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  • Eaters of the Dead

  • Written by: Michael Crichton
  • Narrated by: Simon Vance
  • Length: 5 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (101 ratings)

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Eaters of the Dead

Written by: Michael Crichton
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Publisher's Summary

The year is A.D. 922. A refined Arab courtier, representative of the powerful Caliph of Baghdad, encounters a party of Viking warriors who are journeying to the barbaric North. He is appalled by their Viking customs - the wanton sexuality of their pale, angular women, their disregard for cleanliness...their cold-blooded human sacrifices. But it is not until they reach the depths of the Northland that the courtier learns the horrifying and inescapable truth: he has been enlisted by these savage, inscrutable warriors to help combat a terror that plagues them - a monstrosity that emerges under cover of night to slaughter the Vikings and devour their flesh....

Eaters of the Dead was adapted to the screen as The 13th Warrior, starring Antonio Banderas.

©1976 by Michael Crichton; Copyright renewed 2004 by CrichtonSun LLC. (P)2015 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

What listeners say about Eaters of the Dead

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Interesting story, iffy pacing.

It's written as an account of an Arab travelling into the land and company of Vikings, and then a less poetic telling of the story of Beowulf, and it is a rather compelling premise. I would say that either the travelling chapters are too long or the conflict chapters are too short. It could use less time reading as a historical account and more time engaging in the story.

Overall, it's not a big time investment and the writing is good enough and premise is interesting enough.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Lo, There do I see my Father.....

#Audible1 This book is the very story that i first saw as the movie, the 13th Warrior. I originally filmed in the wilds around where I currently live, this story attracted me as it was one of the first movies I had seen on the Norse. The movie led me to the book and the book made me a lifelong fan of it. This book is a great story by Michael Crichton and because of the way its written and in the end, the reveal of why it was written, makes it all that much better when you realize what the story is all about

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

not my kind of book

For me, this was awful. I wanted a story with dialogue, not some bits from a manuscript. it was like watching a documentary while wearing 2 eyepatches. No thanks. Audible won't allow a return for some reason so I WASTED a credit on what I deem to be rubbish. After 1 hour I had to let it go and shut it off.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Convincing

Very well narrated. Makes you sincerely believe that this was a historical account due to the different narrators as well as the appendix. Good stuff. If you've seen the 13th warrior you will also enjoy this. if you haven't, go watch it!!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well worth the read

A lot of the other reviews mention how the novel is hard to get through where it has an almost "textbook style" of writing, but I assure you it's worthy your attention!
If you've ever seen the Antonio Banderas adaptation "The 13th Warrior" you already kinda know what you're in for; the "real" story behind Beowulf

Although some parts of the novel kinda come off as text book type learning, it's only when they are giving a bit of an exposition dump as to the history of a given people, for example.

If you're a fan of the film adaptation, Beowulf, or even just interested in the whole Viking culture; this short novel might well be worth your time! Simon Vance knocks it out of the park, but that's kinda given with a narrator as esteemed as Vance. Like the dude is a legend fro a reason...

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I liked the movie

This novel blows it away, I especially liked how it felt like a historical journey that was being narrated to me.

I knew it was fiction, but towards the end I was (and still am) convinced of situations like this actually occurring.

Overall, cool story.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent except for the sex assaults

it was a story for its age and an excellent one as shown in The 13th Warrior movie adaptation.

This is a fantastic read for anyone wanting descriptions of a D&D-like adventuring party traveling through the wilderness and several encounters of exciting violence.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

13th warrior!

awesome book! quick and fun read, same but different from the movie 13th warrior. jea

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

found it long and boring

I usually love Crichton's books but this was slow and boring. Not my kind of book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Deep and beautiful

A wonderful perspective on a unique period in history. The narrator does a wonderful job brining the characters to life! #audible1

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  • Jim "The Impatient"
  • 2017-04-15

FEAR HAS A WHITE MOUTH

BY TRICKERY, DECEIT
I suppose I should KEEP MY TEETH TOGETHER, but it is something that bothered me the first time I read it and still bothers me in this second reading. Crichton tries to convince the reader that he is writing a factual novel based on some long lost manuscripts of a long ago adventurer. The book is filled with footnotes and references to non existence texts. He does come forward with the truth at the end of the book and tries to explain why he did it. I suppose it was to warn us, to not believe everything we hear and to check out references for their authenticity. All I know is, that I felt like he was making fun of me. Once I got over that, I could not deny that this is a exciting, well written, sort of fantastical, sort of historical story and The 13th Warrior is one of my favorite movies.

STRANGE THINGS CEASE TO BE STRANGE UPON REPETITION
Some my think my first paragraph is a spoiler, but I believe if you know ahead of time, you will enjoy the book better and not have that sick feeling at the end of being duked. If you liked the movie you will love this book. If you have not seen the movie, but like books with high adventure, macho Vikings, historical aspects, Dragons, Witches, sword play and Neanderthals among others than you too, will love this book.

Simon Vance was the perfect fit for this book.

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92 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Clefspear
  • 2018-05-06

Go in blind

Seriously. Don’t google this book. Don’t look at reviews or the Wikipedia page. Don’t even read the box blurb. Go in as cold as you can, and just enjoy the experience of gradually realizing exactly what in the blue heck you’re listening to.

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75 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Amazon Customer
  • 2017-01-07

Time well spent

I've always enjoyed the movie the 13th warrior, but this is one of those situations where the book manages to squeeze out so much more...as they usually do.

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44 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • Zap Smith
  • 2018-08-30

Dear god the footnotes

I really wanted to like this book. I love the movie John Frankenheimer made, 13th Warrior, and expected this would be at least somewhat like that. I guess in a very small way, it is. The plot roughly follows that of the movie, although the book reads more like a graduate student's thesis about the texts on which the story is based. Essentially, the book while fiction is written to appear as a nonfiction translation (?) of an ancient Arabic text. If it was just the story, that would have been enough. Simon Vance is a great narrator and brings a lot of gravitas to anything he chooses to read. But Crichton can't help but be Crichton. Since he doesn't have any computers in 900 A.D. to explain for pages upon pages about how they work, he instead includes copious footnotes that unfortunately Simon Vance has to read. Imagine how annoying that is to read then multiply times 100 when you are trying to stick with the story and get interrupted every two minutes by a page and a half of sources and footnotes. It basically takes the place of the main problem with almost every single book by Michael Crichton: At some point he has to show off how much he knows about a technical subject as if the reader either a) knows nothing about it or b) begging to be thrown off course in the middle of a story. Just go watch 13th Warrior — it's way better and takes about a third of the time to get through.

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35 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Jesse
  • 2019-08-22

Just listen. Don’t listen to the negativity.

Lo, There do I see my Father, and
Lo, there do I see my Mother, and
Lo, There do I see my Brothers and my Sisters and
Lo, There do I see my people back to the begining, and
Lo they do call to me, and
bid me take my place among them in the halls of Valhalla,
Where the brave will live forever.

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28 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • W Perry Hall
  • 2015-11-27

a/k/a 'The 13th Warrior'


The full name of this 1976 novel was "Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in AD 922." After being made into a movie under the title, *The 13th Warrior,* the book was republished for a time under that name.

The idea for the book came after Crichton heard his pal giving a lecture including BEOWULF as among the "Bores of Literature."

The book is basically told as a edited translation of the account written by Ibn Fadlan, a Persian ambassador conscripted by a group of Vikings (probably from Sweden) as the 13th warrior in a hero's quest to save a northern kingdom from a group of "mist monsters" called "wendol," a group of vicious savages, perhaps surviving Neanderthals, who wear bear skins in battle. After battling with the wendol (probably based, in part, on Grendel since Crichton notes in an appendix that the book is based partly on the myth of Beowulf), they must fight Grendel's mother.

I was somewhat disappointed by the lethargic lulls and the story's underdevelopment. Yet, at times, the action sequences were quite thrilling. As usual, Crichton's research was impeccable and provided an education on the Vikings and a more modernized account of Beowulf. If you enjoyed Beowulf or you're a Viking connoisseur, you should like this relatively inexpensive book.

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28 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Stacey
  • 2015-11-25

I am not a Crichton Fan and I don't know why!

First off, I am not a Michael Crichton fan. Yet I have always loved this story. I came across the audio version of this when there were audiotapes and a walkman. For the longest time, I have tried to find this again on audio, and now it has been reissued. I am so happy!

This novel, set in the 10th century, is supposed to be the “scientific accounting” of Ibn Fadlan, a disgraced courtier. There are three voices in the narration although we only see two. First we have the editor, who discusses the background of the story. Second, we have the narrator, Ibn Fadlan, himself. Yet, we are also visited by the inconsistencies of the “translation” by other scholars. This is all done so seamlessly, that it isn’t clear unless you are listening for it. BTW, I believe this was done on purpose by Michael Crichton to prove a literary argument that people can read/hear a telling of Beowulf and not be bored. (I happen to agree with Crichton)

There are so many times that Ibn says, “I have seen with my own eyes…” This lends credibility to the narration because at the beginning we see him as this judgmental, snobbish man who is content to do his job by the letter of the law and report facts. His language in the beginning is derogatory as he describes the horrific habits of the Norsemen. It is clear to the reader that Ibn has no desire to get in with this group. Yet, he is forced to do just that during a particular visit with the Norse when the new King embarks on a mission to kill a tribe of Animals who have supernatural skills. At this meeting, an oracle determines that instead of twelve warriors, if this quest is to be successful, they need 13 warriors. Ibn gets enlisted as the thirteenth warrior.

We follow his journey from staunch follower of his customs to Ibn’s transformation into a friend who both honors and respects other customs. As he learns the language and pushes the boundaries, he finds fellowship, camaraderie, and even love in places he never thought he would know.

This is a short book, but to me, worth a credit. It is well crafted and well executed. It isn’t easy to do Beowulf justice and make it interesting in the modern context, but Crichton has done it. I loved Beowulf and I love the retelling of this by Crichton. Now, if only I could get my head out of bottom to become a true fan of his. Seriously, what is wrong with me????

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21 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Thomas J. Lawrence Jr.
  • 2018-08-01

One of my favorite Crichton books.

Good flow and good performance. I thought it came alive well in this audio version.

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20 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • SandL
  • 2018-03-25

Half story, half textbook

Good choice for movie, because they could trim it down without losing much. The heart of the story is excellent. Well written and well read. Crichton's research is thorough. However, until the story actually gets going it's like a lecture or a textbook. I found my attention drifting with all the historical reference. A lot of blah blah blah. Once into the story it was great with a few interruptions for more references. I was tempted to skip the first 3 chapters and all the references at the end.

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11 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • R. Armstrong
  • 2019-04-24

If you like his novels, you’ll enjoy this

Like most MC novels, this short retelling of Beowulf is masterfully written, suspenseful and ultimately unsatisfying. Even in a story as already familiar as this one, I was left aching for closure, for the rest of the story. He was the ultimate story teller and perfect for serial TV because he always left the door open for a “sequel.” But when you know that will never come, it can be frustrating.

But still, I crave reading his books!

His later books are filled with terrible language and vulgarities - I stopped reading them when that started, so I was glad to get back to an old one like this which is clean and fascinating - If mildly irritating for readers who like stories to have an ending.

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9 people found this helpful

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  • Nicolas Boudier
  • 2021-03-05

a short story

even if this book is relatively good, I prefer the adaptation made by McTierman with Anthonio Banderas.

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