How to Train Your Dragon Books Review (2024)

Cressida Cowell

How to Train Your Dragon books talk about Vikings, who are at war with the dragons until one skinny Viking, referred to as Hiccup, manages to change centuries of tradition of war into a world of peace between the Vikings and dragons.

However, danger and trouble are never too far away from these Vikings, as you will see in this review.

How to Train Your Dragon Books

Hiccup

This story greatly focus on Hiccup, who is a main character and also the son of the Viking chief, Stoick the Vast. When you think of Vikings, and the way that they are described through history, we all know them as ruthless, fearless warriors, who aren’t afraid of anything and never back down from a fight.

Bit Different

Hiccup, on the other hand, is nothing like that, because his strength comes from his brain and his scrawny body is nothing that a normal Viking looks like. The story starts with Hiccup himself, when you get to meet him and find out just what kind of person he is. You also find out what part he plays in the never-ending Viking-Dragon war.

Peace

The Vikings have always been hostile against the dragons but one day, Hiccup manages to capture a dragon, the rarest one of them all and manages to slowly bond with him, proving that Vikings and dragons do not have to be at war and that they can live in peace together.

How to Train Your Dragon

Unlikely Friendship

The first book above in this review was only the introduction of the main character and is meant for you to get a feel of what kind of story this long series will present.

However, this book right here is the book that starts off the main story and shows you in detail how Hiccup, now known as the dragon whisperer, manages to establish a friendly relationship with a dragon, the most feared beast in their world.

Night Fury

It all happens during an ongoing battle that was happening on the Vikings’ island, they were fighting off countless dragons, fire blazing everywhere, and Hiccup manages to shoot a harpoon and bring down a Night Fury, the rarest, fastest, smartest, most feared and desired dragon of all.

That day, the Night Fury dragon loses a piece of his tail, and Hiccup loses a leg, both hurt by each other. The Night Fury remains flightless so Hiccup does the unthinkable, he comforts him and offers to help build a contraption for his tail that would help him fly with Hiccup controlling the tail on his back.

Toothless

Once Hiccup and Toothless, the name he gave the dragon, bonded, history was made that day and the world was changed forever. A fascinating story starts right there that gets super interesting along the way with you meeting new characters, new dragons, new worlds, and so much more.

How to Train Your Viking, by Toothless the Dragon

Perfect for the Youngest

Here is a more humorous book from the series, the story could definitely do without this one but it’s mainly meant for children as this short book of only close to 80 pages is perfect to make kids laugh out loud and still get to know a thing or two more about the characters in the main series.

Optional Volume

The narrative is different here as this time it’s from the perspective of Toothless, the Night Fury that Hiccup bonds with, as he goes on a short but fun adventure and tells you more about himself and Hiccup as well.

This one is completely optional as we mentioned, you can still understand the complete story without this one but if you are reading it together with your kids, then this one is definitely worth it to make sure that they don’t lose interest in the series pretty fast.

How to Be a Pirate

Not Much of a Fighter

The next part of our review is a book called How to Be a Pirate. The main story continues here while you learn more about the characters in it. You learn that every Viking must know how to fight with swords and things like that, but Hicks is pretty terrible at those sorts of things, so he definitely has it harder than anyone else.

This book is also where you get to meet Alvin the Treacherous, a character that will present a huge problem for the dragon riders later on as he proves that the persona he has been hiding under, known as Alvin the Poor-but-honest-Farmer, is a complete fake and that this man is a ruthless killer.

Island of Skullions

Alvin plays a great part here, which involves him in the quest for a treasure that a map he carries shows is on the Island of Skullions, pesky dragons that are not to be messed with. The Vikings leave Berk, their home, to look for the treasure and on that island, a lot of things go wrong, which could have ended in any one of them being killed and taken by these blind and small dragons, but huge in numbers and gifted with a very strong sense of smell.

After grabbing the treasure, they head back home and on the way, they finally learn the horrible truth about Alvin after a group of ruthless cannibalistic Vikings who call themselves the Outcasts ambush them and reveal that Alvin is actually their chief and leader.

How to Speak Dragonese

Hiccup and Fishlegs

This is the third book that you should read if you follow our How to Train Your Dragon books in order list as this one starts with Hiccup and Fishlegs, a chubby friend of Hiccups’, perhaps the closest one of the group after Toothless. They get to have quite the adventure after they find themselves become lost, when they are out at sea learning how to board an enemy ship.

Roman Ship

Thanks to Fishlegs’ fear of Shackworms in the water, he lands on a Roman ship which leads to him being captured and Hiccup manages to slip past with Toothless so he tries to figure out a rescue plan. One thing leads to another and the end result leads to Hiccup and Fishlegs escaping but leaving Toothless captured and no way to get him back on their own.

Alvin

There is so much more that we can tell you about the events that go on in this book, but that would mean revealing too many spoilers, which would definitely ruin your experience with the book itself. Just know that Alvin is sure to make another appearance in this book as well, there are plenty more dangerous situations coming your way, as the characters almost always face life-threatening scenarios, and plenty more dragons are to be seen in the pages that remain.

Incomplete Book of Dragons

Ultimate Collection

Here is a book that every How to Train Your Dragon books lover will definitely enjoy as this is the ultimate collection of dragon know-how that includes all of the dragons inside the series.

You get to see all of the amazing species throughout the series thanks to the amazing illustrations inside as well as get to learn a thing or two about each of them.

Amazing Details

Cressida Cowell has taken the time to write the strengths and weaknesses of each of the dragons, special details about each of them, things such as fear factors and so much more are listed so that you will have a better time understanding the whole series.

You will get to feel like Hiccup with his own book of dragons that he has been writing for so long, this type of information definitely comes in handy in their world and now you get to have it as well thanks to this amazing book that fits in nicely in our review.

How to Cheat a Dragon’s Curse

Vorpentitis

Fishlegs, the fat, clumsy, but quite intelligent fellow, has gotten himself into quite the pickle this time as he has managed to get himself poisoned by the sting of a Vorpent and is now suffering from something called Vorpentitis.

All of this happens after the start of the book, which takes you on another adventure as well as Fishlegs and Hiccup are escaping from more danger and barely make it to Berk. Now, they examine Fishlegs after he starts acting strangely and find out what’s wrong. Hiccup becomes very worried when he finds out that the only cure for this is based on a plant that only grows in a place called America.

Hysteria

Here is where more problems arise, as all Vikings believe that the world is flat and they haven’t seen such a place anywhere. After a lot of time of persuading and arguing, Hiccup takes off to Hysteria, because one of their relatives had taken a potato from America not long ago but was attacked near Hysteria and that’s where it was last seen.

Dangerous Events

Even more problems occur after Stoick, the chief and Hiccup’s father, forbids him to go as it was too dangerous of a mission. Hiccup still finds a way to go, mostly by lying to his father, and a series of dangerous events take place on the mission to recover the potato. We won’t spoil much more of this book as the story from here is even more exciting and there are plenty more twists that you couldn’t possibly predict.

How to Twist a Dragon’s Tale

Saving the Day Again

As events go on in our review, here comes one more tale that brings a huge amount of danger to the beloved characters inside and it’s Hiccup’s duty to save the day again thanks to the smarts he has that match no other’s.

The most important thing, that everything in this story revolves around, is a huge volcano that is about to erupt and burn everything along with it, because something called a Firestone had been stolen from it and the big Exterminator dragons, that were living there, are definitely mad.

Hotshot

You can see how much of a problem they are, as they seem pretty mad because someone stole something that belongs to them, so these dragons are definitely no joke as they kill without hesitation.

A character called Hotshot appears, he is described as the greatest hero in the world because he is wearing a fireproof suit and riding a majestic white dragon. Stoick hires this hero to be Hiccup’s bodyguard, as Hiccup devises a plan to rescue everyone, recover the stolen Firestone, and save everyone’s lives.

Amazing Twists

You can expect another story filled with so many more amazing twists later on, as Alvin the Treacherous appears again and you find out, just how wicked this man is. There is nothing that he won’t do to satisfy his needs and make sure that his plans go exactly his way, betraying others is sort of a specialty for this man.

A Hero’s Guide to Deadly Dragons

Hiccup’s Birthday

A cool little fact that you get to find out in our review is that this book is the only one of How to Train Your Dragon books that doesn’t have the word “HOW” in it and this tale right here is an exciting one that happens during Hiccup’s birthday.

This is still sort of a different book than the others, as it does contain an amazing story but it also has a few extras like a detailed map of the Barbaric Archipelago, a Dragonese dictionary at the back, many Dragon profiles and a few more interesting bonuses.

Bit of a Pickle

Now it’s time for the main story, this time Toothless is the one who manages to get himself into a lot of trouble after eating a third of Stoick’s throne and even managing to get himself quite close to getting banished from the island as well.

The story in the book involves a lot of back and forth travel to a library for books that is guarded by a scary librarian, as the Vikings believe that books are a bad thing and that they can mess with the mind. Hiccup believes the opposite and he is trying to show everyone that books are definitely useful and a lot of good can come from the hidden knowledge that they offer.

Hidden Knowledge

He tries to show this to everyone with his own book, How to Train Your Dragon, that he has been writing for so long, collecting all of the helpful and useful information about dragons so that everyone else wouldn’t have to find out the hard way as he did. Be sure to read this book carefully as there is also a lot of action in it as well.

The Complete Book of Dragons

Another Special

Here is another special and useful guide to help you get to know even more Dragon species and learn all of their unique traits.

The Complete Book of Dragons shows you a lot of detailed and colorful illustrations of how these magnificent dragons actually look. They are even better shown in the hit movie and TV series that come out of them as well.

Get to Know the Dragons

This author has definitely created one of the best adventure stories and countless fans definitely share this opinion, hopefully, you will too after you see the amazing dragons and details about them in this book.

Although this reading order is our recommendation, you can actually take a look at this book first, if you have read a thing or two and know what to expect from the series itself, as this book is the perfect one to show you and excite you about what kinds of dragons you can expect inside the story.

How to Ride a Dragon’s Storm

Never-Ending Adventures

The seventh book of the How to Train Your Dragon books describes another one of these Vikings’ never-ending and thrilling adventures, aside from all of the life-threatening dangers you probably wish you were out there with them, flying in the magnificent skies and watching the unbelievable scenery that the movies have shown you exactly how it looks.

Another Tricky Situation

Anyway, the story starts out with Hiccup of course, and his two best and closest friends, Fishlegs and Camicazi, as they find themselves in another tricky situation. After a few moments of starting a thrilling swimming race, they are kidnapped by Raptortoungues and are taken to meet their doom at a ship where Madguts the Murderous and Norbert the Nutjob are impatiently waiting to kill them.

Hiccup manages to offer a bit of a chance for survival as his abilities make him useful once more and too valuable to kill as Norbert the Nutjob asks for his help to navigate using a strange device, referred to as the strange tricky thing, which no one else knows how to use.

Straight to America

So, with Hiccup agreeing to this in return for sparing their lives, they set out on a dangerous and unpredictable adventure that is leading them straight to America. On the way, life-threatening situations are definitely not very far from them as they are attacked by all sorts of sea creatures and huge dragons.

How to Break a Dragon’s Heart

Hero Needs Rescuing

The story in this book takes our hero Hiccup on yet another fascinating adventure that is never too far away from danger. Fishlegs is with him again this time and he is the one who will need all the rescuing in this book, as he has managed to get himself into quite the trouble.

The Lost Throne

This story involves something called The Lost Throne and it explores its secrets as Hiccup sets out to discover all he can himself. While on this mission, Hiccup and Fishlegs are found by a bunch of Vikings who call themselves Uglithugs, and their leader, UG, is on a quest to find out who had been sending love letters to his daughter.

Lot of Trouble

Their tradition and beliefs state that if anyone expresses love to the royal blood and he himself is not royal blood, then that person will be killed. This is why Fishlegs is in a lot of trouble, as he is the one who had been sending the love letters. Hiccup saves his life by saying that he was the one sending them as Hiccup is the son of a Chief, which does make him royal blood.

The story goes much further than this as Alvin the Treacherous shows up again and you get to meet the Berserks, ruthless people who feed live humans to their pet Dragon, The Beast.

How to Steal a Dragon’s Sword

Sword Training

In this ninth book of How to Train Your Dragon books by Cressida Cowell, our protagonist and his friends must train their sword fighting skills, as the ultimate swordsman competition is approaching that holds a very valuable prize for whoever wins. The winner of this difficult event will be named the King of the Wilder West and that’s definitely something that many want and desire.

Struggle

If you are someone who gets nervous whenever they watch someone competing than this story will definitely be very exciting for you, as you read how Hiccup struggles to go so far in this competition. If you have read the previous books, which we suggest that you definitely do before reading any further, then you know that Hiccup’s strength comes from his mind and not his scrawny body.

Against His Father

However, he still manages to go so far and pass all of the events until he reaches near the end and realizes something that can definitely set him back, he finds out that the next competitor is his father and you can imagine how hard of a challenge that can be.

We leave the rest for you to find out if Hiccup manages to win as there is a lot left in this story that we simply will not spoil for you in this review.

How to Seize a Dragon’s Jewel

Viking Rebellion

This is a story about rebellion, the Viking Rebellion, which has definitely brought a change to Hiccup and his friends’ world and has left them in a very undesirable situation, Hiccup has even become an outcast and there are many more thrilling surprises that will make you not leave this book until you have gotten to the bottom of what in their world is going on.

New King

Also, Alvin the Treacherous is in a better position this time as he has become the new king of the Wilder West and he is also looking to capture Hiccup. Hiccup is definitely in for a lot of hard times in this book as he must save his people who are in a lot of trouble.

The only way how is by finding a jewel, the Dragon’s Jewel. All of that would have been hard enough but he still has to be careful of Alvin as he is so obsessed with capturing Hiccup that he stops at nothing to do so.

Hatred Towards Hiccup

Most of that hatred towards Hiccup is because he believes that he is responsible for everything that has happened to him, the dragons that Hiccup liberated from Alvin, the nose, and a few limbs that Alvin lost, and many more bad situations were all because of Hiccup. You definitely have another thrilling adventure in this one so be sure to keep going and find out how and if our hero gets out of this one.

How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero

Becoming a King

You have reached the eleventh and very close to the last volume that we describe to you in this review and this adventure right here might be the most fun one that you will get to read yet.

Hiccup is now determined to become the King of the Wilder West as anyone is definitely better than Alvin and Hiccup can surely always do the right thing for the people and not himself as he is a pretty selfless guy who always thinks for others and definitely always takes care of all of the dragons first.

Call for Help

The adventure in this book starts after Hiccup, Camicazi, and Fishlegs hear someone calling for help and the one crying for help was Snotlout. Everyone says that they should ditch him as he is the most annoying of their group but Hiccup would never do such a thing so in the process of saving him, they end up waking the Dragon Rebellion near them and in a battle for survival, Camicazi ends up being captured by Spydragons and Hiccup gets bitten by one.

Great Rescue Mission

A great rescue mission offers you all of the excitement in this book as the characters again get to face a lot of villains, dragons, and plenty more action that could mean the end of their days at any wrong turn. The most suspenseful story of them all as there could be someone that betrays our heroes and gets them in another tricky situation. Be sure to find out if that is true for yourself as you read the book.

How to Fight a Dragon’s Fury

Final Story

This is the last book of How to Train Your Dragon books that ends this amazing, one of a kind adventures that Cressida has won so many awards for. However, it’s the next to last book that we review as there is one more extra to the series that you could read if you want to hear a little more about this magnificent story.

Doomsday of Yule

In this final story of the original series, you read about the event called Doomsday of Yule that everyone was so worried about and now it has finally arrived. Everyone is preparing for the battle of their lives as an army is coming. This event is said to be the end of the dragons and Hiccup would never stand for such a thing so you can imagine how he feels about what is coming.

Nanodragons

The story approaches the end as this Dragon’s Jewel that we spoke of had the power to end lives as inside were trapped two Nanodragons one of which was carrying a deadly plague, this explains why every dragon is so afraid of this.

You can definitely expect a lot of exciting moments in this one as everything we tell you about it will turn into a huge spoiler about this book because much of what happens is crucial to the story and to you finding out how this amazing adventure finally ends.

The Day of the Dreader

Extra Story

This is a sort of an extra story of the series and it definitely fits in nicely with the rest of the story and continues the amazing adventure of the Vikings and the Dragons.

The scenario that our heroes must face this time involves an enormous dragon called the Dreader, who gets pretty close to Berk and because the Vikings had heard some truly nasty stories about this beast, they decide not to leave Berk until this creature finally leaves.

Attacking the Dreader

This situation takes a long time and they quickly find themselves running very short on food until they finally have nothing left to eat. After a few more weeks of starving, Stoick forms a plan to attack the Dreader but Hiccup wants only to ask it, what it wants, as he does have a way with dragons after all. You get to see an amazing story after this that involves Toothless and his discovery of a few baby dragons that mistake him for their father.

Tons of Fun

We hope you have a lot of fun reading this How to Train Your Dragon books review and finding out about the truly special and fascinating characters inside and the adventures that they will be taking on. There is so much more detail within the stories and you get to read all about it as you start reading the series for yourself.

Alissa Wynn

Alissa is an avid reader, blogger, and wannabe writer. (She's a much better cook than a writer actually). Alissa is married, has one human, one feline, and two canine kids. She always looks a mess and never meets a deadline.