Vinland Saga Omnibus, Vol. 4

ヴィンランド・サガ [Vinland Saga] #7-8

by Makoto Yukimura

A KING IS BORN Pushed to the brink of despair after his father attempted to have him killed, Prince Canute has experienced an awakening, transforming him from a timid, gentle boy into a cleareyed man with the heart of a king. But a king needs a crown, and Canute now knows that nothing will be given to him. If he wants to rule, he will have to prove his ruthlessness with a plot that will change the fate of the kingdom and spatter the throne with blood! Meanwhile, Thorfinn watches events unfold that could steal away the vengeance he has waited so long to achieve...

Genres: Manga, Historical Fiction, Graphic Novels, Comics, Seinen, Historical, Fiction

427 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 29, 2014

About the author

幸村誠

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Askeladd, Thorfin, their 'captives' and their allies finally have to face-off against Thorkell and his men!; instead of making that the focus of volume 7, Yukimura artfully turns the situation into a huger turning point for the effeminate Canute. In volume 8 the re-aligned group reach the King's court, where reward or death could await! The beauty of this series, is despite being historical fiction is its wonderful unpredictability which surely is representative of the fluid everchanging allegiances of the Viking world? An easy Four Star, 8 out of 12 read.

2025 read

[Rain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just ripped my heart out, stomped on it, and drove over it for good measure.

This volume was epic. My favorite of the series so far. The art is absolutely stunning, every panel feels alive, but what really got me was how human the story is. It’s brutal and beautiful all at once.

Move on Thorfinn. Don’t hang on to this petty bullshit your whole life… you’ve got to move on, go further. You are the son of Thors, so venture beyond the world he saw. That is your true battle. Be a true warrior….son of Thors.

The twists completely wrecked me. I haven’t felt this gutted by a story since reading Game of Thrones, that same mix of shock, grief, and awe at how well it’s done. It hurts. Poor Bjorn, Thorfinn, Thorkell, and Askeladd. Oh my heart.

I just wanted…
…to be your friend.

What makes his story so powerful is how authentically it shows that sometimes the most painful lessons are the ones that shape us into something greater.

A masterpiece of storytelling. Brutal, emotional, unforgettable.

Tropes/themes:
Historical fiction
Found family and loyalty
War and morality
Vengeance vs redemption
Fate and free will
Honor and legacy
The cost of violence

Buddy reading with my son. What a conversation this one was!!

[Andrei(Drusca) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This volume represents the end of the first arc of the story and the tone of the entire volume is dark. I love it

[Edward Gwynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Possibly the best volume of manga I've ever read...

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series just leveled up, wow.

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The excellent Vinland Saga continues. After the startling events of the third volume-we are treated to an even more convoluted and twisted political mess in this superb volume.

King Sweyn ,of Denmark and now a huge swath of England, had plans to have his son Harald as his heir. His dislike of Prince Canute causes him to try to have him killed off, but Cantue surprises everyone with his acts during volume 3.

He returns to acclaim and then the politics begin. There are some huge surprises that I won't spoil (though they are historically based..so is it really a spoiler?)-but suffice it to say the end of this volume has Canute become King. I must say Askelaad, in the end, surprised me. His backstory gives him a more understandable basis for his attitude towards the Norse. His choice to help Canute was also quite a surprise. The entire bit of intrigue between Sweyn-Canute and Askelaad is excellent.

I can see with the time frame (1014 as of this story) that this will eventually in future volumes lead to the Norman invasion by William. But that is for later. I am enjoying reading the adventures of Canute-the change in him is impressive.

The start of the new storyline with Thorfinn is also very interesting. I would say more about it but that would be spoilers. This is one of the best of the volumes so far. It has a great mix of intelligent historical politics and wonderful action. I am looking forwards to more of this superb Manga. What can I say? I enjoy a nice, violent Viking tale. The manga take on it is also very interesting.

[James DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well hot damn, shit is going down town...I mean down. Oh whatever, this shit is epic.

So this starts with alot of plotting. The king is NOT happy his son arrived home safe. He was hoping the boy would have tied. However, the boy now has Thorfinn, Thorkell, and Askeladd. Things begin to heat up and then the ending, the last few chapters, are balls to the walls action. Betrayal, schemes, a big old "Fuck you motherfuckers" moments. So much craziness and ends on a quiet note that also leaves the series going into a new direction.

Good: The art is glorious. The fights flow so smooth at times that I only HOPE the anime is going to look as good as this. The plot twist are fucked up, some game of thrones level shit going on. The ending leaves the series in a whole new direction that I can't see how it'll turn around. Oh and Askeladd got his moment to shine like a mofo.

Bad: Nothing really.

This is amazing epic that should be read by any fan of Manga/viking/badass shit. This is a easy 5 out of 5.

[Fraser Simons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much more of a downbeat than I’d have liked. I don’t think this has enough going for it intellectually, to sacrifice the flow of plots for slow intrigue and tactics. The characters, though developed much more than the first volume, aren’t quite believable in that capacity. What’s more, annoyingly, none of it really matters, as gotcha plotting happens to close out the larger arc and move on to a new era. It’s fine, but similarly to the protagonist, I’m not sure why I should care anymore? Do I see what the next arc will be or not? Honestly, feeling a lot more ambivalent about it than I expected after a better last volume.

[Virginja ↢ 99% imp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Askeladd is a true vi(KING).

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

this volume has me s h o o k

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first truly great volume of this series. Hopefully the rest of the series matches or exceeds this quality.

[Rod Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

With an uneasy alliance between them, four of the survivors of the last volume enter the court of Danish king Sweyn Forkbeard in the occupied English town of York. The court intrigue is thick and the end results are bloody. And bloody good.

[RG · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hands down one of the best mangas currently going.

[Dhia Nouioui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesus fucking christ. What a brutal chapter and really goes to show you the brutality of the Vikings.

Best chapter so far. Best characterization, best art, and best emotional payoff.

[Rehan Farhad · Rating 5 out of 5]

এই খন্ডের শেষটুকু রীতিমতো অবিশ্বাস্য! কিং ক্যানুট ও অ্যাশেলাডের পারস্পরিক সম্পর্ক ও বোঝাপড়া কত গভীর সেটা ঘটনার শেষ দৃশ্য না দেখে বোঝার উপায়ই নেই। অ্যাশেলাডের অতীত জানার পরই কাহিনি জমে গিয়েছিল আগের ভলিউমে। কিন্তু এবার তার সব কাজের সুদূরপ্রসারী মাস্টারপ্ল্যানের উদ্দেশ্য বোঝা গেল। অ্যাশেলাড শুধু কিংমেকার নন; দেশ, জনগণ, রাজনীতি সব কিছু এক নতুন পথে চলার রাস্তা তৈরী করে দিয়ে গেলেন। এত উঁচু মাপের চরিত্রায়নের সমাপ্তি খোদ রাজার সিংহাসনের চেয়ে বেশি মর্যাদায় আসীন হলো। আবারো বলছি, ভিনল্যান্ড সাগা প্রলয়ঙ্করী হয়ে উঠেছে। কোথায় গিয়ে থামবে এই নর্ডিক রাজনৈতিক ঝড় সেটাই দেখার অপেক্ষায়।

[Lucas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy shit!

[The Inked Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoever dies at the end of this? I don't buy it.

[Svetlana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great art. Great story.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn!! Some real jaw dropping scenes in this one. Consider me well and truly hooked on this series.

[Malapata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ya resultaba bastante llamativo que el capítulo 54, después casi cuatro volúmenes y unas 1500 páginas, se titulara "Final del prólogo", pero aún así nada me preparó para este final de arco que pega un puñetazo sobre la mesa y tira al suelo todas las cartas que había repartido hasta ahora. Y todo después de haber visto una de las escenas más emotivas de toda la saga. Ganas de seguir.

[Jennifer Hahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Den här var definitivt i samma klass som den första boken, om inte till och med bättre. Intressant nog hette ett av de sista kapitlen "End of the prolouge" vilket innebär att det inte är förrän nu storyn börjar "på riktigt".

Återigen ändrades riktningen HELT i slutet så det ska bli väldigt intressant att se var resten av serien tar vägen.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding! I continue to say the same things volume after volume with this series. It is one of my highlights when a new volume is released. The art is just of such a high calibre that it is almost incomparable in manga circles: detailed, intricate, realistic, gorgeous. This is a pivotal book in the series with some plot conclusions and some turning points. I won't go into any details here as this is a major point in the story's plot but I will say there are some surprising deaths! The plot so far has been focused solely on two things, the Danish invasion of England and Thorfinn's revenge for his father's death. This was a fast-paced and exciting read. The ending leaves me entirely intrigued upon what direction the plot will now concentrate from this point on. A top-notch manga series for the serious reader.

[Whitney (The Cover Collector) · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was just the prologue?! It takes a confident author to finish the story like that and then begin anew.

[ashlyn ☽ · Rating 5 out of 5]

thorfinn becoming well-mannered as a slave is the biggest plot twist this series has yet to give me

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series gets better and better

[DonutKnow · Rating 4 out of 5]

The excessive violence and negative social situation of females is sometimes a bit much, but this book has characters who have some extra oomph to them-Askeladd, Thorkell, Thors- just so cool. I look forward to seeing where Thorfinn will go next 🤔

[Etienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good one! Big transition in the story! I'm a bit sad because it look like we lost some great characters, might see some of them in the future, but some are definitely lost forever.

[Bookbringer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Freakin' amazing.

[Krysia o książkach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zupełnie się nie spodziewałam tego co stało się z Askeladem - dlaczego?

[Kaity ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end of this arc. ⚔️ So so good.