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The Barrow

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The Barrow

By: Mark Smylie
Narrated by: Michael Page
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About this listen

When a small crew of scoundrels, would-be heroes, deviants, and ruffians discover a map that they believe will lead them to a fabled sword buried in the barrow of a long-dead wizard, they think they've struck it rich. But their hopes are dashed when the map turns out to be cursed and then is destroyed in a magical ritual. The loss of the map leaves them dreaming of what might have been, until they rediscover the map in a most unusual and unexpected place.

Stjepan Black-Heart, suspected murderer and renegade royal cartographer; Erim, a young woman masquerading as a man; Gilgwyr, brothel owner extraordinaire; Leigh, an exiled magus under an ignominious cloud; Godewyn Red-Hand, mercenary and troublemaker; Arduin Orwain, scion of a noble family brought low by scandal; and Arduin's sister, Annwyn, the beautiful cause of that scandal: together they form a cross-section of the Middle Kingdoms of the Known World, united by accident and dark design, on a quest that will either get them all in the history books or get them all killed.

©2014 Mark Smylie (P)2014 Tantor Action & Adventure Classics Epic Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Magic Users Magic Royalty Heartfelt

Critic reviews

"Genuinely inspired, shockingly erotic, and completely fantastic." (John R. Fultz, author of Seven Sorcerers)
All stars
Most relevant
Worth reading, enjoyed it.
Started slow, but was interesting. I would recommend to a friend .

The Barrow

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not different but entertaining enough I enjoyed it for what it was, decent on the whole and pretty much non stop from start to finish. A good filler if you have nothing else is the best way to describe this book. Not amazing but worth a spare credit

not amazing but worth a listen

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A fantasy world with incredible depth and richness. Well developed characters and a doomed quest. Dark sword and sorcery, as mature as Game of Thrones, as intriguing as Leiber's Lhankmar.
Excellent narration by Page. Looking forward to Smylie's sequel.

The Barrow

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Not a terrible book, but not exactly good either. It's clear that the author got the idea that sex sells, but the sheer amount of it in the first half is just too much. Enjoyable though it admittedly is on a certain level, the fact that a lot of characters spend the opening scenes either screwing or masturbating really doesn't add much, just seeming to be there for the sake of it. With regard to the characters and setting, there's a very fine line between 'gritty' and 'gratuitously unpleasant', and this book is definitely on the wrong side of it.
A fine idea, not badly written, but perhaps spoiled by trying to be more like G.R.R.M than the man himself, right down to the noble sibling incest.

That said, Michael Page's narration is, as always, a joy to listen to.

Not what I'd hoped for.

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Narrator does amazing.
But the reliance on sex is boring.
Gave up after yet another erection being described as a turgid member.
Snore.

Couldn't get past chapter 4

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