To Shape a Dragon's Breath

The First Book of Nampeshiweisit , #1

Paperback, 528 pages

Published May 9, 2023 by Del Rey.

ISBN:
978-0-593-49828-6
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Goodreads:
61937038-to-shape-a-dragon-s-breath

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4 stars (3 reviews)

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 …

2 editions

reviewed To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (Nampeshiweisit, #1)

No me ha acabado de convencer

3 stars

Es la historia de una chica tiene que emprender un viaje para aprender algo y descubrirse a sí misma. Hasta aquí, todo normal. El aderezo extra es el enfoque desde la perspectiva de una nativa americana en el siglo XIX en una realidad alternativa, pero no mucho. Lo que más me ha echado para atrás en la lectura es que, para darle un toque exótico, la autora cambia el nombre de muchas cosas que conocemos. De hecho, hay episodios enteros destinados a traducir los nombres de la ficción para que sepamos a que se refieren. Eso podría estar bien si fueran pocos nombres y se introdujera de un modo más orgánico. Al final, cambia todo tanto, y se mezclan tantos idiomas, que soy incapaz de recordar qué es cada cosa.

reviewed To Shape a Dragon's Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose (Nampeshiweisit, #1)

To Shape a Dragon's Breath

4 stars

To Shape a Dragon's Breath is an indigenous-centered story about a young woman Anequs who finds a rare dragon egg and is chosen by the resulting dragon; to avoid harm to her Masquisit community and her dragon, she agrees to register her dragon and go to an Anglish dragon school, whereupon she's confronted with all the racism, colonialism, death threats, shitty teachers, classism, homophobia and unexplained Anglish social conventions that you might expect. The world here is adjacent to our own except with strong Nordic and Germanic influences in history and mythology, on top of dragon-based industrialization (with a chemical/magical dragon breath system). This all works for me to keep the world simultaneously familiar but also fresh.

The story is really driven by Anequs' personality. She has a clear sense of her own values (protect her dragon, community, and friends) and doesn't hesitate to call people on their shit, to …

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rated it

5 stars