Anequs has not only survived her first year at Kuiper’s Academy but exceeded all of her professors’ admittedly low expectations—and passed all her courses with honors. Now, she and her dragon, Kasaqua, are headed home for the summer, along with Theod, the only other Native student at the Academy.
But what should have been a relaxing break takes a darker turn. Thanks to Anequs’s notoriety, there is an Anglish presence on Masquapaug for the first time ever: a presence which Anequs hates. Anequs will always fight for what she believes in, however, and what she believes in is her people’s right to self-govern and live as they have for generations, without the restrictive yoke of Anglish rules and social customs. And fight she will—even if it means lighting a spark which may flare into civil war.
To Ride a Rising Storm by Moniquill Blackgoose
The second installment in the Nampeshiweisit series picks up where To Shape a Dragon’s Breath left off, and if you loved the first book, you’ll find a lot to enjoy here, while also noticing some shifts in what the story is doing.
One thing worth noting for non-German readers: the Anglish culture in this series leans heavily on German language and naming conventions. Frau as a form of address, dragons named Gerhard, skiltakraft working with Salzsäure and Essigsäure. For English readers this presumably adds an exotic flavour that underlines the colonial western influence the story is built on, and it fits the world very well. As a German reader, that particular exotic effect didn’t land for me personally, but I genuinely appreciate that the German used is accurate and often deliberately archaic, which is far from a given.
The story has more action than book one, with tensions rising sharply as the conservative imperialist forces push harder to keep indigenous people exactly where they want them: downtrodden, with fewer rights, and firmly reminded of their place in an Anglish-shaped world. There is bloodshed. The clash between characters who can and cannot see past their own position in society adds real depth, and it does so on two levels: characters shape the world, and the world shapes the characters right back, making both feel richer and more layered than before.
A highlight for me was the introduction of another dragon who doesn’t fit Anglish standards, and her rider, who comes from a cultural background much closer to that of Anequs and her people. What makes this thread especially intriguing is that she doesn’t seem as forced into the Anglish mould, and is far more in step with her original culture than Anequs and her people manage, living as they do under the Anglish thumb. I want to learn so much more about her and where this goes.
The inclusive cast remains one of the series’ greatest strengths. Different cultures, LGBTQIA+, neurodiversity, a functionally mute character with a writing board, all handled with the same matter-of-fact naturalness as in book one. Particularly well done is how Anequs’s romantic interests, both a young man and a young woman, are handled. There’s no agonised “I can’t choose” drama. For her, the question is simply why not pursue both? The way each person responds to that, one shaped by a strict Anglish upbringing, one far more open, feels organic rather than forced. Adjusting to a genuinely new idea doesn’t happen in a flash, and the book respects that.
Anequs herself is still extremely capable and morally well-calibrated, even if she occasionally misjudges others. She’s still an absolute joy to spend time with, and if anything, a few more genuine mistakes would just make her even better.
Pacing-wise, the book spends a satisfying three quarters on character and world-building rather than action, which works well. Then the final stretch speeds up, and the big conflict at the end felt a touch rushed. It closes on a cliffhanger: one conflict is over, but its repercussions are clearly waiting in book three. I can’t wait.
To Ride a Rising Storm is a worthy continuation of a series I recommend without hesitation. Dragons, colonialism, and resistance, with a cast that reflects the full spectrum of humanity and a world that keeps getting richer, Blackgoose is building something special here.
JC Kang