The 13th Warrior
(Eaters of the Dead)
Monika says:
In the year 922 A. D. Ibn Fadlan, the ambassador of the calif of
Bagdad, is kidnapped on his way to the king of Bulgaria by a gang of
norsemen who abduct him to their country and force him to help them
fight the mythical mist monsters and the glow worm dragon. Ibn Fadlan,
who astonishes the norsemen with his ability to "paint sounds"
will later write down his adventures.
What’s special about this novel is the document it’s based on,
the historical manuscript of Ibn Fadlan. Crichton included passages from
the diary in his ficticious story.The descriptions of the barbaric
customs of the norsemen in the beginning of the book are eye-witness
reports of the arab traveller, the rest is more or less a free
re-telling of the Beowolf legend that Crichton mixed into his story
although the Beowolf manuscript is about 200 years older than the arab
tale. Strange as this may sound, he succeeded.
The parallels are obvious and the norse leader’s name Buliwyf is
not the only one. King Rothgar, who enlisted Beowolf’s help against
the monster Grendel, puts in an appearance. Grendel and the dragon
Beowolf fights against are here joined to form just one threat, the
man-like mist monsters who attack unexpectedly and bring death and
destruction.
The story is told in first person to keep up the illusion of a
historical document. That is also the reason for the dated style of the
novel that takes some getting used to if you’ve read several of
Crichton’s other books. To add to the confusion the author added
footnotes as if the text was an authentic document. This devious
maneuver is very much to Crichton’s taste.
THE 13TH WARRIOR is no typical Crichton. With his narrative he
creates a special atmosphere that contributes to the realism of the
book. To describe the mist monsters as a surviving tribe of Neanderthal
Men was an interesting twist. With this unusual book Crichton shows a
wider range as a writer than many of his critics assumed. |
