Rating: 
Summary: Allah and Odin
Review: I admit that I struggled with whether or not I was reading fiction or nonfiction when I first encountered this novel. Actually, I thought that I was reading fiction based on actual research. Considering the scholarly listing of sources in the back of the book I do not think that I was being too gullible. After all, there actually was a 10th century Arab traveler by the name of Ibn Fadlan.Then I noticed that the story was sounding more and more like Beowulf. In fact, it was like a cross between _Lord of the Rings_ and Beowulf- complete with weapon-forging dwarves in caves. I finally realized that this was what Crichton was trying to do. He was creating a plausible historical verification for the events that occur in Beowulf seen through the eyes of an outside observer. And he did it very well. At first I found the picture presented of the Vikings to be disgusting. They are presented with no redeeming features at all i.e. dirty, uncouth, treacherous, drunken, lascivious pigs. But then slowly, as they travel on their heros' journey to the far north the characters slowly seem to be transformed. Traits such as humor, honor, and courage begin to show through. This continues until the leader of the party (Buliwyn) appears finally not only as the most classical of questing heroes, but also as the resurrected image of Odin himself. One other thing little thing, the monsters of the mist being portrayed as cannibalistic, warlike Neanderthals seems a bit far fetched. After all, it seems that the Neanderthalers were a gentle folk who were probably exterminated by Homo sapiens that were not all that dissimilar from the Vikings....
Rating: 
Summary: I am now morally opposed to reading anything by Crichton
Review: I did enjoy reading this book but I am very angered by the way the author lied. In the introduction, he claims that this book pretty much was an accurate translation of the originial text. He mentions a number of minor details that he changed (like changing the syntax to make the meaning more understandable or indenting paragraphs) so as to give the reader the impression that he in no way changed the meaning. The book has a lot of footnotes that seems very authentic and an authentic looking bibliography as well. But then you get to the afterward and Crichton is like, "Bwa ha ha ha! You fool! I made the whole story up! I made the bibliography up! I made the footnotes up! Ha ha ha ha!" He even made the translator up (giving him a name that in Latin means "trickery-deciet") (Of course, he stated all this more politely than that.) So know how confused I am now? I thought I was learning all this nifty stuff about Viking and Arab life and now I have no clue if any of it is true. It is based on real manuscripts, but do these real manuscripts actually mention the flesh eating people at all or is that completely made up? Were the vikings really so promiscuous? I don't even know that. That could be fiction too, since Crichton says we should view the entire novel as fiction. It's not fair to do this to people who have barely any knowledge of vikings. If he wants to write a work of fiction, that's fine, but just be honest about it. Don't out right lie to the readers. Don't make up bibliographies and footnotes. I think he must wish he was a real researcher but doesn't have the intelligence to be one. I am so mad!!!
Rating:
Summary: Eaters makes you full
Review: The Eaters of the Dead is based partly on fact and largely on imagination. Michael Crichton wrote this story on a dare. His task, rewriting Beowulf so it would be more readable for the masses. The story was then made into a movie, The 13th Warrior, which starred Antonio Banderas. The story starts with Ahmed Ibn Fadlan, a member of the royal court in Baghdad, being sent, as a punishment for involvement with a rich man's wife, to the land of the Ogurs. At the request of their ruler, for instruction in Islam. Ibn, as he is called in the book, encounters various people along the way telling us of their lifestyles and some of their "filthy" habits. He eventually meets "Northmen" or Vikings on the banks of the Volga River. (This is reportedly one of the earliest records we have of their lifestyle.) His only way to communicate with them is by speaking Latin with Herger, one of the Vikings and waiting for translation when Herger is in the mood. Ibn's party arrives just in time to see the funeral of the Viking leader and the naming of a new King, Buliwyf. A messenger arrives from the north seeking help for his village and Ibn is sent on a journey with Buliwyf and eleven other warriors to conquer an evil so horrible it cannot be named. Once the warriors arrive in the village of Rothgar they endure all sorts of challenges from dealing with the conniving Prince to conquering the Eater's of the Dead. Ahmed Ibn Fadlan kept an actual record of his journey and parts of it have been translated to English. Crichton got his main story idea from this journal. Interestingly, there are lots of footnotes in the book citing a reference or resource, which are sometimes factual and sometimes part of Crichton's imagination. (There is an afterward to the book that clears up some of those references.) I have never read Beowulf but I have read this book 3 times. It's an easy read but it is hard to keep from confusing the fiction from the fact.
Rating:
Summary: A good but badly titled novel
Review: As I understand it, Crichton essentially wrote this on something of a dare: Could he re-write the Beowulf saga and make it work for modern readers? To do so, he inserts an unusal element: Ibn Fadlan. Faslan is a Muslim, who is sent on a mission to the King of Saqaliba (and not by choice, he has essentially been forced on the journey). He eventually meets a group of Scandanavians who he considers to be truuly barbaric (guess that's why they call them "barbarians). For Fadlan, his new traveling companions are disgusting and horrific, but the leader of the group, Buliwyf ("Beowulf"), who can communicate in Latin, likes Fadlan and Buliwyf sort of adopts Fadlan, sort of like a puppy dog (probably much to Fadlan's chagrin). Fadlan then finds himself enmeshed in a journey to Scandinavia to save Buliwyf's people from the "monsters of the mist." Ibn Fadlan travels north with Buliwyf and soon finds himself facing seemingly near invincible enemies who curiously always gather their dead and take them with them after a battle. This was an extremely clever take on the Beowulf legend, subtlely telling a tale that could literally have been the basis for the Beowulf saga had it actually occurred. As with many of Crichton's best works, its engrossing reading, though not necessarily great literature. As the story progresses, the Scandavians characters prove to be far less one-dimensional then they originally appeared and Fadlan gets a lesson in understanding other cultures. The explanation for what the "monsters of the mist" are is also a clever twist and, oddly, a believeable one. Unfortunately, the title of the book (it describes one of the more problematic habits of the monsters of the mist) probably kept more than a few readers away when this was first published, and I'm not even sure it was ever published in hardback as I've searched and never been able to find it in hardback format. The film version actually had a more enticing title: "The Thirteenth Warrior." Despite the title, this is Crichton in top form and a very engrossing read.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent,feels like you are reading a modern thriller!
Review: You all recognize 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 this review is about a book written by Michael Crichton which has been used to create a movie called "The Thirteenth Warrior." In fact, the name of the original book was"Eaters of the Dead." What's most interesting about this book is that the reader will feel he is reading a fictional novel rather than a real life account of a Muslim ambassador reporting back to his Khalifa ." The Thirteenth Warrior" is actually a translated manuscript of guy named "Ahmed Ibn-Fadlan." This book was supposed to be a boring translation of a boring report of a humble person but while reading it,the reader will understand that facts and fiction are all mixed up together. Even the writer, Micheal Crichton, confessed that there are fictional parts in the novel whereas the novel was supposed to be historical.Ahmed-Ibn-Fadlan leaves his country ,Mesopotemia to go to the wealthy kingdom of Bulgaria but end up with the Vikings.The leader of the band of the Vikings was "Buliwyf" who was to help King Rothgar from the eaters of the dead.Thirteenth warrior had to go to the mission and Ahmed-Ibn-Fadlan was the last one. The writer of the original document, Ahmed-Ibn-Fadlan, starts his writing informing the reader that he has been driven out of his homeland by a jealous Muslim miser who poisoined the air around the Khalif of Baghdad about Fadlan, afer knowing that Ibn-Fadlan has a secret relationship with his wife.But the real story starts when Ibn-Fadlan meets the Vikings and finds himself forced to stay with the Vikings. Ibn-Fadlan was given the task to meet the King of Bulgaria,in a country situated near today's Russia's Volga river.But throughtout the book,we read about Viking customs, traditions, myths, warfare tactics of the Vikings.Ibn-Fadlan's voice has been clear and describing in vivid details what he saw.Instead of the traditional,western,fictional story-telling way,Ibn-Fadlan uses the neutral viewpoint of the observer and reports everything he has seen in graphic details.Interesting as It may seem,Michael Crichton wrote "Eaters Of The Dead" while he was a college undergraduate,accepting the challange of a college professor about using"Beowulf"-an Anglo-Saxon epic, and the translated manuscript of Ibn-Fadlan to make his students aware about books which says a lot of important things about western civilisation but haven't been read.After studying the manuscript,which has been abruptly finished with the words "Now It happened", giving us the hint that there might have been another incident.Though this book says real things about real people,it doesn't feel boring once because when you read the novel you will find fact and fiction very close mingling freely! The historical detail is handled reasonably well, the story is fast-paced and gripping, and the contrast between the Arab/Islamic and Viking cultures is effectively exploited. The result is not a great novel, but it's an entertaining one and should appeal to those interested in the period.
Rating: 
Summary: Five times, I read the book, and counting...
Review: I did not know about the book until I met a lovely lady at Wayne State University. She knew I was Arab and asked me:"what you think of Eaters of the Dead," I shacked my head showing no acquaintance of the writer or the book. She was amazed, larter in the same week, gave me a copy. I bought eight copies since that time and sent to all my friends and still keeping two different prints of them.
I read some lines from the Arabic manuscripts and got to conclusion that the researcher and writer did his homework, well, in understanding how Arab Muslims were thinking at that time.
I read many books dated to that time and before the time of Ibn Fadlan, in Arabic, and understand how the Muslim scholars, researchers, and explorers were thinking at that time. Michael Crichton depicted that in the most naked and elegant manner.
We look up to our scholars of that time, many of them served humanity in preserving, conveying, and developing knowledge of past glorious civilizations from east and west. They were courageous and hard working researchers. They love knowledge and would sacrifice their own lives to serve it.
In my opinion, I do not think of this story as a factious one, as many would think. I read many books describing historical events and stories, proved true by many sources, written in the same manner in Arabic language. At the end, every one has the right to think whatever s/he wishes.
The story is knitted in a very lovely manner and can be reproduced in Arabic again from the English version, betting, it will be so smooth to Arab reader he will not notice it was translated from a foreign language. The Arabic language is so sensitive and delicate; still felt I was reading an Arabic book written by profound Arab historian and researcher.
America enjoy this writer's, or let's say researcher's, ingenuity. Crichton's hard work and dedication produced a very sweet fruit, from which the original plant was nourished very complicated, very distinct, and different language and culture, in the "meals on wheels" form. Congratulations to you all this wonderful work. ...
Rating:
Summary: Far From chrichton's potential
Review: Eaters of the Dead has a few good parts but for the most part it is mediocre. I found Eaters of the dead to be far from Crichton's best because it lacks the usual suspense and unpredictability that is found in almost all of Crichton books. If Eaters of the Dead was entirely non-fiction it would have been better but Crichton used enough of his own idea's to have it published as a work of fiction. Unlike usual Crichton books Eaters of the Dead is boring until he reaches the north lands where it is still fairly unexciting, this is proved in the part when Ibn Faladan is almost killed in Turkey and it reads like the rest of the book as there is no sense of urgency or fear if Crichton was going to change some facts in the book (I'm still not sure what is fact and what is fiction) he should have added dialog or something to make that scene more exciting even if it isn't part of the main plot. Even the battle scenes lack excitement with no real details or description. My favorite scene is from descending the cliff to the fight with the mother of the Wendol and even that is too fast or the scene where Ibn Faladan sees the whales because that is the most descriptive scene in the whole book. Whereas most Michael Crichton's books score five out-of five stars for the reasons above I gave Eaters of the Dead one star. A word of advice to Crichton is if your going to do non-fiction add nothing fictitious to it. It is also a pity that this book came nowhere near his potential and if it was his first book or if it was the first Crichton a person ever read it gives a great author a bad name.
Rating:
Summary: Crichton the Historian!!!!
Review: As a student in Medieval Studies and history, this is the Crichton that I love the most. The Historian Crichton. If you enjoyed the epic of Beowulf, then you will rave over Eaters of the Dead. This is based on a true story.
We follow an Arab messenger traveling north from the middle east on a mission. Along the journey, he stops to stay with some northman and gets plunged into an incredible journey. The messanger starts to write about his travels and now, hundreds of years later, Crichton translates them for us.
The northman are summoned to a distant land to help a fellow king in a time where his people are being killed by "mist monsters". The northman are ready to go, when they say they need a thirteenth warrior that is not of their own land. That warrior is the Arab.
The way the story is told is incredible, because we get it in a first person point of view. You can feel the action and feel the battles as if you were fighting them yourself. But this is more than just a story, but a history lesson as well. The book gives us loads of info on the vikings and the ways of cannibalistic tribes which gives us a bit of a heads up leading into the story.
Crichton does a hell of a translating job, and tells this story wonderfully. Although this story is not from Crichtons own head, dont pass it up. This is a perfect piece of fiction/non-fiction.
Rating:
Summary: By far my favorite Crichton novel
Review: This is one of his shortest novels, but IMO perhaps the best. The narrative is taut, the excitement and suspense unrelenting, and the historical detail rich and vivid. He combines three worlds all equally strange to most readers - the Vikings of the Dark Ages, the world of medieval Islam, and the bizarre prehistoric rootedness of the Eaters. Several alien worlds superimposed, and done most impressivley. Far better than the film.
Rating:
Summary: Eaters of the Dead
Review: Michael Crichton has written many good books like Jurassic Park, and The Lost World. He has written many good novels. He is also considered one of the best writers of our time.
The book Eaters of the Dead is about a man of Arab decent who is sent away from his country as an ambassador to the North. On his journey he gets caught up with a group of Vikings that take him on a trip with them to the country far to the North to help another group of Vikings that are having a problem with an ancient myth. The myth is of a group of animals who eat the dead. This book tells of the hardships the group of men goes through to fight this evil myth.
This book is really good, and follows very well which makes it easy to read. I would recommend that you should read the book. It is not very long and you will get through it fast.
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