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A review by mariahistryingtoread
How to Speak Dragonese by Cressida Cowell
3.0
The formula is set at this point. Hiccup is a loser, he can't get the hang of *insert new Viking skill*, oh no! here comes the inciting incident that his idiot clan will make worse, Hiccup saves the day because he's the only intelligent Viking in a 100 mile radius, the Vikings either totally ignore Hiccup's contributions or are too stupid to understand the nuance of the situation thereby explaining the return to the status quo next book. l assume all HTTYD books will follow the same pattern.
Either way I honestly don't care all that much. These books are fun, quick reads that I am almost guaranteed to enjoy - at least for now, I reserve the right to change my mind later.
Cressida Cowell is a good writer. I always like seeing more expansion on the universe she's created. It's a strong world, and I appreciate the lore we get each book. Especially now that we're weaving in some actual historical stuff i.e. in this book the villains are the Romans. It's essentially an alternate universe historical fantasy series and I'm here for it.
The characters are alright. I like Hiccup well enough, but I am getting rather annoyed on his behalf that he has to kowtow to overly aggressive, meathead nonsense from literally every single character outside of Fish Legs, sometimes, so much. Viking society is so aggravating.
I mentioned in my review for the first book (I didn’t do one for the second but rest assured it followed the formula) that it was weird how removed women were from Viking society even if the primary demographic is boys. The sheer depth of their absence made it particularly noticeable. This book features a female character in a prominent role which rectified that issue. Camicazi is the heir to the Bog Burglar tribe and is apparently where Astrid from the HTTYD movies character sprung from. She’s a little spitfire for sure. Annoying, but fun once the story developed a bit further.
I was amused throughout. I still like the series so far. Basically, you get what you pay for.
Either way I honestly don't care all that much. These books are fun, quick reads that I am almost guaranteed to enjoy - at least for now, I reserve the right to change my mind later.
Cressida Cowell is a good writer. I always like seeing more expansion on the universe she's created. It's a strong world, and I appreciate the lore we get each book. Especially now that we're weaving in some actual historical stuff i.e. in this book the villains are the Romans. It's essentially an alternate universe historical fantasy series and I'm here for it.
The characters are alright. I like Hiccup well enough, but I am getting rather annoyed on his behalf that he has to kowtow to overly aggressive, meathead nonsense from literally every single character outside of Fish Legs, sometimes, so much. Viking society is so aggravating.
I mentioned in my review for the first book (I didn’t do one for the second but rest assured it followed the formula) that it was weird how removed women were from Viking society even if the primary demographic is boys. The sheer depth of their absence made it particularly noticeable. This book features a female character in a prominent role which rectified that issue. Camicazi is the heir to the Bog Burglar tribe and is apparently where Astrid from the HTTYD movies character sprung from. She’s a little spitfire for sure. Annoying, but fun once the story developed a bit further.
I was amused throughout. I still like the series so far. Basically, you get what you pay for.