Having read this book based on its ravenous reviews, I feel cheated and slightly suspicious about the general population's sense of humour. Tom Holt has been compared to Terry Pratchett, but his fantasy creatures set on a contemporary setting could not be any less funny than Pratchett's. The awoken Vikings that rise from their tomb in modern-day Scotland to fight and defeat their nemesis once and for all speak perfect English (courtesy of a spell), catch up on the last 1500 years of history after a quick chat with the archeologist who found them and don't blink an eye when they see advanced technology (magic/technology are two sides of the same coin to them). Having read the brief, I expected plenty of laughs, but frustratingly, Holt manages to waste all the potential of his own idea. To top it off, the prose and pace are terrible. Most of the action happens "off-screen". Holt has the annoying habit of switching between events in a most confusing manner (there's a useless sub-plot that takes place in Scotland with half of the Viking team that has absolutely no impact to the main plot) only to come back a few paragraphs later and describe in third-person what happened in the meantime. Ridiculous.Tom Holt obviously knows his way around old Viking myths and is a fan of that period, but the way he throws his references around would make you believe he copy-pasted them from Wikipedia. An anticlimactic final battle and a long-running epilogue, where everyone says goodbye to everyone else at least three times and they talk about Valhalla, are the final nails in the coffin that is "Who's Afraid of Beowulf".
This is the first book I've read by this author, but I find the descriptions of his work to be up my alley, so I doubt it will be the last. That said, while it was cute, it wasn't as funny as it could have been. I think a little more development could have helped, perhaps particularly in terms of the villain, but also as far as differentiating the different members of the Viking band. Still, there were enough good jokes and likeable enough characters to make it a worthwhile read. The plot involves an archaeologist who discovers a ship full of living Vikings in a ship beneath a Scottish village, and joins them on their quest to thwart an evil sorcerer who now runs a successful business. There are also two energy spirits who spend most of their time playing games, and a wolf turned into a man by the sorcerer. Despite the title, Beowulf doesn't feature in it and is only mentioned in passing, although sagas in general are significant to the plot. Pretty good read, but like I suggested, it felt a little slight for such an epic idea.
What do You think about Who's Afraid Of Beowulf? (1996)?
There were lots of things that I enjoyed about this book - the concept, the mythology, much of the humour. But this is not the laugh-out-loud humour of Terry Pratchett, or the sharp wit of Jasper Fforde, and, as a result (perhaps of taste?), let this down. Further let-downs were the 2D 'depth' of the characters and the thinness of the plot - it often felt that there were more details missing and it lacked the scope that it promised. However, this didn't prevent it from being an enjoying read, and hasn't put me off more Tom Holt in the future.
—Hannah Snell
Got to say I'm glad I read Holt's "Flying Dutch" before I read this one, or I might not have continued. I know a lot of people when they talk Tom Holt, they talk Beowulf. I just didn't see it. The story wasn't fully developed in any respect and the characters, well, I had a hard time telling the Vikings apart. Holt handles the fish-out-of-water story in Dutch a lot better than he does in Beowulf as well.I recommend reading both books, however, especially if you're a writer -- look at how Holt handles character development, helps the reader develop a connection and empathy with his characters and how he handles dialogue in each book, and you'll see how a writer can make a big difference in thinking things out better.
—MisterFweem
Read this on Dan's recommendation but my husband says he's read it at least twice. I enjoyed the way King Hrolf picked up the modern situation and technologies so that there was a minimum of having to introduce the theory and result of various inventions and the acceptance by the heroes of whatever decisions the king made meant that they just followed along without explanations too. The introduction of most of the board and card games we play as if they were all one game was good and I liked the two chthonic spirits, one the reverse (the negative?) of the other. Someone commented that the plot isn't completely realized and I think I have to agree that the whole thing was a little weak if you thought too much about it and I'm not too sure of the ending, either, but it was a great ride!
—Helen
