Every so often I like to read one of the sagas because they put Scandinavia into some sort of historical perspective. They don't really make for entertaining reading alas, since they are often disjointed and confused and tend to ramble all over the place and as often as not you've never heard of any of the people mentioned and the Saga of King Hrolf Kraki is more of the same. The main character doesn't even turn up until the last half of the book and since he dies not long there after, its a bit of a mystery as to why the saga is named for him. Perhaps his offspring commissioned it? What ever the reason, this is the dullest saga I've yet read, and this is despite magical beings, high adventure and plenty of epic Viking battle. The sad fact is, the whole thing is presented as a series of events which don't actually add up to a story, and this saga is best left to the historians.
1/5
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