To Shape a Dragon's Breath Audiobook By Moniquill Blackgoose cover art

To Shape a Dragon's Breath

The First Book of Nampeshiweisit

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

To Shape a Dragon's Breath

By: Moniquill Blackgoose
Narrated by: Charley Flyte
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $22.50

Buy for $22.50

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE NEBULA AND LODESTAR AWARDS • FINALIST FOR THE ASTOUNDING, 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.

©2023 Moniquill Blackgoose (P)2023 Random House Audio
Dragons & Mythical Creatures Fantasy Fiction Native American United States Dragons
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE NEBULA AND LODESTAR AWARDS • FINALIST FOR THE ASTOUNDING AND LOCUS AWARDS

A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, PopSugar, Chicago Public Library, Polygon, She Reads, Autostraddle

“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

“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

What listeners say about To Shape a Dragon's Breath

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    173
  • 4 Stars
    26
  • 3 Stars
    15
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    161
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    5
  • 1 Stars
    5
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    168
  • 4 Stars
    21
  • 3 Stars
    14
  • 2 Stars
    6
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

immediate re-listen

I have this on Kindle for when I don't want to wake everyone with the audiobook. I've just finished and will be immediately re-reading to savor it again. A thoughtful, much needed story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

World building

Just upset the second book hasn’t been announced yet
Wonderful story loved every minute
Wish I had this story when I was younger

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing story

nothing that I can think of at this time. it was a great read for me.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great indigenous LGBTQ book!

This book blew me away. Such a unique perspective with lots of great insights that shed light on our own world.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

will be waiting or sequel

interesting with great characters development. performance was good as well kept the interest, original content

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enjoyed!

Awesome read. I will be recommending this book to all my fantasy friends. It’s wonderful to see the friendship she develops and the challenges she has to face.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent storytelling

This book was so good! I'm glad I listened to the audiobook, it was really helpful with names of places and characters. This book has a great, diverse cast of characters, and the narrator did an excellent job doing different accents to help set them apart. I never had trouble knowing who was speaking. My only complaint is that I thought this was a stand alone and now I have to wait for the next one to come out!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely amazing

This story was so engaging. The indigenous perspective that Moniquill uses to tell her wonderful coming of age fantasy is exactly how stories should be told. I loved the school setting and the was the main character distinguished herself apart from her schoolmates. 10/10. Can’t wait for the rest of the series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Can’t wait for her next book!

Imaginative, vivid and so hard to pause. I’ll take a vacation day for her next release so I don’t have to interrupt the experience!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved the POV

Loved the pov, it’s not the first time I’ve run across books with Native Americans having dragons but it is the first book with with them as the dragon riders. Technically the main character in the book seems as if they are in an analogous alternate universe, so the pov character could be First Nation in Canada or Samoyed of Europe or Ainu of Japan but the language seemed very like what I’ve seen and heard in USA. Regardless, it is an excellent book, I’ll be looking for sequels.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!