History Literature / WhosAfraidOfBeowulf

* {{Jerkass}}: Angantyr and Bothvar Bjarki both count as this.

* OurWerebeastsAreDifferent: Brynjolf the Shapechanger instantly turns himself into basically anything he wants to, [[RuleOfFunny taking on some aspects of the shape]]; for instance, he gets lost in flight at one point and says he should have gone as a pigeon.

* PunchClockVillain: The Sorceror-King and Thorgeir were threats to the entire human race 1,000 years ago, but, as Rolf points out, haven't yet been able to actually take over the world despite the lack of any opposition. This means the sorceror-king has undergone such extreme VillainDecay that he is now an IneffectualSympatheticVillain, who even prefers to watch his enemies on TV at one point rather than go out and fight them just at that particular moment.

[[spoiler:--> '''Reporter:''' For the love of God, will you get me out of here? For BBC News, this is Moira Urquhart, Borve Castle, Caithness.]]

--> '''Reporter:''' For the love of God, will you get me out of here? For BBC News, this is Moira Urquhart, Borve Castle, Caithness.

* CheatersNeverProsper: When the police and British Special Forces assault Rolf's castle, they use "special effects" (guns, grenades, helicopters) instead of good, honest spears and swords. The heroes regard this as unsporting. (Since the Vikings are wearing {{Magitech}} armor, the bullets don't worry them, it's just that they were hoping for some straightforward violence.) The attackers fail miserably, on live TV.

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Arvarodd is frustrated that he is known as "the Arvarrod who went to Permia". This was actually the ''least'' interesting thing he ever did, but his saga was butchered by the editors. This is his BerserkButton in times of stress, such as during a museum heist to get an artifact they need, when a curator recognizes him.

* VitriolicBestBuds: Angantyr and Bothvar, among the Vikings. Actually, Angantyr and almost anyone (he's a rather miserable sort of fellow).
* WrongGenreSavvy: Investivative reporter Danny Bennett thinks he's been kidnapped by the CIA (the Vikings are in disguise wearing grey suits), when in fact he's fallen in with mythical Norse heroes on a quest to save the world from evil.

* ButtMonkey / AgentMulder: Danny Bennett, BBC reporter. Once assigned to the story of the Viking ship, nothing goes his way again.

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Arvarodd is frustrated to be constantly referred to (even by Hildy, upon first meeting) as "the Arvarrod who went to Permia". This was actually the ''least'' interesting thing he ever did, but his saga was butchered by the editors. This is his BerserkButton in times of stress, such as when the heroes have to stage a museum heist to get an artifact from the King's treasure trove and a curator recognizes him.
--> The curator took a deep breath. "Aren't you the Arvarrod who went to Permia?" he asked.

* FamedInStory: Both King Rolf and Thorgeir Stormherder comment on the absence of a King Hrolf's Saga, but Rolf's heroes are known to Norse scholar Hildy from other sagas.

---> '''Starkad:''' I forgot my battle-cry.
---> '''Brynolf:''' It's "Starkad!", Starkad.

---> '''Hildy:''' Was that his battle cry?
---> '''Arvarodd:''' No, the keel just went over his foot.

* TheBerserker: Starkad Storvirson

---> The curator took a deep breath. "Aren't you the Arvarrod who went to Permia?" he asked.
---> Arvarodd hit him.

* GoYeHeroesGoAndDie: Arvarrod gives a variation of this to Hildy, explaining that their job is simply following the King's orders. If things work out, it proves what a great leader Rolf is, and if not, everyone goes to Valhalla. This is described as a "win-win" scenario.

* TookALevelInBadass: Hildy. Also Danny, by the end of the book (being around the Vikings tends to have this effect on people).

* TranslationConvention / TranslatorMicrobes: The heroes think they are still speaking Norse, and so is everyone else- but Hildy hears them in perfectly good English. The King reveals that Kotkel (the royal wizard) put a translation spell on them all, to save time. Since it's unclear when this happened relative to them waking up, both tropes may be in effect early in the tale as the Vikings converse in their mound.

* WrongGenreSavvy: Investivative reporter Danny Bennett thinks he's been kidnapped by the CIA, when in fact he's fallen in with mythical Norse heroes on a quest to save the world from evil.

** The magic stones Arvarodd lends to Hildy come in handy on many critical occasions, almost qualifying for ChekovsBoomerang [[spoiler:especially since one magically turns into a boulder when you throw it, then returns to your hand as a pebble.]]

---> '''Starkad''': I forgot my battle-cry.
---> '''Brynolf''': It's "Starkad!", Starkad.

* CirclingMonologue: In ''Who's Afraid of Beowulf?'', the last Viking king, Hrolf Earthstar, circles the evil Sorcerer King before battle, determined to break his attempt to rule the world. Unusually, the mighty but doomed villain accepts the Last Second Chance given by the hero. After all, someone could have got killed.

* TheUnintelligible: Kotkel the wizard. When he talks, he sounds like "a worried lawnmower," "a hierophantic vacuum-cleaner," and so on. His speeches have to be interpreted for Hildy because, A) the translation spell he tried to put on himself misfired (so that his mirror now speaks all languages), and B) in any case, he has a speech impediment and mumbles.

* IHaveManyNames: King Rolf gets this when he asks the Sorceror-King to reveal his name, while the King is being held at swordpoint. By the time his enemy is done reciting his aliases, Rolf's side stages a rescue. [[spoiler:It turns out the Sorceror-King's real name is Eric. Even spelling it with a "K" didn't make it evil enough.]]

* TheDragon: Thorgeir Stormherder, former timber-wolf.

* IHaveManyNames: King Rolf is answered with this trope when he asks the Sorceror-King to reveal his name, before finishing Rolf off. By the time his enemy is done reciting his aliases, Rolf's side stages a rescue. [[spoiler:It turns out the Sorceror-King's real name is Eric. Even spelling it with a "K" didn't make it evil enough.]]

* IHaveManyNames: The Sorceror-King runs out of time while playing with this trope. [[spoiler:It turns out his real name is Eric. Even spelling it with a "K" didn't make it evil enough.]]

* ShinyNewAustralia: The Big Bad offers someone China as a bribe for his assistance.

--> "Things are looking up. We've just be betrayed by a traitor."

* IHaveManyNames: King Rolf buys time with this trope.

---> '''Brynolf''': It's Starkad, Starkad.

* KingInTheMountain: Played for laughs: Viking King Hrolf of Caithness (god forsaken country--but it is my kingdom) and his band of heroes are disinterred in time to put an end to their ancient enemy, the Sorceror King's, attempt to take over the modern world via magic--or as we call it, technology.
* LastSecondChance: The sorceror-king has the good sense to accept this.

Archaeologist Hildy Frederiksen has always wanted to make a major discovery, and an intact Viking ship burial certainly fits the bill. She most definitely does *not* expect the dead Vikings to come back to life, and is understandably rattled when they do.

* {{Calvinball}}: The game the Cthonic spirits Prex and Zxip use to while away their thousand-odd years trapped in the howe.

* CirclingMonologue: How King Rolf approaches the sorcerer king in their final showdown.

* KingInTheMountain: Or mound. Played for laughs.

* TrafficWardens: Like all law enforcement officers, they do poorly against the Vikings.