very nice end to the series. this isn't my favorite of the books but i really, really, really love what she does here with her messaging. like all of it. around what makes a hero, how that works in real life, what it means to stand up for the right thing but how that can be so hard, how there wasn't a dragon massacre that wiped them out but that they're hiding and waiting for a better world that we can create. that it's up to us to be better, to do better, and to make the world better. beautiful.

and she did it with this set of silly, fun adventures that at first never seemed like they were going somewhere so profound and serious. she also did it with a ton of inconsistencies that drove me crazy as i was reading, but it's ok.

what a fun, worthy adventure these 12 books have been. ( )

A fantastic ending to a very cohesive children series. The character development is great, and the each book has a different and interesting plot that doesn't feel repetitive. ( )

I really enjoyed this entire series - I read it back to back, and each book does read like a smaller episodic chapter in a larger book. Hiccup must make his claim to be King, and do what he can to find a peaceful end to the Dragon Rebellion.

It is always hard to end a series that has gone so far so well. No specific power of the dragon jewel can be as terrifying as the hypothetical unknown power. No resolution to the battle can be as satisfying as the dream of what the resolution might be. The dragons sneak away to story and the corners of the world, and promise to come back when we have made the world a better place.

(But oh! Fishlegs finds his much searched for father!)

And we learn that it is not the things we have, but the lessons we learn on the journey to find the things. Fear and intimidation are not the best way. Sometimes second best is best. Sometimes freedom must be fought for. When you fight for your friend, you are also fighting for yourself. Love never dies. You must make things right in the old world before you go looking for the new; sometimes the things you are looking for are right at home. Accidents happen for a reason. Power can corrupt. You have to keep on trying even though you are beaten before you start. You need to know what it is to be a slave before you can be a King. ( )

My blog post about this book is at this link. ( )

A satisfyingly triumphant yet bittersweet conclusion to the How to Train Your Dragon series, once more brilliantly read by David Tennant. Will Hiccup become king? Will the dragon war end? How will Hiccup save the dragons??