To Shape a Dragon's Breath: The First Book of Nampeshiweisit
In a world where dragons have nearly vanished, an Indigenous girl named Anequs bonds with a hatchling and is thrust into a colonizer-run school. Coming-of-age and social critique advance with the same force as the story confronts cultural inheritance and the violence of schooling.
Work Information
Learning a dragon's breath is also a way of keeping hold of yourself in a colonized world.
Published by Random House Worlds, this novel uses a dragon school to examine the relationship between power and education. Through Anequs's perspective, it traces a youth shaped by pride, anger, adaptation, and resistance.
Book Information
- Publisher
- Del Rey
- Published
- 2023-05-09
- Pages
- 528 pages
- Language
- 英語
- Size
- 14.1 x 2.8 x 20.9 cm
- ISBN-13
- 9780593498286
- ISBN-10
- 0593498283
- Price
- 3598 JPY
- Category
- 洋書/Literature & Fiction/United States/Native American
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.
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.
Reviews
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Immediately upon reading this book, I was hooked! Amazing story about how an Indigenous woman finds herself in possession of a dragons egg. Nampeshiwe egg. There has been no Nampeshiwe on their island for 200 years and much of the knowledge lost about being a Nampeshiweisit. Anequs travels to a colonizer school and must learn their ways of raising a dragon and how to be a "Dragoneer" by their standards and safely controlling their breath. Anequs is headstrong and I love her character so much. Id love to see this as a movie or TV series.
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Where shall I start? I gave myself time to write this review because I enjoy the book but at the same time, I did find the plot very slow. I struggled a little with the writing because the author use some words in different languages but it is “my bad” because English isn’t my mother tongue. What I enjoy is the way the author tells the story because you can see she is using her native culture in this story and the history (and suffering) of her people. Looking forward for the next book.
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I’m always wary of dragon and/or wizard school fiction as there’s so much of it about and so much is derivative or complete Harry Potter rip offs, so going in my expectations were low! But what an absolute delight of a book, beautifully well written with real life to the characters and a well realised supporting cast. Thanks Moniquill Blackgoose to introducing me to a completely believable fantasy world! There are some important ideas in the book about colonialism and prejudice! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed immersing myself into this world and can’t wait for the next book.
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This book is a work of art - I don't know how else to put it. It's entertaining, with all of the elements of steampunk and traditional fantasy that I love. Beyond that, it's also deeply thought-provoking. It explores themes of culture, identity, colonialism, and neurodivergence (among others). It gives beautiful examples of how our perspective is deeply rooted in our own experience and culture, and challenges us all to look past our own personal lens. Thank you for writing such a moving story! I can't wait to read the next instalment.
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Fue un regalo y le gustó
Related Literary Awards
- Nebula Award Edition 59 (2024) ・Winner