A Review of "eaters of the Dead"

Eaters of the Dead

By: Michael Crichton

Almost everybody recognizes Michael Crichton as the author of books such as Jurassic Park, Disclosure, and Congo. Considering he is one of the hottest authors in Hollywood, how could you not. The book reviewed here, however, is none of the above; it is a more or less forgotten book called Eaters of the Dead. As with all of his older books, it has been reprinted recently so it is easy to find.

This book is written more like a scholarly work rather than like a novel, yet it definitely tells a story, one which many of the readers will recognize as Beowulf. It is told from the point of view of Ibn Fadlon, a representative of the Caliph of Baghdad. He then gets caught up with a band of northmen. The band, led by one Buliwyf, is on a mission to help defend King Rothgar from some evil which is spreading across his land. Doesn=t that sound compelling?

What makes this book so different is the way in which the tale is offered. Ibn Fadlan is a Muslim and gives the distinct impression that he does not approve of the lifestyle of the Northmen, yet he tells his story (actually he is giving a report to the Caliph) with great detail.

He tells of the Northmen's ways, relating what impresses him as well as what disgusts him. His very first impression of the Norsemen comes as he observes how they deal with a newly dead king. His description of the mourning period and funeral provices the reader his first experience with the Northmen's way of life. How wonderful!

Throughout the book, Crichton uses footnotes to help the reader understand what is going on, and to give the impression that this a paper rather than a novel. As mentioned above, the story is a familiar one but told in such a different way as to make it a much more interesting story then the original.

This book may be different and original which helps but, it is absolutely HORRIFIC! I had no idea what was happening. There was a bunch of ramblings about god and that was about it. The footnotes did little to clear it up. In an effort to understand the book I saw the movie (13th Warrior) and as expected it was