I love it, but...

I feel like it is important for any prospective readers to understand that this is not a 'novel' in the sense of most novels, that it has a beginning, middle and end and is plotted out to fit that mould. The Wandering Inn was originally (and remains to be) a Fantasy-LitRPG web novel that has very graciously been made into an audiobook, but that means that its formatting is quite different from other books. As of writing this review, it has over 25,000 pages and 6.7 million words- and while the audiobook and ebook versions have, I believe, been edited somewhat by the author since they were originally written, the story itself was never created in the same vein as a traditional novel or series.

Due to this formatting difference, you might feel as though the first volume of this novel has loose ends, focuses on characters that have little impact on the story, has little character growth or too little exposition; however, I feel that these issues mainly stem from the fact that this is a long-form style of writing. There is not too much thought put towards spelling things out for the readers through exposition as it is assumed that the world will unfold itself as you progress through the story, much like if you were to play a game of Dungeons and Dragons. The characters' growth and development will take longer as we don't skip through time with them to major events but rather experience the minutiae of their everyday lives, which means that their development will occur over a longer period of time.

The author has been writing this story since 2016, and there are currently 7 Volumes (so 7 approx 40-60+ hour-long audiobooks hopefully!) written with the 8th underway- if you are looking for immediate satisfaction and answers to the world and the characters in this first volume then this might not be the audiobook for you (I mean, it's 43 hours long to start.) But if you are looking for something with incredibly detailed world-building, engaging and sometimes ridiculous characters, and unique mysteries that you are willing to wait a long time to see unravelled, then this is the story for you. If you like D&D, SAO, or Fantasy-LitRPG's, I highly recommend giving this a shot. If you like strong female characters that are relatable and aren't just a male character in a female body, this could be the story for you; alternately if you like male characters that have strength in a myriad of ways, this has those as well. If you like the typical hero's journey being turned on its head, reluctant heroes, dragons, humanoid species of creatures that are not humans, and monsters- The Wandering Inn has you covered.

There is magic and mundane, there are battles and slice-of-life moments, there are really smart characters and, admittedly, really dumb characters. I implore you to give this story a chance if any of the things listed above interest you because this series has become one of my favourite pieces of fantasy literature and I think that as many people as possible should have the chance to experience it.

All that being said, I love the narrator that was chosen for the audiobook. Considering there are a LOT of unique characters and different races of humanoids to characterize, her approach has really blown me away, especially with the Antinium characters. I honestly don't think anyone else could have done a better job.

Finally, give Erin and Ryoka a chance. They can be really frustrating sometimes, but their growth does happen- Ryoka specifically I find has a lot of growth in Volume 2. The fact that the novel still has a large following after nearly FIVE YEARS should- in my opinion- be a solid recommendation in and of itself.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

23 people found this helpful

Excellent book excellent narrator

Loved this book and can't wait to hear part 2. The narrator is hands down the best I've heard!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

A wonderful story

Loved it. I've enjoyed the webserial for years and this lived up to be everything I wanted from an audiobook version of this story I've loved.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Amazing! It's already become on of my favorites!

Everything about this book was so well done! The concept was very interesting, the characters wonderfully written. I laughed, cried, felt actual fear and worry for the characters. I struggled to put it down. Even though its 45 hours long I was never bored, and I've never seen so much value for the price.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 star off for 1 character

okay it's good, real good. but 1 star has to be removed for 1 character who was annoying enough for me to think about stopping every time they're the focus of the story...

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Good book

I found it really hard to get through the first chapter or 2 seems like a really childish girl who does the stupidest thing to herself with out a thought. But it does get a lot better once the other Characters of the book coming to story. It is a good change from usually books where the m/c’s come into a world and are super over powered and do it all themselves instead it is the attitudes which makes or breaks them and binds the Inhabitants of the New World together… if you do like these types of books you will like and if you find it is hard on start give it an hour and see if it changes your mind too .. with the books being 50 hours ish it is worth it for sure

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

surprising! absorbing!

What an odd but rewarding genre. I became so invested in the characters. 29 hours went by like lightening. I cannot wait to go on with the next book.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

exceptional

The narrator's performance is simply Grand Master level. The story is perfect, the writer takes the time to describe the world. it's poetic

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Excellent performance for an excellent book

Has a somewhat slow start but the concepts and writing are so well done it doesn't matter too much. once it gets going though it is incredible. I don't know how the author managed to juggle so many distinct and three dimensional characters, and somehow the narrator is even more impressive with unique voices for every character that fit very well. the world building is absolutely incredible, the action is easy to follow, and the overall story, despite barely having begun is very intriguing

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

What a lovely book! Highly recommended

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this audiobook. The story itself was well written. The characters had depth. There were many funny moments and the entire book was entertaining. A reviewer had warned lit-RPG (something I've never read before) isn't like a usual book where there is jumping between time etc, and its more about following the characters along day-by-day including mundane things. I expected to be bored, but found the inclusion of the mundane and the linear progression to be quite charming. I felt like I was going along for the ride. I have never listened to such a long audiobook, but it flew by, and I looked forward to listening each chance I got. The world itself was unique and interesting. And the narration - wow! Andrea did such an incredible job, she brought this story to life with her narration skills. I am going to start the next book now, just wanted to write this review to encourage others to give this book a chance!!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!