"Eaters of the Dead" By Michael Crichton

Title: Eaters of the Dead
Author: Michael Crichton
Published Year: 1976
Pages: 289
Description: Michael Crichton takes the listener on a one-thousand-year-old journey in his adventure novel Eaters Of The Dead. This remarkable true story originated from actual journal entries of an Arab man who traveled with a group of Vikings throughout northern Europe. In 922 A.D, Ibn Fadlan, a devout Muslim, left his home in Baghdad on a mission to the King of Saqaliba. During his journey, he meets various groups of "barbarians" who have poor hygiene and gorge themselves on food, alcohol and sex. For Fadlan, his new traveling companions are a far stretch from society in the sophisticated "City of Peace." The conservative and slightly critical man describes the Vikings as "tall as palm trees with florid and ruddy complexions." Fadlan is astonished by their lustful aggression and their apathy towards death. He witnesses everything from group orgies to violent funeral ceremonies. Despite the language and cultural barriers, Ibn Fadlan is welcomed into the clan. The leader of the group, Buliwyf (who can communicate in Latin) takes Fadlan under his wing.

My take:

Beowulf anyone? I didn't realize initially when I picked this book up that is was the basis for the movie "The 13th Warrior". Watching  "The 13th Warrior" in high school, I was told that the movie was originally based upon the original story of Beowulf and Grendel. Partially true, but not completely. That was the year I read the original text of Beowulf and struggled through it. Being an avid reader, that is something I do not like to admit. However, reading this take on it (and make sure you read the introduction before you read the book, I know some people like to skip over it and then cannot figure out why they are so lost while reading the book), it made much more sense. I don't know if its just the way that Crichton "translates" it, or the fact that I am eight years older and I have developed a better comprehension when it comes to reading.

What I would suggest is if you are interested in reading the story of Beowulf, read this selection first and then move on to the original text. Also there are two movies I have seen on the subject, "The 13th Warrior" as I mentioned earlier and "Beowulf" (I may not be spelling that one right, there are numerous ways I have seen Beowulf spelled). The second one is a more accurate account from what I remember of it and would recommend seeing that one before "The 13th Warriors".