Saga Volume 4 (Saga, #4)

by Brian K. Vaughan

[inlibrisveritas]

After the end of the third volume I was feeling a bit underwhelmed with the series again, a lot of things happened but it didn’t add up to much in larger scheme of things and it just sort of felt like it was spinning its wheels while making it look like there was a point. The writing was still good when it came to the characters but a bit shallow when it came to the twists in the story. Hello, I saw you a mile away. And since my relationship with this series is tumultuous at best I decided that if volume four didn’t peak my interest I’d be done with it. I suppose it’s a good thing it did.

Volume four takes place some time after Alana and Marko arrive at Gardeni, and Alana has gone through with her plan to become a character on one of them many underground soap opera shows to help get money for her family. Marko takes on the role of stay at home orovider for little Hazel, and the difference in their life style is taking to toll on both of them. I really liked the spiral both of them started on this one, is that fucked up to say? They are starting to realize that raising a child is a lot more than just parenting, it involves a scarifice of time and a lot of time spent apart, and I liked that despite the strong bond they had while on the run together they are having problems in the more mundane areas. Alana makes some fairly poor choices in this one though, and while I understand her desire for those choices I’ve lost some respect for her. I think this rift between them is really what this story needs in order to become stronger, and to build a more solid relationship between them (be it good or bad).

Of course they are still being hunted down, and I appreciated the little lull in that so that the characters can get a bit of a breather and stretch out without having to worry too much about if they are going to be arrested or killed. But also like that it didn’t give me too much time to get bored with it before throwing another curve ball, which managed to do something no other volume in this series has done before: left me wanting more.

I’d say things are looking up for me and this series, and I really hope the story continues on being this solid.