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The Saga of Beowulf
This original "Complete Edition" contains both Part The Land of Death & Shadow and Part The Land of Ice & Fire , each now available as separate books in both print and Kindle editions.
"The Saga of Beowulf" is the first complete novelization of the epic 10th century poem Beowulf , chronicling the rise of the emerging Nordic nations, the tragic blood-feuds of their clans, epic battles with mythological creatures in an ancient heroic age, and the final, futile struggle of one man against the will of Fate that made of him a Legend.
"Breathtaking in scope and relentless in pace," the story follows the young Norse warrior Beowulf as he embarks upon a fateful quest for vengeance against the creature that slew his father, setting in motion a sequence of events that will bring about the downfall of a nation, all the while fleeing from the woman he has sworn to love. Steeped in Norse mythology and lore, and based on extensive historical research, the saga unfolds across the frozen fields of Sweden and the fetid fens of Denmark, ranging from the rocky heights of Geatland to the sprawling battlefields of ancient France.
"I wanted to tell the story in its entirety, and in the original setting of 6th century pagan Scandinavia," says author R. Scot Johns. "It had never been done before in its full scope, with both the historical and mythological elements intact. It took me ten years, so now I know why."
"An epic adventure 1500 years in the making," this classic tale now comes to life once more in "a bold new retelling" for a modern audience.
"The Saga of Beowulf" is the first complete novelization of the epic 10th century poem Beowulf , chronicling the rise of the emerging Nordic nations, the tragic blood-feuds of their clans, epic battles with mythological creatures in an ancient heroic age, and the final, futile struggle of one man against the will of Fate that made of him a Legend.
"Breathtaking in scope and relentless in pace," the story follows the young Norse warrior Beowulf as he embarks upon a fateful quest for vengeance against the creature that slew his father, setting in motion a sequence of events that will bring about the downfall of a nation, all the while fleeing from the woman he has sworn to love. Steeped in Norse mythology and lore, and based on extensive historical research, the saga unfolds across the frozen fields of Sweden and the fetid fens of Denmark, ranging from the rocky heights of Geatland to the sprawling battlefields of ancient France.
"I wanted to tell the story in its entirety, and in the original setting of 6th century pagan Scandinavia," says author R. Scot Johns. "It had never been done before in its full scope, with both the historical and mythological elements intact. It took me ten years, so now I know why."
"An epic adventure 1500 years in the making," this classic tale now comes to life once more in "a bold new retelling" for a modern audience.
640 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2008
8 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
R. Scot Johns
7 books12 followersR. Scot Johns is the author of "I: A Sequel to Ayn Rand's Anthem" and "The Saga of Beowulf," an award-winning 640-page historical fantasy novelization of the epic Old English poem Beowulf. A life-long student of ancient and medieval literature with an enduring fascination for fantasy fiction and mythology, he has given lectures on such topics as the historical King Arthur and the construction of Stonehenge.
An early adopter of digital media, he has also written the top-rated ebook formatting manual "How to Make Kindle Comics & Children's Books" and blogs sporadically on the topic. His website contains free tutorials and templates, as well as a host of other resources.
He lives in Boise, Idaho, and works for Books Are Fun, a distributor of books to schools.
An early adopter of digital media, he has also written the top-rated ebook formatting manual "How to Make Kindle Comics & Children's Books" and blogs sporadically on the topic. His website contains free tutorials and templates, as well as a host of other resources.
He lives in Boise, Idaho, and works for Books Are Fun, a distributor of books to schools.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 24, 2011
It would be hard to find anyone in the English speaking world who has never heard of Beowulf. Most could tell you he was the hero of "some old poem" who killed "that monster, Grendel." Some younger people might have seen the comic book-like movie flaunting its digitalized special effects, but most of the population will have had to have read parts of it in school, in translation.
Not many will remember why they had to read it in school, but there's a good reason: it's the first identifiable work of literature written in English. The problem is it must be read in translation (unless one is a graduate student in English, perhaps) because it was the language spoken when part of the Germanic languages split off and became modern English. We call that founding language Anglo-Saxon, or Old English. Supposedly, the verses in which the Beowulf story is told constitute very powerful poetry, but very few are able to appreciate it today. It takes work to pick out a single understandable word in two or three lines of verse, and a semester or two of college-level study to get comfortable with.
The story itself, of the hero Beowulf saving a neighboring tribe of Danes from the horrible Grendel, and later from his equally horrible mother, ultimately becoming king of his own tribe, the Geats, and dying while saving them from a ferocious fire dragon, is a dramatic one. But in addition to the language problem, the tale is made even harder to appreciate by virtue of apparently being written down by two different people hundreds of years after Beowulf lived, by the fragments of the manuscript which have disappeared, and by its being compressed possibly for purposes of recitation.
All this is by way of saying that there is a terrific story here, but how to make it accessible to today's typical readers? Author R. Scot Johns has the answer: spend ten years researching the poem and the historical documents of the era, and weave it all into a novel, a novel of 630 pages. The result of this impressive scholarship is a labor of love: an astoundingly readable, satisfyingly meaty historical tale of fierce battles, of intricate clan ties and loyalty, of Norse folklore, and of characters who develop over time to stand as distinct personalities that were only dimly glimpsed in the ancient version.
As to how Mr. Johns managed all this, he has a website (fantasycastlebooks.com) with extensive and interesting author's notes laying out the documents and the manner of stitching them into one continuous narrative. The book itself has glossaries of names and places, and a map of ancient Scandanavia, but these are helpful only when needed and do not intrude on the continuity of the story. There are no footnotes, for example.
One might reasonably ask, "What possible prose style would suit ancient poetry rendered into a modern novel?" Mr. John's solution seems to be rather a hybrid: in places he uses what feels like Old Norse hyperbole, and in others a more sensitively observed, human-scaled style. Since the original story featured heroic deeds of strong, brave men with large swords, chain mail, and horns on their helmets fighting monsters with mythic abilities, exaggeration is only fitting, and faithful to the original. In other places, when warranted, the style eases into a more comfortable, conventional narrative, with few flights of bellicose elaboration. It retains the feel of an ancient story, yet can be enjoyed comfortably and without rescanning the lines.
As a reviewer of books, I'm inclined to want to march right through a text. At the same time, I found myself enjoying the story and wishing to slow down and immerse myself in it. Torn between these two desires, I noted that Grendel and his mother had been dealt with by the halfway point. What, I asked myself, could possibly fill the rest of the pages?
To my surprise, I found I enjoyed the second half even more than the first, with accounts of battles with normal humans (well, ancient Swedes, anyway), an ill-advised raid into Frankish territory, sea voyages, Frankish politics and military maneuvers, the puzzle of Roman ruins, struggles over kingly succession and tribal politics, courtship, and more small doses of mythology: stone-eating trolls, fearsome dwarfs, and, overseeing all, the three Fates of Norse mythology, spinning out the threads of lives, measuring and cutting them when the time comes. It's all cleanly written and edited, a few errant apostrophes notwithstanding.
Mr. Johns' version of Beowulf is a terrific bargain at its current selling price. It should appeal to, and delight, those who like the original poem, those who enjoy the sword and sorcerer/dungeons and dragons type of yarn, lovers of historical fiction, and the many readers who are tired of the same old formulas and wish for something completely different. It would be an excellent choice to read the summer before signing up for an Old English course. If only I had had it back then!
Not many will remember why they had to read it in school, but there's a good reason: it's the first identifiable work of literature written in English. The problem is it must be read in translation (unless one is a graduate student in English, perhaps) because it was the language spoken when part of the Germanic languages split off and became modern English. We call that founding language Anglo-Saxon, or Old English. Supposedly, the verses in which the Beowulf story is told constitute very powerful poetry, but very few are able to appreciate it today. It takes work to pick out a single understandable word in two or three lines of verse, and a semester or two of college-level study to get comfortable with.
The story itself, of the hero Beowulf saving a neighboring tribe of Danes from the horrible Grendel, and later from his equally horrible mother, ultimately becoming king of his own tribe, the Geats, and dying while saving them from a ferocious fire dragon, is a dramatic one. But in addition to the language problem, the tale is made even harder to appreciate by virtue of apparently being written down by two different people hundreds of years after Beowulf lived, by the fragments of the manuscript which have disappeared, and by its being compressed possibly for purposes of recitation.
All this is by way of saying that there is a terrific story here, but how to make it accessible to today's typical readers? Author R. Scot Johns has the answer: spend ten years researching the poem and the historical documents of the era, and weave it all into a novel, a novel of 630 pages. The result of this impressive scholarship is a labor of love: an astoundingly readable, satisfyingly meaty historical tale of fierce battles, of intricate clan ties and loyalty, of Norse folklore, and of characters who develop over time to stand as distinct personalities that were only dimly glimpsed in the ancient version.
As to how Mr. Johns managed all this, he has a website (fantasycastlebooks.com) with extensive and interesting author's notes laying out the documents and the manner of stitching them into one continuous narrative. The book itself has glossaries of names and places, and a map of ancient Scandanavia, but these are helpful only when needed and do not intrude on the continuity of the story. There are no footnotes, for example.
One might reasonably ask, "What possible prose style would suit ancient poetry rendered into a modern novel?" Mr. John's solution seems to be rather a hybrid: in places he uses what feels like Old Norse hyperbole, and in others a more sensitively observed, human-scaled style. Since the original story featured heroic deeds of strong, brave men with large swords, chain mail, and horns on their helmets fighting monsters with mythic abilities, exaggeration is only fitting, and faithful to the original. In other places, when warranted, the style eases into a more comfortable, conventional narrative, with few flights of bellicose elaboration. It retains the feel of an ancient story, yet can be enjoyed comfortably and without rescanning the lines.
As a reviewer of books, I'm inclined to want to march right through a text. At the same time, I found myself enjoying the story and wishing to slow down and immerse myself in it. Torn between these two desires, I noted that Grendel and his mother had been dealt with by the halfway point. What, I asked myself, could possibly fill the rest of the pages?
To my surprise, I found I enjoyed the second half even more than the first, with accounts of battles with normal humans (well, ancient Swedes, anyway), an ill-advised raid into Frankish territory, sea voyages, Frankish politics and military maneuvers, the puzzle of Roman ruins, struggles over kingly succession and tribal politics, courtship, and more small doses of mythology: stone-eating trolls, fearsome dwarfs, and, overseeing all, the three Fates of Norse mythology, spinning out the threads of lives, measuring and cutting them when the time comes. It's all cleanly written and edited, a few errant apostrophes notwithstanding.
Mr. Johns' version of Beowulf is a terrific bargain at its current selling price. It should appeal to, and delight, those who like the original poem, those who enjoy the sword and sorcerer/dungeons and dragons type of yarn, lovers of historical fiction, and the many readers who are tired of the same old formulas and wish for something completely different. It would be an excellent choice to read the summer before signing up for an Old English course. If only I had had it back then!
July 11, 2017
"By the shores of Gitche Gumme, of the shining big sea water ..." Whoops, sorry, wrong poem.
More seriously, this is a fine prose rendering of the old, old, old English poem, Beowulf, written in English so ancient that only scholars recognize it as such. "Hwaet we Gar-Dena in gear-dagum ..." indeed!
There are poetic translations available, this isn't one. This is a prose rendering that relates to the poem the way the average movie adaptation of a novel relates to the original book. R. Scot Johns just sort of took the original material, did a little research, and ran with the topic.
And as long as you're not one to be put off by blood and gore—and why would you be reading this if you were?—it's a fun look at the original myth and the Nordic warrior culture around the time that the western portion of the Roman Empire had fallen.
It did take me a while to get into Johns's prose style, Beowulf and this rag-tag crew had arrived at the hall cursed by the monster Grendel before the story began to flow for me. But after that, I found the novel engrossing. One thing that made my reading experience easier was keeping a few pages of character names and functions on pieces of paper next to me. There is a glossary of characters at the end of the book but the constant flipping back and forth got tedious quickly and a quick glance at my brief notes often did the trick. There are a lot of people to keep track of and the names often seem similar to those not familiar with them. And besides, this way I could group them by clan.
And The Saga of Beowulf is a long novel, more than 600 pages. If you're just looking for the Beowulf experience without the early English, I have the Seamus Heaney verse translation in 212 pages of side-by-side old English and modern English, so just 106 pages.
More seriously, this is a fine prose rendering of the old, old, old English poem, Beowulf, written in English so ancient that only scholars recognize it as such. "Hwaet we Gar-Dena in gear-dagum ..." indeed!
There are poetic translations available, this isn't one. This is a prose rendering that relates to the poem the way the average movie adaptation of a novel relates to the original book. R. Scot Johns just sort of took the original material, did a little research, and ran with the topic.
And as long as you're not one to be put off by blood and gore—and why would you be reading this if you were?—it's a fun look at the original myth and the Nordic warrior culture around the time that the western portion of the Roman Empire had fallen.
It did take me a while to get into Johns's prose style, Beowulf and this rag-tag crew had arrived at the hall cursed by the monster Grendel before the story began to flow for me. But after that, I found the novel engrossing. One thing that made my reading experience easier was keeping a few pages of character names and functions on pieces of paper next to me. There is a glossary of characters at the end of the book but the constant flipping back and forth got tedious quickly and a quick glance at my brief notes often did the trick. There are a lot of people to keep track of and the names often seem similar to those not familiar with them. And besides, this way I could group them by clan.
And The Saga of Beowulf is a long novel, more than 600 pages. If you're just looking for the Beowulf experience without the early English, I have the Seamus Heaney verse translation in 212 pages of side-by-side old English and modern English, so just 106 pages.
May 18, 2012
I studied Beowulf at university and have loved the poem ever since. I have read many versions of this poem ranging from Rosemary Sutcliffe's excellent children's retelling, entitled Dragonslayer, through many scholarly editions, and verse translations, such as Heaney's, to this behemoth. What I liked most about this book was the way Scot Johns fleshed out all the background stories throwing light on episodes that get only a passing reference in the original. For those who love the original, it is a 'must read', however, if you are new to Beowulf, it might be a good idea to start with a simpler, shorter retelling. For that, I would recommend Dragonslayer. Though written for children, it is equally enjoyable by adults.
February 28, 2011
I've never read the poem Beowulf. When I saw this available for Kindle for just $2.99 and 5-star reviews, I thought it would be a perfect time to get the scoop in the tale. I'm glad I did.
While this doesn't replace reading the classic poem, it is a fantastic story. It's well written, truly engrossing and just excellent. At the end of the book, the author gives some info on where he has taken license and deviated from the original. I have to say, I actually want to try my hand at reading the thing now!
Excellent book; highly recommended!
While this doesn't replace reading the classic poem, it is a fantastic story. It's well written, truly engrossing and just excellent. At the end of the book, the author gives some info on where he has taken license and deviated from the original. I have to say, I actually want to try my hand at reading the thing now!
Excellent book; highly recommended!
March 4, 2009
This book is awesome. I can picture everything the author says. It's a great book.
August 1, 2011
Johns gets points for this attempt at a tribute to a great work--detailing and modernizing it into a novel--but next time I'll stick with the real thing.
July 19, 2010
The Saga of Beowulf is an epic tale with trolls, dwarves, dragons, ogres, revenge, true love, epic battles, heroes, magic, curses and everything else you need and want in a true epic. Though it was slow going at first. I was enjoying the story but there are a lot of people, lots of them with similar names, it takes place in several different places, has flashbacks and complex relationships between the characters. There is a lot going on. It was a while before I could keep track of it all to the point where I was just reading the story instead of working out who everyone was. There is a list of proper names in the back that I found very helpful before I had all the names set because it has a sentence or two about who they are. It also has the pronunciation of all the names which was helpful too. A lot of the book is about fights and battles which are often described in bloody, gory detail. But it isn’t all about violence. The characters are well developed and have depth. You get to know them by seeing their backgrounds and personal struggles. So it is also about love of family, friends and country and internal conflict. It is about concepts like bravery, cowardice, strength and honor. The writing is almost lyrical and although I thought it was out of place among people I thought were mostly illiterate when Beowulf said someone had signed their own death warrant, the style of writing and the wording is very fitting to the tale. It somehow makes the tale grander in some way and you sit in rapt attention as the larger than life heroes and their monster infested world comes to life. It tells the entire story of Beowulf’s life and at 640 pages is a long story and not a light read. You have to be willing to put the time in. But if you have any interest in Beowulf or just enjoy good adventure stories I think the time spent will be well rewarded.
April 23, 2009
I have now had this book FOREVER! And finally made it through all 600+ pages. Did it take me this long because it was slow or boring? Not at all! It took me that long because it was simply too big to fit in my purse.
Beowulf has long been one of my favorite stories of all time. In eighth grade we had to read the original poem in old English. Even though the language made me want to cry, I still loved the story. I have read and re-read various translations, and stylizations of the tale over the years. There is nothing more thrilling to me then following Beowulf and his men as they face the beast Grendel, then have to do battle with the Sea Witch and finally at the end of his life, to do battle with the Dragon. But in this book there is so much more to the story, so many little gaps filled in, more back story and so much more life to it.
This book, though huge and daunting to look at - is FANTASTIC. If you have ever wanted to read Beowulf, but hated the idea of ancient English verse - THIS is the book you need to read. Honest to the source material, and simple to read and comprehend without a translation key. Even if you love the tale in verse, you should still pick up a copy of this book and re-read it, the story and the character are given a whole new life. Beowulf becomes what we imagined he was between the lines of the old poem.
I have one complaint - and it should give you an idea of how much I love this book - The cover does not do it justice. This book should at least have a faux-leather cover, an epic tale like this deserves better then the 1980's Dungeons and Dragons looking cover it currently has. I highly recommend this book to everyone!
Beowulf has long been one of my favorite stories of all time. In eighth grade we had to read the original poem in old English. Even though the language made me want to cry, I still loved the story. I have read and re-read various translations, and stylizations of the tale over the years. There is nothing more thrilling to me then following Beowulf and his men as they face the beast Grendel, then have to do battle with the Sea Witch and finally at the end of his life, to do battle with the Dragon. But in this book there is so much more to the story, so many little gaps filled in, more back story and so much more life to it.
This book, though huge and daunting to look at - is FANTASTIC. If you have ever wanted to read Beowulf, but hated the idea of ancient English verse - THIS is the book you need to read. Honest to the source material, and simple to read and comprehend without a translation key. Even if you love the tale in verse, you should still pick up a copy of this book and re-read it, the story and the character are given a whole new life. Beowulf becomes what we imagined he was between the lines of the old poem.
I have one complaint - and it should give you an idea of how much I love this book - The cover does not do it justice. This book should at least have a faux-leather cover, an epic tale like this deserves better then the 1980's Dungeons and Dragons looking cover it currently has. I highly recommend this book to everyone!
April 1, 2012
I really wanted to become absorbed in this book but too often I found myself being jerked back out of the story by details that just didn't sit very well with the setting or the period.
From book two we can be sure that the author has set the book in time in the early Merovingian period; that is to say the early 6th century. This makes sense because the only historical reference to a character from the poem (Hygelac) is from this time and location. From this we should know that Rome is now an Ostrogothic kingdom as well as being the home of the Catholic Church and that the Roman Empire is a memory of the oldest grandparents. We know that the English settlement of Britain is well under way, with the anecdotal understanding that their expansion had been halted by British resistance.
So against this we have tales of gladiatorial games and even a city on the frontier that maintains a combat tradition that against all logic maintains these artificial combat styles. We rightly hear about Christianity being the religion in the successor states. We have Hengest and Horsa at Heorot when they are named by Bede as the first kings of an English state in about AD450 (if you read the Adventus Saxonum story as it is popularly received) and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records their deaths before the end of the 5th century.
OK, historical gripes aside it is a well constructed story and there were enjoyable sequences in there - my favourite part was probably between the death of Hygelac and the beginning of the dragon sequence - the politics was believable and the reactions of people to the situation understandable.
From book two we can be sure that the author has set the book in time in the early Merovingian period; that is to say the early 6th century. This makes sense because the only historical reference to a character from the poem (Hygelac) is from this time and location. From this we should know that Rome is now an Ostrogothic kingdom as well as being the home of the Catholic Church and that the Roman Empire is a memory of the oldest grandparents. We know that the English settlement of Britain is well under way, with the anecdotal understanding that their expansion had been halted by British resistance.
So against this we have tales of gladiatorial games and even a city on the frontier that maintains a combat tradition that against all logic maintains these artificial combat styles. We rightly hear about Christianity being the religion in the successor states. We have Hengest and Horsa at Heorot when they are named by Bede as the first kings of an English state in about AD450 (if you read the Adventus Saxonum story as it is popularly received) and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records their deaths before the end of the 5th century.
OK, historical gripes aside it is a well constructed story and there were enjoyable sequences in there - my favourite part was probably between the death of Hygelac and the beginning of the dragon sequence - the politics was believable and the reactions of people to the situation understandable.
April 6, 2013
This is an absolutely wonderful book. I was sorry to come to the end of this one. The author appears to have done his research very well. It's a gripping read. A wonderful Norse Saga brought to life, I would highly recommend it. This definitely is going to be high on my list of favourites. To the author I say, "Bravo!"
October 18, 2012
Pretty good telling of the story. My only complaint is it ends entirely too quickly. Our hero isn't given enough time to be happy. But the author does explain his reason for this in the afterword.
February 20, 2015
An excellent novelization of the epic Old English poem. A fascinating read.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews