Thorfinn and the Awful Invasion and Other Adventures

By: David MacPhail

Narrated by: Ross Dwyer

You might think all vikings are rough, tough, mean, hairy and smelly, but Thorfinn is no ordinary viking! Join Thorfinn in this hilarious volume, combining the first four titles in the best-selling children's series!

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. This hilarious volume combines the first four entries in the best-selling Thorfinn the Nicest Viking series, including:

Thorfinn and the Awful Invasion

Tired of Thorfinn and his too-nice ways getting them into trouble, his dad decides it's time for Thorfinn to earn his gruesome viking name. Stuck on a longboat with a ragtag bunch of adventurers who'd like to throw him overboard, how will the nicest viking cope with a dangerous voyage to Scotland?

Thorfinn and the Gruesome Games

Harald, Thorfinn and the other vikings are preparing to compete in the annual Gruesome Games, held on the Scottish island of Uraig. It falls to Thorfinn to save their village, but in a competition where belching, axe-throwing, pie-clobbering and goat-throwing are great point scorers, what help will a terribly nice viking with a talent for baking be?

Thorfinn and the Rotten Scots

On a raiding voyage to Scotland, Thorfinn and his friends Velda and Oswald are kidnapped by Ranald MacRanald, chieftain of Clan MacRanald. Little does Ranald he know that his methods of 'torture' (making the nicest viking sew with the women and clean the castle from top to bottom) are actually Thorfinn's idea of a brilliant Scottish holiday! Will Chief Harald the Skull-Splitter come to his son's 'rescue' before Thorfinn drives the Rotten Scots crazy with politeness?

Thorfinn and the Disgusting Feast

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 poison....

©2015 David MacPhail (P)2020 Bolinda Publishing

Critic reviews

"The story cracks along at a good pace [...] This is a highly entertaining book celebrating difference that will delight newly confident readers." (School Library Association)