Rating: 
Summary: Egil's Saga
Review: Egil Skallagrimsson was a Viking that stood out even in his time. His saga is packed with all the adventure, mystery and magic that one would expect from a viking era story. If you are intrested in Vikings or Viking life Egil's saga is a gateway into that wonderfull world. I highly recomend this for all who are even a little curious, it will spark a passion that you never knew that you had. (Axe and shield not included)
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Summary: Everyone Should Read Egil's Saga
Review: Egil???s Saga is an account of the life and adventures of the villainous Icelandic hero, Egil Skallagrimsson, and other members of his lineage. In reading Egil???s Saga, I could not help drawing comparisons to the character Hannibal Lector in the Silence of the Lambs. Hannibal is a cannibal whose personality one cannot help liking. Egil Skallagrimsson is an ugly, opinionated, brutal murderer, a drunkard, a miser, and an unfaithful son; however, at the same time, he is a gifted poet, a farmer, a devoted friend, and the bravest, strongest of warriors. Although the reader may begin the story despising him, one ends up sympathizing with him and even cheering for him.
Egil???s unique characterization alone is enough to keep a reader interested in his plight, yet there are additional appealing aspects of Egil???s Saga as well. Primarily, the story has something for every reader???action, suspense, comedy, fantasy, history, violence, romance, and even some scientific appeal; although, the blunt descriptions of Egil???s actions may be a deterrent to squeamish readers. The saga also presents a window into Viking culture, with the authors??? introduction aiding in the development of the full image of Viking life. This introduction lacks historical information, however, when compared with that which appears in Anthony Faulke???s edition of Three Icelandic Outlaw Sagas. In comparing another Icelandic saga, the Saga of Gisli, to Egil???s Saga, nonetheless, I found the story of Egil???s adventures and his characterization far more engaging that that of Gisli???s. I would definitely recommend this larger-than-life story to anyone looking for a book that will both entertain and educate the reader.
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Summary: Remembered life of viking/poet makes good reading.
Review: Egils saga relates the life of a prominent Viking/poet, starting with the life of his grandfather. The story takes place primarily in Norway (also Iceland, England) c.900 AD and the precarious relations between the Kings of Norway and Egil's family. This saga captures some detailed scenes of Viking raids, which makes it of some interest, but is the near-true story of an often brutal man, Egil. Even so, hewas also known for his poetic compositions and a number of them are included to highlight events in the story. Two translations of each is given, the literal one in the footnotes (which are sometimes better). As with any icelandic sagas, the style must be tolerated which includes a story that is not plot-driven, and trying to keep track of the different characters, (many of whom have the same name). In this version Christime Fell places the footnotes at the end which means you have to flip back a lot. She also places the text in long, unbroken paragraphs and doesn't set apart the dialogue (which is not done in Penguin's translations, although this one sells cheaper). The book contains a short family tree of Egil's family and maps of the regions where the story takes place. Although a work such as this should be widely read, I only gave it a rating of 8 since it can be difficult reading.
Rating:
Summary: Egil's Saga
Review: Hermann Pálsson's translation of Egil's Saga, does a great job of making this Icelandic saga accessible to an English-speaking reader. The saga tells a biography of Egil Skallagrimsson, and his relatives for two generations both before and after him. Like most Icelandic sagas, there is a great deal of violence in the text, and much of it is treated casually. In and of itself this is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make the saga inappropriate for young children. Egil's adventures tend to showcase both his skill at killing and his skill as a poet. The saga provides an interesting look at politics in Norway, Iceland, and England in approximately the period 850-1000 AD. As with the other Icelandic sagas, there is a strong basis for the story in historical facts, although the amount of fiction present is difficult to be sure of.
While I disliked several aspects of the contents of the book, my only gripe about the presentation of the saga itself is the existence of summarizing chapter titles, such as `The King kills Thorolf,' which tend to give away what will happen in a particular chapter. Sadly, the introduction is not particularly useful, as it focuses on summarizing the plot, rather than attempting to explain to the reader what the actual society of Medieval Iceland and Norway was like. This would have been more useful for an understanding of the saga. The only really useful part of the introduction is the existence of a pair of family tree diagrams, which give the reader some small hope of keeping track of how various people are related to each other. The maps at the back of the book are helpful in providing a sense of the geographic locations where events occur, although there is no map covering the events that occurred in England.
Rating:
Summary: Egil's Saga
Review: Hermann Pálsson's translation of Egil's Saga, does a great job of making this Icelandic saga accessible to an English-speaking reader. The saga tells a biography of Egil Skallagrimsson, and his relatives for two generations both before and after him. Like most Icelandic sagas, there is a great deal of violence in the text, and much of it is treated casually. In and of itself this is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make the saga inappropriate for young children. Egil's adventures tend to showcase both his skill at killing and his skill as a poet. The saga provides an interesting look at politics in Norway, Iceland, and England in approximately the period 850-1000 AD. As with the other Icelandic sagas, there is a strong basis for the story in historical facts, although the amount of fiction present is difficult to be sure of.
While I disliked several aspects of the contents of the book, my only gripe about the presentation of the saga itself is the existence of summarizing chapter titles, such as 'The King kills Thorolf,' which tend to give away what will happen in a particular chapter. Sadly, the introduction is not particularly useful, as it focuses on summarizing the plot, rather than attempting to explain to the reader what the actual society of Medieval Iceland and Norway was like. This would have been more useful for an understanding of the saga. The only really useful part of the introduction is the existence of a pair of family tree diagrams, which give the reader some small hope of keeping track of how various people are related to each other. The maps at the back of the book are helpful in providing a sense of the geographic locations where events occur, although there is no map covering the events that occurred in England.
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Summary: better than you might think
Review: I picked up this book in preparation for a trip to Iceland as a way to get a feel for the country's history, so I expected to appreciate it in an educational sense. In that respect, the book did its job. However, I was also surprised to find both the plot and the writing style engaging, so though I started the book out of a sense of duty, I finished the book wrapped up in the story.The saga follows the life of Egil Skallagrimmson, one of Iceland's early settlers, beginning with a relatively lengthy section about several generations of ancestors preceding any mention of Egil's birth. Egil himself is a morally ambiguous figure, committing his first murder at six, but displaying moments of generosity and leadership as well, and of course he's also a poet. The action revolves primarily around Egil's movements back and forth between Norway and Iceland, though there is also a section that takes place in England, with Egil acting as a mercenary in a war against Scotland. Sagas do not read like modern novels--this is more of a biography that follows Egil birth to death--but part of the saga's purpose is to entertain, and it does that well. Two things are involved in making this saga readable: first, the skill of the translators, whose sole fault seems to be an utter inability to translate Egil's poetry in any way that conveys why people thought he was such a great poet (maybe it just sounds better in Icelandic). Fortunately, the poetry takes up a pretty small fraction of the book. More significant is the author's skill together with the distinctive features of the saga genre--namely this: the sagas are primarily concerned with people and their actions. Thus every detail serves to carry the plot forward. You won't get landscape descriptions unless landscapes are relevant to the plot. Use of dialogue is frequent and relatively natural, but the conversations are brief and always move things forward. This might sound like the book reads like an action movie (and to a degree it does), but the fact that the saga includes Egil's genealogy and stories about others in his generation in his family that result in a story that evolves from a web of motivations. You don't get much in the way of examination of Egil's psyche, but the stripped-down style of the saga and its convincing portrayal of Egil as a complete human personality makes me wonder how necessary the tendencies of much modern literature to pay so much attention to inner life as a true representation of the human experience really are.
Rating: 
Summary: Egil's Saga
Review: If I were to describe Egil's Saga in a phrase I'd say it was the portrait of a person who has natural-born monster like qualities(such as those of Cathy in East of Eden, by John Steinbeck)who was just put in the wrong situation to ever turn up somewhat normal, for our standards today or those of his own time. He is the epitimy of a viking; pillage, plunder and kill while getting drunk before and after he burys his axe deep into their brain and or shoulderblade. It is however a unique viking story in that there is evidence to believe that he might have actually lived. An abnormal skull was found in the right place, dating around the right time that fit his monsterous description. The interesting thing about his story is that he is a puer senex, violent by any standard but gifted with the ability to improv. on the spot with inspiring poems since he was a toddler, with a drinking problem I might add. This book, a true paradox, will run you $14, unless you get it used, but don't bother. I recomend going to the library, getting the penguin classic if you can(it's probably the easiest to understand-a struggle point with this book). However, if you like descriptive words set in artful prose, don't go near this book, it's gory but overall bland in speach. You might not completly understand everything even after the second reading of it but thst might be because you're falling asleep(I did several times), don't give up it's worth reading if only for the general background information itself, and the frequent acts of mutilation that provide the only comic relief in sagas of this nature.
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Summary: A True Icelandic Adventure
Review: Reader's who are looking for a blunt and quick moving saga should buy Egil's Saga right away. Egil, a Viking worthy of many stories, kills his first man when he's six years old. That's when you know a story is going to be filled with violence, when the main character kills at the ripe mature age of six. Egil's Saga is a plainly written, quick, and easy text, but you might want to keep this one away from the particularly young ones since there is an incredible amount of pretty graphic violence.
This saga involves a man who is more than a man; he may have some disease that makes him enormous, with a deformed head and uncanny strength. This epic is about a child who is well beyond his years in speech and in strength, but is also an outcast from Icelandic society in large part because of his advancement but also because of his incredible ugliness. The saga is about his reckless adventures throughout Europe, ranging from wars in England where he becomes very good friends with the king, to Norway where he has been proclaimed an outcast. He ranges around northern Europe plundering, and growing as a human being. He is also an incredible poet, a natural, and his poetry comes in very useful when he gets in tough situations.
The translated prose is very blunt, to the point, and delivered with little written emotion. Some of you readers out there will like the prose to be flowery, descriptive and have scenes where the drama and tension are built up by a lot of language. This is not the book for you. Chapters and sentences will describe the brutal killings of many men as if it were a sentence about picking daisies. However because of its blunt nature this is a fantastically fast-paced read and for those out there who are looking for a good book about plundering, murdering, revenge and a quickly unfolding plot then you're found the right book.
However, when you pick up the book to read skip the introduction, or at least leave it until you've finished the text. Penguin, Hermann Palsson and Paul Edwards have done an excellent job translating but unfortunately they have put a horrible introduction to kick things off. If you're one of those people who loves to get their movies ruined or books spoiled by your best friends then by all means read the introduction. But if you want there to be some suspense in the literature you read and don't want to know exactly everything that happens in the text please, do yourself a giant favor and skip over the introduction and go straight to the actual text. Then once you've finished you can look back at the introduction (if you'd like) which has some interesting points about genealogy, when the text was written, who the author is thought to be, what culture was like around Egil's time, and what culture was like when Egil's Saga was being recounted.
All in all I enjoyed Egil's Saga a lot and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone who's looking for adventure. Egil's Saga is thought to be written by Snorri Sturluson around 1230 but there in no hard evidence to attest to this fact. This text is translated by Hermann Palsson and Paul Edwards, $14.00.
Rating: 
Summary: Egil's Saga
Review: The book Egil's Saga, translated by Hermann Pálsson and Paul Edwards (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1976) is a good example of medieval Scandinavian sagas. Since it was first told before it was written, it had to be easy to memorize. Therefore, the style is choppy and to the point. Very little description or elaboration is used. The author tells the reader only what he or she needs to know, and little more. The introduction is well written and helpful. It gives plenty of information to help bridge the gap between modern society and 10th century Iceland. It also has extremely helpful genealogical tables that are essential for anyone who doesn't know Egil's family tree. However, the introduction gives away a lot of the plot- too much in my opinion, and even tells you the ending.
There are no footnotes, but this is because they are unnecessary, the story is very readable with very few abstract references to medieval society that people today would have trouble understanding. At the end, there is a glossary of proper names that helps the reader keep track of all the difficult Scandinavian names- many of which are very similar. Also, there are a few maps that would be helpful if you're the kind of person who needs to know where the action is taking place and how the characters move for the story to make sense. Overall, the story is wonderful, but the writing is dry; and at fourteen dollars per copy, the price is steep. If you do not mind reading a book with very few adjectives, it is definitely worth checking out from your local library, but not worth purchasing.
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Summary: The Viking Poet
Review: There is a difference between Hollywood style machismo and true manhood. Compare Rambo to Egil Skallagrimson and prepare to be enlightened. Egil was an ugly, irascible, Herculean figure who would truly deserve the Biblical appellation "mighty man of valor" if it weren't for the persistent rumors that he was descended from Trolls. He may have been a flawed man, but he was nevertheless a man. Egil lived hard, fought lustily, and sinned mightily, but he was also capable of great virtue. He was also an accomplished poet, and could improvise verse appropriate to almost any situation. "Egil's Saga" provides a wonderful window into the harsh world of the Vikings, and it does so by telling the story of four generations of Viking chieftans. We begin with Kveldulf, then take up the story of his son, Skallagrim, and then tell Egil's story. Egil is, of course, the most remarkable man of his line. Given Egil's tumultuous life, it is a wonder that he died of old age. His son Thorstein becomes a farmer and a Christian, but the teachings of the Prince of Peace don't prevent Thorstein's son Skuli from embarking on pillaging expeditions.
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