From the bestselling author of Jurassic Park, Timeline, and Sphere comes an epic tale of unspeakable horror. It is 922 A.D. The refined Arab courtier Ibn Fadlan is accompanying a party of Viking warriors back to their home. He is appalled by their customs—the gratuitous sexuality of their women, their disregard for cleanliness, and their cold-blooded sacrifices. As they enter the frozen, … they enter the frozen, forbidden landscape of the North—where the day’s length does not equal the night’s, where after sunset the sky burns in streaks of color—Fadlan soon discovers that he has been unwillingly enlisted to combat the terrors in the night that come to slaughter the Vikings, the monsters of the mist that devour human flesh. But just how he will do it, Fadlan has no idea.
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A well written narrative, fairly different from the movie. It was actually more entertaining than the movie.
A strange and wonderful book. This is a journey into a bizarre history that “might have been.”
This is Beowulf as done by Michael Crichton.
Michael Crichton is a great writer no matter what, so this book held my attention to the end. But at the end, I felt disappointment. It is a re-telling of the Beowulf story, but isn’t as exciting or shocking as any previous version I have read.
Disappointing compared to the film (the 13th warrior) based on it.
Very boring and short. Kept waiting for a real story to start. Waste of time
Brilliant take on the classic Beowulf saga. Great depiction of Viking life and their stoic philosophy of life and death.
Interesting point from which to view world views. An educated Arab verses the vikings (the Rus), and how they view each other based on their individual values. This provides a new way to view interpersonal and international interactions. Interesting for a work of fiction. Based on Ahmad ibn Fadlan‘s own travels and Beowulf.
Eaters of the Dead follows in the long line of the epistolary novels that came before it by framing the narrative around the ‘recovered’ testimony of an Arab trader who chronicles his strange journey north and details the terrors that he faced while there.
What drew me to the book was the movie adaptation, “The 13th Warrior” and while I enjoyed that movie, I found the source material to be a much deeper dive.
Fun book. Not one of his best but entertaining.
I loved the 13th Warrior so had to give this book a go. Read it on audio. Found it inspiring. Loved the camaraderie. Now I want to join a band of Vikings.
Enlightening about Vikings. Enjoyed learning new things about the lives of them and how different than portrayed in T.V. shows today.
Great tale about the Vikings!
Interesting and Good historical viewpoint.
While I usually like this author’s work I did not enjoy this. It was more a painful weave of a historical thesis and occasional story bits that may or may not be related.
Saw movie by same name years ago so was curious how close they would be. Seemed to follow story line pretty close and enjoyed book very much.
An entertaining and plausible explanation of the legend of Beowulf. Loved it!
Not what I was expecting.
The movie moves faster.
For history it’s good, but dry.
Amazingly accurate of the people and times
It is one of my favorited Michael Chrichton books, he has such a way of creating a reality that you can sample.