Saga Volume 2

In the second volume of Saga (probably, I devoured them both in quick succession and may have mixed a couple of things up), we start to dig into some of the themes that the series id going to deal with: family, war, pacifism, and hope. We also get some flashbacks that show how Alana and Marko met and fell in love, and how Marko was shaped by his parents and what his rebellion means in the face of that.

The second volume contains the introduction of a family group to mirror the protagonists and implications of a third similar family on the horizon. Alana, Marko, and Hazel are still on the run with their babysitter, Izabel. Marko's parents also make an appearance and we can see the similarities between the two groups, with both women being much quicker to resort to violence than their husbands. The Will also finds himself teaming up with a woman who helps him rescue a small child before continuing to pursue Alana and Marko. The Robot Prince is also in hot pursuit, attempting to wrap up this mission before his own child is born. Though I really doubt he'll be successful.

This volume also digs a bit deeper into Marko's commitment to pacifism and his desire to break the cycle of violence. This trait is what drew Alana to him in the first place, and it's the bond that keeps them together now. Even though they are often forced to fight, they'd rather just run and hide and be left alone by their two warring governments. But that's not an option, and it will be interesting to see how Hazel manages to grow up at in the middle of all this danger.

Of course, the second volume ends on an awfully tense cliffhanger, which is really frustrating. They're working on the next installment now, but it's not set to come out until August. Waiting eight months to find out how they get out of the current scrape is going to suck.

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