ianbanks's review against another edition
3.0
I confess, I read this only because I found a discussion online about Harry Harrison's The Technicolor Time Machine and how these sagas were a big influence on that. If I knew more about the period I probably would have rated it higher. I preferred the second saga because it dealt more with the settlements and also didn't strive to be modern and have me shaking my head at anachronisms. I know they help some people, but I am not that person any more: give me immersion and footnotes and I can get by.
whats_margaret_reading's review against another edition
4.0
The Vikings were the first Europeans in the New World. It did not end well, and there are even two different versions of how it failed. There is some light flashing of the Native Americans by the only Viking lady there in order to scare them away. It's the right level of Icelandic crazy with a dash of swashbuckling and being totally out of their depth in a strange new land.
msand3's review
4.0
3.5 stars. The first saga, that of Eirik the Red, is a bit misleading, as Eirik doesn’t play a major role beyond his exile and founding of Greenland. The first half of the saga is a rather dull laundry-list of names -- warriors who married and begat children, etc. It really begins to pick up with the prophetess and Lief’s exploits, and then comes to an abrupt end.
The Saga of the Greenlanders is much more interesting and detailed in the description of the founding of Vinland (likely in Newfoundland) and the bizarre incidents that might be true (finding grapes?) and might not (a one-legged bandit who terrorizes the vikings?). The account also contains an amusing number of guys named Thorstein.
I found both sagas to have a striking amount of casual violence that is almost comical: “They came upon eight natives, killed them, and then continued down the stream,” etc. These accounts portray vikings (or at the least the ones exiled to Greenland and beyond) as brutish, vile cretins who have some sailing and survival skills. I hope that reading more of these sagas, and some works of history from contemporary sources, can give me greater insight and perhaps offer some different perspectives that might lead me to a more well-rounded view of their culture.
The Saga of the Greenlanders is much more interesting and detailed in the description of the founding of Vinland (likely in Newfoundland) and the bizarre incidents that might be true (finding grapes?) and might not (a one-legged bandit who terrorizes the vikings?). The account also contains an amusing number of guys named Thorstein.
I found both sagas to have a striking amount of casual violence that is almost comical: “They came upon eight natives, killed them, and then continued down the stream,” etc. These accounts portray vikings (or at the least the ones exiled to Greenland and beyond) as brutish, vile cretins who have some sailing and survival skills. I hope that reading more of these sagas, and some works of history from contemporary sources, can give me greater insight and perhaps offer some different perspectives that might lead me to a more well-rounded view of their culture.
asgard793's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
4.0
This title contains the Saga of the Greenlanders and the Saga of Erika the Red which depict Norse exploration of Greenland and Vinland/North America. Much of the title consists of a historiographical overview of the sagas written in the early 1960's. While this is a dated analysis, especially as the Norse settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows was being unearthed at the time of publication, it nonetheless describes the importance of the following sagas as historical sources and literary forms. This compilation provides further value through its footnotes in addition to other reference materials such as notes on place names and maps. The sagas themselves are fascinating accounts of eccentric personalities, their explorations on northern frontiers and essential reading for anyone interested in Norse history and exploration.
goranlowie's review
4.0
Really quite interesting! Half of the book was the introduction and other information, but it's essential to reading the book, I think.