How to Train Your Dragon: The Heroic Misadventures of Hiccup the Viking as told to Cressida Cowell

As I have seen the movie before I felt that I wasn't going to like this as much when I started reading because of how different it is to the movie. That is a conversation for a later time. Now on to the book!

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third is the Chief's son. He is the heir to the tribe of the Hairy Hooligans. There is a slight problem with that because unlike his father, Stoick the Vast, he isn't big or murderous or even really like a hero he is supposed to be. A Viking Warrior is not how you would describe him. He is a puny thing with flame red hair. He is going into Initiation now. It's either "DEATH OR GLORY!" because if he doesn't complete the initiation he will be exiled and his father's brother son (cousin) Snotlout will become the heir and he has the right stuff for it. He is the perfect bully and doesn't just hide behind others because he is as strong as well.

Now these 10 boys at the age of 10 must go to the Dragon's Nursery and pick out a fearsome dragon as a hunting buddy. They must train them to pass the Initiation and become a Hairy Hooligan. He only has one friend and that is Fishlegs who is kind of like him but with glasses. He messes everything up and he didn't get a dragon and that would mean exile for him but Hiccup gives him the one he obtained earlier and even thought there are about a thousand dragons flying after the 10 boys he goes and gets one.

His grandfather Old Wrinkly always said that Hiccup would get an extraordinary dragon and he did alright an extraordinarily small one without teeth now named Toothless. The How to Train Your Dragon at that time has only one suggestion in it in how to train your dragon which is to yell at it and he can't very well do that. His yell is not that impressive. He has one advantage. He can speak Dragonese which is illegal. He has observed them enough to learn it but the only problem is he won't listen to a word he says. He has a list of six Dragon Motivations. Gratitude but Dragons are never grateful, Fear which works but he cannot do it, Greed which could fill him up so that he could possibly not fly, Vanity which is possible, Revenge which is worth a try, and last but not least Jokes and Riddles but only if he is desperate. Not only does he have to worrying about Toothless not paying attention to him and everyone making fun of him on Thor'sday Thursday (Initiation Day) but a storm is coming and a sea dragon is awakening. No one knows that the dragon is awakening which will be a problem.

I really liked it. It ended up being not disappointing I guess I would say compared to the movie which I really loved. The whole concept is different in the movie. I wonder if I loved the books if I would have "geeked out" and hated the movie? It was a really good movie and the book was also very good. I'll be posting the movie later and after that... The Sea of Monsters!

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