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Rating: 
Summary: A MUST READ for any fan of medieval history.
Review: Author, Jesse Byock, is considered the world's leading expert on the vikings. This new translation of the Norse epic brings clear a tale that is very similar to the story of Beowulf---however, it is told from the Norse point of view.This is a MUST READ for anyone interested in the Vikings .
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ for any fan of medieval history.
Review: Author, Jesse Byock, is considered the world's leading expert on the vikings. This new translation of the Norse epic brings clear a tale that is very similar to the story of Beowulf---however, it is told from the Norse point of view. This is a MUST READ for anyone interested in the Vikings .
Rating:
Summary: An Incredible Work
Review: Having had the incredible opportunity to attend a class in Norse mythology at the University of California, Los Angeles with Mr. Byock, I wholeheartedly encourage anyone with the slightest bit of interest in the area of Scandinavian literature and Norse mythology to read Byock's translation of THE SAGA OF KING HROLF KRAKI. The translation is accurate and detailed, and Byock's introduction and notes are elucidating and easy to read. THE SAGA OF KING HROLF KRAKI is probably derived from the same oral stories as the Anglo-Saxon classic, BEOWULF. Byock details the many similarities in one section of the book, showing the uncanny parallels. The saga recounts the tragic life of King Hrolf, the king of Denmark, his lineage, and of his companions. Thoroughly entertaining, THE SAGA OF KING HROLF KRAKI features berserks and wizards, the dooming love of Hrolf's father for his daughter, and the villainous King Adils of Sweden in an engrossing narrative. Byock is a leader in his field and tells the story like no other, readable and informed. Readers who enjoyed BEOWULF or THE PROSE EDDA will find nothing but joy in reading THE SAGA OF KING HROLF KRAKI, and there is enough between its covers to be recommended to everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Part of the backbone of Danish history
Review: I loved these stories when I was a kid.
Not to say that this is children's literature at all, but the saga of Rolf Krake (as he is spelled in modern Danish) has all the traits of a classic fairy tale. The (stereotypically heroic) hero and his various (archetypal) comrades, the treacherous, devious and un-heroic scoundrel, and a bit of shape-shifting as well.
And these tales, handed down orally from the 6th century and written down in the middle ages some seven hundred years later, are known (peripherially, at least) by most Danes today, and probably considered much more historic than they are.
How much truth there is to the legend of king Hrodulf (as his real name appears to have been) will probably never be proven...there are almost no written sources, and those who do mention him do so only in passing as one of two Danish kings in the early 6th century (no, I'm not including "Beowulf" as a historical source). But that fact doesn't detract anything from the power and the sheer entertainment value of these potent and colourful tales.
Rating:
Summary: Part of the backbone of Danish history
Review: I loved these stories when I was a kid.
Not to say that this is children's literature at all, but the saga of Rolf Krake (as he is spelled in modern Danish) has all the traits of a classic fairy tale. The(stereotypically heroic) hero and his various (archetypal) comrades, the treacherous, devious and un-heroic scoundrel, and a bit of shape-shifting as well.
And these tales, handed down orally from the 6th century and written down in the middle ages some eight hundred years later, are known (peripherially, at least) by most Danes today, and probably considered much more historic than they are. How much truth there is to the legend of king Hrodulf (as his real name appears to have been) will probably never be proven...there are almost no written sources, and those who do mention him do so only in passing as one of two Danish kings in the early 6th century (no, I'm not including "Beowulf" as a historical source). But that fact doesn't detract anything from the power and the sheer entertainment value of these potent and colourful tales.
Rating:
Summary: I haven't read byock's version, but poul anderson's is good
Review: Poul Anderson's version, long out of print but here at Amazon, is good.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting and Distinctive Saga
Review: This is an interesting saga featuring semi-legendary Norse characters. It is presented and translated by the distinguished scholar of Icelandic history, Jesse Byock. The saga is a series of linked tales related to the life of the legendary Danish monarch, Hrolf Hraki. It is an example of a form of Icelandic saga based on the legendary or semi-legendary Norse past rather that the family or historical basis of many well known Icelandic sagas. This saga is drawn from the same stock of legends and characters used by the Beowulf poet. The stories are definitely interesting, the translation reads well, and Byock's introduction and notes are excellent. Nonetheless, this saga is of greater intellectual than artistic interest. Unlike Beowulf, this is a compilation of tales, not a unified poetic work. While the tales are good reading, this saga lacks the focus and poetic majesty of Beowulf. This saga lacks also the intensely realistic qualities of the family sagas and the unity derived from concentration on a few characters. This book is short, reads smoothly and is well worth the time expended on reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting and Distinctive Saga
Review: This is an interesting saga featuring semi-legendary Norse characters. It is presented and translated by the distinguished scholar of Icelandic history, Jesse Byock. The saga is a series of linked tales related to the life of the legendary Danish monarch, Hrolf Hraki. It is an example of a form of Icelandic saga based on the legendary or semi-legendary Norse past rather that the family or historical basis of many well known Icelandic sagas. This saga is drawn from the same stock of legends and characters used by the Beowulf poet. The stories are definitely interesting, the translation reads well, and Byock's introduction and notes are excellent. Nonetheless, this saga is of greater intellectual than artistic interest. Unlike Beowulf, this is a compilation of tales, not a unified poetic work. While the tales are good reading, this saga lacks the focus and poetic majesty of Beowulf. This saga lacks also the intensely realistic qualities of the family sagas and the unity derived from concentration on a few characters. This book is short, reads smoothly and is well worth the time expended on reading it.
Rating:
Summary: A Tale of Great Warriors and the Supernatural
Review: This saga tells much the same story as BEOWULF -- 500 years later and from half an ocean away. In their volcanic fastnesses, the Icelanders not only told and retold the famous Sagas of Icelanders, but also sagas of kings, warriors, and saints -- even when they had little or nothing to do with Iceland. As the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus wrote around 1200, Icelanders "take great pleasure in discovering and commemmorating the achievements of all nations; in their view, it is as enlightening to discourse on the prowess of others as to display their own." Fortunately, this book is translated and edited by Professor Jesse L Byock of UCLA, whose VIKING AGE ICELAND is a model introduction to the subject of the Icelandic saga. In addition to providing an excellent translation, Byock's introduction is both thorough and enlightening; and, typical of his work, there are illustrative maps, drawings, genealogies, notes, charts and tables, and a useful glossary of characters. If you've read BEOWULF, why bother cracking Kraki? For one thing, the Icelanders are great story-tellers, and the saga is a great read. I found it interesting that while the saga was written some 350 years into the Christian era, it is every bit as pagan as the Anglo-Saxon story. Odin appears in disguise twice in the story, with nary a bishop or saint in the offing. (Only a few oblique references toward the end point to some inkling of Christianity.) It has long been my contention that Christianity sat ever so lightly on the mailed shoulders of the Icelanders. The grim gods of the Asatru never quite disappeared. In fact, it would not be surprising if the SAGA OF KING HROLF KRAKI were written by Christian monks at Skalholt or Holar or some other monastic community. Picture the long dark Arctic winter nights in those scattered sod huts with their grass roofs. There was nothing like good food and drink punctuated with a story of great warriors and the supernatural to make the time pass quickly. Funny thing, it still reads well today.
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Summary: Before Star Wars.....there were the Sagas.....
Review: Wow! What a book! This was my first experience reading one of the Icelandic Sagas and I must admit, this was really a treat of a find. The story is compelling. Numerous Kings, Queens, Sorceresses, Wizards, and other larger-than-life characters populate this archaic text translated by Jesse Byock. Not only is the story good, but it actually has an interesting introduction as well as relevant and easy-to-follow footnotes. The map, genealogical charts, and the glossary of names are very user-friendly and interesting as well. I have heard that the Sagas are difficult to read because of the style of prose. Maybe some of them are, however, this one grabbed a hold of my imagination until I ripped through the mere 77 pages of main story text. If you are looking for a good place to start with the sagas and do not want something that is overly long, this is a good place to start. King Hrolf Kraki has everything you would wish for in an adventure story. Not only that, but what a cool name for a King.
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