Innkeeper Chronicles - Sweep of the Heart (December 2022/January 2023)

[Tonari no Emily]

Choko wrote: "I have been so busy, I haven't had the chance to update... 60% in. Love the insectoid folks. Hope they don't side with the bad guys. I absolutely loved the "sparring" duel:) Those women can sure fi..."

Knew you'd like the insectoids! :D

My favorite part of sci/fi (and fantasy I suppose) is seeing different takes on non-human species. So many possibilities!

[Nyssa]

New beings are one of my favorite aspects of speculative fiction as well. The greater the variety of beings and customs, the better!

I also enjoy new twists on old established tropes. I enjoyed the fact that there are multiple types of vampires in the Dresden Files.
I didn't hate that vampires sparkled in Twilight - I thought it was odd, but I appreciated the originality of the idea.
I think Black Dagger Brotherhood was the first time I experienced vampires as their species (instead of preying on or depending on the human race).

And this series is the first where I have experienced the same for werewolves.

The only long-held trope (that comes to mind) that I dislike is zombies. I just don't get the appeal. All I can think is, "Ewww, gross"!

[Choko]

Nyssa, you expressed exactly how I feel!!! I hate zombies too!!! And I love different versions of species we are familiar with:)

Emily, you know, for a person who hates insects and vermin in my vicinity, I sure love reading about them! And particularly whenever the author is imagining them with intellect and sentience... :)

[Choko]

Just finished #4... These are light and fun reads! Nothing extraordinary, but sure pleasure to spend an afternoon with. I enjoyed it quite a bit:)))

[Nyssa]

I am currently reading chapter 17. Is it me or is Maud’s personal theme song “Anything you can do I can do better!”.
I’m starting to hear it in my mind during her scenes, especially at the stables.
OMG, and the exchange at the wassail!! ROFL!!

[Choko]

Hahahaha! Now I am going to have it stuck in my mind:))))

[Nyssa]

LOL!

So, does this mean Helen officially has (view spoiler)[two kills under her belt (hide spoiler)] now?

The child was (view spoiler)[ swallowed by a freaking dragon (hide spoiler)] protecting another child. She has to be one of the most incredible children ever!

I loved this installment. Especially the last three chapters!

[Narilka]

@Nyssa - Yes about Helen. At least that we know of.

[Nyssa]

Narilka wrote: "@Nyssa - Yes about Helen. At least that we know of."

Now that they've introduced the whole (view spoiler)[kill count thing (hide spoiler)] as part of their title, I'm curious about the totals after that little shindig.

I hope we get to see more of them in the other books.

[Nirkatze]

Helen! (view spoiler)[Daughter of Madeline the Shireeve! Granddaughter of Innkeepers! Slayer Would-be Kidnappers and Defender from Dragons! Destroying her Enemies since the day she stepped out of the cradle! The Twin-Dagger Terror! Kill Count of two at the tender age of five! (hide spoiler)]

Please add on!

[Nyssa]

@Nirkatze - You are awesome!

My contribution (underlined) (view spoiler)[Daughter of Madeline the Shireeve! Granddaughter of Innkeepers! Flower who will Kill You Back! Slayer of Would-be Kidnappers and Defender from Dragons! Destroying her Enemies since the day she stepped out of the cradle! The Twin-Dagger Terror! Kill Count of two at the tender age of five! (hide spoiler)]

I absolultly LOVE (view spoiler)[Twin-Dagger Terror (hide spoiler)] LOL

I needed more Innkeeper goodness, so I started Sweep with Me. Are we all reading Sweep of the Heart from the website?

[Narilka]

Once the serial finishes, the Andrews will run Sweep of the Heart through the editing process and package it up for a formal release. No idea how long that will take and it looks like we're almost caught up.

So I guess it's up to everyone if they'd like to wait or binge the serial after Sweep with Me :)

[Tonari no Emily]

Nyssa and Choko on zombies: While I definitely understand the "eww gross!" (lol) I do appreciate different takes on zombies too. Is it disease? If so is viral, fungal, or even parasitic? Is it magic? Are they slow or fast? How much brains do they have left? Are they solely after brains or will other flesh do? Idk there's just so many different kinds of zombies to explore... Although I think I do need a fresh take soon :)

[Tonari no Emily]

Hehe love the titles for Helen!

[Nyssa]

Sweep with Me - Chapter 5 - How is Sean (view spoiler)[in complete werewolf form, removing a man's mask while said man is trapped in the ground up to his armpits (hide spoiler)] NOT breaking Innkeeper rules!? In fact, how is Dina (view spoiler)[randomly sinking humans into the ground (hide spoiler)] not breaking Innkeeper rules!?!
I has confusion!

[Choko]

You guys are hilarious:)))

Emily, I love those thoughts on zombies, I just don't particularly like reading about them or watching them... They just freak me out...

Narilka, you are hopping:)))

[Nyssa]

@Zombies - ^This

@Sweep with Me - I have switched to audio; I want to finish the story today, but I also have chores to complete. This will be a newish experience for me, as it will be the longest story I have listened to as opposed to reading.

[Tonari no Emily]

Haha understand completely :D

[Nyssa]

Nyssa wrote: "@Sweep with Me - I have switched to audio; I want to finish the story today, but I also have chores to complete. This will be a newish experience for me, as it will be the longest..."

It felt a bit down at the beginning but was entertaining by the end! :)

[Nirkatze]

Nyssa wrote: "@Nirkatze - You are awesome!

My contribution (underlined) [spoilers removed]

I absolultly LOVE [spoilers removed] LOL

I needed more Innkeeper goodness, so I started [book: Sweep with Me|49353950..."

Yes! We need a Flower bit!! Great addition!

Choko wrote: "Emily, I love those thoughts on zombies, I just don't particularly like reading about them or watching them... They just freak me out..."

Dittoing Nyssa's ^THIS^--for freak-out factor, Zombies have that cornered. But.... ugh...

Nyssa, I'll probably jump in on the early Sweep with Me train as soon as I'm done with my current audio! Looking forward to opening your spoiler tags.

And if you want to try expanding the length of your audio readings, you should join us over at the Wandering Inn... that was my very first audio ever. ;)

[Nyssa]

I've heard it mentioned quite a bit. Do you guys listen via a specific website?

[Nirkatze]

I got mine on Audible--used my membership credits on them.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Nyssa wrote: "I've heard it mentioned quite a bit. Do you guys listen via a specific website?"

It's a web serial, yes... so there's tons of old comments and author bits you can glean by checking out the chapters online at www.thewanderinginn.com

BUT... everyone I got to start reading recently has been sticking to the Audible audiobooks, so far... Andrea Parsneau has been doing about 100-120hrs of audio for the past 3 years now, through Audible...

The first volume was 1 audiobook, everything else so far has been 2 audiobooks... 7th audiobook came out in April, to the end of Volume 4... 8th audiobook is scheduled for July, I think, and is the start of Volume 5... Volumes 5-8 are like double the length of 1-4, so I'm expecting more splits...

[Nyssa]

Umm... that sounds like a lot.

[Nirkatze]

Nyssa wrote: "Umm... that sounds like a lot."

It is--but it's AWESOME!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Nyssa wrote: "Umm... that sounds like a lot."

It is... it's longer than Wheel of Time... but it's alot of slice of life stuff, in an RPG world, and alot of fun... we've only read like 25-33% of the content, so far... great fun to discuss, as well... so many characters to root for...

We tend to preface it by saying the first volume/chapters are a bit rough and slow to start, but it's not too bad, and things definitely pick up, long before the first volume ends... but that volume is like a Stormlight Archive tome...

[Choko]

I completely agree with Iain and Nirkatze! We are reading it together and we have paused at the moment, because we are hording the experience... We don't really want to finish before the next book comes out on audio... It is absolutely addictive!!!

[Nyssa]

My browser won't open the link you provided, Iain.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

the actual link lacks www... but I knew if I didn't include it, it wouldn't be recognized as a link...

guess I should have rolled the dice on http...

https://wanderinginn.com/

EDIT: guess the real problem was the the...

[Nyssa]

Timelord Iain wrote: "the actual link lacks www... but I knew if I didn't include it, it wouldn't be recognized as a link...

guess I should have rolled the dice on http...

https://wanderinginn.com/

EDIT: guess the r..."

It's working now. Thank you! :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I definitely tried the series because of the innkeeper connection...

[Nirkatze]

LOL for some reason I didn't even think about the Innkeeper connection.

I also keep misspelling Innkeeper and Innverse as Inkeeper and Inverse.

And you can join our Wandering Inn discussion thread [here] too. :)

It's nice having new folks jump in--brings back memories of all the best parts from the start again.

[Nyssa]

I occasionally misspelled it as "Inkeeper" as well - specifically when trying to pull the next one up on my Kindle. Then, it would take me a sec to realize why nothing pulled up. LOL

[Nirkatze]

Nyssa wrote: "I occasionally misspelled it as "Inkeeper" as well - specifically when trying to pull the next one up on my Kindle. Then, it would take me a sec to realize why nothing pulled up. LOL"

LOL I'm glad I'm not the only one!! I keep wondering why it had the red underline...it looks right to me!

So, I just started Sweep with Me. Enjoying the setup so far--new guests, new conflicts, but now (view spoiler)[Sean is in from the beginning! (hide spoiler)] I'm really hoping we get more Officer Marais on this one. :)

[Nirkatze]

Sweep with Me Chapter 2 (view spoiler)[OMG SPACE CHICKENS! That debate philosophy!! I love it. (hide spoiler)]

[Tonari no Emily]

Yessss! Join us at the Wandering Inn :D

[Nirkatze]

Sweep with Me Chapter 4 Yay! (view spoiler)[Marais not-quite saves the day! It's nice having the police officer hounding someone who both deserves it and is actually within his jurisdiction!

And hey, there's an Alaska reference too! (hide spoiler)]

[Nyssa]

I'm going to start Sweep of the Heart tomorrow, with the goal of a chapter a day.

[Nirkatze]

You're going to zoom past us then--we've got it scheduled for the 20th. :)

[Nirkatze]

Nyssa wrote: " Sweep with Me - Chapter 5 - How is Sean [spoilers removed] NOT breaking Innkeeper rules!? In fact, how is Dina [spoilers removed] not breaking Innkeeper rules!?!
I has confusion!"

LOL I think... (view spoiler)[maybe since it happened at night, and no one would believe them? Kind of like what they did with Officer Marais, when they had to kidnap him and his car and put everything back the way it was... Dina & Sean can protect their Inn using unconventional methods, as long as no one else sees, or the people who see aren't going to be believed. Leave no evidence and whatnot. (hide spoiler)]

[Nyssa]

Nirkatze wrote: "You're going to zoom past us then--we've got it scheduled for the 20th. :)"

Not quite. There are 15 chapters up now, so that's two weeks if I stick to a chapter a day, and then 2 more chapters should be posted during that time, so worst-case scenario I finish it 3 days early. :)

[Nyssa]

Nirkatze wrote: "LOL I think... (view spoiler)"

Very good points! LOL

[Nirkatze]

Nyssa wrote: "Nirkatze wrote: "You're going to zoom past us then--we've got it scheduled for the 20th. :)"

Not quite. There are 15 chapters up now, so that's two weeks if I stick to a chapter a day, and then 2 ..."

Oh good! We'll catch up to you!! I've been prepping the website into an ebook for easier reading.

Sweep with Me--finished! A week early, but I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts next week!

A lot shorter than the earlier ones, but well contained. I like seeing (view spoiler)[Dina & Sean figure out how to work together as co-innkeepers.

and I LOVE SPACE CHICKENS!!

The big finale was a little eh, whatever, for me. Maybe just too obvious? And I have trouble following action on audio. Though comeuppance is always satisfying. But I liked all the little side bits.

And Orro seeing his former master *mwah chef's kiss* tearing up a little... (hide spoiler)]

[Nyssa]

Nirkatze wrote: "Sweep with Me--finished! A week early, but I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts next week!

A lot shorter than the earlier ones, but well contained. I like seeing (view spoiler)"

I felt pretty much the same way you did. Although, I think Adira, Caldenia, and Dina would be a blast hanging out together!
I do wish Officer M was more involved, as well.

OMG, family vacation with Dina, Sean, Maud, and Arland (and Helen)!!! Did I mention I adore Helen? LOL

I wonder what Sean and Dina's kid would be like.

[Nirkatze]

Nyssa wrote: "Nirkatze wrote: "Sweep with Me--finished! A week early, but I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts next week!

A lot shorter than the earlier ones, but well contained. I like seeing (view sp..."

So true! I hope (view spoiler)[Adira takes Dina up on the invitation to stop by whenever she wants, and that we get to see it. (hide spoiler)]

Same thoughts on Officer M. I so enjoy his scenes. Even when he was a pain in Dina's behind.

LOL I'd love to see Klaus in the family vacation too!

And for some reason, I'm imagining Sean & Dina's child as a shy bookworm. With glasses. Opposite of Helen.

[Nyssa]

Vacation - Oops, I forgot about Klaus. I wonder if we will see him in Sweep of the Heart.

Officer M - Their unofficial spokesperson/connection to the "outside" world.

Kid - Yes, more reserved but just as deadly! (Maybe even more so if dad has anything to say about it! LOL ).

[Nirkatze]

Nyssa wrote: "Vacation - Oops, I forgot about Klaus. I wonder if we will see him in Sweep of the Heart.

Officer M - Their unofficial spokesperson/connection to the "outside" world.

Kid - Yes, more reserved but..."

If you want an answer to your Klaus question--I did a search of the ebook I made... (view spoiler)[His name is mentioned 11 times in the book. It looks like he himself does not appear, but is mentioned often. So far--in the first 15 chapters. (hide spoiler)]

I love it when Officer M starts quoting law at people... gives me happy fuzzy feelings.

re: Kid--just had an image of Clark-Kent style glasses remove, + shirt ripping werewolf change. Probably because someone threw his book in a puddle. And I suddenly decided they will have a son.

[Nyssa]

Nirkatze wrote: "re: Kid--just had an image of Clark-Kent style glasses remove, + shirt ripping werewolf change. Probably because someone threw his book in a puddle. And I suddenly decided they will have a son."

SAME! I had initially typed "if his dad has anything to do with it," but then I removed "his" and laughed at myself for assuming it would be a son! LOL

[Nirkatze]

LOL

[Nyssa]

Sweep of the Heart has (view spoiler)[SPACE CHICKENS! (hide spoiler)]
And I am glad to know that (view spoiler)[my mind would not have been consumed by the sphinx (hide spoiler)]! :D