Going Native: Ahmad begins to adopt Viking culture more and more, culminating with his sleeping with and helping strangle the girl chosen for a Viking Funeral. In the film version it's almost entirely omitted.

Spanning myth, history, and contemporary culture, a terrifying and illuminating excavation of the meaning of cannibalism. Later battles are staged more clearly – but with a nice foggy, fiery atmosphere — as arrows and torches fly and horses and men fall. The cave waterfall segment is the highlight; this is not a location you see in every movie. Vikings being Vikings Krebs, Thomas (19 August 2020). "The 13th Warrior: The Most Ultimate Action Viking Movie Ever!". Ultimate Action Movie Club. Lo mismo me la estoy cogiendo con papel de fumar. Empiezo este cuarto párrafo y aún no he hablado del libro en sí. Pero es que no me ensañaría así si el contenido del libro no fuera lo que es: una serie de lugares comunes que son el "a,b,c" de las historias de vikingos. Nada luce especialmente, en parte debido al estilo ramplón y aburrido del narrador, que cuenta toda la historia como quien escribe un albarán: dando fe de lo que vio, como fiel testimonio, sin adulterar sus vivencias con literatura. Crichton explica en su prologo -¡otra vez el maldito prologo!- esta elección tonal. Este es ante todo un documento histórico, escrito por un embajador a su soberano, en el que da cuenta de los usos, costumbres y políticas de sus vecinos norteños, con los que puede ser, o no, mantener relaciones comerciales fructíferas. Por eso el texto, pese a narrar una lucha contra una raza de hombres antediluvianos y caníbales, es así de soso: no es un cantar de gesta, sino una crónica. El problema de esta elección es que, si bien ganas en verosimilitud, sigue siendo un estilo igual de soso, aburrido, carente de épica y sentimiento, una enumeración de hechos descritos con la precisión de un contable. Ahmad ibn Fadlan is a court poet of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtadir of Baghdad until his amorous encounter with the wife of an influential noble gets him exiled as an "ambassador" to the Volga Bulgars. Traveling with his father's old friend, Melchisidek, his caravan is saved from Tatar raiders by the appearance of Norsemen. He takes refuge at their settlement on the Volga River, and communications are established through Melchisidek, and Herger, one of the Norsemen, happens to speak Latin. From Herger, both learn that the celebration being held by the Norsemen is in fact the precursor to a funeral for their recently-deceased king. Herger also introduces them to one of the king's sons, Buliwyf. Ahmad and Melchisidek witness a fight in which Buliwyf kills his brother in self-defense, which establishes Buliwyf as heir apparent. That is followed by the funeral of the dead king, who is traditionally cremated on a Viking ship, set adrift with a female slave who offers to sacrifice herself and accompany him to Valhalla, the Norse afterlife (or " heaven").A behind the scenes feature runs about 30 minutes and covers a lot of ground, including Boll’s involvement in the dis

Beowulf: One of the most important literary antecedents for "Eaters of the Dead" is the Old English epic poem "Beowulf." This long narrative poem, composed around the 8th or 9th century, recounts the heroic deeds of the warrior Beowulf as he battles the monster Grendel, Grendel's mother, and a dragon. Crichton's novel is in part a retelling of the Beowulf legend, with the protagonist, Ahmad ibn Fadlan, experiencing a similar journey and facing similar supernatural threats. Off with His Head!: The Wendol steal the heads of those they kill, including some of Buliwyf's men. Barbarian Tribe: The Northmen (from Ahmad's perspective, along with the many non-Muslim peoples he meets as an ambassador before them), and of course the Wendol, who are said to be Neanderthals. While Beowulf may have been written at any point between the 8th and 10th century, the earlier date is more generally agreed, and the story's Hrothgar is believed to have been a historical king in 6th century Denmark, much earlier than Ibn Fadlan. I heartily enjoyed this and was only put off by the ending which just ended. Seriously, be prepared because there is no ending. The book just stops and moves on with an appendix, a historical note and a bibliography. That was a bit annoying. I don't remember if Beowulf did the same.

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The critic from the New York Times called it "diverting but disappointing". [4] The Chicago Tribune said it was "funny, fascinating and informative". [5] Film adaptation [ edit ] One of the most beautiful women ever to grace the silver screen, Hedy Lamarr also designed a secret weapon against Nazi Germany.

Crichton, Michael. "A Factual Note on Eaters of the Dead" in Eaters of the Dead. New York: Harper, 2006. 245–52. ISBN 9780061782633. That said, I don’t know if one could follow multiple adventures of the Norsemen– part of the punch of the story is the temporary nature of the alliance between Fadlan and the Norsemen. If I remember, Chrichton left it open for further adventures of Ibn Fadlan. I like how the Northland is rather beautiful in the early going – where we see prairies and woods – and foreboding toward the end, as we venture into the caves of the enemy Wendol. It’s always a land of fog and horns – classic Viking stuff. Action over character building Adaptation Distillation: Of Beowulf, interwoven with the real-life writings of Ahmad ibn Fadlan. Besides heavy doses of Demythification, the story never leaves Hurot (Heorot) after the main characters get there, while the original Beowulf moves on to Buliwyf/Beowulf's homeland and describes his last battle as happening in his old age. Bears Are Bad News: The Wendol intentionally invoke this as part of their disguise, weapons and style of fighting.Directors Unceremoniously Fired Or Replaced On A Movie", The Playlist 22 March 2013 accessed 27 March 2013 No Ending: The manuscript, and thus the book, ends just before Ahmad ibn Fadlan is about to embark on a new adventure, practically in the middle of- 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 Varangians. The remainder is a retelling of Beowulf.

While the Northmen are gross enough (their morning wash water is shared, and for some reason everyone spits in it), they aren’t as disgustingly ungroomed as in the book. In “Eaters of the Dead,” we visit an almost otherworldly 10 th century; in “The 13 th Warrior” it feels closer to modern times.

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Lead characters Alen and Igor are the military half of a small group of survivors. They’re holed up with Gyno, a scientist desperately searching for a cure to the undead plague, and Cristina, Alen’s ex-girlfriend, who is infected, but doesn’t show any urge to eat people. Cristina is unique; not only is she seemingly immune to the infection, she’s one of the few women left alive. When Gyno needs more fresh specimens, he sends Alen and Igor into the infected zone to round up some new subjects and call in some favours with other survivors.