Theres one thing from the HTTYD books that has always stuck with me that makes me absolutely insane to think about
So theres a moment in one of the books where Hiccup is on a ship in the middle of a thunderstorm on the open sea, and the enemy captain is trying to kill him with his big scary legendary axe, made of metal that fell from the heavens and so sharp he can shave with it. He gets chased onto the top mast and loses his sword right.
Absolutely hopeless situation. If he doesnt get axed to death, he's only going to fall to his death, and if the fall doesn't kill him then the ship is sinking anyways, and he's so far away from any other ship for there to even be a chance of rescue. Hiccup is supposed to be part of some great big foretold prophecy and it feels like nothing ever goes his way right.
So he prays to Thor. And he tells Thor that if any of this prophecy stuff is true, then to give him any kind of sign right now, because it sure as hell doesn't feel like he's been chosen by the gods and hasn't felt that way for a long time.
And the moment he finishes his prayer, the captain is immediately struck by lightning and killed. It is such a narratively satisfying moment, Hiccup feels a new zeal for his quest, its really epic.
And then what follows is a half-page footnote explaining how raising a razor-sharp axe made of pure meteoric iron above your head, when you're already standing on the tallest point of a ship, produces a perfect lightning rod.
The whole book series is full of bits like this. Where incredibly unlikely, but plausible, stuff happens, and gets marked up to magic or fate or prophecy or the work of gods. Its incredible.
One moment I always truly loved is when I believe the same axe-villain guy - it's been a while since I read the series I'm pretty sure it's the same guy,
Does the 2-face-from-batman thing of tossing his axe is the air and saying "if it lands on this blade you die, if it lands on the other side, you live, let's let Fate decide",
And then hiccup very quickly clocks that "oh fuck its gonna land on The Bad Side", jumps up, grabs the axe, and slams the other side into the deck of the boat,
And then Im pretty sure he says something along the lines of "I Was Fated To Do That."
I have to say, Hiccup is one of the best underdog characters ever written. He truly sells the idea of failing the standards of his society in a way that makes people see him as worthless, and even when he makes things turn out right, it's never by rising to those standards that he failed to live up to.
There are some moments where it feels like the Will of Destiny (her name is cressida cowell) hands him the means to physically overcome an obstacle, like when he discovers that his lack of swordfighting talent is because he incorrectly assumed he was right-handed his whole life, but for the most part he's an intellectual living in a world of physically dominant meatheads who he can only BARELY oppose.
And when it comes to the prophecy, you REALLY get the feeling that being the Chosen One is just a curse. When his place in the world becomes apparent it's less "I always knew I was destined for something more!" and more "oh, so the universe DOES hate me."
I also love the way it balances Dragons being fantastical and magical, but also plausible. Hiccup has such an amazingly unique role in the story as both Biologist and Anthropologist of dragons.
THE reason he wins at the end of the first book is because he can talk to dragons, he understands how dragons think and act, and, my favourite,
Fire-breathing, the DEFAULT magical property of dragons, is imagined as a specific Organ inside a dragon's body, that he wins by identifying and shoving his hat into.
It feels like an appeal to the reason why kids at home might have wanted to read the books to begin with. Hey kid, do you like dragons? Are you a nerd? Well here's a nerd hero who despite everything will always win SOLELY on the basis of How Much he Loves Dragons.
And not even in a pokemon-esque power-of-friendship way either! The events of the entire story, and PARTICULARLY the plot of the second half of the series, is driven entirely by hiccup being the person who objectively cares THE MOST about dragons, both as a fascinating type of creature and as individuals with human-like intelligence and culture
I think The Axe Scene is a great example of the culmination of everything awesome about the series. Goddamn do I love this series.
I like the dreamworks movie, but I'll never forgive it for replacing the original story of one of the best children's series ever written in the cultural headspace.
I NEED TO REREAD THESE FUCKING BOOKS.
