Product Description
When a nameless Norseman sat down to write the "Saga of the People of Eyri" in the 13th century, the brutal story was already centuries old. Today this ancient tale is masterfully retold in Jeff Janoda’s SAGA: A NOVEL OF MEDIEVAL ICELAND, a rich historical novel of the first Icelandic settlements.

SAGA tells the story of the savage rituals of feud and sacrifice brought by the settlers from their Norwegian motherland as well as their new, competing beliefs in a democratic legal assembly and a code of restraint.

When Thorolf the Viking trades away his valuable family lands to spite his son, Arnkel, the ruthless Norse chieftain vows to regain them at all costs. Robbed of his rightful inheritance, Arnkel begins a venomous feud with his neighbors and with rival chieftain Snorri, a lawless dispute destined to end in betrayal and death.

Janoda’s characters are eloquently wrought, their passions and pagan beliefs brought to life in a tale over a thousand years old. His delicate hand renders fantastical elements like spirits and elves as vividly as their human counterparts, illuminating the harshness of life in a society on the brink of modernity, yet isolated in the farthest reaches of the planet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Unexpectedly good
I have never been much of a fiction reader and mostly concentrate on various non-fiction literature. To switch things up, I recently looked into picking up some historical fiction. My first attempt was Bernard Cornwell's series called The Saxon Stories, which deals with 9th century Danish invasion of England. While Cromwell did an excellent job incorporating many historical elements and events, his material started to dry up after the third book. I was also not too impressed by his style of writing. His books did, however, make me very interested in reading more about the Norse way of life in the Middle Ages.

I stumbled upon Jeff Janoda's novel Saga through Amazon's suggestions. Seeing that a number of people had given it very positive reviews, I decided to give it a try. To be honest, I really wasn't expecting much since the book seemed rather obscure, I couldn't quite tell if it was a historical novel or a pure work of fiction and finally it was the author's first novel. As you can obviously tell from the five stars on my review, I was very pleasantly surprised.

The book is loosely based on some history, primarily parts of Eyrbyggja Saga [...]. The characters and events seem to have been thoroughly fleshed out by the writer's imagination, making it a loose fit within the historical fiction category.Despite the literary freedoms with the original saga, the author does an excellent job describing what life was like in 10th century Iceland. This aspect of the book seems to be based on thorough research and credible historical evidence. The reader will undoubtedly get an almost "History Chanel" like picture of ancient Icelandic/Norse culture with all its mythology, traditions and rituals.In addition to the broad cultural overview, the book offers a really cool glimpse into all the details of day-to-day life of Icelandic chieftains, free men farmers, and slaves.

All the interesting historical stuff aside, I think that the story itself is actually the strongest element of this book. There is no central character per se, instead the narrative is focused on the conflict between two influential chieftains and all the secondary characters involved in this battle. Jeff Janoda does a very good job bringing all his characters to life, each with their own complex motivations, emotions, and strategies of accomplishing their goals. The story starts off a bit slow, as with most novels, but the drama starts to unfold in a very intricate and interesting way right around the 35-40 page mark. After that, I honestly couldn't put the book down and finished it off in just a few days.

My only criticism is that the names of two or three chapters in the book provide a dead give away of the final outcome of that particular chapter. It seems that the author/editor wanted it this way, in order to imitate the Sagas of old, however I thought this just ended up spoiling a few plot twists.

Despite the minor aforementioned blemish, this is a very nice book and a very strong first novel for Jeff Janoda. I certainly recommend it not only to those who are interested in the Norse culture and historical fiction, but for anyone who is looking for a good read.

fabulous
I can only agree with the other reviews - 5 stars!SAGA is fabulous. The plot isintricate and complex - riveting and entirely credible. If you like KRISTIN LAVRANSDATTER or GREENLANDERS, you'll love this. Wish I could find more books by Jeff Janoda. Read it.

Masterful Writing
Janoda's retelling of a classic saga is unlikely to become a bestseller given its esoteric subject matter, but that is truly a great shame as evolved readers of any stripe will surely delight in the author's wonderful skills.

Saga is about a very small community in Iceland around 965 CE, and for an historical novel, comparatively little happens--there are no grand battles, epic journeys, allusions to well-known historical events, or famous personages.The cast is limited to a dozen or so main characters and the pace of events might fairly be considered glacial.Yet for all that, the story is oddly, almost paradoxically compelling.Somehow the sparseness of the material, the humble (even dreary) circumstances within which the story unfolds, and Janoda's supremely economical--even frugal--use of language are all superbly suited to the tale and imbue it with a veracity and vigor that mere research can never match.

Like one of his humble farmer characters, Janoda painstakingly tends the unpromising soil and climate of his setting and scratches out of it a miraculous harvest of which which we lucky readers are the beneficiaries--a quirky masterpiece that transcends the seeming limitations of its subject to yield a tale that is by turns suspenseful, moving, shocking, and utterly convincing.

great piece of modern nordic historical fiction
Great way to bring life to this saga. Read this book more than a year ago (twice) and it still sticks. Great great stuff. Let's have more!

THE BEST Historical Fiction I've Read!
This is one of those books that you get so into while you're reading that you don't want it to end. Janoda has fleshed out a portion of the Eyrbyggja Saga, giving depth and dimension to the Snorri Gothi, Arnkel Gothi, and Thorbrand factions feuding, scheming, betraying and killing for possession of two farmsteads and a precious birch forest on a peninsula in 10th century western Iceland. The saga has everything a Norse and medieval history buff would want, including some really "creepy" stuff with a vengeful ghost and dark elves who live in the shadows and feed off the evil the Norse perpetrate.

Janoda's prose is fluid and effortless, and he writes as a master storyteller. I HOPE HE WRITES ANOTHER BOOK LIKE THIS ONE ON ANOTHER OF THE SAGAS!

Highest Recommendation ... Read more