“There were dragons when I was a boy . . .”
Thus begins the fifth in my no-particular-order Thunderclap list, How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. It’s a smashing opening line, for it introduces all sorts of questions that can only be answered by reading on: are there no longer dragons? Why not? Where did they go? Will they come back? Who is speaking? What did he think/feel about dragons as a boy, and how has that changed?
Well played, Ms. Cowell. Well played.
As with Narnia and Redwall, this is a “children’s series” I hope to continue encountering regularly for the rest of my life. I say “encountering” rather than “reading” because I interact with this story in three unique ways and love them all with surprisingly equal devotion:
~ the books themselves, whimsically illustrated and inviting me into the world as only physical pages pressed between two covers can
~ the audiobooks, narrated to exquisite perfection by the inimitable, the adorable, the all-but-inhumanly-wonderful David Tennant
~ the films – which, though very different from the books, have captured their spirit and even managed to tell the same heart-story (I finally watched the 3rd one this past weekend and was as undone as I had been by the 1st and 2nd)
I have already described my deep love of dragons – and, indeed, of this series – in one of my introductory posts for my latest novel, The Ancient. To further clarify why this series makes my “Thunderclap” list, I need only expound on two points.
First, these stories are funny. Scratch that – I find them laugh-out-loud hilarious. Just take these opening lines from the first chapter (it helps if you imagine them being read to you in a cheeky Scottish accent):
“Long ago, on the wild and windy isle of Berk, a small-ish Viking with a long-ish name stood up to his ankles in snow. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, the Hope and Heir to the Tribe of the Hairy Hooligans, had been feeling slightly sick ever since he woke up that morning . . .”
These dry, tongue-in-cheek lines set the tone – and the stage – perfectly for the 12-book saga that follows. Even through all the intricate and occasionally heart-wrenching plot twists, this spirit prevails. I guess it is Hiccup’s spirit; it was capturing his voice that made the movies such a success, I believe (many thanks, Jay Baruchel) and it makes me keep coming back to the same books over and over again. (I don’t actually own any of the books themselves, but I have a few of the audiobooks, and I keep them in my car listening rotation whenever I need a break from Tolkien.)
Secondly, the weight of this story’s message belies its lighthearted trappings. I remember feeling slightly gut-punched when I reached the end of the first book; I was laughing merrily along, cheering on Hiccup and Toothless as they saved the day – and then the epilogue landed with an ominous thud, reminding me soberly of the bleakly dragon-less reality in which I live.
I don’t want to give too much away, but these stories (both the books and the movies, as I mentioned earlier) are a warning and a call to action as much as they are a fun, funny escape. Interacting with them inspires me in my own writing, proving yet again that one can speak heavy truths with a light touch. This is the road I am trying to navigate in my new novel, and I am forever grateful to Cressida Cowell (and David Tennant, and Hiccup and Toothless) for going before and marking some trails for me.
We love How to train your dragon!! Thanks for introducing it to us!!
You are MOST welcome.
Delightful!!!!! I have yet to read the books, but the two films I have seen were terrific!!!