The problem with getting addicted to an ongoing series like Saga is that you wait for MONTHS for the next volume to come out, and once it does…you wait for the library to get it, you wait your turn with ferocious impatience, you place TWO different holds, because the library codes it weird in the system, and then you finally get it and read it in an hour. And are seriously depressed afterwards. This may or may not be based on true incidents.
Saga’s fifth volume picks up immediately after Volume 4. There’s a tenuous alliance between two unlikely enemies to retrieve and protect family members. There’s a family rupture. There’s a kidnapping gone awry. There’s a desperate hope to survive. And above all, Hazel’s sassy narrative voice anchors it all and makes you anxious about the dire hints that she drops throughout the story.
I cannot say more than this. I do not wish to spoil for the unspoiled, nor do I want to rehash my “OMG, SAGA!!!!” rants from the previous four volumes. Instead, I will take this moment to relish in the incredible depth and complexity of the galaxy that Vaughan and Staples have created. The characters are so fleshed out that you feel connected to them. There was a character’s abrupt exit that I found deeply upsetting, despite the fact that this individual has not been present since Volume 1. You care about the characters and families, and you wonder how it’s all going to tie up in the end.
I really don’t have anything else to say, except, “WHY AREN’T YOU READING THIS?” if you’re not reading it. Seriously, it’ll take you like an hour to rip through a volume. You won’t regret it, I promise.
