Beowulf

Beowulf. 2010 translation, 3 hours. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

The most famous Anglo-Saxon epic tale, Beowulf tells the story of Beowulf, a hero who comes to Hrothgar's aid, the king of the Danes. The great ogre Grendel has been besieging Hrothgar’s hall in his capital and has killed many when Beowulf arrives with his crew of men from the Geats to assist the Danish king. In a violent battle, Beowulf outsmarts Grendel and slays him. Grendel’s mother, wishing to avenge the death of her son, attacks the hall the following night and kills Hrothgar’s most favored warrior. Beowulf once again sets forth, and this time he dives to the bottom of the lake to find her lair. In an epic battle, Beowulf eventually triumphs over Grendel’s mother, and he cuts off Grendel’s head, whose corpse also lies in the cave.

Beowulf returns home with prestige and wealth, and becomes king of his countrymen. Many decades pass when a slave steals a cup from a dragon’s lair. That dragon, mighty angry, comes out looking for his missing loot and burns everything along the way. Beowulf, now old and wizened, sets forth with his warriors and confronts the dragon alone at first, then is joined by a courageous fighter; they slay the dragon, but not before being mortally wounded.

The conflict between good and evil runs deep in this epic story, which inspired much poetry and literature, and fantasy fans will appreciate its precursor status.