How to Train a Dragon

 

How to Train a Dragon 

                                   By Bilaal Marikar 

Peppered with crude, childish illustrations, How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell is sometimes only infamously known as the series that gave birth to the colourful movie franchise that has captivated the attention of a whole generation of children. It is the perfect example for the cons of judging a book by its cover, and brings with it so much more.

The series is criminally underrated. 

Written in the POV of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, the books are a narration of Hiccup’s account on how he, a scrawny kid, very much unlike the other Barbarians who sported bulging muscles, flashy tattoos, majestic beards and an almost comical appetite for violence, became one of the greatest Viking warriors, overcoming all odds, along with his trusty, scrawny, common-garden dragon, Toothless.

Consisting of 12 books, Cressida Cowell lures her readers in with an almost light-hearted approach as she explores the humble beginnings of hiccups humble beginning in her first few books.

An account of the unravelling of hiccups destiny, it is intertwined with various other characters, humans and dragons alike, who create an insurmountable impact by themselves. Fishlegs, Hiccup's trusted friend who is even further than hiccup from fitting into the mould of a Viking, Hiccups father, the boisterous and hot-headed (like all Vikings) Stoick The Vast, Chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe in the Isle of Berk, the evil cousin, Snotlout, who wants Hiccup out of the picture, Gobber The Belch, their teacher, Camicazi, Hiccup's fleet footed accomplice, and a host of other characters whom we become invested with over time and start to realise that there is so much more to them than meets the eye. Not to forget Alvin the treacherous armed with his serpentine charm Hiccup’s nemesis who is hellbent on carrying out his own masterful schemes and forging his own destiny.

We are given an insight into the inner turmoil that plague the minds of not just the human characters but also the dragons, who are painted as equals, friends, and not just accessories, vehicles or weapons, an aspect that I greatly love about the book.

Cressida Cowell who is also the first children's author to receive Philosophy Now's Award for Contributions in the Fight Against Stupidity, of which past recipients include  Noam Chomsky, Raymond Tallis and Ben Goldacre.

This series not only evokes the readers imagination and unlocks the potential for creativity with the building of a whole new universe and an entire language (Dragonese), but it also engages the reader in reflecting upon complex emotional, moral, political, and historical themes.

Infused with humour nerve-wracking excitement and command of the language that is startlingly weed and responsible for powerful lines like, “We’re all snatching precious moments from the peaceful jaws of time,” or , “I have never cared for castles or a crown that grips too tight; Let the night sky be my starry roof and the moon my only light, My heart was born a Hero, My storm-bound sword won’t rest, I left this harbour long ago on a never ending quest. I am off to the horizon, Where the wind blows the foam, Come get lost with me, love, And the sea shall be our home.” Cowell spins web that unconsciously tightens with each book.

 

The finale, How To Fight A Dragon's Fury, leads the reader to an epiphany. An eleven-book build up where every single, insignificant detail from the very first book makes absolute sense and your whole perception comes crashing down as Cressida Cowell gracefully finishes the book with the flourish it wholly deserves. A plot so intricate, so deeply inculcated that you would never realize the extent you had been submerged in until you forcibly avert your eyes from the magic of the pages.

Stay on the lookout for this space as I will review a few of my favourite books from the series in the coming issues! I can personally guarantee that you shall regret every minute you keep depriving yourself from submitting to the spellbinding enchantment these pages possess.