I really loved this. Academia and dragon fantasy have been overdone quite a lot, but To Shape a Dragon's Breath managed to make it engaging and compelling while actually spending its time focused on meaningful topics. The core of the story is about indigenous/minority struggle against colonialism, with a lot of queer and neurodivergent representation that's not just rote but shows actual struggle and strife in an intolerant society. The world and setting are heavily based on an alternative version of our own, with a mix of Norse and British Empire at the forefront next to the indigenous representation. The magic and science of the world are also veiled parallels to our own chemistry and sciences. The similarity those things added an extra layer of engagement on my part; I had a lot of fun picking out Norse terminology and concepts mentioned in the story and trying to figure out the equivalents in our world (carbon, sodium/maybe potassium(?), geometry, etc).

Anequs, the heroine, is the main vehicle for examining all the complex topics in the story. She's an admirable character who's decently three dimensional; though unrealistic and Mary Sue-ish in a lot of ways, I still liked her a lot. Her and the story and the writing are all very similar: blunt and unapologetic. Anequs, the book, the prose, all know who they are and what they've set out to do and don't bother putting on pretenses or airs. As a character she can come across as a little distant emotionally as a result, as things happen the way they need to happen and she's always clever or smart enough, but I think this is completely fine given the topics the book is trying to address; and this kind of character is a staple of the genre anyway. The author treads the line well I think, making all the core characters (almost all different minorities) meaningful parallels of real world struggles while giving them enough room to be engaging, fleshed out though not unflawed characters; I'm more than impressed she managed that while showing so many differing viewpoints in conflict under oppression, while serving up a well crafted and satisfying fantasy altogether.

I'm really blown away, to be honest. I found a lot to emotionally connect to (especially with real world events; I'm not indigenous, but I'm in a minority group actively being politically targeted right now and I emphasized with and rooted for Anequs a LOT) and I'm upset I don't have the rest of the series to burn through right away. This is probably a hard copy buy for me at some point.