Manga Review: Vinland Saga, Book Two by Makoto Yukimura
To recap for those of you who haven’t read the review of Book One, Vinland Saga is set in the early 12th Century, the time of the Vikings. Our protagonist is Thorfinn, son of Thors, who serves in the war band of Askeladd. Askeladd murdered Thors, and Thorfinn serves the wily warrior for the sole purpose of one day getting revenge in a fair duel.
In this volume, the action shifts to the British Isles, and the war of King Sweyn Forkbeard against King Ethelred the Unready. While Ethelred himself has fled, the city of London stands fast, largely due to the presence of Thorkell the Tall on their side. Thorkell is a mighty man who hopes to perish in battle against a truly worthy foe, so that he might enter Valhalla with honor. He switched sides to fight against the Northmen, because they were the tougher opponents!
Askeladd sends the relatively tiny lad Thorfinn in to kill Thorkell, and although it doesn’t work, Thorkell is impressed enough to want to fight Thorfinn again. Sweyn decides to consolidate his rule over the rest of the country, and appoints his sickly son Canute (who’s the blond on the cover) to handle London’s siege.
Things don’t go as planned for just about everyone, and soon Askeladd’s band is in possession of Canute, and being chased by Thorkell’s warriors across the countryside. Askeladd is forced to resort to one of the aces up his sleeve, a shocking secret from his past.
There’s a bonus story about Thorfinn’s sister Ylva dealing with the loss of her brother and father, and a chapter of “For Our Farewell Is Near”, about a samurai dying of illness .
There’s plenty of action and violence in this volume, and Askeladd’s idea of “mercy” is a cruel one by modern standards. Some readers may also be turned off by the alcoholic priest who is not very good at explaining theology. And probably the real Canute wasn’t that pretty.
However, it’s got good art, interesting characters and a setting that appeals to me, so I recommend this to fans of Viking stories, and students of English history.
