The complete sagas of Icelanders, including 49 tales [Hardcover]

Vidar Hreinsson (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Icelandic

Product Details

• Hardcover: 2313 pages
• Publisher: Leifur Eiriksson Pub (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9979929308
• ISBN-13: 978-9979929307
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,486,440 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars You must get this if you are serious about sagas, January 1, 2002

By 

Jadepearl "geezer geek" (Wandering, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The complete sagas of Icelanders, including 49 tales (Hardcover)

This set though steep in cost is worth every dime. All of the Icelandic family sagas are found here translated into English. Why does it get 4 stars? Well, first it does not include the Bishop sagas (biskopsogur), King Sagas (Konungsogure) nor the Knight sagas (ridarsogur). So if you are hoping to see something like Jomsviking saga or the Saga of Hralf Kraki you will be disappointed, but you will have the sagas that relate to the families of Iceland including Egil, Njal's, Grettir and so on. It is unfortunate that a complete set of the Norse sagas can only be found in either Norse or German. English readers are out of luck unless they have command of those languages.

Second, if you want extended essays on the sagas you maybe better served by the Penguin translations which focus on a particular saga's themes and dimensions. This set has short introductions but no extended essays on par with a study set. But get this collection because it is translated to the highest quality, in a beautiful 5 volume slipcased set, and it is wonderful addition to any book collector's library.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Violence, Law, and Vikings---- What more could you ask?, June 22, 2004

By 

S. Lewis (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The complete sagas of Icelanders, including 49 tales (Hardcover)

A composite collection of Scandinavian culture and history, the Sagas of the Icelanders stands out in Medieval-Germanic literature as being (for the most part) historically accurate, socially developed, and (perhaps most importantly!) gruesomely exciting to read.
The sagas are filled with graphic depictions of human frailties, vengeance, murder, epic battles, sublime heroism, and fatal betrayals. Kingdoms rise and fall. Political machinations of the most Machiavellian-type cruelty and legal thrillers rivaling Gresham's tales abound, as the authors calmly expose the reader to their stark and grim world.
Each of the volumes contains sagas that fluctuate wildly in style and subject. Volume one chronicles the Vinland sagas, the Warriors and Poets sagas, and the Greenland sagas. Volume two recounts the sagas of Outlaws, Nature spirits, and the Supernatural. Volume three contains the most poignant masterwork of them all, Njal's saga, as well as those of Champions, Rogues, and Adventures. Volume four includes the Regional feuds, and Volume five holds the sagas pertaining to religious conflicts, wealth and power, and one Epic.
The books are wonderfully bound and printed, with clear and well formatted type (for those who care about such things), and are attractive with their blue and gold covers----hey, if you never read them, at least they'll look good on the shelf. Right? Right?

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Classic compilation of sagas -- but don't buy it here!!!, February 11, 2009

By 

Webistrator "J. S." (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The complete sagas of Icelanders, including 49 tales (Hardcover)

This library-bound five-volume set contains almost all of the Icelandic sagas. Published in Iceland in 1998, it is the first real consolidation of the majority of Icelandic sagas and tales. The only other English works you'd be missing would be the Sturlunga sagas (Sturlunga Saga: 2).

Many public libraries have these five volumes for your review. Should you choose to buy them they are available for around $300 U.S. from the publisher in Iceland, Leifur Eiriksson Publishing ([...]). For the price that's being asked here, you could fly to Iceland and buy the set and still come out ahead!

A 11/15/09 postscript: a previous postscript I made saying that this set was no longer being offered is no longer true. Leifur Eiriksson Publishing has begun offering the set again through their website for $299 plus $50 shipping.

--Webbie