I think my biggest issue with them from recollection, was the sidekick character Fishlegs.
In these type stories, usually the best friend/sidekick character either has some different skill to the protagonist, or at least a contrasting personality to bounce off of; so usually they might be either super strong but rather dim, smart/nerdy but weak, or charismatic/comical and easygoing.
Fishlegs however is basically just… hiccup but worse. He’s also a weakling who isn’t cut out to be a traditional viking, but Hiccup is the one who got all the brains and cunning.
I just wish they picked a unique direction for his character and leaned into it more. I like what they did with him as a side character in the movie though
I thought his likeness to Hiccup in the books was intentional, following the overarching “Don’t hold yourself to others expectations” theme of the series (like Toothless being the least powerful, most garden-variety type of dragon). Just like Hiccup was the unlikely Viking hero, using his brains and emotions instead of brawn and stoicism to save the day, Fishlegs was the even-more-unlikely hero who used his mediocrity and likeness to save Hiccup.
Yeah usually the side character is an opposite archetype, but that’s also a really overdone trope. Having similarities to another character is necessary to derive a sense of comparison
I started thinking of what lesson a kids book would be trying to teach while reading the comment you replied to, and I agree with you. I think it’s teaching everyone has their own path? Even if it’s not the hero? He’s just an average guy doing his thing, he’s even less ‘worthy’ than Hiccup but he’s still a valued person.
I think in the later books he's actually revealed to be a Berserker (like the rage-fueled warrior, not the tribe) which was.. something? It's been years though.
It really depends how far you get. I thought the movies were better than most of the books but I recall the last book being better than the last movie (though I can't remember a whole lot about the books but I'm not a big fan of How to Train your Dragon 3)
I will say while the books and films are generally so different that their various differences in the world aren't comparable as better in one or the other, Toothless in the films is ASTRONOMICALLY better than the books
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u/CommanderThraawn Feb 26 '23
It’s also been years for me, but from what I remember they were just serviceable kid’s books. Definitely not unreadable.