The King of Duels
by Pirateaba
The King of Duels is the sixteenth The Wandering Inn audio book. What’s remarkable about it isn’t that it’s part such a long series, but rather that after fifteen long books, this one has a different narrator. The book comes with a foreword from the previous narrator where she explains her decision to step away from the series. One might speculate about there being drama behind the scenes, but to me, it doesn’t seem like it (and it’s none of my business anyway), so let’s not dwell on the reasons. Ultimately, Andrea Parsneau handed over the microphone to Erin Bennet, the new narrator.
The storylines of this volume are largely about setting up future events and introducing new characters (Maviola El, Onieva, Tritel & Ci, Salamani, and more), and there’s not that much to say about them if I want to avoid spoilers. Instead, let’s talk more about the new narrator.
According to some napkin math and a reddit post from a year ago, Andrea Parsneau narrated over 600 hours of The Wandering Inn and The Singer of Terandria (a spin-off series). That’s more than 25 days worth of audio. After so long, the thought of hearing a new voice narrating characters I’ve come to know and had me a bit… concerned. What if I didn’t like the new narrator?
I went into The King of Duels expecting not to get along with the new narrator (I’m not a fan of change), but hoping I’d get used to her by the end of the book. I’m happy to say my hope was not in vain.
At first, the new narration felt strange. It wasn’t just the voice that was different, but also its attitude. I felt as if the narrator tried to infuse the story with a sense of excitement I didn’t feel myself. Like the voice telling the story could add tension to situations that didn’t need it.
I don’t know if it was intentional or if it was something I imagined, but I know that at some point I ceased to notice. Halfway through the book, the new voice felt perfectly natural and in tune with the story.
What really stood out to me is that despite the voice being different, and despite words and names being pronounce differently (Raskgar, Nerrhavia), many of the accents used by the original narrator carried over to the new one. Not for all characters, and not perfectly, but close enough.
The one that truly stood out in this way was Lyonette. Her first words in the book were spoken in exactly the same way the original narrator would have said them, and that’s when my concerns about the new voice began to fade. So, if you’re a follower of the series, but you’ve been worried about the new narrator, rest easy. Erin Bennet is doing a stellar job.
I did mention earlier that the book is mostly about building up new storylines, but there are two (non-spoiler) things I want to highlight.
First. This volume contains the second Mating Rituals chapter, which is both cringeworthy, hilarious, and thoughtful. It’s about exploring the attitudes towards sex among the various characters of the story as well as throughout Innworld in general. Particularly noteworthy is strategist Anand’s (or was it Belgrade’s) concern about pregnancy among female antinium. On the surface, it’s laugh-out-loud hilarious, but it also brings up the issues of gender identity, reproduction, and sexual awareness in a way that feels natural.
Second. We begin to see how the evolution of the scrying orb as a medium of communication will affect the world.
One of the most important moments in the series so far is the Face-Eater Moth Attack on Liscor (Book 7: Rains of Liscor). This was the first time a major event was broadcast live, with commentary, to scrying orbs across the world. Essentially, the birth of television – except using crystal balls and enchanted mirrors. Here, in volume 16, the scrying orb has become a much more common thing, with rulers and dignitaries competing to show off on the one available channel, and with the everyone of note tuning in whenever something important happens. Only, what is important, and who decides? Is a giant undead monster more or less newsworthy than juicy gossip about Izril’s nobility? Why doesn’t King Perric of Medain get to show off his parade?
Things like this is what makes The Wandering Inn stand out from a lot of other fantasy. The scope and width of the tale is such that we get to follow along with how Innworld changes as a consequence of people from Earth appearing there, seemingly at random, and it’s fascinating.
What I’ll whine about
There’s a lot getting started in this volume, but very little is resolved. The story is still enjoyable, and there are two exciting events playing out toward the end, but in the big picture, they don’t matter that much.
I’ve read the remaining books in the series through the website, so I know how the story will continue, and I fear that this is going to be an issue for the audio versions. The web serial volumes are significantly longer than what can comfortable be released on audio. The King of Duels is the 16th audio book, and it’s the 2nd audio book from volume 7 of the web serial. There will probably be at least two more.
With the story arcs of the web serials moving at a different pace than the audio books, there will likely be a lot of audio books like this one. Books that build up tension and conflicts that will not be resolved until later books.
Granted, there will also be the books that come at the end of a volume, where things do get resolved, and they’ll be spectacular (looking at you, Meeting of Tribes), but there will be a lot of ground to cover between those.
What I’ll gush about
It’s still The Wandering Inn and despite my reservations, I’m an unrepentant fanboy. The Mating Rituals chapter is awesome, and the events surrounding Klbkch are terrifying. Expanding the world is nice, and getting to know Maviola El reminded me of what’s to come.
Those of you who keep to the audio books and don’t read ahead on the website have a lot of amazing stuff to look forward to. If it sometimes feel slow, know that the story is moving, it’s building up, and there will be a payoff.
Final Words
Action, sex, magic.
