The Saga of Hranfnkel Frey's Godi

This saga definitely differed from other sagas in how it incorporated intense imagery and realistic description which is usually absent in the stereotypical saga. While much of the writing was still very blunt and straight forward, it was obvious that the writer had gone to extra lengths to include these vivid descriptions. One area where I especially noticed this element of realism was when Sam and the Thjostarssons attacked Hrafnkel at his farm and tortured his men to humiliate him. (As a side note, I thought it a little peculiar that the character's name was Sam--I wouldn't expect to see such a common name in an Icelandic saga, especially one which isn't full of consonants.) I also thought the imagery and descriptions of the bogs and lava fields that Hrafnkel chases Eyvind through were uncharacteristically lengthy and in depth. To me, reading this saga felt much more similar to reading an early 20th century novel than your average saga.
It was interesting to me that the protagonist position in this saga seemed to shift as the writer encouraged the reader to shift his/her sympathies between opposing characters. In the beginning, I felt strongly allied with Hrafnkel's side and thought that he was not out of line for keeping his word, even if he perhaps could have been more lenient. I believed that he had made a fair offer and that Thorbjorn was simply being greedy. However, after Sam and Thorbjorn won their case with the help of the Thjostarsson brothers, I felt that they deserved it and I hoped they would be able to live on a happy life, even if they too went to extremes in getting vengence. However, once Hrafnkel finally won back his homestead and pride, I found myself rooting for him. To me, this shift of loyalties and sympathies made the saga that much more interesting because you were always involved and invested in the well being of a particular character and you could never rest easy about their well fare until the very end.