The Neanderthals serving as the villains are an expected flourish of science fiction. As Crichton was aware of the notoriously dry, bland Ahmad ibn Fadlan and his ability to make any miraculous new wonder sound prosaic and dull, he put the two together as if it were Ahmad giving an actual historical account. He supposedly wrote it on a dare from a friend who demanded he 'find a way to make Beowulf interesting'.

Michael Crichton wrote the novel, and it was something of a departure from his usual science-fiction fare. Rather than a dragon, the mounted Wendol attack force looks like a 'glow wyrm' when holding torches aloft. Rather than attacking Grendel's aquatic mother, the band sneaks into the Wendol's temple to the Mother through water. Rather than Grendel bursting into a mead hall, a group of cannibals attack. The Grendel and his mother are replaced with the cannibalistic Wendol, who appear to be neanderthals who worship a cannibalistic fertility goddess called the mother of the Wendol. Buliwyf is an Expy for the hero Beowulf and the remaining warriors form his band. The story is a reworking of the classical tale of Beowulf. The bookish Ahmad ibn Fadlan narrates his adventure and his growing respect for the barbarians around him. The kingdom is under attack from inhuman mist-dwellers known as the Wendol. He is recruited to serve as the thirteenth member of a group of Norse warriors who answer a call for help from a far-away Nordic king. Ahmad ibn Fadlan is an educated Arab courtier who is sent to foreign lands as punishment for a courtly indiscretion. The 13th Warrior, aka Eaters of the Dead is an adventure story that inserts the Real Life Arabic traveler Ahmad ibn Fadlan into Beowulf.

Ibn fadlan eaters of the dead