The Apocalypse Is a Side Quest: Book One

By: Liam Lawless

Narrated by: B.J. Harrison

Sometimes the best way to save the world is to ignore it completely.

Nathan Lee has exactly three talents: overthinking social encounters, avoiding responsibility, and farming in video games. When the apocalypse hits, he accidentally dumps all his rare skill points into… fishing. Just his luck.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the kind of apocalypse he can dodge by hiding in his room. Humanity has been ripped from Earth and dropped into a colossal multidimensional dungeon—a nine-realm gauntlet straight out of a nightmare. Legends armed with [Gigantic Sword of Doom] and [Fireball Barrage] are fighting to carve a path home. Nathan? He’s busy maxing out [Ability to Sit Quietly in a Boat]. He’ll leave the hero stuff to someone who doesn’t get queasy at the sight of blood.

Too bad the universe has other plans.

On his first day in the tutorial, he accidentally deletes a monster from reality thanks to a system bug. Then he feeds a snail radishes and gets a rare skill. Now he's taking down ogres with his fishing rod!? It turns out that side quest rewards and weak classes are more powerful than anyone expected.

So grab your tackle box and buckle your overalls. It's sink or swim in this side-questing calamity!

©2025 Shadow Alley Press (P)2025 Shadow Alley Press

Glad I was wrong!

I had very different and somewhat disappointing outlook for the book and series as a whole. I thought that it would be like another all fishing/cultivating book series like Heretical Fishing. Was so glad I was wrong after a few chapters in! It became a grade A book and held my attention from morning till late night, love how op the MC is with just one hand literally saying to old saying “ I’ll take you with one hand behind my back!” Ahahahaha. Looking forward to book 2 and hoping it keep up with this book!

loved this book got hooked in the first chapter

I think this book has great story and I love it can't wait for book 2.

A reasonably good listen

At first I thought he was stealing heretical fishing. That said, it’s different enough that maybe he took some ideas but he diverted just fine. I enjoy the characters and the unique way the MC has to figure his way through things. I’ll listen to the next one when it comes out.

This isn't a story.This is an event

This isn't a story. This is an event. The has a really good main character, and the psi characters harmonize with that character so much. They fill in the areas that he just can't accessed it himself. Especially when it comes to the dark side, he's fighting so hard But there's something more important, and that's how they deal with the amputees that's the main character has, and played for sympathy. It's just a part of his experience, which makes it so much more powerful. And when he gets his prosthetic and the way he gets the prosthetic, set things up for the next book, the only problem i'm having is that.It'll probably i want this series every month. This is the one you spend your credit on. If you really want to support a great writer, I do wish she would do some collaborations, though, with some of the other great authors, jonathan brooks, I.'m mentioning you

The start was fishy, but overall a solid first book

Honestly, I wasn't a big fan of the story until after our main character left the tutorial. Once he does, the story gets far more interesting. To me the story is at its strongest when the side characters start getting involved, and other systems are introduced.

Overall, I am looking forward to book 2.

Also, this is nothing even remotely close to Heretical Fishing. For the sake of clearing up the misconception, fishing becomes his combat art. if you want to know how that works, then give the story a shot.

Naration was solid as well.