Who's Afraid of Beowulf? [Hardcover]

Tom Holt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1988

Digging up the remains of an ancient band of Vikings, archaeologist Hildy is astounded when they rise from the dead, bearing an appetite for seagulls, a twelve-thousand-year-old grudge, and a thirst for war. Reissue.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Part slapstick, part fantasy, this tale of a Viking king and his band of 12 warriors coming back to life in 20th century Scotland is all entertainment. Hrolf Earthstar was engaged in battle with a wicked sorcerer-king when his wizard advised him to take his band undergroundliterally. Twelve hundred years later, young archeologist Hildy Frederiksen enters their burial mound and wakens the men to all sorts of modern mischief. Hrolf's ancient enemy is now the head of a multinational corporation, where technological advances are just another twist on the old sorcerer's magic. Hrolf, his wizard and Hildy stalk the sorcerer-king and his henchman, a former timber wolf, in London, while the others clash with modern culture in the Highlands, and the wizard's two energy-eating "chthonic spirits" discover the delights of electricity and nuclear power. With a varied and memorable cast of charactersancient and modernHolt ( Expecting Someone Taller ) keeps the one-liners coming fast and furious. Unforced and inventive, his wit will especially delight lovers of Edda and other sagas.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Tom Holt's first book was published when he was just thirteen and, to his horror, he was hailed as an infant prodigy. While studying at Oxford however he discovered Bar Billiards and turned from poetry to comic fiction. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 206 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (January 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312026692
• ISBN-13: 978-0312026691
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #894,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mythological Humor At It's Best!, October 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Who's Afraid of Beowulf? (Paperback)

There are many stories and sagas which tell how the Hero or king will return again if needed, but this story is surprisingly good. The returning Norse heros have no trouble with modern technology, they just equate it with old norse magical effects and abilities! With the help of an archeologist (Grave Robber) the old norse king returns to fight the evil sorcerer (Computer Magnate) whom he has vowed to defeat. The fun starts as the boatload of heros has to deal with being an archological find, and continues as they sort out all the technological wonders of the 20th century including television, modern warfare, and computers! After reading "Expecting Someone Taller" I looked for other titles by Tom Holt and was not disappointed by this outrageous romp. Highly reccommended!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious Viking adventure, July 3, 2004

By 

L O'connor (richmond, surrey United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Who's Afraid of Beowulf? (Paperback)

Hilary Frderickssen is a young American archaeologist with a passion for Vikings. A Viking ship burial is discovered on the site she is excavating in northern Scotland. When Hildy investigates, she gets a shock when she discovers that the Vikings on board the ship are still very much alive. King Hrolf of Caithness and his followers have been awoken from their thousand-year sleep to fight the evil Sorcerer King who rules his evil empire from an office block in London. Hildy has the daunting task of providing the Vikings with food, clothing, and transport, and helping them get to London to find the Sorcerer-King. There are some very funny incidents as she introduces them to the delights of fish and chips and Marks and Spencers suits. While Hildy accompanies the King and some of the Vikings to London, the ones remaining behind in Caithness kidnap Danny Baker, a hapless TV producer, and hold him hostage.This is a very funny book, with a clever plot and lots of amusing incidents and characters. The Vikings are a delightful bunch, especially Starkadd the Berserker ("like honey, thick and sweet")and Hildy is an engaging heroine. There are also two cthonic spirits, Zerxx and Perxx, who live off energy and are involved in playing a mysterious and complex game called Goblin's Teeth, which seems to be a blending of chess, scrabble, monopoly, snakes and ladders and any other game you can think of. I have read lots of Tom Holt's other books, but I don't like any of them nearly as much as this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What if vikings get awaken in the precence ?!, January 28, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Who's Afraid of Beowulf? (Paperback)

The first thing that strikes me is that I find the plot similar to "Flying Dutch", but while I continue to
read this comic viking-tale, I change opinion. In Caithness, an old grave is uncovered, and the
vikings are awaken. They main concern when first awaken, is who's responsible it was to pack
the food, and who have had the nerve to move their ladder so they couldn't get out of the ship.
After they sorted these important things out they start the plans for their quest; how to assassin
the sorcerer-king. To their help they have the archeologist Hildy Fredriksen, who had the
pleasure(?) to bump into them. The adventure starts and consists of several amusing incidents;
Hildy's more or less fortunate attempts to keep the vikings from attacking the natives, Chthonic
sprits getting drunk on high-voltage electricity, and more... I like this book a lot, the vikings fighting
spirit never cease to exist, they are always happy when there is an opportunity to get involved in a
battlement (beware SAS!). The book isn't that 'complciated' that I found 'Ye Gods!', can be the
fact that I don't know to much about mythology (which is very much involved in 'Ye Gods!') that
make me prefer 'Whos Afraid of Beowulf' If you found 'Flying Dutch' amusing, then I promise you
that you will like this one as well, if you havn't read Flying Dutch, I would recommend that you
read this one first, that way you'll have fun reading 'Whos afraid...' and even more fun reading
'Flying Dutch' (that's still one of my favorites).