This book should be recommended reading in schools. And for all, frankly.
I’ve seen quite a few reviews mention that this book is “slow” and there’s “not much going on (action)” and I would refute that claim. There’s A LOT that happens in this book. We follow the main character Anequs as she navigates being the first in a long time to be chosen by a dragon (something her people thought was long lost) and being forced into the colonizer’s world after they threaten her, the dragon, and her people. Since of course, they “regulate” all dragons and the people who are chosen by them.
If this story doesn’t incite rage within you, there’s a problem. There is A LOT of juxtaposing colonial ways and culture and rules with the ways of the people on the island of Masquapaug, where Anequs is from.
I adored the character of Anequs, she is strong and straightforward and stands up for what’s right consistently. If you despise the way many heroines are written in popular mainstream fantasy stories these days, this book is for you.
About the author (this is from her media blurb):
“Moniquill Blackgoose 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. Her works often explore themes of inequality in social and political power, consent, agency, and social revolution.”
Get to know the author more in an interview here: https://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2023/04/women-in-sff-month-moniquill-blackgoose
In another interview, the author explains more about the setting of the book:
JJ: Where does your novel take place, and how is the protagonist of your novel different from most mainstream fantasy protagonists?
MB: To Shape a Dragon’s Breath takes place in southern New England (Rhode Island, Massachussetts) in the 1840s in a very alternate timeline — the Roman Empire never existed, the British Isles were settled by Scandinavian seafarers, and the European colonization of the east coast of the US is proceeding differently. Also, there are dragons.
In the same interview, she says, “One of my greatest goals in telling Anequs’ story is to get the readers to comprehend how fundamentally different the European/colonialist perceptions of the world are from the Indigenous perceptions.” On the other side of this intention as a reader, the author has accomplished this and it is the focus of the novel.
source: https://www.bookweb.org/news/indies-introduce-qa-moniquill-blackgoose-1629444
There is a lot of info-dumping in this book and perhaps this can make readers feel like the pacing is slow but it does lay the groundwork for the future. This is perhaps my one critique of the writing style, perhaps the info-dumping might have been more spread out or worked into the story a bit more.
Although, a counter point, Anequs is in school and much of the info-dumping comes during lectures so it does invoke the feeling of actually being in a lecture, sharing the perspective and experience of the main character.
Overall, I would highly recommend reading this book, and a close reading at that. It’s one of the most important stories that needs to be heard and told. It’s beautiful, measured, heartbreaking, enraging, and one that I will be thinking about and recommending for a long time.
Book 2 is also coming out in 2026 and I have the ARC from NetGalley so stay tuned for updates on that!!
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Find more information about the author and their books at their website linked here.
