November’s Speculative Fic. - To Shape a Dragon’s Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose

Please join us as we discuss TO SHAPE A DRAGON’S BREATH, the First Book of Nampeshiweisit by Moniquill Blackgoose. This book won the Nebula Award and Lodestar Award and was a finalist for the Astounding, Locus, and British Fantasy Newcomer Awards.. The novel is of moderate length, at about 519 pages.

Please keep your RSVP updated and accurate! Space is limited for this event. We are intentionally holding some rsvp slots for new members specifically, so if you’re new and the event is full, please get on the waitlist ASAP!

You may bring your own food/drinks (no alcohol, please) or you may pick something up in Mosaic or at the farmers market before the meetup. We do ask that you pack your trash out with you.

• KINDLE

• PAPERBACK

• AUDIBLE

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
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.

*Since missing one of these meetups is taking a spot away from someone else who wants to go, we'll need to have a stricter attendance policy than normal. For book discussions, 3 no-shows in a rolling 3-month period will prohibit you from attending any other book discussion for 2 months after your last no-show. In order to avoid a no-show, please update your RSVP no later than 10pm two nights before a discussion. Thanks for your understanding and cooperation! If you need to drop off because of Covid symptoms or exposure or a positive test or any other illness, there will be no penalty to no-showing or dropping late.