Winter Solstice: The Wandering Inn, Book 4

Please see my review in book #1.This is my new #1 book series by far.I am amazed at the incredible talent of this writer.

It's interesting that fantasy series (well books) that tend to run this long either fall into the epic or episodic where there's some /big/ thing that underlies the story being told and the characters are caught up in it or moving to resolve it or each book is a more or less complete story that ends and the next story picks up with the same set of characters and a new problem. This series isn't really either, the books aren't particularly episodic they typically end with a minor resolution of current plot points but there's definitely stuff still going on. And they aren't epic in that there doesn't seem to be some overarching theme or villain or problem that's grabbing everyone's attention. There are some hints of things that might be like that but they're very, very low key and seemingly unrelated.Right now it's a story about interesting characters in an interesting world setting.

This series builds characters so well they feel real, and their heartbreaks and triumphs are my own to suffer and enjoy.

This is an entertaining entry in the series but it does highlight the serial origins of the story. The first half is split between Rag, the smart goblin, and her journey to lead and prepare her tribe to fight the Goblin Lord, and backstory for the mage characters Pisces and Ceria as they attend the famous Wistram Academy. The last half of the book returns to Erin and her journey back to her inn and catches up with Rioka the runner. The story brings in some of the side characters from the last book as they meet the main cast, but for the most part the book feels like a collection of side stories. They are good stories but there’s not much progress on any major storylines. Nor are there any really big conflicts. The storyline with Rags had the most action, but there were other kinds of conflicts in the stories that kept things entertaining.Overall, while the book is entertaining, it really did feel like a collection of short stories put together. Which isn’t bad since I liked all the characters. It’s just a reminder that this is originally a serial series published online which means tighter smaller story arcs sometimes.Score: 7.7 out of 10

First off, the only reason I purchased this book is to support the author. If you don't already know, the whole series and what ostensibly could be considered 8 more full length novels worth of sequels can be found online for free. But beyond that, no other series is like the Wandering Inn. As novels go, this series has evoked the whole gambit of emotions from laugh out loud funny to heartfelt tears. And always you are left desiring more. It is written in a slice of life fashion with more characters than you can shake a Wheel of Time box set at.I won't summarize this book, nor would I recommend that you start here, it would make no sense. Start at the beginning and know that you are in for an amazing ride.

This author may be a novice, bit her writing captures emotion, and immortal moments like free authors have. I've laughed and wept at these words, and can't wait for the next book to begin.

It's still a great story to read but I found it slightly odd that the author put a novella in the middle of the book. I just don't know how I feel about it. 3 stars for the novella and five for the normal story.

As a grown man who is a military veteran I can say that this book literally made me cry, laugh out loud, and gasp in wonder. My wife knows when I'm reading The Wandering Inn because she can see it in my face. Few other book series have evoked such a spectrum of emotion from me. 10/10

Book 4 of The Wandering Inn covers the second half of Volume 3 of the series. As such a lot of what was true about book 3 is true of this one. To begin with both Erin and Ryoka aren’t featured heavily. This is a look about the effect they had on the world around them and what it looks like now that they’re temporarily gone. Whether it’s Erin’s influence on Rags or Lyonette trying to keep the inn going by herself it’s wonderful to see just how people they’ve come into contact with have changed.Also we get backstory on Ceria and Pisces and a look at their time together in the magical island school of Wistram. Which was a fun and slightly sad read. Pirate Aba is really good at character building and having people react in very realistic ways. It explains a lot and fills in some holes, though also leaves some more tantalising questions.Of course Erin can’t stay away from the inn forever and the latter half of the novel sees her return, bringing everything full circle. And what a return it is, because of course things have changed in her absence and she herself has changed. But she remains, in a way, very much herself.Honestly, I don’t think I can talk enough about how interesting a character Erin Solstice is. She doesn’t like violence, hates that she’s good at it, and is in some ways very silly. But she’s got a rock hard core of determination and guts, plus the willingness to do whatever it takes to protect people and stand up for what she feels is right.This book also contains more of one of my favourite things, which is ‘characters learning the lore behind Erin.’ It doesn’t happen all that often but when a more newly introduced character learns that she can fight off shield spiders or poked out the eye of a Named Adventurer, it is very entertaining.It all wraps up in an amazing finale, managing to end on a very eery note. Frankly the second last chapter would also be a great one to end on but the actual ending we got was amazing. The author keeps pulling surprise and terror into this world in new and innovative ways. It’s astounding that a book that has one of the main characters squealing because they almost touched a poo slime could also include that.Basically this series continues to be amazing, building layer upon layer to make something fantastic. It’s a slow build at points and the books continue to be long but oh what a journey it is.

This entry maintains the momentum while giving us a look at the past and the goings on of second teer characters. Rags continues her quest to strengthen her tribe and discovers more of what it means to be goblin. While Erin journeys back to the inn on the wagon it's time to learn how Celia and Pisces met on the mage academy and what happened to drive them apart. As this series started as a web serial it is told in long form and we get several interludes. I like this sort of storytelling as it builds the lore while developing secondary characters. Ryoka meets up with someone else from earth and lends a hand. Meanwhile it's time for Erin to introduce several new inervations and cultural holidays to Innworld. The city guards playing Santa was incredible. Talk about spreading Christmas cheer old school style. I've recently checked out the Wandering Inn website and was amazed to see that there is almost another 24 unpublished novels to come as of this review. I can see many more hours of enjoyment ahead.

Really enjoyed this installment of the story. Book 4 really has hit all the emotions from joy to sadness. These books keep getting bettet.Well worth a read

This has been one of the most intriguing and magical series and i find in it so many wonders from the best stories I've ever known.