The Side Quest Book Club Podcast

Slava & Jonathan
  • 4.7 (11)
  • Books
  • Updated Weekly

If you’re a reader looking for something deeper or an indie author working on your book, The Side Quest Book Club is for you. We skip the usual book reviews and ratings. Each episode turns fun side quests into real lessons, so you’ll leave not just entertained, but with a better understanding of why storytelling matters.

  1. 1d ago ·  Bonus

    The Author Platform the Book World Has Been Waiting For - thing.pub with Indie Author Jules Mourne

    She built an author platform with a public money ledger and an e-reader she says rivals Kindle. We sit down with Jules, founder of thing.pub — the ARC and beta reader platform built for the author community. Jules walks us through the proprietary e-reader that carries almost any book's formatting into near-print visual fidelity, and the book showcase pages that give authors a customizable marketing hub — accent colors, genre and trope filters, representation tags, buy links, and QR codes for conventions. We get into the public financial ledger she built for full transparency, the human-verification process and protections against AI scrapers, premium cosmetic themes that fund the platform while keeping every core function free, and how to get on the waitlist. Closed beta is coming. Sign up at thing.pub and tag the author friends who need it. Jules' Platform: https://thing.pub (00:00) - Intro: Closed Beta & Bug Hunting (01:23) - The E-Reader That Rivals Kindle (02:53) - Custom Book Showcase Pages (05:10) - Premium Themes for Your Book Page (06:39) - Free vs. Paid & the Money Ledger (07:54) - How to Join thing.pub (09:44) - Vetted Pros: Editors & Artists (10:42) - Subscriptions & Cosmetics (11:40) - Final Thoughts The Side Quest Book Club Podcast is a weekly deep-dive book review for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror fans who love getting lost in worlds. Hosts Jonathan and Slava break down Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere (including the Stormlight Archive), the works of Stephen King, and the best and most overlooked fantasy, sci-fi, and speculative fiction.🎙️ New episodes every Tuesday: full spoiler discussions, world-building, character analysis, and book club arguments that make you want to re-read the book to prove Jonathan wrong. We take a break during summer but have a full catalog for you to listen to. What we cover:📚 Brandon Sanderson — Cosmere deep dives, Stormlight Archive chapter-by-chapter👑 Stephen King podcast — from IT  to The Mist, and everything in between🐉 Fantasy literature analysis — hidden gems, classics, and what makes great world-building 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub

    The Author Platform the Book World Has Been Waiting For - thing.pub with Indie Author Jules Mourne

  2. 4d ago

    Rob Mortell Interview - Indie Author - Fantasy

    Dozens of agent queries, mostly form rejections. So he took his fantasy novel to Substack. We sit down with Rob Mortell, author of the indie fantasy TALES & TREASURE, for a full author interview. Rob explains how a quirky bard named Vatis, a bards guild, and bard tourneys became the spine of a four-year discovery-writing project. We get into soft magic versus Sanderson-style hard magic, a haunted Fangorn-style forest he invented mid-draft, why he wants fewer morally gray protagonists, and why he can't stand first-person present tense. Then the publishing side: six months of querying, serializing the finished book chapter by chapter, releasing a lost prologue and cut bard stories, and what changes in book two, BARDS & BARGAINS: three POVs and a more traditional plot. Rob MortellBook: https://a.co/d/5yYruJVWebsite: https://storiesofemre.com/Substack: https://robmortell.substack.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/robmortellwrites/ (00:00) - Intro: Meet Indie Author Rob Mortell (01:15) - From Dr. Seuss to the Quirky Bard (04:06) - Book It and Becoming a Storyteller (05:31) - Why Stories Make Us Human (08:40) - From Sports Journalism to Fiction (10:02) - Bards Guilds and Bard Tourneys (12:18) - Putting Himself in the Antagonist (14:22) - Is Magic Real? Soft vs. Hard Magic (15:52) - Side Quest: Are Dragons Real? (17:52) - Pantsing and Stories That Never Stuck (21:36) - The Fantasy Trope He's Tired Of (24:29) - Keeping Characters Fresh (25:47) - Overrated Writing Advice (29:59) - When the Author Steers the Story (32:50) - How a New Character Is Born (34:57) - Why He Hates First Person Present (36:49) - Querying Agents and Handling Rejection (42:01) - Finding a Writing Group (44:02) - The Indie Author Community (45:23) - Serializing a Novel on Substack (48:43) - The Lost Prologue and Cut Chapters (50:11) - What's Coming in Bards and Bargains (52:27) - Life After the Trilogy (55:02) - His Biggest Flaw as a Writer (57:04) - Indie Authors Worth Reading (59:26) - Where to Find Rob Mortell —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #TalesAndTreasure #IndieFantasy

    Rob Mortell Interview - Indie Author - Fantasy

  3. 6d ago

    Sunrise on the Reaping Part 3 - Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - Young Adult - Dystopian Book

    Why did The Hunger Games take off in the West when Battle Royale never did? We close out SUNRISE ON THE REAPING by Suzanne Collins with a full look at the world of Panem — and whether this one makes a good movie. Evan and Jules are back for the finale. We start with the four-year gap between the book and the first movie, and what we were all doing in 2008 instead of reading it. Jules argues that Kishotenketsu is why Eastern storytelling didn't cross over. Jonathan argues the dystopian boom traces back to 9/11. From there: the plagiarism question, Harlan Ellison versus James Cameron, and why every writer is afraid of copying something by accident. Then the prequel itself — what it actually adds, what Plutarch sacrificed, and whether Francis Lawrence can make the movie better than the book. (00:00) - Intro: Jeff Hayes as Princess Donut (01:14) - Is Dungeon Crawler Carl Built on D&D? (05:44) - Side Quest: Mario, Disco Elysium, BG3 (12:22) - Side Quest: Rules-Heavy DMs vs. Story (15:26) - Why the Dungeon Feels Real (20:01) - Side Quest: Monopoly Grudge Matches (22:14) - A Waffle House in the Dungeon (25:11) - Do Modern References Age Badly? (30:45) - Are the NPCs Real People? (35:20) - Earth Has Joined the Server (37:20) - Every Character Wants Something (40:22) - Side Quest: When to Cut a Character (44:04) - How Carl's POV Builds the World (47:46) - Does Carl Have Free Will? (50:35) - The Dungeon as Reality TV (55:22) - Who's Really Running the Dungeon? (57:34) - Live-Action, Animation, or Claymation? (01:02:41) - Why Peacock Bet on an Indie Author (01:05:32) - Side Quest: Must Authors Finish Series? (01:09:41) - Side Quest: Consistency Over Motivation (01:15:26) - Side Quest: When Fans Fund the Next Book (01:22:56) - Side Quest: How Our Podcast Grew (01:26:02) - Showrunners and Jeff Hayes as Donut (01:28:22) - What Will Each Episode Cost? (01:34:03) - Final Thoughts —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #SunriseOnTheReaping #HungerGames The Side Quest Book Club Podcast is a weekly deep-dive book review for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror fans who love getting lost in worlds. Hosts Jonathan and Slava break down Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere (including the Stormlight Archive), the works of Stephen King, and the best and most overlooked fantasy, sci-fi, and speculative fiction. 🎙️ New episodes every Tuesday: full spoiler discussions, world-building, character analysis, and book club arguments that make you want to re-read the book to prove Jonathan wrong. We take a break during summer but have a full catalog for you to listen to. What we cover:📚 Brandon Sanderson — Cosmere deep dives, Stormlight Archive chapter-by-chapter👑 Stephen King podcast — from IT  to The Mist, and everything in between🐉 Fantasy literature analysis — hidden gems, classics, and what makes great world-building 🎧 Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub

    Sunrise on the Reaping Part 3 - Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - Young Adult - Dystopian Book

  4. Sep 22

    Sunrise on the Reaping Part 2 - Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - Young Adult - Dystopian Book

    Effie Trinket gets a better character arc in ten pages than Haymitch gets in the entire book. We break down SUNRISE ON THE REAPING by Suzanne Collins — themes, character arcs, and full spoilers. Part 2 of 3. Slava, Jonathan, Jules, and Evan roll a die to pick a theme and land on the cost of survival — what Haymitch actually gets for staying alive. It turns into an argument about whether Collins gave him an arc at all, why he reads stronger standing next to Katniss, and how Effie, Maysilee, and Lulu do more character work in a handful of pages. Also: Plutarch's moral ambiguity, the old Battle Royale plagiarism claim, whether flesh-eating squirrels land as dark or funny, and how much the movie will sand off. Part three closes the series on the Hunger Games world itself.—📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: Wellerson Clemer https://www.behance.net/wellersonclemer123Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #SunriseOnTheReaping #HungerGames

    Sunrise on the Reaping Part 2 - Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - Young Adult - Dystopian Book

  5. Sep 15

    Sunrise on the Reaping Part 1 - Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - Young Adult - Dystopian Book

    One of us has a theory that this book was ghostwritten and badly edited. Part 1 of 3 on SUNRISE ON THE REAPING by Suzanne Collins — the plot, top to bottom, full spoilers. Jules walks through the prose inconsistencies that made her suspect a second hand on the manuscript. Slava reread all three Hunger Games books and watched four movies out of spite, and still landed at 3.5 out of 5. We argue about whether Snow is a Disney villain, why Haymitch works as a foil to a character who isn't in this book, how much Edgar Allan Poe is too much Edgar Allan Poe, and the inventory scene that made someone physically facepalm. Ratings from all four of us at the end, plus the movie scenes we want most. Part two takes on themes and character arcs.—📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #SunriseOnTheReaping #HungerGames

    Sunrise on the Reaping Part 1 - Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins - Young Adult - Dystopian Book

  6. Sep 8 ·  Bonus

    How to Start a Podcast Without Waiting for Perfect Gear

    How to start a podcast without waiting for perfect gear — just pick a narrow niche and find your 10 episode ideas. In this how-to episode, Slava and Jonathan walk through the actual process of launching a podcast in 2026, from defining your topic and audience to building a setup that fits your budget. They cover the 10-episode test that separates viable ideas from broad ones that get buried, why specificity wins over production value, and a breakdown of equipment options from $0 (phone in a closet) to $300+. Then they tour their own setup: Rode NTG1 mic, Elgato arm and key light, Govee background lights, and a full DSLR rig — plus tactics for finding it all cheaper on Facebook Marketplace. The bottom line: execution and consistency matter more than having the nicest gear when you start. Pick your niche, record 10 episodes, and upgrade as you grow. —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: Wellerson Clemer https://www.behance.net/wellersonclemer123Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #PetSematary #StephenKing

    How to Start a Podcast Without Waiting for Perfect Gear

  7. Sep 1

    Indie Author Interview - Keon Shore - Progression Fantasy - Fantasy Book

    She built a magic system out of Gödel's incompleteness theorem. Physicist-turned-author Keon Shore on THE BAD APOTHECARY, book one of The Ninth Path, and the Jungian shadow underneath it. Keon walked away from physics, then spent years turning integral theory, Jung's shadow, and Daoist inner alchemy into a cultivation fantasy where doing magic wrong tears holes in reality. She explains how a universe with repressed truths became the engine of the series, why she wrote it so none of that has to be visible to enjoy the story, and how Chinese web novels shaped her stripped-down prose. Plus why she doesn't believe in dark matter, what she does when a chapter stops working, and where book two goes when it lands on September 9. Free to read on Royal Road. KEON SHOREThe Bad Apothecary (Ninth Path) — Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FKNLX67Y Read free on Royal Road: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/144290/ninth-path Follow Keone on Instagram: @keonshore_author—📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #TheBadApothecary #ProgressionFantasy

    Indie Author Interview - Keon Shore - Progression Fantasy - Fantasy Book

  8. Aug 18

    Indie Author Interview - Marc Avery - Crime Book - Thriller Book

    He stocked shelves at Barnes & Noble and kept the A-slot open for a book he hadn't sold yet. Crime thriller author Marc Avery on DISCIPLINE, ten years from first draft to physical book, and building an audience on Threads. A hundred rejections in, a bookseller told Marc to try one more time. He emailed an agent who had already turned him down years earlier, and she sold the book. He talks through what Discipline actually is under the buddy-cop surface — brotherhood, and how far you'd go for the people you love — and how the serial killer started as a side character and took over the novel. Plus why Threads is the only platform that ever worked for him, what he learned selling books out of a box at BookCon, and the RoboCop scene he rewinds every single time. MARC AVERYDiscipline: https://www.amazon.com/Discipline-Marc-Avery/dp/1957950722Follow Marc on Threads: @author_marc_avery —📺 SUBSCRIBEhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/@sidequestpodcast 🎧 LISTEN TO THE AUDIO VERSIONAll platforms: https://linktr.ee/asidequest 🌐 JOIN THE GUILDOfficial website / Quest Log: https://www.thesidequestpodcast.com/ 💬 FOLLOW OUR ADVENTURESInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidequestpodcastTikTok: https://tiktok.com/@sidequestpodcastDiscord: https://discord.gg/WAPRX9Hbq 🎬 CREDITSHosts: Slava and JonathanEditing: CharacterNorth6081 — https://www.instagram.com/parasss.__Music: HoliznaCC0Distribution: Transistor.fm — https://transistor.fm/how-to-start-a-podcast/?via=slava Side Quest Book Club is a podcast about books, the people who write them, and the tangents in between. Some links above are referral links. If you sign up through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. #SideQuestBookClub #MarcAvery #CrimeThriller

    Indie Author Interview - Marc Avery - Crime Book - Thriller Book
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About

If you’re a reader looking for something deeper or an indie author working on your book, The Side Quest Book Club is for you. We skip the usual book reviews and ratings. Each episode turns fun side quests into real lessons, so you’ll leave not just entertained, but with a better understanding of why storytelling matters.

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