Eaters of the Dead Review

by Michael Crichton

Overall 5.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

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joyjoy
Houston, TX

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There's a reason for that title.

an avid reader

Pros

fascinating story, factual

Cons

brutal

FEB

2008

Some years back I was in a bookstore and saw a book entitled Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton. I was unfamiliar with his work and thought it was a book about mythology as the eaters of the dead judged souls in the Egyptian religion. I was even more intrigued when I realized the bulk of the book was a modern translation of an ancient manuscript. In the 10th century an Arabic man on a diplomatic mission traveled through the northern countries keeping a diary of his experiences. While it is all fascinating, the main part of the story is his experiences with the Geats. They were traders and one of the men spoke enough Arabic for the two of them to communicate. He was shocked by what he perceived as their brutality and backwardness, and in some cases he was right, but they were surprisingly sophisticated (remember this was a thousand years ago) and sometimes their knowledge was greater than his own. If you are familiar with the movie The Thirteenth Warrior you will be prepared for the brutality in this book. Some of the events also were romanticized in the poem Beowulf.
Unfortunately the manusript did not survive the millennium intact and, as a result, ends abuptly.

Eaters of the Dead is recommended by joyjoy

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Jo wrote on Feb 22, 2008 at 8:28PM

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He's one of my favorite writers:) Jo

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Key Information	Authors Michael Crichton
Book Editions	Book Editions Paperback291September 01, 2006Harpercollins6.75"(h) x 4.25"(w) x 0.75"(d), 0.35 lbs.9780060891565

Eaters of the Dead Review

by Michael Crichton

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