Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan, Relating His Experiences With the Northmen in A.d. 922, Crichton, Michael. Published by Alfred A Knopf, 1976. First Edition Stated. An unusual copy with white boards. corners blind stamped in jagged teeth motif and without spine titles. Jacket is clipped but volume indicates no indication of a book club edition. Front flap of jacket is glued on with partial laminating. Light spine slant, rubbing to board edges. Contents are clean without markings, tears or folds. In very good condition.
It is 922 A.D. The refined Arab courtier Ibn Fadlan is accompanying a party of Viking warriors back to the north. Fadlan belatedly discovers that his job is to combat the unspeakable horrors in the night that come to slaughter the Vikings.
Crichton notes 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. The novel was adapted into a 1999 film titles The 13th Warrior.
