A review by rhganci
The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki by Jesse L. Byock

3.0

Of all the Icelandic sagas we read this semester, this one was my least favorite. For all its material analogous to BEOWULF, the story of Hrolf Kraki, his giant battle, and all the rest of it was rather bland, despite Hollywood Jesse's excellent translation. It lacks the mythological quality of VOLSUNGA SAGA, and the character quality of LAXDAELA SAGA, and the story it tells is unimpressive on the whole. It was dry, mostly because it lacked a character that rose above the rest--a character like Grettir, like Egil, like Thorgerd, like Sigurd, on whom the story centers, develops, and untimately resolves, for good or ill. Hrolf Kraki is not that individual, and his saga, for all its analogous value, falls flat next to the others.