To Shape A Dragon’s Breath is the first book in the Nampeshiweisit series by Moniquill Blackgoose. Anequs is a Masquisit living on Masquapaug island and her people have not seen a native dragon, a Nampeshiwe, for many generations. While out wandering one day near Slipstone Island and the ruins on it she sees a dragon. Deciding to pay her respects she travels to the ruins only to find a dragon egg. Bringing it back her people go through the traditional ceremony to hatch a dragon, at least as much of it as they can remember anyway. When it hatches the dragon, Kasaqua, bonds with Anequs making her a Nampeshiweisit, a revered human who has a unique relationship with a dragon. Even as she takes care of and watches Kasaqua start to grow she finds out that the Anglish conquerors of her land don’t appreciate anybody who is unapproved bonding with a dragon. The typical sentence is death for both parts of the bond, human and dragon. Now Anequs is faced with proving her worth to keep her dragon by going to an Anglish dragon school where she will struggle both academically and socially.
I want to start this by saying that this is one of the best new dragon series I have come across in years and I am definitely going to be continuing the series. It has such an interesting take on dragons and one that I don’t think I have seen before so I am thoroughly enjoying that aspect of the story. As you may have gathered from the blog name, I have a minor obsession with books about dragons, especially good ones and I think this one just got added to that collection. There was a lot I enjoyed about this book in addition to the dragons though. The main character of Anequs was pretty hilarious as she works on navigating the intricacies of Anglish society while she also does not hide the fact that she thinks many aspects of that same society are rather stupid. Honestly, I kind of agree with her but she is much more outspoken about those things than I would ever be. The society and culture clash is interesting as it reflects real similar clashes from our own history and so I find myself having immense sympathy for people facing those kinds of things. That being said I also agree with Anequs about how some people are just idiots about the whole thing. Coming from her perspective it also makes you wonder about being on that side of history and whether the history we learn is accurate. This is something that really makes an appearance with the role of Theod, a friend Anequs ends up making at her new school. Let’s just leave it with this book was an extremely enjoyable read but also one that might just make you subtly question your own knowledge and viewpoints on any number of things regarding cultural clashes like Anequs faces. This book gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.
I would probably consider this book to be young adult fantasy and a pretty good one at that so it would probably hold the most appeal for young adult or adult readers who enjoy fantasy. It would hold considerable appeal for readers who enjoy books about dragons specifically, like myself, or for readers who enjoy books about native and first people’s cultures. I said the book was probably considered young adult but there is also nothing in it that would not make it unsuitable for many teenagers so it could be read by readers as young as about fourteen without any major issues. However, it does deal with some potentially thorny topics such as racism and nordic supremacy as well as many related and tangential topics. As such, if it sounds like it may be difficult for you, be careful when considering it. I would still say that it is definitely worth the read though and to seriously consider trying it. As always, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments if you do.