booklist (starred review)
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To Shape A Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose 🐲 🐲 🐲 🐲 .5/5 A really fantastic first book in a series that gave me simultaneous Babel and Harry Potter vibes (if the story actually talked through the injustice in the wizard world) It was a story that had a lot of character and a lot of just little cosy moments, my only main issue being that it had a little build up to the conclusion plus the systemic pressure hanging around, that there was no primary antagonist, more like a bunch of little antagonists who will be thorns in the upcoming books. That being said I kinda loved how relaxed it was but also how scathing it could be to coloniser culture, and private schools in general.
I adored our protagonist and her group of friends she built at school, as well as the dive into her culture, and the intricacies of it. I also loved the way it compared her culture to the colonisers, and showed especially how backwards the colonisers were, while thinking themselves superior just due to social rules theyd invented for themselves. I honestly was blown away with how much I enjoyed this, and devoured it over two days.

The perfect mix of cozy and critique. Loved it !

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I enjoyed this book, although there doesn’t seem to be a really plot with a real ending. It follows the young indigenous dragoneer Aniqus as she navigates her training in the unknown world of the “Anglish” and all something like that would entail. The relations between Aniqus’ people and the Anglish/Norse people who have settled on the land without permission parallels that of our own world and the tensions and conflicts are similar. I appreciated the perspective on the side of the n ative peoples through Aniqus and I know that it reflects our own world. A gross injustice. That occupies a large portion of the action. In between, the dragons and the “magic” of “skiltekraft” and the technology (I don’t know if I’m spelling that correctly) are distinctly steampunk in nature. It made for a fun atmosphere.
I didn’t love the narrator’s delivery and the voices she used were a bit grating, but once I got used to it, overall she did a good job.

Wonderfully interesting perspective

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I really loved this book so much; Anequs was such a well-rounded, thought out character and I loved her influence on the people around her. The world building was exquisite and I loved how the author delivered exposition; the use of story telling is just a favourite of mine. I really enjoyed feeling that I was a student along with Anequs. This was very character driven but with some plot but there was a lot of world building that will set up future books. Can’t wait for the next book.

Excellent story with the bonus of having dragons

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With an interesting world and some new takes on dragons and fire, this could've been so much more. Unfortunately, Al characters are fairly cliche, especially the main one. It's also obvious what's right and wrong all the time, which makes it all unbelievable.

Unbelievable correct main character

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