Sceadugenga

by Frederick Atkinson

Beowulf is dead. His bones long ago littered his tomb. Over a thousand years later, his foe wanders the land.
In the boozy streets of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a monster stalks the shadows. He knows his nature. He knows his bloodlust. It is not mean. It is not evil. It is something else. Something... rotten that refuses to die.
In his own self-loathing, the monstrous descendent of Cain looks to his journey over the centuries, from smoggy London, burning Paris, putrid Cologne. How did he get here? Where is he going, if anywhere?
The nightwalker. The shadow-stalker. Sceadugenga.

92 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 22, 2025

Reviews

[Jane Wantland · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book read more like a poem rather than prose. At some points I found myself reading to the rhythm of trudging along like you were alongside Sceadugenga. It matched the poetic organization of Beowulf, more of a longer poem like the Prelude. It is obvious that language is its own character in the story of Sceadugenga. It added to the feeling of being in-the-know and being an outsider through the story. I enjoyed the dark aspects of the story and the following inner moral hesitance of what it means to be inhuman living in the human world. I liked that this story made me work hard to figure out what was happening rather than have everything told to me on the page. At times, the descriptions of the different places felt a little long but overall I enjoyed the street-level feeling of Sceadugenga.

[Corin Kraai · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t think I’m the target audience of this book… but I follow Frederick on instagram and just thought I’d give his book a go.

I think it needs more translation, especially the French (?) parts.

I enjoyed the descriptions though! Exactly the type of gore I’ve been looking for.

Here’s a quote I thought kind of summed up the books main question, “Which is a better representation of people: the version when they live peacefully? Or the version when they die?”

[Liam · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting piece of art. An enjoyable one. This is mostly written in modern English, in a literary style mixing the gritty and sublime. There’s also a good amount of Old English (some French and German too) which is neat and often gory. There’s also modern reader dill appreciate the glossary.

Very short, and I am encouraged that Mr. Atkinson will write more tales worth telling.