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

So, I'm well beyond hooked on this. It just has the right pacing and the fearlessness to go far out afield to develop brand new characters over grand stretches of story, get me to love them, and fill me up with an entirely different view of this world. Funnily enough, each time this happens in the previous books, there's no switching back and forth between our other established characters until much later, but IMHO, this is a great feature. I feel grounded at all times. I care. And in this one, I seriously cared. I even teared up more times than I can count.

I'll tell you a secret. It may not be a huge secret, but it's one that is probably a huge, huge secret when it comes to those in charge of the normal publishing industry: I, and quite a few like me, absolutely ADORE huge books. I'm not talking about huge series, of which this is also one, but huge single books, as well. There's something very special about wandering in an absolutely enormous world, getting to know every aspect of it, falling in love with each character that shows us, and settling in for that potentially epic betrayal that might come with the obvious conflict to come.

In that respect, it's just like Wheel of Time. Staying away from your core characters isn't a bug. It's a feature. And going back over important scenes from their points of views, with all their secrets, is actually all kinds of wonderful. What seemed rather innocuous in one moment gets blasted with intense meaning and danger the next.

And best of all? We get to take our time. We're allowed to FEEL the slow, inexorable danger, know the vast motivations of the the great evils and all those who would oppose or at least be obliquely belligerent. And I'm talking about whole armies, here. Many armies. And single runners, innkeepers, grizzled old war heroes, ant queens, drakes, and gnolls. The small and the big events are given equal care here.

I'm frankly rather impressed. All along, I've been enjoying the hell out of this, all the silly bits, the slow comfort bits, as much as the grand danger and action bits. I think this series is simply filling my heart.

Or my stomach. With cake. Great fluffy cake with icing so sweet. But it's not an everyday cake. Oh, no. I feel like I've waited years, years of missed birthdays, and now Erin has come to me with something really special. Wondrous, even.

:)


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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