Each night, when Hallbjorn the sheepherder lies down to sleep in the paddock, he thinks of the poem he would like to create; it is about Thorleifur Poet of the Earl who, as the story goes, lies underneath the very spot where the sheepherder sleeps. „Here lies a poet,“ he starts but doesn’t get any further because Thorleifur himself lends a hand – in a dream, since he has been lying dead
in the ground for two hundred years.
“The story goes “ – Ah, yes, how does the story go? Ancient tales are told of Thorleifur and his kin in Svarfadardalur, of fierce battles between the chieftains in the valley, premonitions and monsters, a fateful trip to Norway, cruelty and killing, potent poetry of vengeance, and an inhuman murder in Thingvellir.
Thorarinn Eldjarn recounts and makes up Thorleifur’s fateful tale; he spins, weaves, and fills in the gaps to craft a powerful and impressive story of a modest poet who doesn’t waver in the face of a daunting but important task: fighting evil.

“The text is exceedingly well crafted, there is a great deal of humour in the narrative and still more grotesque description.”
FRETTABLADID

“Eldjarn is a great stylist and subtle humorist.”
KILJAN, ICELANDIC STATE TELEVISION