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people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #148,620 most helpful
out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★★★☆
A bargain by any means
For the price offered ($16) this is an amazing bargain. For the cost of two Penguin translations (2 Sagas) you get 9 sagas and multiple tales. Speaking as a person that bought the hardback the paperback is not missing anything as far as I can tell by comparing tables of contents. However, earlier criticisms that it is missing some very classic sagas such as, _Njal's Saga_ though valid should not deter you from getting this book. I will conjecture that the length of those definitive sagas were too much to put into a one volume collection.
Get the book - no shelf should be without the sagas and it is a thrifty choice.
The collection that both the hardback and softback are taken from is a large collection called _Sagas of the Icelanders_ which is about ~$600 so you might also keep that in mind when buying. By no means is this all the sagas from that massive collection but it is a good survey and there is a good further sources section.
For those who are saga junkies be aware that the Sagas of the Icelanders (Islendasogur) is only the Icelandic family sagas and not any of the Bishop Sagas nor Heroic/Mythic Sagas e.g., Saga of Hralf Kraki. So if you are hoping to score the Saga of Harold or any saga whose action is outside of Iceland or not related to one of the great families look elsewhere. Also, for saga junkies these translations do not footnote the geneaology of the characters which the Penguin translations usually did. So you get more of the original feel with "son of...daughter of.."
Overall, if you have become enthralled with the sagas or just taking the plunge for the first time this is a very good and economical choice. Be aware that it is a very thick paperback and not as sturdy as it could be. But by all means get it.
Highly recommended. If you like this set then get Njal's Saga.
March 2001 · Unknown · verified purchase