The Tower of Beowulf

A reconstruction of the tale of Beowulf finds a disgruntled young warrior engaging in suicidal battle in order to convince himself that he is not a coward, until his confrontations with Grendel and his mother make him a renowned hero. 10,000 first printing.

YA?A retelling for our own time. The separate stories of Grendel and Beowulf, each told with empathy, merge into one just prior to their fated meeting. Grendel, half god and half giant, lives in a beautiful world spun by his mother until the illusion dissolves and his eyes are opened to his monstrous reality. His revenge on the human sons of his own sire, Shild Scefing, is to dine upon anyone who enters King Hrothgar's great hall at night?his self-appointed time to reign. In his youth Beowulf, with all his companions, flees from the scene of an unwise battle. He alone survives and recasts the story to reflect his own honor; his father uncovers the fabrication and then disowns him. Beowulf's life then becomes one of devotion to his people. He extends his services to King Hrothgar, offering to rid the great hall of its monster. Beowulf kills both Grendel and his mother, but his victory is tempered by his understanding that all beings need compassion, love, and acceptance. Teens will sympathize with Grendel's sense of isolation and loss. Monsters, dragons, and gods provide enough action to capture fantasy readers, and the tale includes enough beauty, duty, romance, and friendship to delight idealistic teens.?Barbara Hawkins, Oakton High School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Fantasy literature tends to recycle its settings and themes, so it's greatly refreshing when a sword and sorcery novel appears that avoids the formulaic pitfalls of the genre. In this case, Godwin accomplishes the feat through a compelling exploration of an ancient classic, much as he did in Robin and the King. Because the outcome of Beowulf's adventures are rarely in question, Godwin must make the story exciting without relying on plot-driven suspense. He does this by rendering his characters' motivations, especially those of the monsters, so vivid and heart-wrenching that at times readers will find themselves rooting for Grendel and his mother, Sigyn (though this version of the tale can't compare to Gardner's powerful Grendel). Godwin also layers this most basic of man-kills-beast tales with insights into the superficiality of beauty and the differing mysticisms of the Norse and Christian mythologies, and he offers a well-reasoned interpretation of what makes a hero. If the historical background is sometimes rendered with more imagination than fidelity, Godwin's interpretation of the legend still makes for a gripping saga.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Godwin turns his superior skills as historical fantasist to the matter of Beowulf and achieves the expected high degree of success. Beowulf begins his career as an oversized, underbrained youth who loses most of his men on a foolish raiding voyage. He matures into the champion who frees the Danish king's hall from Grendel and his mother (both are results of the disporting of the Norse gods, here rendered with great conviction and more than a touch of acid). Beowulf never marries but takes the widow of a comrade slain by Grendel as his companion and ends his life as king of the Geats, slaying a dragon in spite of his men's failure to support him. Both Beowulf and his world are magnificently realized, fully comprehensible, and absorbing, perhaps even to those with little background in his era of grim heroism. Roland Green

A single act of youthful cowardice haunts the life of the young warrior Beowulf. It drives him to even greater acts of valor and, finally, to a show of wisdom and sacrifice. Godwin's re-creation of the Norse epic fleshes out the culture of Northern Europe in the years when the White Christ vied with Odin for religious supremacy. The author of Firelord (Avon, 1994) once again demonstrates his talent for bringing the heroes of legend into the realm of the human without diminishing their greatness. A solid acquisition for most libraries.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.