To Shape a Dragon's Breath

“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)

Moniquill Blackgoose is the bestselling author of To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, which has won both the Nebula and Lodestar Awards. She began writing science fiction and fantasy when she was twelve and hasn’t stopped writing since. She is an enrolled member of the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe and a lineal descendant of Ousamequin Massasoit. She is an avid costumer and an active member of the steampunk community. She has blogged, essayed, and discussed extensively across many platforms the depictions of Indigenous and Indigenous-coded characters in sci-fi and fantasy.

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