Manga Review: Vinland Saga Book Nine by Makoto Yukimura
Warning: This review will have SPOILERS for previous volumes of the series; you may want to read earlier reviews first.
Previously: Thorfinn Thorsson and his ragtag band are taking a load of narwhal horns to Greece, where they hope to sell them to get funding for a voyage to Vinland. They’re now composed of Leif Ericson, the first sailor to find Vinland; Einar, a British former slave and now Thorfinn’s sworn brother; Bug-Eyes Thorfinn, Leif’s apprentice sailor; Gudrid, a runaway bride; plus a dog and a baby picked up along the way. In Norway, they run into a huntress named Hild, who is connected to Thorfinn’s violent past.
It seems that when Thorfinn worked for Askeladd’s band of mercenaries (so that he could eventually get revenge on Askeladd for the murder of his father), they were hired to kill Hild’s father. And by extension the rest of his family. Thorfinn, as it happens, was the one who actually killed Hild’s father and spared her on the grounds that she was too weak to bother with. And also because he didn’t believe in killing unnecessarily.
Fleeing from the other mercenaries, though, Hild was badly injured, and nearly lost an eye. She was found and trained by a bear hunter, and used her mechanical genius to create a new kind of crossbow. For years, she has lived with hate and bitterness.
At last, Hild has come face to face with the murderous scum who took her father, working with those that killed her family. And now, now he claims to be working for peace, to atone for his violent ways? Her vengeance shall not be denied!
But, well, Thorfinn kind of has to survive or the story is over, so Hild’s vengeance is delayed. But only for now!
So it’s off to Denmark. But there a new danger appears. It is time to pick a new chieftain of the fierce Jomsvikings, greatest of the Viking raiders. The wicked Floki’s grandson is one candidate, but he’s only ten and would no doubt be the puppet of his grandsire. Much to Thorfinn’s horror, he too has been raised as a possible candidate. Our protagonist has no interest in going back to a violent lifestyle, but Floki may not give him a choice.
This series continues to be great stuff. The art is excellent, and the action intense. As well, the characters are layered. We see the inner conflict between Hild’s Norse custom of familial vengeance, and her Christian father’s belief in forgiveness.
There are also bits of humor, such as mighty Thorkell’s near-death from too much peace, and Gudrid’s erstwhile husband trying not to be recognized when she might see him in reduced circumstances.
Thorfinn’s quest to atone for his violent ways gains resonance with the new constant reminder of the human cost of his (ultimately futile) quest for vengeance.
There is, of course, quite a bit of bloody violence in this volume, and in Hild’s flashback it is heavily implied that Askeladd’s mercenaries would have raped her had she been caught.
This series continues to impress and is highly recommended.
