The Side Questers - by J J Kochmanski (Hardcover)

About the Book

This cozy action-adventure with romantic elements follows Anya, a non-playable character (NPC) in a fantasy role-playing game, as she discovers new details of her origin story that push her into the main questline alongside grumpy Cyrus Blackwood as they work to prove to themselves--and their creators--that they can be heroes too.

Book Synopsis

For fans of Legends & Lattes and Dungeons & Dragons comes an unconventional hero's journey told through the perspective of a non-player character in a fantasy role-playing game.

Anya Dazel is a burnt-out barkeep in Eternity: The Endless Realm, the world's premier online role-playing game. As a non-player character, her life is stuck in a programmed loop--forever serving the same drinks to the same patrons and helping players with an automatic quest event that unfolds when they enter her pub. She longs for any disruption to this monotonous existence, even if that feels like an impossible dream.

But when Eternity receives an update, and Cyrus Blackwood is added to Anya's pub, her dream unfurls as a nightmare. Cyrus is everything that Anya is not--a mysterious, brooding warrior with a gigantic sword and a tortured past. Everyone in the tavern is fascinated by him, and even worse, when the next player arrives, it's Cyrus who helps them with their quest, not Anya. Realizing that she's being replaced, Anya lashes out at Cyrus, inadvertently knocking them both out of her tavern and into the wider realm of Eternity.

Free from their encoded home, Anya and Cyrus must work together to navigate a dangerous open world, overcoming hordes of monsters, devious puzzles, and maybe even an existential crisis or two. But as they struggle to overcome their distaste for each other and stay alive, they discover that their roles within Eternity might not be as programmed as they thought, and Anya will need to prove that even barkeeps can be heroes.

Review Quotes

"[A] diverting debut... Brimming with humor, opposites-attract banter, and cozy fantasy elements, this compact adventure offers plenty of fun. It will be a pleasure for video game aficionados." --Publishers Weekly

"The Side Questers is a fun romp, taking typical tropes and turning them on their head. It's a world full of characters I'd love to get a beer with--a perfectly poured beer, for that matter." --Eric Ugland, author of the Good Guys series

"In Eternity's latest video game update, two 'non-player' characters break the script--and discover real life might be the strangest game of all. J.J. Kochmanski delivers a smart, playful adventure with a mind-bending question at its core: Who is the clockmaker--and is any of this real?" --Scott Hylbert, author of Task Lyst

About the Author

J. J. Kochmanski writes science fiction and fantasy that explores the interface between humans and technology. When he's not writing, he works as a data scientist at a biotechnology company, investigating cancer treatments. He has a PhD in toxicology with a focus on gene-environment interactions, and he's passionate about understanding how the built environment impacts human health and evolution. In his free time, he runs, travels, watches scary movies, and chases around a toddler. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his family.