Eaters Of The Dead

Back when this was released it created a stir as many people assumed Crichton had discovered more about the travels of Ibn Fadlan than had been discovered before.As he admits in the back, the first three chapters are real enough but the rest is faked. Like others I came to this from The 13th Warrior, a seriously much maligned film that falls into the 'how can you like a film that lost so much money at the box office' category - but you do.The 13th Warrior is my favourite film to shove on on a wet afternoon. I hate to say it, but although the book (or the faked history) follows many of the key moments (and in fact adds more) you might tend to wish that Crichton had simply given up on the 'faking history' bit and gone for the fiction. He was so into it, he even writes extensive footnotes later on that he freely admits are complete bunkhum.Still a good read and a must for 13th Warrior fans. And yes, Ibn Fadlan was real and apparenty he did enjoy the wife of someone he shouldn't at the start. Got to admire him for that!

Read the book, updated to 3 star as its a good story, but the book physically is bad. 2 star physical book, 4 star novel. A printed, ring bound pdf would have been better value.Opened this book and was disappointed to see the text was completely cut off, luckily this was only for the synopsis of other works. The text of the novel itself is very low print quality in a small font, with the ink running making some letters individually unreadable. It needs to be a real page turner if Im going to finish it, as it looks like I'm going to feel ill attempting to read this.

If you love the viking age, if you loved the 13th warrior movie... be prepared.. nothing has prepared you for what you will read in this great novel.You will learn a lot about the viking way of life, their customs, way of thinking, misteries and magic. I had the feeling from the beginning to the end that i was reading a realistic story.... and in the most part it is quite realistic, since its based on a real manuscript found 10 centuries ago.Besides linking the manuscript parts in a very intriguing and misterious narration, Crichton also gives explanatory notes in almost every page that quite add to the athmosphere and understanding of the book.A masterpiece and worth reading it over again, one of the best books i've read in my 31 years of existence.

This story is wonderful if you love adventure stories and historic almost epic adventures. Crichton wrote a wonderful Viking adventure like few have ever come close to. Read this if you can.BUT The people who published this particular version made a very bad decision and printed it with the tiniest font, type size that is they could find. IT IS HORRIBLE! I bought if from Amazon but wrote back and told them that I was angry at the font size and they made a terrible mistake doing that to readers of any age.So beware this is ONE GREAT NOVEL! But this is also one terrible book to read because the type face is so small a magnifying glass is needed for some people to read it.

Purchased this book after seeing 'The Thirteenth Warrior', and since I was already a fan of Crichton, I had a feeling I'd enjoy the book. But I wasn't prepared for how much I was going to enjoy it, the book is incredible! I devoured it, it truly was a book that I could not stop reading. Since then I've kept a careful eye on it and won't lend it to any friends, that's how much I prize this wonderful book. Yes, it's short but the content within it is wonderful. Was delivered swiftly, and I recommend it to everyone I meet with similar interests.

The book was one that I purchased on a whim, but am glad to have done so as it was a enjoyable read. The subject matter is deeply researched and effectively so that imagery of the myths of the age, and modern explanations become clear as the reader reads on.The style changes from the first three chapters and I found that I was sucked into the story more as the book went on. The postscript by the author did colour my views on the tale slightly, however overall this is a gem that should not be missed.

Looking forward to reading this faintly obscure classic when I have time. Decent condition and delivered as scheduled.

Wonderful book which reads like a real historian was responsible for it.He even has footnotes and a bibliography listing his sources.Michael Crichton cleverly mixes fact and fiction together to give us Beowulf meets the Neanderthals as transcribed by the witness-a traveller from the court of Bagdad Ibn Fadlan.As someone who has actually read Beowulf the novel does contain numerous references to the saga without getting bogged down in the complicated plot of the original.It's a fast moving yarn, too fast really and this reader was left wishing Crichton had written a second novel.

I loved this book. It starts like a historic narrative, an somewhere on the way it switches into fiction

Increíble crónica del mundo antiguo. Además de ser una gran historia (más impresionante aun por ser verídica, o tan verídica como pueda ser después de un milenio), alimenta la cultura. Es increíble la imagen que se crea del mundo escandinavo.

Michael Crichton wrote "The Eaters of the Dead" to win a bet. He successfully proved that a novel based on the Anglo-Saxon classic "Beowulf," with an Arabian scholar thrown in, could be fascinating, entertaining, instructive & fun."Eaters" is a mash-up of fascinating ideas: "Beowulf" is the base for an exploration of Viking culture as observed by an actual scholar, Ahmad ibn Fadlan.Crichton's Fadlan follows the Norse warriors as they enact a Viking funeral. The beauty of this segment is that the fictitious details are based on the real inb Fadlan's notes on an authentic Norse funeral by Varangians. Fiction and nonfiction are seamlessly fused in the opening scenes.The Beowulf story line follows, with a heroic warrior who is determined to exterminate a mysterious tribe of cannibals. Crichton suggests that Neanderthals may have interacted with homo sapiens -- an argument still under debate. But his delineation of a fiercely matriarchal culture opposed to Norse traditions is enthralling.Crichton co-produced the film version of this novel, known as "The 13th Warrior." The film bombed at the box office, but *I* find in engaging, filled with atmospheric mists, chain-maille clad warriors, and some of the alliterative poetry/prose of the Anglo-Saxons.I heartily recommend this book -- as well as the film which was subsequently made. Both are worthy investments....

First off: This is not a typical Michael Crichton book, nor is it a typical novel. So one must leave those presumptions behind before picking this up and reading it.Secondly: This is not a true account. It is a blend of the epic Nordic poem Beowulf, and the very real writings of Ibn-Fadlan. The final product of which is what we have here with "The Eaters of The Dead." It is quite easy to forget that this is a work of fiction as one is reading it however, and a few times I almost brought myself to believe the fictional parts within it, as the author is that good.Finally: The film "The 13th Warrior" is one of my all time favorite movies. It does not get a lot of love but it is a fantastic and very entertaining work to watch. That film is based off of this book and it is important to note it is not a direct representation of the novel. I believe that Crichton did do the screenplay for it though.This is the first time that I have read the book, which I should be ashamed of as I've been meaning to do it for years. In lieu of saying that, I am extremely glad that I did as it was a truly wonderful piece to read. There are some other reviews on here that have made very good points about what to read, such as the introduction and the historical context of the book so I won't get into that. What I will say is that those who bashed this novel obviously had no idea what it was about or what they were getting into beforehand. It is not supposed to read like a typical fashioned fictional book.I really enjoyed reading moments within it that made go back and think about the movie, because as I said before it's not a direct representation of the book. What John Mcteirnan did with little subtle changes here and there was brilliant that if you read the book, still maintains consistency with it. As an example, the scene after the first major battle with the Wendol against the entire village. Ecthgow brings one of the dead creatures to the group of warriors and drops them at their feet to show them what they are. Well in the book it is very different how it plays out, but it is still Ecthgow that essentially makes that "discovery." Also the scene where the company of warriors attack the Wendol in their lair, after they come down the waterfall and are in the little lagoon swimming to the other side with knives in between their teeth. That is entirely different in the book as well but the movie plays homage to it to make a better and smoother story.Overall this was a most pleasant experience reading it and I could not put it down once I started. As a fan of Beowulf, Vikings, Mythology, and history in general, it was a great and wonderful blend of all those elements. Now I need to read Ibn-Fadlan's ACTUAL writings regarding his travels to complete the circle!

Good stuff