Thoughts on Walking with Dinosaurs Making Land in Victoria, B.C. Sept 19th

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When people say to friends that they are going to Walking with Dinosaurs,” the most immediate response from them will no doubt be “Which one?” This year will feature the Arena Spectacular show. Not to be confused with the CGI movie or BBC documentary of the same name, people will most likely find the live show better than the film.

The film was developed to entertain young minds in a style reminiscent of Don Bluth’s Land Before Time.

But for this family fun roaming show, tickets could sell out fast. This show is coming to Victoria, BC Canada on September 18th for four days of roaring fun.

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How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero: An Analysis and Book Review

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

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The last four novels in the How to Train Your Dragon series may well form a tetralogy. Although the last volume is not being penned yet, the second to last volume, How to Betray a Dragon’s Hero is proving to be the turning point of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III’s final adventure.

Cressida Cowell has crafted a fun and exciting world that ranks right up there with Harry Potter. When nothing new will be coming for the magical realm anytime soon, readers can enjoy the fascinating world of dragons that this author has crafted.

From book one to number eleven, readers get introduced to a wide menagerie of beasts. But for the story, everyone knows Hiccup will be King. He says so in the first volume. But to see how he became king, that’s part of the ride readers will enjoy discovering in his journey to become a respected leader.

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The Fantasy and Freedom Found with The Flight of Dragons

Peter Dickinson’s The Flight of Dragons looks at the mythical origins of the creature and postulates how they may have evolved based on real life science.

The Flight of Dragons Book Cover
This book is available for those who know where to look.

Not since 30 years ago has there been a worthy look at the nomenclature of dragons. Author Peter Dickinson and illustrator Wayne Anderson crafted the brilliant The Flight of Dragons. It’s a book that’s sadly forgotten. This unique tome and movie based on it looks at the mythical origins of the creature and postulates how they may have evolved based on real life science.

Literary observation and historical research fills the pages. The read is like that of a textbook. Dickinson draws upon centuries of research from clerics to theologians to explore the habitat and biology of a dragon. In what he gleams from various novelists, especially from Tolkien to McCaffrey, the ideas presented here read like something Charles Darwin would write.

Some readers might liken this work to that of On the Origin of Species. The prose is sometimes difficult to read, and whats presented is nothing like the Book of Dragons, as penned by a youthful Hiccup in the animated series How to Train Your Dragon. In the novels, Fishlegs is responsible for chronicling what they discover. His version gives stats and descriptions alongside illustrations. In Dickinson’s version, the drawings are phenomenally detailed. It’s doubtful that Hiccup will ever dissect a beast just to explain how the digestion system works.

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Spin Master Releases more Dragons, Chibi-Style!

In time, the rest can be found or toy collectors can scour the Internet and pay collector’s price for Spin Master toys latest HTTYD figures.

IMG_0076- smallThe next wave of Spin Master’s Dragons: Defenders of Berk toys are here, and some of them look terrific for any How to Train Your Dragon fan to put on his or her shelf. Just like the original release, the same points of articulation can be found. That’s mostly with the neck joint so the head is poseable and there is limited bendability for the wings and tails.

Three more three-inch figures spotlighting these serpentine creatures are given the cute treatment and they are Thornado, Hookfang, and Belch & Barf. Also included in this new round is a Toothless variant with an appropriately painted on brown leather tail over the mold.

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Breaking down the Next Stage of Dragons: Defenders of Berk

How Defenders of Berk will continue will be interesting since the team will have to learn more about how to function as a unit.

Dragons_defenders_of_berk_poster_1A sure sign that the How to Train Your Dragon series has entered the mainstream consciousness is when it starts to allude to well known movies in pop culture. In this case, the premiere episode of Dragons: Defenders of Berk, refers to the Dragon Training Academy as a secret Flight than Fight Club. That’s because, in the wake of the previous season’s finale where Alvin and the Outcasts finally learn the secret of how to train the dragons they captured, Hiccup’s team has been banned from patrolling the isle of Berk.

Stoick, Hiccup’s father, is afraid that the youths are in over their heads with what’s coming.

The citizens of Berk will face invasion by Alvin’s tribe. It is coming. Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, Tuff and Ruff think they can handle it, but Stoick does not. He thinks they do not have the skills as fully trained warriors. They have to know how to fight.

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