The Wandering Inn

The Wandering Inn, Book 1

By: pirateaba

Narrated by: Andrea Parsneau

An inn is a place to rest, a place to talk and share stories, a place to find adventure, or a starting ground for quests and legends.

It is in this world, at least. To Erin Solstice, an inn seems like a medieval relic from the past. But here she is, running from Goblins and trying to survive in a world full of monsters and magic. She’d be more excited about all of this if everything wasn’t trying to kill her. But an inn is what she’s found, and so that’s what she becomes; an innkeeper, who serves drinks to heroes and monsters.

Actually, mostly monsters. But it’s a living, right?

©2019 pirateaba (P)2019 Podium Audio

This.. this is an immortal start.

I have read all my life. loved books, loved characters. felt heartbreak, and been awed by fantastic worlds. I've cheered hundreds of protagonists, hated more than thousands of villains.

The Wayward Inn is right at the forefront. I sit here, feeling. living. churning with so many emotions I can't JUST give a simple review.
I'll preface with the cons though:
some plotholes, mostly minor.
Erin is a little aloof.
Rioka takes getting used to.
depending how you feel about pacing can be a slow burn.
From what I've come to find out about This story though is it's the weakest of the volumes.
Calling this the weakest? I can barely fathom how much better the rest of the series is then.

Every character is a person. the world is realized. Not a single moment is filler and everything matters. Things seem to come out of nowhere only to make sense when you think about it. Moments happen that even if you foresee then you hold your breath for HOURS wondering. This is not a child's book. it's not vulgur or explicit. It is hard though. it's as hard as real life.

Good. Erin and Rioka.. and even the ancillary characters go through LIFE. life in a harsh world. Even the secondary and tertiary characters matter. every thread has points of importance and connect in the massive web that many high fantasy authors can't even make well. Aba is beyond most in their class. something special is in this story. and it's spoke to me. I LIVED and BREATHED this book. I hated this book,
and I loved it because it made me hate it.
I love this book. I truly love it.
And I wish I had the energy to even TOUCH upon Andrea's amazing performance. it's a masterclass. But I'm just wiped. I'm exhausted in the best way possible because I experianced my own immortal moment. one that lasted 43 hours that to me will never fade away even when I'm old and grey. Try this book. return it if you don't like it.. But try this book.

Awesome

Love the narration and the story is amazing best use of a credit ever!!! Highly recommend

Main character is absolutely incompetent

This doesn't seem to bother most listeners so take it with a grain of salt but for me it was painful to listen to from a certain point on. Not in the good way where I feel with character but in a way like watching a little child being all alone and failing miserably at almost everything they try.

At the point I'm at right now she spends almost all of her time either complaining, crying of being a total asshole to everyone that tries to help her.

I guess if you can identify with her the book is a pretty good read and I like the world building but it definitely isn't the right book for me.

WORTH IT!

This is hands down one of the most gripping books I've ever read.

About 5 hours before the end, this story turns into one of the most terrifying horror stories ever. And that's after spending the entire book falling in love with all the misfit characters to clutching my blankie for comfort. I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT IN THE SERIES!!!

So far.. just ok

Just started listening but not sure if I want to continue. The female lead character feels too weak willed to me at times. I mean I understand the author is going for realism for someone in a new place, but it’s getting annoying. Will update on how things progress from here, if I can continue..

Explorative Serial Writing & Lots of Fun

This was originally written as the first "book" of a serial story and a lot of it feels explorative which, if you are used to modern, tightly edited novels could make it come across as uneven when there is a sudden introduction to a second main character and two stories run parallel, or the point of view changes, or there are side trips of a couple chapters that are interesting but not developed further in this book (the appearance of the other humans comes to mind).

Effectively, you've got two books going here at the same time with a number of characters crossing from one to the other. Both main characters have significant flaws which make for plenty of interesting plot events. The Innkeep clings to several unrealistic social standards she brings with her to this world which cause others to have to save her more than once but also lead to the kind of developments that blind idealism can bring about. The Runner seems to suffer from oppositional defiant disorder and acts in a self destructive manner throughout the book although part of it was pushed forward magically.

The gaining of levels and skills through experience is kind of annoying. However, it is recognized as such and is treated differently by the two main characters as one rejects the system out of hand and the other is gaining levels in a class nobody would choose in a role playing game.

While the story is clearly not wrapped up when it ends (remember this is the first part of an ongoing serial), there is a climactic event at the end which was impressive in its scope and effect. I won't give away too much here, but listening to the exploration of the ruins was impressive. It's what you imagine would really happen quite often. It was involved enough that I stopped everything and just listened for about an hour.

I really enjoyed this audiobook and the only thing I'm truly disappointed about is the fact that it's the only one available. Hopefully, the voice actor is spending marathon sessions in the recording studio so we can get the others soon.

Even better on my Second round

Most Memorable Moment?
I don't know where to begin! I guess the big fight near the end. if you read/listen to it, you'll see why. The last minute hero is a shocker!I absolutely adored this book. It had some of everything. I went through a range of emotions throughout the entire story line. I love that the story continues, and it is truly an epic. I have a great imagination, and I can see the entire movie playing out before me as I am listening or reading. I mostly listen to this while I am working. It is a great book to have on tap for days when you have to work and you just want to do your mundane tasks. Pirate Aba wrote a great story. And Andrea is the best performer for it. There is really no mistaking any of the voices. She makes Erin so annoying, which is basically her character anyway. I think the voice for Ryoka is weird for me, only because I've never heard an Asian girl sound like that. I know that she is half Asian, but the voice is still weird for me. But it grows on you and it is easily distinguishable. Pisces sounds a lot older than he is, being as he supposed to be 20 years old. I see her interpretation of his voice as more of a 35 or 40 year old pompous jerk voice. But once again, it just takes some getting used to, and you will always recognize it as his voice. I love when she does like the little Irish voices; ike the one for Ceria, the half-elf and when it gets into Book 2 for the Winter Sprites. Overall, this epic story continues on and there's even a book 7 at this point. I have read all the way up to book 7 on the Wandering Inn web site. I decided to start over from the beginning with book 1, because I don't want to come to the end of the series so far. So, I figure starting at the one and going all the way up to and through book 7, will allow there to be enough time for book 8 to have come out. This story gets you involved. There is great character building throughout the story. You come to care for and dislike the characters as you go and you wonder what the endgame is. I don't think the author knows yet, and that is what is so amazing about the book. Her mind is just a creative playground and it is phenomenal to watch it work! As the stories build, and the characters grow, you don't get underwhelmed by anything. And there is always so much going on and you are desperate to find out what the next storyline will be. This is a true epic story. I have read a few 20+ hour books and series but never have I every repeated one. There is something to find in each reaching of these. I am immensely enjoying my time in the Wandering Inn and hope that I'll get to spend many moor data hearing about Erin's foolishness and how this all ties together in the end!

excellent choice

It was a little slow in the beginning but picked up after the first couple of chapters. the narration was great, she used different voice for the different characters.

How best to describe this book.

I read and listen to a lot of books. I have especially been interested in Litrpg lately. let me tell you what I don't like. I do not like hero's that constantly complain and whine. I do not like hero's that do not enjoy being in a new world.

this book however dose both those things but on a way that makes me love it. I want more from this story. I want twenty books in this series. Even then I'm not sure I'd have enough.

please do yourself a favor and give it a listen. its worth it.

Good story, annoying narration

Interesting story line with a fun world. I enjoyed the way the author tackled the fantasy world vs. contemporary one. There is a lot of teen angst and big emotions that seem over inflated at times. I didn’t enjoy the narrator during these times. She has a single way of voicing this and it is soooooo anguished and teary that I had to skip some of it.