Thorfinn and the Disgusting Feast

By David MacPhail

Prepare yourself for the wrath of the Norsemen! That is, if you don't mind and it's not too inconvenient... Everyone knows Vikings are ruthless barbarians whose idea of a good time involves pillaging, plundering and feasting. But Thorfinn is no ordinary Viking! He is always polite and happily offers to wash the dirty dishes. Too bad his dad is Harald the Skull-Splitter, Village Chief and the roughest and toughest Viking of them all. The king of Norway is coming to visit Indgar village and Thorfinn is named Head Chef for the greatest feast the village has ever seen. Apparently the king has a taste for exotic fish, but he's also been known to catapult chefs who displease him into the sea! Thorfinn sets sail for Orkney with a ragtag crew to visit his Uncle Rolf and learn how to cook and catch fish. But it seems a poisoner is at large and he has his eyes on the poisson… Thorfinn the Nicest Viking is a funny, illustrated, action-packed new series for young readers who love Horrid Henry and Diary of a Wimpy Kid, set in a world where manners mean nothing and politeness is pointless!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kelpies
• Release date: Feb 18, 2016
• ISBN: 9781782502326

David MacPhail

David MacPhail left home at eighteen to travel the world and have adventures. After working as a chicken wrangler, a ghost-tour guide and a waiter on a tropical island, he now has the sensible job of writing about yetis, Vikings and ghostly detectives. At home in Perthshire, Scotland, he exists on a diet of cream buns and zombie movies. David is also the author of Yeti on the Loose and the Thorfinn the Nicest Viking series.

Book preview

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For Rebekah – D.M.

To Jayne the Foot-Hacker – R.M.

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CHAPTER 1

The Viking village of Indgar was nestled beside a beautiful fjord. Longships floated tied up in the glassy water, and chimney smoke drifted gently into the cold, still air. It was a peaceful place, except for the Vikings themselves, who spent their days either:

a)  practising their fighting skills,

b)  boasting about how good they were at fighting, or

c)  just fighting.

It was nearing lunchtime when the smell of barbecued food wafted across the village.

Everyone stopped what they were doing, even those in the middle of a fight. If there was one thing the Vikings loved more than fighting, it was food.

Oooooh, who’s having a barbecue?

They followed their noses to the marketplace, where a small boy with freckles was standing behind a sizzling charcoal brazier, armed with a wooden spatula. It was Thorfinn the Very-Very-Nice-Indeed, son of the chief.

He had an unusual name for a Viking. Being called Thorfinn the Very-Very-Nasty-Indeed would have been perfectly normal, but Thorfinn wasn’t a normal Viking. For a start, most Vikings used pigeons for target practice, but the small, speckled pigeon on Thorfinn’s shoulder was his best friend, Percy.

And, most importantly, this boy was NICE. And POLITE. Such things were very unusual for a Viking.

Come along, there’s plenty for everyone! Thorfinn declared as he flipped what looked like a delicious meat pattie between two halves of a bun. "I call it a burger."

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He ushered the Vikings into a line. Vikings weren’t known to queue, so it really was a sight to behold.

One by one they accepted a burger from Thorfinn.

Mmmmm! said one of the Vikings as he wolfed it down. What kind of meat is in it?

I beg your pardon, my dear friend? replied Thorfinn.

Venison? Beef? Elk? the man asked.

Thorfinn shook his head. It contains no meat at all, I assure you.

Each and every one of the Vikings stopped mid-bite, their eyes wide.

WHHATTT?

They’re vegetarian burgers, said Thorfinn. They’re made from vegetables.

POO-AAAAAHHH!

The whole line of Vikings spat out their food.

That’s disgusting, Thorfinn! cried slimy-haired, warty-faced Gertrude the Grotty. You shouldn’t be cooking that horrible stuff! She sold specialities like venison-and-earwig pie at her marketplace stall. A sign hanging above it read:

I only use free-range earwigs

At which point the village chief, Harald the Skull-Splitter, appeared on the scene. He was Thorfinn’s father, and one of the roughest, toughest and meanest Vikings ever to have lived.

What’s going on here? demanded Harald.

With him was Erik the Ear-Masher, his second in command. He was almost as grizzly and fierce as Harald, with a face like a bruised cabbage,

Reviews for Thorfinn and the Disgusting Feast

[carlathelibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book in the Thorfinn series that I have read and I have enjoyed them both. Thorfinn is the Viking Chief, Harald's son, but instead of being barbaric and horrible he is unfailingly polite, nice and co-operative with everyone. In this book the village must prepare a feast for the visiting King and Queen and Thorfinn, who feels the Viking diet is too dependent on meat, decides to prepare a seafood feast. Magnus, the chief of another village, again makes an appearance in this book. He wants to burn Thorfinn's village to the ground so we know he is going to be trying to sabotage the special feast. We meet some new strange and weird characters in this book such as Gertrude the Grotty, a cook, Grut the Goat Gobbler, the greediest man in all of Norway, and Torsten the ship sinker among others. Thorfinn and his crew head off the Orkney to meet his uncle and learn how to cook fish for the feast. They miraculously make it there as well as to Scotland where they are given many different types of fish before heading home. Of course there are a lot of misadventures that turn out just right due to Thorfinn's attitude. Thorfinn may be polite and mild mannered, but he is no wimp. There is a smart and tough hero within, and that hero emerges in a natural and plausible fashion. Of course we can not forget Thorfinn's dad who is constantly perplexed about how he, a fearsome Viking chief, could have such a mild son, but he loves and supports him anyway. The other Vikings are never confident of Thorfinn's likelihood of being victorious, but in every book they root for him and rally round just the same. Velda, the angry girl who tries to teach Thorfinn anger skills and becomes his friend is by his side again helping him when and where she can. This book is shot through with "be true to yourself" messages that seems just right for the target readers.The early chapter book reader (late primary, early junior) end up with a good story, interesting heroes, quality writing, some laughs, and a very engaging reading experience. This is a well written book that would be great for reluctant readers. This book would be a great addition to classroom, school and public libraries.I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.