Eaters of the Dead : With an introduction and running commentary read by Michael Crichton

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Summary: Books logical nomenclature.. is wrong for this book...
Review: Nice try.....

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Summary: ECK!
Review: I don't know how this book got such great reviews. the plot, characters, and development were horrible! It was a waste of time and one of the 5 worst books i have ever had the misfortune to read.

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Summary: Eaters of the dead is a wonderful tribute to Beowulf.
Review: Eaters of the dead is a wonderful tribute to Beowulf, bringing it out of the boring lecture halls while adding color and a thick shroud of suspense. I am a Tolkein addict, but Eaters of the dead is such an intense, accurate journey into Norse culture that everytime I read it I can't seem to put it down. It's also a change from Crichton's usual novels, illustrating that he is full of imagination and ingenuity. Keep writing Michael, or we'll all be quite bored!

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Summary: Good
Review: I personally think Michael Crichton was brave to write this book. When he said to his publishers, "I want to present an old manuscript about the vikings to a mass audience," they couldn't have been to thrilled. The publishers, after all, list the book as "fiction" when it is actually historical nonfiction. I'm partial to history, and that Crichton presents this in a readable form is a real treat. My own novel THE SHAPE: A NOVEL OF INTERNATIONAL SUSPENSE has history in the beginning and end (check it out for yourself!), and to see Crichton commit a whole book to historical fact is a thrill. (But then Crichton wrote a book about Jasper Johns. Crichton's got a brain in his head, no doubt).

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Summary: Great book. Suprises. Hard to belive it's fiction!
Review: This is quite possibly Crichton's best book. He makes it seem so real that when he went back to revise and add on, he had troble telling which footnotes were true and which were his own creation! This book had me beliving that it was true until the author's notes at the end!.

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Summary: wonderful historical fiction - I can't wait for the movie
Review: I probably enjoyed Beowulf as much as anyone else that I have ever met. Therefore, it is no mistake that I also loved Eaters of the Dead. The language was very simple and matter of fact - an angle that Crichton probably wouldn't have followed had he not been working from an actual ancient manuscript written in the same way. However, it quickly evolves into an intense, developed plot with very complete characters and situations. Like most of the other reviews that I have read, the Beowulf parallels also fed my interest. I am not sure that anyone noted this: the underwater cave entrance is similar to the home of Grendel's mother in the myth. In fact, that whole section of the book (with the exception of the sheer ease in which the mother was killed) closely parallels the fight scene. I believe that Crichton did an excellent job demonstrating Ibn Fablan's original text while presenting the power of change and imagination that comes from generations of oral tradition. I have read Eaters of the Dead several times already (being only a teenager, it seems like the book I always pick when going on family road trips!) and I plan to continue pulling it off the shelf for as long as I live. One concern, though: I have trouble seeing Antonio Banderas as Ibn Fadlan?! Can he pull of an Arab role? Either way, I am certain that the movie will not disappoint.

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Summary: An excellent triumph, a true masterpiece !
Review: Perhaps one of the greater books of all time. Every aspect of the novel shaped into perfection. It's a delight for all readers and listeners with a uneasy mythical theme that made it a real pageturner. This is it man ..... History!

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Summary: Crichton's best since Great Train Robbery
Review: "Eaters of the Dead". The title turns off people very quickly. I have read and reread this paperback many times. I almost hate carrying it around with me because people who peek at the cover usually comment on how disgusting the book must be. When they see Crichton's name they can't believe he wrote such a thing. Usually if I can take the time to explain the Beowulf connection they soften. Most people have never read Beowulf (I have) but know enough about the poem to recognize the similarities in "Eaters". I am sure Crichton is as familiar with the "Beowulf" poem as he is with Ibn Fadlan's manuscript of his time with the Vikings. I love the way he retells the classic story. His non-fiction approach makes the reader wish the story were more than an embellishment of the 1000 year old tale. I found myself looking for Ibn Fadlan's manuscript to try to read more about this facinating story. I highly recommend "Eaters of the Dead". If you love or even just interested in the "Beowulf" legend this book is excellent! Michael Crichton is a genius! Period history is his forte.

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Summary: excellent and imaginative
Review: Haven't gotten through it yet, but accidentally stumbled on the description at the end. It's apparently fiction, based on an actual manuscript by an Eastern historian named ibn Fadlan. To clear up some of the "wow, it's so similar to Beowulf" postings. If you read the followup that's in the paperback, YES IT IS, and it's supposed to be. Following the premise that many great tales are based on a set of real events, he set out to de-construct and reverse-engineer Beowulf. His first premise was to try work backwards. To take Beowulf and try to to remove the fiction until a realistic tale was left. This apparently seemed too difficult. He then decided to work from the start. To create a tale that could theoretically evolve into Beowulf. Michael Chrichton always does his research to spin a tale which (while embellished), contains many technically correct aspects to make it believeable and he has again done so. He uses an actual historian and creates a tale supposedly written by him. Not unlike Braveheart, he fills in the gaps and imagines things as they would have been with great believability!

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Summary: Simply the Best
Review: I thought "Eaters of the Dead", was a well written book. I felt as though talking through Ibn Fadlan and using his seriousness towards everything, did what Micheal wanted, gave it a scary aspect because it felt true.