Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion
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King of Duels
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The Wandering Inn Common Room (King of Duels (#16) releases July 29th, 2025)
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And it takes about that first "book" of that trilogy, 300 pages or so, for the series to get a bit of footing / fleshing out... the best parts for me were the interactions between Erin and the other races she met...
Rags, Relc and Klbkch (pronounced Kil'gitch on audio)... to a lesser extent Pisces ;)
Timelord Iain wrote: "Correction: Volume 5 audio is only part 1 of Volume 4 web/ebook..."Yay! I knew I was missing something. lol
A lot happens in the Wandering Inn. It'll be fun to get reaquainted with the beginning and groan with everyone. There will be rants. Heh
A little bit of a spoiler but here's a fanart by Pkay for Erin. 
Erin's expressions are more like this one by Sarinia:
So far my only rant are the descriptions. At times I'm reminded of Robert Jordan's unnecessary amount of detail that makes a few pages drag on longer than necessary. Those sections I tend to skim.
Hm, I gotta decide if I'm going to read the website or listen to audio. Probably listen to audio. Heh
I am doing audio for sure, but will check with the website from time to time
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I vote audio...
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I don't think anything in Volume 1 dragged for me, as much as (view spoiler), a 9 chapter flashback in Volume 3, and (view spoiler), a 6-9 chapter section at the start of Volume 4, that both could have been side novellas in other series...
The series really does have a weird format, since side chapters were inserted as Patreon rewards and the results of polls, over the years... they were generally inserted where they made sense in the story (and written around the same time)... but that doesn't always mean you want to read them... I usually seem to find myself stuck at those chapters, when I try to push ahead on the website, and end up just waiting for the next audiobook, to make it more bearable...
Can you skip those chapters without losing anything if they are essentially side novellas?
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not really?... it's more like the material isn't relevant at the time...
That first 9 chapter thing I mentioned was in-story, the characters telling a story on a journey about their magic school days... I think the backstory becomes relevant when the location impacts the story more again, in volumes 5-8?...
And the second one is relevant to a "baddie" that has a bigger presence in Volume 6-8, I think... it has to happen eventually, and since the events covered at the start of book 4 actually happened during book 1-3, it was better to plug them in there than wait any longer, since it's definitely causing ripples in the story...
Soo would need to chime in on my accuracy here, since I'm talking about things I haven't actually read yet, just spoiled a little and heard about, abstractly...
All of the side stories are important. That's the crappy part? Like when you get to Flos, he's a major character but I didn't like him or want to really read about his POV until Vol4. Pirateaba talks about how Flos POV was tough to write. I feel like you can tell when the writing is a harder process for the author.
The upside is that there is total and real payoff for reading the 'slow to you' parts.
Many of the plot threads are epic in scale and you'll get to see them in action. Eventually.
Looks like I won't be skipping those sections then if they are important.I'm picture these story arcs being kind of similar to malazan where they span across different books. Is this an accurate assumption to make?
Each volume as an arc that is a part of the overall story arc. All of the plot threads (generally different character POVs) combine into the main arc and carry different levels of connects for events, characters, places, etc. There are generally 2-3 big events in each volume and lots of little events that have big impact on overall story arc.
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I'm having a hard time thinking of a threat that's been fully resolved yet... am I wrong, Soo?
(definitely don't open this, first-timers... the details are vague, but spoilery... BIG spoilery)(view spoiler)
If anything, I forgot an unresolved issue, and not a resolved one :D
The biggest threat is only seen in pieces in Vol1 and you get more in later volumes. It's around Vol6/7 that we see the main play a bigger role. By Vol8: There's two big bad guys/threat but it could all be from same source. It's up in the air. =D
Most of the stuff in the Big Spoiler that Iain wrote are actually small antagonist/threats.
I thought it's realistic. I mean... she doesn't know how to cook or really do anything. You'll see. Plus side, she is totally willing to learn. =)
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Also, sometimes it pays to be unknowingly ignorant :D
Doing something because you don't know why you shouldn't can yield interesting results, especially in a world like Innworld...
Being ignorant and still trying is how Erin rolls. =D
I started the audiobook and I'm laughing at Erin. Cause I'm a terrible person? HehIt's good to note that all actions have consequences. That goes for choices too. It's a theme in the series. =)
Iain, do you remember when Erin learned to read? I know she did at some point, but I'm reminded about how she couldn't read the language in Vol1.
How far are you in the first volume already? I feel like you're already ahead of me lol
Audiobook Ch25, 10+hrs into Vol1. 😆Listening at 2.3 to 2.5x speed.
Dang lol I need to find the audiobook for it. You're like 20 chapters ahead of me already.
I've started vol 1 chapter 1 out of curiousity. Needed to find something that I can read between studying as a break, haha. Well, it's definately interesting.(view spoiler)
Saar The Book owl wrote: "I've started vol 1 chapter 1 out of curiousity. Needed to find something that I can read between studying as a break, haha. Well, it's definately interesting.[spoilers removed]"
Yay! I hope you like it. Details are all important. The tricky part of this story is that everything is presented in a frank & casual manner. So it may seem like nothing is happening, but a lot of foundation for the series is built in each sequence.
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[spoilers removed]"
The intro can be a big hectic... to be clear, Erin isn't on Earth anymore... this takes place on another world, that's generally called Innworld by the fans, because of the Wandering Inn in the title... I'll leave the rest to be discovered...
I think the broad strokes of why the Earthers are on Innworld is explained by the end of the Volume 1 or early Volume 2... altho I don't think the technical details (view spoiler) have ever been fully explained...
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Don't feel pressured by how fast me and Soo (and some other people) read... read at your own pace and enjoy... audiobooks might help, since you can listen without interruption more, generally, and speedup maybe... but only if that's your thing...
How do you track the pages for challenges and so if you're reading on the website?Finished chapter vol.1, 1.01:
(view spoiler)
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I'll see where I'll land with this one, but if I finish, I'll use the page counts on GR.
Iain, ha! You're Ch1-5 thoughts are spoilery. =PAlso, stuff about the Earthers slowly come to light. You just need to get to Vol5-6. =D Hehehe
Ch6-8: Because it's hilarious!
Erin/Reading: (view spoiler)
Audio: Ch37 - Gazi! About halfway done with Vol1 and I'm reminded of how interesting it is to see the different styles of POV, internal monologues and interactions that Pirateaba uses to tell the story.
Mod
Also, stuff about the Earthers slowly come to light. You just need to get to Vol5-6. =D Hehehe
Ch6-8: Because it's hilarious!
Erin/Reading: Total..."
It's only a spoiler if you KNOW it's a spoiler ;) ... and it IS in a spoiler tag ;)
I dunno on the Erin/reading thing... the Human/English language thing explains half of it... (view spoiler)
"Erin took one look, screamed, and ran. She was getting good at it."This had me laughing since it's a common theme with her so far.
Also (view spoiler)
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This had me laughing since it's a common theme with her so far.
Also [spoilers removed]"
Lots of good stuff starts happening in the first 20-25 chapters... that's about how far I made it today... sooner or later, (view spoiler)
For future discussion, Erin & Magic. Make mental notes!
Ok Soo. I got the audio version. I will start this week. Hoping I like it!!!
Woohoo! Andrea Parsneau is great. You'll love her narration. The characters? Well, please be patient. lol
We'll have to do a vote later on how many times we wanted to smack a character in Vol1. Bwahahahha
Vol1 Thoughts:It's a great example of the variety of story types that will be presented throughout the series. Mix of slice of life, action, magic, different styles of comedy and always the ups & downs of living. No punches are pulled in showing the good, mediocre, terrible and what the heck is that about a character or situation.
I think this re-read was more fun just because I know I'll be sharing and chatting about it with you all. Yay!
Soo wrote: "Being ignorant and still trying is how Erin rolls. =D"Hahah! Her and I have a ton in common:)
I just got to her first sane visitors, the lizard man and the insect man:) Love them both!!! I am definitely enjoying it so far:)
Fantasy Buddy Reads
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A buddy read for the webserial the Wandering Inn by Pirateaba.
The Wandering Inn
A tale of a girl, an inn and a world full of levels.
This is the tagline for the webserial on the WI website. =)
The Wandering Inn is a long webserial that is currently on Volume 8 of the series. The whole series is available to read for free on the website (https://wanderinginn.com/). You can buy the ebooks for Volumes 1 to 7 on Amazon, create your own ebook using an ebook creator, or buy the audiobooks for Volumes 1 to 4 (Part1) at Audible.
The series is a kitchen sink of all genres thrown in together. However, you have to read it to find that out. =P
It starts off slow and rough with the arrival of a girl in a foreign world. The writing evolves & improves over time. The author has written thousands of pages over the years. I believe this series is the longest one by page count that I've ever read.
In the beginning, the story is a mix of slice of life & LitRPG with a smattering of adventure and magic.
Buddy Read:
- Read at your own pace.
- Share your thoughts about the story or rant. There will be rants.
Posting Rules:
- Volume & Chapter/Character
- Spoilers need to be placed in Spoiler Tags.
Notes:
- Volume 1 is being rewritten. So, what's on the website will change in a few weeks. Key points of the story should remain the same. Pirateaba wants to make the story more accessible to new readers.
- The website has the whole series, fan art and wiki. As you read the series, I recommend going on the website and looking at end of the chapters and 1st comment post. That way, you can see the author notes & what art, music or stuff has been created for the series. Going to the wiki/fan art page will have many spoilers.