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Awake
The Side Ways is a 3-book urban fantasy series that centers around Kendra White, a girl whose parents belonged to a world that exists alongside our own. A world of seven separate Domains, peopled by “Reckoners,” some thousands of years old, who gain Ways of power from specific, dedicated perspectives.
Raised as an outsider – a “Mundane” – Kendra tries to make sense of a realm where every observation, decision and ability depends on one’s viewpoints and perceptions. What is fundamental to a Reckoner of Sight may be unimportant or even dangerous to those from Earth, Blood, Release, Increase, Flux and Chaos. And though awakened to the Domains, Kendra is still outside them; she does not belong to any of the related Seven Houses.
In her struggle to understand their history and tensions, she becomes an inadvertent piece in a power game some six-thousand years in the playing. A game whose last round ended with the Great Flood that nearly wiped the world clean of both Reckoners and Mundanes.
In the first book, "Awake," Kendra enters the world of the Domains but struggles to understand the people and powers she encounters there. She is a very rare creature in two senses; she is the daughter of two Houses – Release and Increase – and she was raised outside the knowledge of the Domains. She is unaffiliated, and this is not only confusing for her, but dangerous.
Most Reckoners grow up within a Domain where life, the world and access to powerful, supernatural Ways depend on your House’s perspective. In addition, the Law that guides interaction between the Houses does not apply to outsiders. Two strange events in one day – an odd and frightening Rorschach test and a dangerous encounter in the topiary garden she helps care for – bring her to partial awareness of the Domains. But she is still an outsider and does not yet completely accept that these events aren’t just elements of her imagination.
Brought to Solomon Monday, the Librarian and Master of Sight, she is given a deadly test that will either fully awaken her Reckoning, or be her death...
Raised as an outsider – a “Mundane” – Kendra tries to make sense of a realm where every observation, decision and ability depends on one’s viewpoints and perceptions. What is fundamental to a Reckoner of Sight may be unimportant or even dangerous to those from Earth, Blood, Release, Increase, Flux and Chaos. And though awakened to the Domains, Kendra is still outside them; she does not belong to any of the related Seven Houses.
In her struggle to understand their history and tensions, she becomes an inadvertent piece in a power game some six-thousand years in the playing. A game whose last round ended with the Great Flood that nearly wiped the world clean of both Reckoners and Mundanes.
In the first book, "Awake," Kendra enters the world of the Domains but struggles to understand the people and powers she encounters there. She is a very rare creature in two senses; she is the daughter of two Houses – Release and Increase – and she was raised outside the knowledge of the Domains. She is unaffiliated, and this is not only confusing for her, but dangerous.
Most Reckoners grow up within a Domain where life, the world and access to powerful, supernatural Ways depend on your House’s perspective. In addition, the Law that guides interaction between the Houses does not apply to outsiders. Two strange events in one day – an odd and frightening Rorschach test and a dangerous encounter in the topiary garden she helps care for – bring her to partial awareness of the Domains. But she is still an outsider and does not yet completely accept that these events aren’t just elements of her imagination.
Brought to Solomon Monday, the Librarian and Master of Sight, she is given a deadly test that will either fully awaken her Reckoning, or be her death...
273 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 26, 2017
2 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Andy Havens
11 books11 followersI've been writing speculative, fantasy and science fiction since I was eight. I write for a living as a marketing manager and still enjoy writing fiction and poetry on my own time. I've written at least 30% of five different novels but always stopped because they just weren't that interesting to me. Then the Side Ways came along, and I began writing with a new interest and energy for a fantasy world entirely of my own making.
I've always enjoyed being the game/dungeon master for live, pen-and-paper role playing games with friends. Having done that for 30+ years, I knew that one of my favorite parts was the detail work of creating entire cultures, histories and systems beyond simple characters. Because whenever I'd add a new character, the question always persisted: why do they do the things they do?
The Side Ways is an entirely alternate history, with the addition of seven magical Domains ruled by seven Houses that exist in parallel to the world you and I know. The power of the Reckoners within these Domains comes from the unique viewpoints of each House. The connections and conflicts between the the Houses reach back before the beginning of mankind.
Now... with every new chapter and character and scene, I get to think and take notes and write about that world, those Domains and their interaction with our view of history.
I'm having a lot of fun with it. I hope you enjoy reading. And let me know if you discover that you're allied with a particular House. I get that from a lot of my readers. ;-)
I've always enjoyed being the game/dungeon master for live, pen-and-paper role playing games with friends. Having done that for 30+ years, I knew that one of my favorite parts was the detail work of creating entire cultures, histories and systems beyond simple characters. Because whenever I'd add a new character, the question always persisted: why do they do the things they do?
The Side Ways is an entirely alternate history, with the addition of seven magical Domains ruled by seven Houses that exist in parallel to the world you and I know. The power of the Reckoners within these Domains comes from the unique viewpoints of each House. The connections and conflicts between the the Houses reach back before the beginning of mankind.
Now... with every new chapter and character and scene, I get to think and take notes and write about that world, those Domains and their interaction with our view of history.
I'm having a lot of fun with it. I hope you enjoy reading. And let me know if you discover that you're allied with a particular House. I get that from a lot of my readers. ;-)
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 16, 2019
Refreshingly new and interesting
Even before it gets all flying monkeys crazy the protagonist and milieu draw you in. Figuring out how the world works with new eyes along side her is pure adventure. The obvious question to ask a new reader is, "what House are you?" But then you realize one has to get right through the book before one could even begin to answer.
Even before it gets all flying monkeys crazy the protagonist and milieu draw you in. Figuring out how the world works with new eyes along side her is pure adventure. The obvious question to ask a new reader is, "what House are you?" But then you realize one has to get right through the book before one could even begin to answer.
April 14, 2025
Author Andy Havens takes the reader on a journey where you will question what is real and what is a hallucination. While the world can be difficult to perceive and follow at the start (likely done intentionally), the end result is a fascinating, intriguing fantasy tale with near boundless room for more.
December 26, 2017
A great debut novel. It reminded me a bit of Neal Stephenson and Erin Morgenstern at times (don't ask me why, though!) - in a good way. :D
Looking forward to reading book 2, which is already out.
Book 1 can actually be read for free on the author's website, but I'd recommend buying a copy. ;)
Looking forward to reading book 2, which is already out.
Book 1 can actually be read for free on the author's website, but I'd recommend buying a copy. ;)
November 20, 2022
whimsical and poetic
New favorite series. Twists turns magic and poetry all wrapped in one fantastic story. Can’t wait to read more from this author!
New favorite series. Twists turns magic and poetry all wrapped in one fantastic story. Can’t wait to read more from this author!
September 15, 2018
In this fantasy novel, the first in a series, a teenaged girl comes of age in a world that’s suddenly not the one she thought she knew. It’s way more interesting.
I don’t want to reveal too much, but watching Kendra realize that her hallucinations are actually a view into the world as it really is—full of magic and creatures and alternate realities—is a delight. The reader cheers for her throughout the story as she discovers more and more people in her life are in on the deception, and she faces down threats without fully understanding her own power or theirs.
There’s no way to avoid being drawn in to the world with her, watching her figure out the rules, possibilities, and limitations while learning to trust her own instincts.
The author (who, full disclosure, is a personal friend of mine) does a great job at revealing this magical realm slowly, giving readers the outline of its hierarchy and purpose without delving too deep into the mechanics. I don’t often read series—too much of a commitment—so this slow reveal confused me at first. I finished the book with question marks still around what this all means for Kendra and what she’s ultimately capable of. But, of course, I’ll have to read the next two or three forthcoming books for that part of the story!
And I will continue with this series. Kendra is too likeable, and the world too threatening, to abandon her after Book One. I look forward to enjoying Book Two as much as I enjoyed Book One!
I don’t want to reveal too much, but watching Kendra realize that her hallucinations are actually a view into the world as it really is—full of magic and creatures and alternate realities—is a delight. The reader cheers for her throughout the story as she discovers more and more people in her life are in on the deception, and she faces down threats without fully understanding her own power or theirs.
There’s no way to avoid being drawn in to the world with her, watching her figure out the rules, possibilities, and limitations while learning to trust her own instincts.
The author (who, full disclosure, is a personal friend of mine) does a great job at revealing this magical realm slowly, giving readers the outline of its hierarchy and purpose without delving too deep into the mechanics. I don’t often read series—too much of a commitment—so this slow reveal confused me at first. I finished the book with question marks still around what this all means for Kendra and what she’s ultimately capable of. But, of course, I’ll have to read the next two or three forthcoming books for that part of the story!
And I will continue with this series. Kendra is too likeable, and the world too threatening, to abandon her after Book One. I look forward to enjoying Book Two as much as I enjoyed Book One!
February 23, 2018
I thought this book was very entertaining. I read it quickly and in one whole day. The pacing is really good. It keeps moving forward. The characters are wonderful.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews