7.8 /10 1 Votes
4.2/5 Barnes & Noble Country United States Publication date March 1976 ISBN 0-394-49400-8 Publisher Alfred A. Knopf | 3.6/5 Goodreads Cover artist Paul Bacon Language English Pages 288 Originally published March 1976 Page count 288 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Characters Beowulf, Ahmed Ibn Fahdlan, Herger - Joyous, Hrothgar, Wiglif, Wulfgar Genres Fiction, Fantasy, Historical novel, Suspense, Historical drama, Speculative fiction Similar Michael Crichton books, Scandinavia books, Fiction books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Eaters of the dead by michael crichton part 1 12
Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in AD 922 (later republished as The 13th Warrior to correspond with the film adaptation of the novel) is a 1976 novel by Michael Crichton. The story is about a 10th-century Muslim Arab who travels with a group of Vikings to their settlement.
Contents
- Eaters of the dead by michael crichton part 1 12
- The thirteenth warrior the legendary lost 1998 trailer eaters of the dead the mctiernan cut
- Plot summary
- Reception
- Film adaptation
- References
Crichton explains in an appendix that the book was based on two sources. The first three chapters are a retelling of Ahmad ibn Fadlan's personal account of his actual journey north and his experiences with and observations of Vikings (probably from Sweden). The remainder is based upon the story of Beowulf.
The thirteenth warrior the legendary lost 1998 trailer eaters of the dead the mctiernan cut
Plot summary
The novel is set in the 10th century. The Caliph of Baghdad, Al-Muqtadir, sends his ambassador, Ahmad ibn Fadlan, to the king of the Volga Bulgars. He never arrives but is instead conscripted by a group of Vikings to take part in a hero's quest to the north. Ahmad ibn Fadlan is taken along as the thirteenth member of their group to comply with a soothsayer's requirement for success. There they battle with the 'mist-monsters', or 'wendol', a tribe of vicious savages (suggested by the narrator to have been possibly relict Neanderthals) who go to battle wearing bear skins.
Eaters of the Dead is narrated as a scientific commentary on an old manuscript. The narrator describes how the story told is a composite of extant commentaries and translations of the works of the original story teller. There are several references during the narration to a possible change or mistranslation of the original story by later copiers. The story is told by several different voices: the editor/narrator, the translators of the script and the original author, ibn Fadlan, as well as his descriptions of stories told by others. A sense of authenticity is supported by occasional explanatory footnotes with references to a mixture of factual and fictitious sources.
Reception
The critic from the New York Times called it "diverting but disappointing". The Chicago Tribune said it was "funny, fascinating and informative".
Film adaptation
In 1979 it was announced the movie version of the novel would be made by the newly formed Orion Pictures with Crichton himself to direct. This did not occur.
The novel was adapted into film as The 13th Warrior (1999), directed by John McTiernan and released by Walt Disney Pictures through its Touchstone banner. Crichton himself did some uncredited directing for a reshoot after Disney fired McTiernan for various reasons, one of which was going far over budget. Antonio Banderas played Ibn Fadlan. Crichton writes that he was "quite pleased" with the film, though it earned mixed reviews and performed poorly at the box office, earning about $62 million worldwide; the film's budget was more than $100 million.