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Bardskull

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Bardskull

By: Martin Shaw
Narrated by: Martin Shaw
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About this listen

Bardskull is the record of three journeys made by Martin Shaw, the celebrated storyteller and interpreter of myth, in the year before he turned 50. It is unlike anything he has written before. This is not a book about myth or narrative: Rather, it is a sequence of incantations, a series of battles. Each of the three journeys sees Shaw walk alone into a Dartmoor forest and wait. What arrive are stories–fragments of myth that he has carried within him for decades: the deep history of Dartmoor itself; the lives of distant family members; Arthurian legend; and tales from India, Persia, Lapland, the Caucasus and Siberia. But these stories and their tellers don’t arrive as the bearers of solace or easy wisdom. As with all quests, Shaw is entering a domain of traps and tests.

Bardskull can be listened to as a fable, as memoir, as auto-fiction, or as an attempt to undomesticate myth. It is a magnificent, unclassifiable work of the imagination.

©2023 Unbound (P)2023 Unbound Arthurian
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Great story, it’s brilliantly narrated. I didn’t follow the exact detail of the story as it is quite hard to take in everything! But the rythmn and energy of the story takes you into a deep dive into myth and well known characters from history. Doted with personal stories. Would recommend.

Follow the energy not the story!

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This isn’t a review, it’s a postcard.
I am utterly lost in this telling of a story and many stories. The landscape here is both familiar and unlike anywhere I know. The food is deeply nourishing and yet sometimes lies heavy in my belly. I want to return and bring people I love back with me. I have forgotten if I’m still listening to a story or telling it.
This is a gift of a destination.
(The book. Not Devon. Still don’t come to Devon! )

I am lost in this story and it’s a wonderful place to be lost

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I loved this take on connecting to place in order to live and feel our mythology.
My favourite book of the year/decade/century. I'm going to explore Martin Shaw's other books now.

A book full of Wonders

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Poetry and legend and living myth. You don’t come across this often. A story of place and for our time.

Not sure how to describe this book?

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Thank you for your writing Martin. It’s a gift woven of hare and sea gales, with a witchy wisdom

A dream of wild word

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