Terrific, throwback listening experience

A perfect match between story and narrative voice: Spaeth's Lambergoon has a classic, almost archaic feel, and its verse is tailor-made for audio, especially when delivered with a rich, Scottish burr. The kind of intelligent, poetic tale-telling that manages to recall Beowulf and campfire tales together-- excellent for kids and parents.

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Derek Murray's narration is the absolute best.

Perfect cadence. Brings drama to the reading one moment, humor the next. Never too much. Amazing.

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A Beautiful Little Tale!

What a beautiful little tale! Set in the far north of Scotland among the Hebrides Islands, Gad and his Shetland pony (Lull) are out doing their regular chores when they come across the Lambergoon! Runawayrunawayrunaway! Obviously, they have a great fear of the Lambergoon from prior encounters. The wizard Hoon manages to scare the beast off, at least for a time. Yet more must be done to keep all safe. Luckily, the king’s daughter Aud comes up with an idea that might do the trick.

Told in rhyming verse, this story is full of imagery, every word chosen carefully. I just needed a campfire and some mead to feel like I was listening to a tale of old! In fact, I listened to this one twice, it was so good. The Lambergoon with her six legs and the serpent’s voice was a scary foe, even for the aged and wise wizard! Gad is an average lad caught up in extraordinary circumstances. Aud, who has a small role, shows her strength in problem-solving. While this story is so short, the author did a great job in building these characters quickly, showing us their mettle as the tale unfolded.

Flatnose is referred to so I think this story is set in the 9th century when the Norse king Ketill Bjornsson ruled. His hall was in the Faroes Islands, which are also referred to. So this book is not only entertaining but also makes a good leaping off point to explore some Norse history and mythology. While I quite enjoyed this story, I think it would be great for kids as well.

The Narration: Derek Murray did an excellent job with this tale. He has the perfect Scottish accent and he sounded excited about the tale. I felt like he was fully invested in the outcome, keeping my ear engaged the entire time. I especially liked his voice for the Lambergoon and the excited (and sometimes scared) Gad. His pacing and rhythm were perfect. There were no technical issues with this recording.

Audiobook was provided for review by the author/narrator/publisher.
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2 people found this helpful

Loved it

A great little Scottish tale read by an excellent Scottish narrator! I listened to this with my kids who enjoyed it as well.

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A lyrical feast of words

I enjoyed the audiobook version of Howl of the Lambergoon, which is an absolute lyrical feasting of words. It's only 18 minutes long but the narrator does a phenomenal job of making it seem like a timeless classic.

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