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adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I've seen Eaters of the Dead listed on multiple horror novel recommendation posts, so, because I love horror, I was really excited when I found a copy at a second-hand bookshop. Now that I've read it, however, I'd categorize it as historical fiction with elements of horror rather than a horror novel. I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed by that fact.
I enjoyed the journal structure of the story. I don't read works written in this format often, so I found it interesting, and even though there are drawbacks to this particular format, for example dry descriptions of all the events, it still worked for me. The footnotes were a nice touch as well.
That being said, Buliwyf and Herger were the only characters I found remotely interesting to read about, and the only reason why I even managed to finish reading the novel. The pacing was all over the place, there was far too much animal death, far too much misogyny and rape, not to mention a lot of racism. The story itself is so interesting, so I have no idea how the author made it so forgettable and devoid of any thrill or suspense.
Overall, Eaters of the Dead just wasn't my cup of tea, sadly.
I enjoyed the journal structure of the story. I don't read works written in this format often, so I found it interesting, and even though there are drawbacks to this particular format, for example dry descriptions of all the events, it still worked for me. The footnotes were a nice touch as well.
That being said, Buliwyf and Herger were the only characters I found remotely interesting to read about, and the only reason why I even managed to finish reading the novel. The pacing was all over the place, there was far too much animal death, far too much misogyny and rape, not to mention a lot of racism. The story itself is so interesting, so I have no idea how the author made it so forgettable and devoid of any thrill or suspense.
Overall, Eaters of the Dead just wasn't my cup of tea, sadly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Alcohol, War
Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Religious bigotry
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I've long been a fan of the John McTiernan-directed, Antonio Banderas-starring film adaptation of this book. So when I saw a copy at a used book store, for $5, I had to have it.
Despite my love for the movie, I'd heard how it doesn't do justice to Crichton's novel -- and I'm here to say, I feel it actually does. Going in I had no idea it was going to be in the form of a translation of Ibn Fadlan's manuscript (I did not realize any of this was rooted in any truth other than "Vikings existed). The sort of "academic" structure of the book is a fun playful nod (which with its appendix and sources page, I questioned what was real and what was fiction, until I saw "Necronomicon" listed as one of the sources). From this structure, the story does feel a little incomplete and that's clearly meant, here, to be a feature. But it definitely feels a little like a "lesser" Crichton.
A lesser story that now I love as both a book and as a movie.
Despite my love for the movie, I'd heard how it doesn't do justice to Crichton's novel -- and I'm here to say, I feel it actually does. Going in I had no idea it was going to be in the form of a translation of Ibn Fadlan's manuscript (I did not realize any of this was rooted in any truth other than "Vikings existed). The sort of "academic" structure of the book is a fun playful nod (which with its appendix and sources page, I questioned what was real and what was fiction, until I saw "Necronomicon" listed as one of the sources). From this structure, the story does feel a little incomplete and that's clearly meant, here, to be a feature. But it definitely feels a little like a "lesser" Crichton.
A lesser story that now I love as both a book and as a movie.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Vomit, Alcohol
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
An interesting premise and process for a book, but a bit of a slog to get through, even for a shorter book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, War
Moderate: Rape, Slavery, Violence, Cannibalism
2.5 stars. DNF at around 55%, I got about 3 hours into the 5.5 hour audiobook before deciding that I couldn’t go on.
The book itself is misleading. The introduction makes it seem like this is the unedited account of Ahmad ibn Fadlān’s experience with the Vikings. This is further reinforced by the fact that the first few chapters are an accurate account of ibn Fadlān’s journey (how edited they are by Crichton I’m not sure, but they are accurate). This isn’t a horrible literary decision, but it is confusing, especially because there’s no indication when the account switches to becoming fictional. At some point one could probably surmise that it’s fictional, but that line isn’t very prominent. I understand that this may not bother everyone, but it was annoying to me.
Writing in the style of ibn Fadlān’s account is an interesting perspective, although it does come with many downsides. Firstly, the actual prose of the book isn’t very engaging or fun. The short length and immersion within Viking culture saves it from being unreadable, but it can be tedious at times. Second, Michael Crichton attempts to make ibn Fadlān seem more three dimensional or give his character more depth by having him be enthusiastic about the adventure and even “taking a slave girl in the fashion of the north men”… and it doesn’t work. ibn Fadlān had no stakes in the Vikings’ doings, he just wrote what he observed. And it seems especially suspicious that he would partake in their activities willingly and enthusiastically. This may seem like a minor gripe, but if you’re going to confine yourself to a specific perspective and style, you should stick with it.
Overall, I don’t think this book was for me. I see the appeal and understand why people like it, but because of my knowledge about Viking history, this didn’t do it for me. The perspective was interesting, even though the execution was flawed, and the Beowulf retelling was pretty good, if not very accurate. If you don’t mind these things, more power to you! They got in the way of my reading, but I still see why this is such a beloved book.
Read in my room at home.
The book itself is misleading. The introduction makes it seem like this is the unedited account of Ahmad ibn Fadlān’s experience with the Vikings. This is further reinforced by the fact that the first few chapters are an accurate account of ibn Fadlān’s journey (how edited they are by Crichton I’m not sure, but they are accurate). This isn’t a horrible literary decision, but it is confusing, especially because there’s no indication when the account switches to becoming fictional. At some point one could probably surmise that it’s fictional, but that line isn’t very prominent. I understand that this may not bother everyone, but it was annoying to me.
Writing in the style of ibn Fadlān’s account is an interesting perspective, although it does come with many downsides. Firstly, the actual prose of the book isn’t very engaging or fun. The short length and immersion within Viking culture saves it from being unreadable, but it can be tedious at times. Second, Michael Crichton attempts to make ibn Fadlān seem more three dimensional or give his character more depth by having him be enthusiastic about the adventure and even “taking a slave girl in the fashion of the north men”… and it doesn’t work. ibn Fadlān had no stakes in the Vikings’ doings, he just wrote what he observed. And it seems especially suspicious that he would partake in their activities willingly and enthusiastically. This may seem like a minor gripe, but if you’re going to confine yourself to a specific perspective and style, you should stick with it.
Overall, I don’t think this book was for me. I see the appeal and understand why people like it, but because of my knowledge about Viking history, this didn’t do it for me. The perspective was interesting, even though the execution was flawed, and the Beowulf retelling was pretty good, if not very accurate. If you don’t mind these things, more power to you! They got in the way of my reading, but I still see why this is such a beloved book.
Read in my room at home.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, War
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail