S1:E0 - Seriously, WoT Have We Done?

Every great adventure story needs a prologue, so here’s ours.

Episode 0 of The Sibling Sidequest is an introduction to our fantasy book podcast: who we are, how we read, and why The Wheel of Time is our first big quest. One of us is a first-time reader, one is a longtime rereader, and both of us have opinions.

From our different reading tastes to our shared nostalgia, we’re laying the groundwork for monthly deep dives, spoiler-heavy discussions, and plenty of sibling chaos along the way.

If you’re looking for a Wheel of Time podcast or a fantasy book discussion podcast, this is the place to start.

Transcript

Intro: This is The Sibling Sidequest: one eldest daughter, one little brother, and a lot of strong opinions. They’re diving deep into iconic fantasy series—one book at a time—and spoiling everything along the way. Will Lee finish a series for once in her life? Let’s find out.

[intro music plays]

Lee: Listen, we can't have everything on this show.

Lance: I agree. Volume on both mics? That's crazy.

Lee: This is a low budget production.

Lance: Basic level production right here.

Lee: We are not made of money.

Lance: Stole a mic from my father just to be here. 

Welcome to Sibling Sidequest, your new favorite podcast series where we talk about fantasy stuff. Mainly books. 

Lee: My name is Lee.

Lance: Maybe, maybe more. We'll never know. My name is Lance.

Lee: Lance, tell us a little about yourself.

Lance: I'm Lance. I work in healthcare, which is miserable so that's why I read fantasy: to escape from this horrible reality that we're in. And you know, try and read something that makes your life a little bit magical.

Lee: That's rough, dude.

Lance: I have three children. They're, they're beautiful. Love them to death. We're doing a podcast to talk about our passions 'cause I have nobody to talk about that with in my daily life. So here we are.

Lee: Excuse me, I am part of your daily life.

Lance: Well, I mean, yeah, we talk about it with each other, but I feel like, you know, we need to get that out there. Include more in the conversation.

Lee: That's right. We're inviting you into the conversation that usually just happens at every family event where Lance and I sit down next to each other. 

Lance: And nobody knows what we're talking about.

Lee: That's right. And I am Lee. I am the older sister of this sibling dynamic. I work in marketing professionally. I have zero children. I do have one very grumpy cat who will probably join us at various times on this show because there is nothing he loves more in the world than a closed door. I'm sure you'll get to know us as this thing goes along because boy, we do love to yap about ourselves.

So let's talk a little bit about what is our history with reading? First of all, Lance, tell me a little bit about how you got into reading fantasy.

Lance: How I got into reading fantasy. That would probably be from our mother. We have parents who love to read and when I was little, some of my earliest memories are sitting down at night and our mom reading us random books at night before we go to bed.

Like The Belgariad. And ever since then I have just loved epic fantasy, you know, these big quests that people go on and that, the magic, the gods, the whatever it is. I love that kind of stuff. That's where it all started for me.

Lee: We were super lucky to have reading parents and our house was full of books. And the rule that our parents had growing up was always that if it was in our house, we were allowed to read it. If we had questions about anything or felt uncomfortable with anything to come and talk to them. And most of what our parents Owned was fantasy. I read the Dragonriders of Pern when I was probably uncomfortably young, but I just got obsessed with the idea of having a telepathic dragon that I could ride, right? We just had tons of the 1980s style, like pulpy fantasy. 

We read The Belgariad together as a family. I remember my mom read the Harry Potter books to us and when the first one came out I was 10 turning 11. And so I was old enough to know that I wasn't gonna get my Hogwarts letter, but also young enough to like, kind of hope, like what if? Right. 

Lance: I was in first grade and we found that at my first grade book fair

Lee: That's right. Yeah. 

Lance: Yeah. And like saw him writing a broom and mom was like, we should get this book. I'm like, that doesn't look very good. And then we got it and I’m like, this is the best book I've ever read.

Lee: Yeah. So we had fantasy readers for parents, which probably shaped us into fantasy reading adults, for sure.

I wanna talk about the fact that obviously probably because of our background and also because we like each other and have a lot in common, our tastes in reading are very similar. I read almost exclusively fantasy and science fiction. 

Lance: Me too. Yeah. 

Lee: And we've read a lot of the same things. It is very normal for the two of us to recommend books to each other. Like, you will text me or I'll run into you at a family thing and you'll tell me, I just read this, you've gotta check it out. It's great. When I finished The Will of the Many last month, I'm pretty sure you were, the first person I texted and was like, you have to read this book.

Lance: Then I read it and it was fantastic.

Lee: You did? 

Lance: Yeah. Of course. 

Lee: Good. Okay. That's not the point of this podcast, but we are absolutely talking about that when we're done with this show. So we exchange book recommendations a lot. We read a lot of the same stuff and we seem to have a pretty good grasp on what each other enjoys. I typically know when I've read something if you're gonna like it.

Lance: Yeah, yeah. Like half the stuff I read I would not recommend to you just because I'm like, she is not gonna like that. But I like it, so. 

Lee: Sure. So let's talk about that too, because we have a lot in common and also our tastes differ a lot. So where do those differences fall?

Lance: Half the stuff that I don't recommend to you is, like we were talking about earlier. Um, I like, like self-published authors. There's a lot of stuff that I read that is just, you know, 'cause I have Kindle Unlimited and it'll recommend some random book that some dude published. So a lot of times they're not well, well written and I know for you that will drive you absolutely insane when you're reading it. For me it doesn't really bother me. Like, if it's got a good story, I can deal with some badly written stuff, you know? Yeah. So half the time I don't recommend you something, it's because I know it's gonna drive you insane.

You read a lot of stuff that I'm like, Ugh, that sounds like that is way too fancy for me. They're gonna be way too wordy with their descriptions of things, and I want to get to the fighting.

Lee: That’s true. I feel like you are such a story driven reader. 

Lance: Absolutely.

Lee: You are super plot driven. That is what you're interested in and you care about the characters as well. But I tend to be extremely character driven and far more interested in the language in which something is written. I've worked professionally as a writer in the past, I'm a words person, right? So that makes sense. 

But like, I love purple prose. That will never turn me off when people are like, oh my gosh, this book was so wordy. And I'm like, sign me up for that. I love that. I tend to be pickier about the structure of a sentence or about the way that language works. That's one of the reasons why the Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfus is one of my favorite books of all time.

Which you also love and we love it for such different reasons.

Lance: Love that book. But I did think he was still too wordy.

Lee: Yeah. And for me, I read it and was like, this whole book feels like poetry start to finish. It's so lyrical. I love it. Right. The reasons why we love a book are often different, even when we love the same book.

So that should give you the listener some idea of like when I am being critical of something or when Lance is of maybe where those differences fall so you can gauge for yourself sort of whose taste your taste best matches up with because, am I gonna complain about this?

Probably because Lance, what have we decided to read for season one of this podcast?

Lance: The Wheel of Time. One of my favorite series of all time.

Lee: Yes, that's right. We are gonna take on the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan. Which, listen, I consider myself a reader. I read a lot.

Lance: You do.

Lee: Here's another fact about me. I'm a gigantic data nerd, so I keep a spreadsheet of the books that I read every year that is very detailed, that has a ton of information. 

Lance: That is so nerdy of you.

Lee: I know. Oh, I know. It's such a dorky thing to do, but I can tell you that on average, I read over a hundred books a year. So I read a lot and as I've just said, I read mostly fantasy and I have never read the wheel of time.

Lance: We should all judge and shame her for that because that is a sin

Lee: I know. And I do feel shame about it. Right? Because this is a classic of the genre. Mm-hmm. When you're talking about great fantasy series, this is one that gets mentioned over and over and it is the favorite series of so many people in my life. You love this series. We have a cousin who reads this series literally every single year, reads the whole thing. 

Lance: That's a lot.. That’s a huge time commitment. Good for him.

Lee: Like I know that this series is beloved. And I have not read it. So Lance, let's talk about your background with the wheel of time. We've just talked about how it's one of your favorites. Do you remember the first time you read this?

Lance: Yes. So I found it. This is so embarrassing. I found it after I graduated high school that summer after I graduated, I don't remember where we were at. You remember that little bookstore over there in Vernal, whatever it was called?

Lee: Yeah. Bitter Creek Books.

Lance: Yeah. So we were over there and I found the first one, and I read the cover. I'm like, oh, okay. This sounds kind of interesting. Bought the book, went home, read it in like two days, and then spent that entire summer buying every single one of those books that I could find and reading all of them.

So. Devoured the whole series in like a month and a half out of that summer, did nothing else but read those books. I love a story and I can't leave things unfinished. So as soon as I started, I gotta get to the end of that. Ever since then it's been a favorite and I will reread it here and there and just have to, you find new things each time you read it.

Which is one of the things that I love about it. And it's a lot. There are some things in there that, there will be some hard sections that we'll get through, but you know, in the end, I think you'll love it.

Lee: So for me, I have attempted The Wheel of Time a number of times. It's not just that I have never picked it up. I actually currently own all of the books in this series, I bought them because I was like, I'm gonna read this freaking series finally. Have I done it? No. 

So I was gifted the Eye of the World for Christmas when I was maybe 14 or 15. One of our cousins in our cousin gift exchange bought me the Eye of the World, and I read it at the time and I finished it and I was like, well. That's not really for me. 

And one of the great differences between Lance and I is that Lance is a completionist. Like he starts a series, he's gonna finish it. I believed about myself for years that I too was a completionist. And then I started keeping these spreadsheets and what I discovered is that no, what I am is a serial abandoner. I will quit a series anytime, sometimes, just because I forgot that it existed, where I'm like, oh, you, whoops. 

I read, the Eye of the World, felt like it was good. But I also didn't care enough to find and read the next one, so I never did. I came back to it years later as I became better informed, as talking about books on the internet became more of a thing. I was like, gosh, I've really gotta read this classic series. So I reread the Eye of the World and I got to the end of it and I was like, Nope. And I put it down. 

A few years ago, I attempted to read this series again. This is when I bought all the physical ones and I made it all the way to book three. Then I put it down and I never came back. So that's where I am. The wheel of time has kicked my butt now on multiple occasions and I've never seen it through to the end, but I want to

Lance: And this year you will.

Lee: I understand that there is something special here. This series is so beloved and yet somehow, so far it is just never quite captured me. What I'm hoping to get out of this is one, a lot of time hanging out and talking about this with my little brother, which I'm super excited to do, but two, also to get to the end of it and to understand what everyone else loves.

What are you hoping to get out of this?

Lance: Honestly, just to have somebody to actually talk to about it. 'Cause I got dad into the series, right? And he read, I think he read like six of them. But then again, has never finished all of 'em. So someone that I can actually discuss it with, because I mean, I love this freaking series, but nobody that I know in my personal life has read it.

That's really what I, what my whole thing is, is I would love for you to read it. I would love to see the things that bother you about the series. 'cause I have some myself. And I want somebody that I can rage about with some of these things. And I want somebody who, well, I can talk about and be like, how freaking cool is this part? This is amazing. Or how awesome is this character, you know? Mm-hmm. Um, like the same reason I told you about Dungeon Crawler Carl is 'cause I just want somebody who can experience these things that I enjoy mm-hmm. And that I can enjoy them with, you know? And see their interaction to it.

Lee: A hundred percent. My favorite thing to do anytime I love a book and also when I really hate a book, is to tell someone about it right away. Right? Like you want someone to have the experience that you've just had.

Lance: Exactly.

Lee: And with something like this where you've read it, how many times have you read it?

Lance: I don't even know. Probably at least 10 times, maybe more. 

Lee: Whoa.

Lance: Maybe, probably more.

Lee: Oh my gosh. That is honestly more than I expected you to say. I also am a great rereader of books. If I loved something the first time, I want to experience it again. The first time I read through something, what I'm getting out of it is primarily the high points of the plot. And the second time you find a lot more intricate details. Right. So I love to reread. 

So you've reread this more than 10 times. You've got a lot of that stuff that's in your brain. I'm thrilled to dig into that with you and to find out what those little things are from you as I'm getting a first time reaction to this

I think it's gonna be really fun. I think it's, for me gonna be pretty hard because as we've just discussed, I am an abandoner of things and if I'm making a podcast that comes out once a month, then. Right? Exactly. So this is

Lance: You can’t abandon it.

Lee: Right? Exactly. So this is…

Lance: You know what’s gonna be hard for you? This is gonna be the worst part, is that like these books, they're, they're chunky books. Some of 'em are quite sizable. You aren't gonna be able to read other things until you have completed the book for the month. So what are you gonna do with your life? That's gonna be hard. That's gonna be hard for me. I've got like four or five series I'm reading currently that I'm waiting on the next one to come out.

Lee: Of course you are. I'm genuinely not surprised at all actually. That's delightful and I love it.

What you can expect from this show, the way that we're gonna structure it, is that we're gonna be doing monthly episodes. So once a month, we're gonna release a new episode talking about each book in the series, which means that we got a lot of episodes coming your way 'cause my goodness, this thing is chunky. Lance, how do we feel about spoilers?

Lance: Personally, I love spoilers, but in this podcast, we're gonna try and keep the spoilers to a minimum so we aren't gonna spoil anything, like forward in the series. I'm gonna try and keep it to the book that we are talking about right then.

But if you listen to this podcast and you've not read the book, we are gonna spoil everything. So. Be aware of that, but we're gonna try and keep it to the book that we are currently reading and not go ahead of it.

Lee: That's right. 

Lance: I’m going to do my best not to spoil ahead.

Lee: It's gonna be a challenge for us 'cause Lance and I both have never met a spoiler that we didn't like. My philosophy on spoilers is like, if you tell me what this thing is about and I'm still interested, then I wanna experience it for myself.

Lance: Exactly. like you're not gonna ruin it for me. I'm gonna want to, you know, if it's a movie, see it. If it's a book, read it. It won't change anything.

Lee: Correct. But the structure of the show is we're gonna spoil everything about the book that we are currently discussing, but we're not gonna go further. So if you are also like me experiencing the wheel of time for the first time, first of all, what have you been doing for so many years?

Because I can tell you what I've been doing and it's reading literally anything else. And if you too, have been reading literally anything else, and you're experiencing this for the first time, don't worry. We're not gonna spoil ahead for you. We're gonna do our level best not to spoil ahead

Lance: Unless you message me independently and then I will happily spoil all of it for you. That's totally fine. I'll do that.

Lee: Oh man, you definitely can do that. You definitely can chat with Lance in our DMs about whatever you want, because as he's just said, he's more than 10 rereads through this thing. 

And what you can kind of expect from us, we are not professional literary critics, we are not interested in an academic discussion. You're gonna get an authentic casual reader reaction to me reading it for the first time, Lance, diving into the things that he loves and hates. Because anything that you've read this much, you gotta have issues too, right?

Lance: And I do. I do have issues.

Lee: Okay, cool. Overall, I'm excited. I'm very excited. I've only read the first three, but I have issues with those already and I can't wait to talk to you about those.

Lance: You know what's funny is like some of the stuff we've already talked about, like with the, well, I guess I probably shouldn't get into that, but some of the things you've already mentioned are things that after you pointed them out that you hated them, bother me now. But I didn't realize, like as I'm reading it, I'm just so focused on this story, I don't pick up those little details to let them bother me. My brain just glosses right over that. And now that you pointed it out, I'm like, oh, that does happen a lot. And I hate it. Like I hate it now.

Lee: Okay to be so clear, I've read up to book three. I know a lot about The Wheel of Time just by being a person who exists in a lot of bookish spaces online. So I know a lot about the broad strokes of this series without having actually experienced it. Right? Which is just, I think, the nature of existing on the internet today.

Just by cultural osmosis, you get a lot of information. So I'm very fascinated to see how I experience this as a woman and how you experience this as a man, especially a man who read it for the first time as a teenager. And how that has shifted into adulthood.

Lance: Oh, it shifted a lot just from the first time I read it to like, years later in life, having kids and like a whole different outlook on stuff. Oh yeah, it's, it's very different already. So that will be interesting to get into for sure. 

Lee: Cool. Well I'm super excited to do that and that's what you can expect to find from us. So what do we need them to do before the first episode comes out?

Lance: Before episode one comes out: read the first book, read The Eye of the World.

Lee: That's right.

Lance: And then send us a bunch of messages after you read it and listen to the first episode. 'cause we want to talk about it with whoever wants to. So

Lee: Heck yeah. You can send us those messages on social media. You can find us on Instagram and Threads @thesiblingsidequest. Shoot us a message in our DMs if there are things you wanna talk about with Lance, if there are questions you have that you want us to dive into, if there are topics that you're like, listen, you're reading The Eye of the World, you gotta touch on freaking Nynaeve, because spoiler alert for episode one, we haven't even recorded it yet, And I can tell you there's gonna be a discussion about her coming up. 

Lance: This is what I meant about you saying things that I'm like, I didn't even recognize how much I hated that.

Lee: I'm saying! I've read book one three times. I got opinions. So if you've got other stuff that you think absolutely needs to be part of the episode, and you want us to talk about it, absolutely send that to us on social. This entire show is more fun when you are in it with us, and I'm especially excited to hear from those of you who are longtime Wheel of Time fans like Lance who are watching me experience this for the first time in real time. It's gonna be fun. It's gonna be really fun.

Lance: It will be. It'll be a good time. I'm excited. I'm glad you'll finally read it after years of telling you to read it.

Lee: I am hoping to come away from this understanding exactly what it is that makes this series so special. Thanks for listening to our show. We'll see you in the next one. Buckle up.