I picked this book up at the library having recently seen the movie. Though the volume was small and the plot synopsis seemed rather... different, I assumed that books were always better than movie and decided to give it a try. Obviously, I was wrong. From the start, I did not like any of the characters. Hiccup was annoying, weak, and lacking in intelligence. He had no redeeming qualities, at least none apparent to me. He heads for a cave in hopes of coming out with a big strong dragon, and I thought, maybe this dragon will somehow teach him a lesson. But no. The dragon is small, whiny, and altogether worse than he is. He hides this fact from his father (Who is almost unbelievably stupid) and from there on, all I could focus on was the crude humor and general crudeness which had nothing to do with humor. Eventually I just had to put the book down before he could detail the name of another filthy disgusting thug. I intend to see the movie's sequel, but will not read another one of these books. It's too bad that the book couldn't have been better. I didn't need it to match the movie- I just hoped for something worth reading.