#TSADB

[maplewozapi]

I finally did it, I’ve been itching to make a to shape a dragon’s breath sona for a long time. Also just to draw myself with all the traditional things I actually have and ones I eventually want to make for myself. And Go read the book go hurry it’s by @moniquill 🎀💖🩷💜 please I love it so much

This is a dragon inspired by how we describe giant serpents and one of our sacred beings

#tsadb #to shape a dragon's breath #to shape a dragons breath #character design #native artist #originalart #originalcharacter #my art #indigenous artist

[moniquill]

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/706010/to-shape-a-dragons-breath-by-moniquill-blackgoose/

ABOUT TO SHAPE A DRAGON’S BREATH

A young Indigenous woman enters a colonizer-run dragon academy—and quickly finds herself at odds with the “approved” way of doing things—in the first book of this brilliant new fantasy series. 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.

PRAISE

“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 “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

#TSADB #To Shape A Dragons Breath #Moniquill Blackgoose #Indigenous #Book release #Please share and spread!

[bookwyrminspiration]

it's so unbelievably refreshing to have such honest and open communication between love interests. Liberty explaining to Anequs they'd be in severe danger if they courted, Anequs telling Theod it'd be risky if they courted openly--but her saying she'd love to later with both of them, when it was safe. and no one gets upset about it and everyone understands, even though they're disappointed. now that i'm saying this out loud--"wow its so great that people who love each other talk to each other about their feelings maturely"--i think maybe my bar was. a little bit damaged and low damn

#tsadb #to shape a dragon's breath #i had the briefest flicker of fear when anequs said she was also attracted to theod as well as liberty #because i've seen some trying love triangles in my day (is barely a legal adult) and really did not want this to be another #but then I took a step back and was like. this is moniquill blackgoose and tsadb. that doesn't seem very fitting #i think this author and book can and will do better #and then they did! #very exciting #of course this doesn't mean everything is smooth sailing. there's still more conversations to be had #and it might not all go over well #but i have faith in the end :) #this is infinitely more compelling than a love triangle ty moniquill blackgoose

[aroaessidhe]

faves of 2023: YA fantasy (secondary world)

To Shape A Dragon's Breath

Lucha of the Night Forest

Sheiné łénde

The Siren, The Song, and The Spy

Into The Midnight Void

City of Nightmares

#read in 2023 #....damn I'm getting real picky about ya fantasy not set in the real world haha #honestly even of these; TSADB is near perfect i would recommend to everyone; the others just vibe with me personally #To Shape A Dragon's Breath #Lucha of the Night Forest #the siren the song and the spy #into the midnight void #sheine lende #SL is teeechnically more like our world but since I have already posted that post and I hadn't posted thi s one #and i needed something to make it an even 6...

[gigantomachylesbian]

To Shape a Dragon's Breath was very good, it was the rare YA book that didn't overly read like YA fantasy in terms of style and didn't make me feel like I was being talked down to as a reader, but still felt very accessible. It's a book that I both really loved reading as an adult and made me feel connected with my younger self and my consistent passion for dragons, and is a book I would love to share with some younger cousins because I'm sure it could be even more meaningful to them. Just a compelling, touching, enjoyable read :^) I definitely recommend either reading this one yourself and/or gifting it to any teens in your life!

#k talks #k reads #to clarify by what I mean by reads like YA fantasy I just mean how a lot of books in the genre are very stylistically similar y'know #kinda like. quippy+fairytaleish+dramatic descriptions. which! nothing wrong with that! it can work #but the style of tsadb felt like... a little bit more straightforward and measured and not overly dramatic? #and historical+coming from a younger teen in a way that works very well for the story. It was refreshing! #to shape a dragon's breath #I wish I was close enough to send this book to my younger cousins but alas... so good though I had a great time #delivered exactly what I want from that sort of kid finds a dragon story but also felt very fresh! excited for the rest of the series

[wardingsong]

Since it’s the Year of the Dragon (woo!), and I’ve written a book with dragons (double woo!), I’m going to be reading/rereading my books with dragons and doing reviews of them here on Tumblr. The first dragon related book I read this year was ‘To Shape A Dragon’s Breath’ by Moniquill Blackgoose. If I had a penny for every book/series I’ve read that included dragons and was set in a colonial era, I’d have three pennies (four if you count my own book.) Which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it’s happened so many times 😅. 

Spoiler review below the cut: 

 ‘To Shape A Dragon’s Breath’ is set in an alternate history of Earth, and is about a young indigenous woman named Anequs who is chosen by a newly hatched dragon, Kasaqua, to be her companion. When the colonials learn a native has acquired a dragon, they insist that Anequs has to attend a ‘proper’ colonist dragonriding academy. She then has to navigate prejudices, from outright racism towards indigenous culture to ‘well-meaning’ attempts to ‘civilise’ her, in order to both help her people and protect her dragon. 

The downside to books set in a colonial era is that the historically accurate casual racism, sexism, slavery, homophobia etc can drive you into fits of indignant rage (or, maybe that’s just me 😅.) I loved this book, even if I did spend a lot of it mentally yelling at certain characters, “leave their indigenous culture alone you parasitic leeches!” One of my parameters for a good book is how much it makes me wish I could enter that world, even if it’s to whack the antagonists over the head with a hammer, and give the protagonists a hug. 

One of my favourite characters, apart from Anequs, is Sander. He’s coded as autistic, and again, I had that bizarre feeling of both admiring his portrayal and being indignant at his treatment. Sander deserves better. 

One of my favourite aspects of the world-building is that alchemy, or skiltakraft, can be used to make what the dragons breathe do more than just burn stuff. It’s a really cool and unique idea. I was really excited when Anequs realised that her people’s traditional dances would actually look like special alchemical diagrams, or skiltas, when seen from above, by a dragon. It’s a great link between the past and the present.  

If you’ve read ‘TSADB’, and if you’ve made it this far the answer is probably yes, then you might like a new novel, Warding Song. It’s set in a fictional Caribbean-like archipelago and it’s about a pirate’s daughter and a doubt-ridden dragon who team up to outrun the law, escape their would be killers, and find a mysterious hoard of treasure. It’s got talking dragons, pirates, protags on the run, vengeance, mysteries and more. 

Please consider visiting @wardingsong to learn more and subscribing to our Substack and/or Tumblr. 

#to shape a dragon's breath #bookblr #book review #books with dragons #dragons #warding song #fantasy

[moniquill]

#to shape a dragon's breath #tsadb

[moniquill]

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath has been nominated for the 2024 Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction!

#to shape a dragon's breath #tsadb #books #Andre Norton Award #Nebula Awards

[moniquill]

Word of Author; dragons have toe beans.

#TSADB #to shape a dragon's breath #Dragon Anatomy

[moniquill]

#to shape a dragon's breath #TSADB

[moniquill]

@travellingdragon , because you asked:

Dragon descriptions by breed:

Nampeshiwe - the indigenous dragons of North Markesland (specifically a northeast woodlands breed)

In general, North Markesland dragons are somewhat mustelid in conformation and gait 

A description of Kasaqua’s mother:

It was red and gold and glorious with the evening sun behind it, like a hillside in autumn. From nose to tail it was twice as long as my canoe, and its wings opened half again that wide. It had a crown of antlers that must have come to thirty points or more. It stretched its wings, and the sun came through them, showing the scarlet net of its bloodworks. It had a long, sinuous body, like an otter or a fisher. Its neck double-curved like a heron's. Its mane was blood red, each spiky feather tipped with black, and it had black markings on its eyes and muzzle and along the rims of its deer-like ears.

Kasaqua upon hatching:

Overall it was about the size of a marten, dull yellow and speckled brown and black across its back. Its wings, as it stretched them out and flicked off bits of slime, proved much smaller than its mother's had been. They didn't look at all suited for the task of getting it into the air. Its head was overlarge for its body, and so were its feet. It had no sign of antlers or feathers. It looked as soft and bald as a baby songbird.

Word of Author on Nampeshiwe:

Average size when adult is twenty feet from nose to tail and thirty feet from wingtip to wingtip at full spread - this makes them middle-sized as dragons go. Bodily conformation of hatchlings should put one in mind of a ferret, sable, or martin - a mature adult is more like a wolverwine or honeybadger. The skin of the body ranges from buff gold through ginger and even orange, while the wingleather shades smoothly from that color at the wing wrist to scarlet red at the leading edge. Mane feathers of adults are red or ruddy brown and may or may not have darker veins and tips. Adults females have manes on the crows of thier heads and backs of their necks, while adult males have a mane that fully encompasses the throat and chest, like a lion’s mane and may or may not have a beard. Adults males also have bronze iridescence, especially on the breast feathers.   

Introduced Dragons

In general, dragons from the old world are somewhat wolfish or doggish in confirmation and gait

Akhari - an introduced breed developed in Kindah and Kedar

One of the dragons saw us coming and rose to its feet, approaching with great interest. It was a breed I didn't know from the book, light brown with black stripes across its back and wings, pale on its belly. It was as tall as a pony, but longer from nose to tail. It yawned hugely and loped forward with a wolfish gait, and Kasaqua bounded ahead to meet it. 

Arin - an introduced breed developed in Vaskosland (closely related to Bjalladreki)

In the next cell, a somewhat smaller dragon lay on its back, belly up and legs splayed. It was a shade of green that reflected blue, like the head of a drake mallard, and had a thorny crown of bone-white quills.

Professor Ibarra's Arin, Abiadura, looked like an especially lean and lanky Bjalladreki with shorter and stouter quills.

Bjalladreki - an introduced Norseland breed

This dragon had a crown of brown and white striped quills, the ones nearest to its face webbed like a fish's fins. It was a ruddy brown color overall, fading to gray on its belly and beneath its wings, with brilliant sea-green eyes. The webs around its face were mottled with green markings, too.

Niklas’ dragon was a bjalledreki as well, and having three of them at such close quarters allowed me to examine the breed in a detail that I hadn't been able to before. Ivar's dragon was the largest of the three, and broadest across the chest. Niklas’ dragon was smaller than Sigrod but larger than Magnus, and more gray than either of the others. The quills of its crown were especially long and finely formed, their banding more subtle and dappled, and they were each tipped in brilliant white. Magnus looked rangy compared to the other two, plainly more juvenile in conformation and demeanor.

Bjalladrekis were far and away the most common breed in the academy’s dragonhall, probably because the breed was famously even-tempered and versatile. Also because bjalladrekis begat more bjalladrekis, so their being popular meant more of their eggs were available. Marta’s dragon, Magnus, was a bjalladreki. The breed was ruddy brown and gray, with a mane of quills like a porcupine’s, and teal-green markings on the face and the backs of the wings.

Word of Author: This is the Labrador Retriever and American Quarter Horse of the dragon world, at least in New Anglesland dragoneering culture - wildly popular for being a dependable, middle of the road kind of creature.

Falterdrach -  an introduced breed developed in Tyskland

The dragon in the next cell was red and black, with a pair of recurved black horns. It was worrying at a bone big enough that it had to be a cow's leg. It flicked a wing open as we passed by the front of the cell, and I saw that it had great black patches on a red field, like a butterfly's wing.

Professor Mesman’s Falterdrach, Kostbar, was a smallish black dragon with brilliant red patches on his wings reminiscent of a butterfly.

Jirada - an introduced breed developed in Kindah

In the cell after that, a brown and gold dragon was lying with its back to us. I couldn't see its head at all, but it seemed to have very long, narrow wings.

Professor Nazari's Jirada, named Zati, was dusty brown with especially long and narrow wings.

Kessledrach - an introduced breed developed in Tyskland

It was an altogether larger creature than Kasaqua's mother had been—stockier and more forwardly-built. If Kasaqua’s mother could be likened to an otter, this dragon could be likened to a bear. It was green and bronze, and instead of antlers it had a pair of sharp horns that swept back from its brow.

Frau Kuiper’s Gerhard, an enormous dark green Kessledrach, was built like a bear 

Silberdrach - an introduced breed developed in Anglesland

All of the other cells—something like seventy or eighty of them—appeared to be empty save one at the very end. In that cell a huge white-and-gray dragon with pale eyes stared at us with keen interest. Its mouth was partly open, its black tongue flicking out between glittering fangs.

Two of the dragoneers visited north village. Not dragons like yours, thorny silver-white monsters eight foot tall at the shoulder.”

“Silberdrachs,” I said, nodding. “They’re a favored breed in the dragonthede, along with Kessledrachs. Most of the jarlsgards who are dragoneers are bonded to Silberdrachs, I think.

Captain Einarsson’s ill-tempered Silberdrach, whose name I’d never learned, was white and gray - though her tongue and gums were black

Velikolepni - an introduced breed developed in Russland and Roveland

It was only a little bigger than Kasaqua, and it had a very distinctive look. It was very pale all over, wheat-colored above and below with bands of white along its flanks, shading to brilliant gold on its tail and the backs of its wings. It lacked any sort of a mane, but had three sets of little horny nubs on either side of the crown of its head. It had a pair of barbles sweeping back from its nose, another above its eyebrows, and a double pair sprouting from its chin—taken together, I was reminded very strongly of a catfish.

Sander’s dragon, Inga, had grown enormously since I’d last seen her. She was now the size of a pony, and her triple set of golden horns had grown out to three or four inches in length. 

In general, dragons from Markesland and the Far East have brachiating antlers that shed and regrow annually and elongated bauplans, while Norselandish dragons have horns (1-3 pairs) that do not shed and more compact bauplans.

#TSADB #to shape a dragon's breath #dragons #description

[moniquill]

Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult FictionTo Shape a Dragon’s Breath, Moniquill Blackgoose (Del Rey)

#to shape a dragon's breath #tsadb #nebula #Andre Norton Award #Youtube

[moniquill]

Also word of Author; Nampeshiwe in particular have grabby raccoon-type forefeet. Old world dragons have less dexterous feet but more impressive foreclaws.

#TSADB #to shape a dragon's breath #Dragon Anatomy

[moniquill]

#to shape a dragon's breath #tsadb

[bookwyrminspiration]

I'm quite fond of the detail that when other characters try to say certain places/names (e.g. Maswachuisit, Naregannisit) their dialogue instead represents their mispronunciation. It so perfectly captures in writing the feeling when you hear someone mispronounce a word in another/your language, and succinctly conveys everyone else's unfamiliarity and inexperience with what/where they're talking about. And in the case of the jarl and other authority figures, their unqualified positions/knowledge to be making the political decisions they do. of course it's not the only thing conveying that, but it's just another layer to it I appreciate

#tsadb #to shape a dragon's breath #what a surprise the language nerd loves how language was used

[moniquill]

Hi! I loved reading To Shape a Dragon's breath (A LOT, thank you so much for writing it!!!) but I kinda have a hard time imagining just what the dragons look like. Do you have like a list or drawings I could look at?

I don't actually - I don't draw. I'm super stoked whenever anyone makes fanart, but as the book is still quite new (released in May) there just isn't much active fandom yet, I'm afraid.

#TSADB #To Shape A Dragon's Breath #Moniquill Blackgoose