The Wandering Inn by Pirateaba
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A lot has happened since last year. I started this little series called the Wandering Inn by Pirateaba and thought I'd just fly though some cotton candy fantasy with a heavy focus on characters and slow burn developments sprinkled with tons of good humor, friendship punctuated by devastating blows and war crimes.

At least, that's how it started. I was amused at first.

And then I kept reading, slowing down my reading speed because I discovered that I was having a genuinely good time and I wanted to stretch it out. And then, all of a sudden, I read the twentieth book this month and cried. And cried. And finally decided to check out the web serial and how far in the published books are compared to the web version. Only to realize I'd gotten to the end of only Volume 7. And the volumes are currently in the middle of 12. And then I cried for another reason. And started reading from there.

But what does that have to do with the first book?

Well, I decided to give myself a treat for when I am exercising. I decided to only exercise while reading this story from the start. And all of a sudden, I've been working out a bit more than usual. And I keep doing other things that could be considered working out because I just wanted to get back to Erin and the Inn. And I just happened to get through the first audiobook again. On accident.

But I'm not upset. This series successfully upgraded itself in my consciousness to the top ten stories of ... everything. It's currently my main and ultimate obsession for the foreseeable future. I even convinced my young daughter to start it. You know. To give it a little chance. And I won't mind if she gives up by chapter 20. If she can.

She's now walking into traffic while reading it. I'm feeling like a bad parent now. And she's hooked well before chapter 20. I'm glad to know that it's not just me.

The thing is... I NEVER would have guessed how much of an impact these books would have on me at the beginning. These characters are genuine FAMILY to me now. All of them. Including the ones that take turns on my shit list. They're still family.

I hate this author for the utterly magical way I've been tied into knots.
And I can't get enough.



Original Review:

I'm reading this mainly because I wanted something COMFORTABLE. It SOUNDS comfortable. It SMELLS comfortable. It's also LitRPG with an absolutely humongous page count, between this volume and all the rest. So, if I play my cards right, I'll have an ENDLESS COMFORTABLE adventure.

That was my expectations.

So how did it pan out?


I got exactly what I wanted. Tons of absolute low level isekai, getting a class of Inkeeper, and generally making friends among everyone, even low level mobs that should have been despised. And let's face it, making everyone welcome IS very nice. Add chess, adventurer's stories, and even a necromancer or two either mooching off the Inn or killing countless people, and we get a nice, broad swath of a new fantasy.

And this being just the first book, and knowing from other readers that it gets a LOT better, I think I'm going to have a nice, FINE time. Now, if only I could get the scent of acid out of my nostrils. It's not unpleasant, but damn, as I read this, it sure got EVERYWHERE. (If only in my mind)

Damn synesthesia. At least it's rather citrusy. Like cleaner.



Personal note:
If anyone reading my reviews might be interested in reading my own SF, I'm going to be open to DM requests. I think it's about time I get some eyes on them.

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