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Aymaran Shadow

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Sanya Rawat, a psychology student, finds her mundane life savagely disrupted when two strangers – an unpredictable old English woman and a beastly man from Bolivia – contact her on a social networking site. One among them is a macabre killer from Sanya’s past life, driven by an eternal and insatiable thirst for her blood.

Strange out-of-body experiences and hallucinations start to haunt Sanya, revealing clues to her past identity, even as she stumbles through a series of unusual incidents that follow an eerie pattern. To make sense of it all, Sanya must learn a terrifying truth about her past life that threatens her very existence now.

It becomes a nerve-wracking fight for survival in the end as she is hunted and accosted by the two would-be assailants. To survive, she must choose sides – an arduous decision fraught with peril. Only gut instinct and the sheer will to live guide her as she confronts the gory face of death from her previous life once again.

148 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2013

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103 people want to read

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Hemanth Gorur

4 books7 followers

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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
Profile Image for Ariel Hudnall.
Author 0 books58 followers
June 20, 2013
Having followed Aymaran Shadow's teasers across Facebook, I was really looking forward to getting a chance to read it. Hemanth Gorur did not disappoint.

I was immediately blown away by the author's sophisticated use of the language to truly build a narrative around the story. And what a story to tell. The story gets much of his historical roots from the Spanish Conquest, and the rape and murder of a Aymaran woman in 1781. The story uses that history to embellish the narrative. Readers should be aware that some of the overriding themes in the story are rape and loss of dignity, and these are visited rather frequently.

The characters are deeply embellished, making them feel real; very well thought out. The author's effortless use of multiple languages makes the world feel real and the reader can gain a sense of actually being in many different locations around the world. The settings were masterfully described. I loved almost all of the dialog and the use of social media and texts to drive the suspense of the plot along.

One of the hardest tests a book goes through when I am a reader is during the climax and conclusion. I am usually mildly to severely disappointed by the way books end, but for Aymaran Shadow, I have no complaints, at all. It was an impactful, gripping conclusion to a story that never lost a moment of suspense. I was left with a feeling like the story really had ended, but the satisfaction of the ending lingered pleasantly. An excellent read!
Profile Image for Meenakshi.
10 reviews56 followers
June 18, 2013
An ethereal experience for a reader as you are sucked into the world where the writer takes you. And it’s a world of tragedy, retribution and redemption. After a long time, I have come across a novelist whose sense of unification of time, place and action approaches Aristotelian proportions. The protagonist has to undergo the same destiny across time, and each time it’s a scar not only on the body but on the psyche as well. The protagonist’s catharsis induces both pity and fear – pity for the protagonist and fear that this fate could befall us too. It’s a reading spectacle where we will sigh, love, cry and be petrified! A spine-chilling experience which will hover on your mind for days to come… where we will start believing that there is a world beyond this world… a paranormal space where you will fear to tread!
Meenakshi Khosla
Profile Image for Ciclochick.
607 reviews14 followers
June 18, 2013
An intriguing paranormal thriller I really enjoyed: a genre which I’ve barely explored, and in this instance I was pleasantly surprised.

We get transported to three corners of the world, starting with eighteenth-century Bolivia. When we move to present-day India, our interest focuses on a young psychology student, Sanya. Like most young people, she spends the requisite amount of time on social networking. But two very unusual friend requests, some very disturbing dreams and scenes of a deja-vu nature suddenly rock her ordinary university life to the core: a past life is catching up with her and fast. Said ‘friends’ are not at all they seem to be: they trick and deceive her. She has to decide, drawing wisely on her psychology studies, which one is her friend and which is her enemy: for, if the wrong one—the one hellbent on revenge—finds her, the fate which met her in her former life will be the inevitable outcome.

I was immediately impressed by this author’s colourful writing style: he’s descriptive without being overly flowery and manages to paint a vivid and detailed picture, whether it’s the character or the setting. I think I particularly liked the balance of the normal and the paranormal which was spot on. Sanya leads a typical undergraduate life, socialising either on the internet or with her prank-playing friends and spending time with her best friend. You could almost say it was…boring, even. The paranormal aspects of the story are indeed a stark contrast, but therein lies the reason I enjoyed this relatively new experience of the genre: one foot was firmly planted in day-to-day mundanity. The other was in a world of danger, obscurity, and retribution. They all combine to a thrilling, heart-in-your-mouth, suspenseful climax.

My only ‘buts’ are that it was hard to distinguish between those characters who didn’t have proper names as such and the dialogue between Sanya and her friends and family is very ‘Indian’. Whilst probably quite normal in that culture, it translates just a little awkwardly. That said, it’s also quite charming.

At only 54k, this is a shortish book, but it hides a huge story.
Profile Image for Dennis Butler.
Author 12 books5 followers
January 30, 2014
Aymaran Shadow is a unique story told by a unique author. Author Hemanth Gorur is one of those rare authors who seems to just emanate chilling suspense. He manages to create and maintain a feeling of fear and suspense from the very first sentence to the book’s exciting conclusion. The storyline combined with Gorur’s writing style frequently sent chills up my spine while reading.

Gorur writes in a colorful style without ever getting lost in the visualization. To me that is one of the writing qualities that makes a great author; that plus character development. The main character Sanya is everything you would desire in a leading character. She is beautiful, intelligent, brave, but her courage is tested by mysterious and otherworldly characters. As the story develops, there are multiple sets of characters who contact Sanya through the electronic world of the internet and the paranormal world of dreams and visions.

Strange things happen to Sanya which seem to correspond to her visions and communications with strange people she meets via the internet. The messages Sanya receives are ominous and she gradually comes to believe that her very life is in danger. She is torn between the two characters who have mysteriously come into her life. Which one should she trust? While reading this story, I went through many of the same emotions as the main character Sanya. I wasn’t sure which stranger I should trust.

I want to note here that I was a little confused by a couple of the other reviews. It makes me wonder if they had some ulterior motive for writing a negative review that seemed to indicate that they didn’t actually read the book. Aymaran Shadow is a superbly written book with an ingenious plot that spans centuries and continents, all leading up to a kind of paranormal vortex. My only disappointment is that this is the only paranormal book that Gorur has written to date. I hope that he continues to write in this genre and I wholeheartedly encourage him to. I highly recommend this 5-star book.

65 reviews29 followers
August 6, 2013
Let me start off by noting that I received a free ebook copy for this book to review, and I was not paid nor required to write a positive review.

I am so glad I stumbled across Gorur's work. I'm an avid reader and am always looking for new authors to try out. When I read the description of this fairly short story, I was immediately drawn in. The idea of having someone from a past life out to get you is pretty original and a very nice change of pace from the topics usually seen in paranormal stories.

As the story opens, Gorur takes us back to a past life of the protagonist, Sanya. A past self suffers a series of humiliating/degrading wrongs before being murdered. This happens in Bolivia in the late 1700s. While it's an important section to the story, I almost stopped reading after a few pages because the content wasn't anywhere near something I'd want to read. I wanted paranormal, and the opening made me think I was getting myself involved in a story largely written as an old school crime. Murder stories don't really interest me.

But, do not let the beginning deter you! The story quickly focuses on the present day. We meet Sanya, a psychology student in India that is beginning to have strange things happen to her. Being of an analytical mind, she tries to make sense of events ranging from curious to downright bizarre. It isn't an easy set of situations to link together.

What's great about this is that, at least for me, I felt very connected to the confusion she had as I read the story. This isn't a book that makes it easy to predict what will happen or what the characters' motives are. I didn't have a clue until right near the end. This was also a bit of a crutch, since my confusion made it a little tougher to get fully immersed in the story. It wasn't like I was being led down a particular road only to be jerked to another with some big revelation. A part of my mind was constantly trying to figure out what was going on. It was a great tool to get readers to become invested in Sanya's tale, but overall in hurt the readability for me. I think the author intended for the story to be puzzling though, so this is mostly just a personal preference and not a failing on Gorur's part to fully flesh out details.

There were a few little things I can be nitpicky about. Sometimes a word would be missing from the sentence, pulling me out of the story a bit more. There were also some details that kind of felt thrown in. I'd comment on them in more detail, but it'd make this review a bit too spoilery. They're facts that, should Gorur write a followup, might be important, but they weren't of any use to the story. There's also a slight chance the book will become dated. Whenever you mention modern day tech, you run the risk of bringing up something that readers in a few years may not have a clue about. Facebook may not stick around. These aren't major things at all, but they do pop into my head when thinking about where the story might go.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading Aymaran Shadow. I'd be interested in seeing a follow up based on how the story ended. There's room for more development, so maybe we'll see a followup in the future! Give the book a try if you're in the mood for something that'll make you scratch your head as the story unfolds. Happy reading!
Profile Image for Curran.
Author 5 books20 followers
November 22, 2013
I usually prefer SciFi or horror novels. However, a friend recommended the paranormal thriller Aymaran Shadow by Hemanth Gorur to me. I am very happy that I picked it up as I found it to be a gripping and complex read. This novel was an intense read that spans across multiple times and places and delves into the theme of retribution. Beginning in the past, the book quickly switches the present day, focusing on a young psychology student named Sanya. Without spoiling anything, the novel wrestles with the concept of past-life through the chilling and paranormal experience of this young woman. I was hooked from the get-go.

It's really important to me that a novel has complex and well developed characters. I enjoyed how the characters were not one dimensional or predictable. In particular, I thought Sanya was really interesting. I could feel her fear and confusion throughout the story as she questioned her own sanity. I also appreciated, that like her, I didn’t always know what was going on. Eventually, along with her, you begin to understand the full complexity of what has been going on and how the past came back to haunt her present day reality. She was a multifaceted and realistic character. Caring about her fate kept me turning the pages to find out what would happen next as she encountered increasingly dangerous and perilous circumstances.

Aymaran Shadow is a fairly short novel at around 150 pages. However, it still has a lot of breadth and depth. The description is vivid and you can easily imagine the world that Gorur has depicted. Overall the plot moves quickly with unexpected twists and turns. This all builds toward a nerve wrecking and intense finale, which left me both satisfied but wanting more.

I noticed that some reviewers have critiqued Gorur’s English. Although there are a few grammatical errors, these didn’t detract from the story or distract me from enjoying the book. This is a sophisticated novel, which
I’d recommend to those who like past-life thrillers with paranormal twists.
Profile Image for Pratik Dasgupta.
1 review
July 5, 2013
Aymaran Shadows by Hemanth Gorur is an absolutely brilliant read.

Ever since I came across a snippet of it on the Facebook page of the book's launch, I knew this is one book I definitely wanted to read. The build up with excerpts and snippets were just too good. Infact so good that all through there was a concern will the book live up it; in reality the complete piece not only lives up but actually surpasses the build up.

The author manages to capture reader's attention in every single para, chapter of the book. It is splendid and flawless story telling from the author and while reading one feels that you are witnessing the events in reality or celluloid. Aymaran Shadows takes you on Time Travel (you travel across time and geographies) and the authors vivid description of the settings at each juncture make this saga come to life. You embark on exhilarating and thrilling journey as the author takes you across the world from Bolivia to India.

Such is the captivating essence of the book, a reader will re read it, if not the entire book some chapters definitely. I have already finished reading it twice and the joy of reading such a beautiful piece is yet to sink in. In fact you yearn for more as a reader even when you complete it. And talking about the end; I am always concerned that books that start so well especially in the Paranormal Thriller genre end disappointingly more often than not, however the author delivers a fitting finale to conclude it. Though he leaves some scope for a sequel(read to find out), and if it happens I am sure to grab my copy as soon as possible.

Just one minor note to the other readers and the author the transition of location and period happen a little too quickly (abruptly) and as a reader one might just feel a gap or lose interest. However the author brings everything together after some time, so it is advisable that one keep on reading, to enjoy this story and not read it a chapter at a time.

A MUST READ!
Profile Image for Tony Parsons.
4,156 reviews96 followers
December 22, 2013
1782, in the Andes, towns had been destroyed & PPL had been annihilated. An Aymaran ambush was about to unveil upon the town of Cochabamba, Bolivia. The town was under the spell of the Goddess Chasca (protector of virgin girls). The town of Quillacollo was close by. The Anacondan serpent had to be destroyed.

Other characters: Hairy Arms, Wiry Weasel, Balding Scalp, & of course the Bolivian Tupac Katari, Bartolina’s lover.

Present day Bangalore, India, Sanya Rawat meets a former college acquaintance Anuj Chaddha. Sanya goes to a bar to meet her friends; Shirin (sister; Deanne), Tej & Kanika. Sanya really liked Tej (male). Buzz Cut & his friends were in there also. Ramona wanted to be a F/B friend.
Present day Beachy Head, Sussex County, UK Anton Walthamson was talking to the bellhop & Sanya Rawat (mysterious crazy woman; PTSD) name came up. Her mom mentioned someone was inquiring about her also. Ambrois was also getting information about her buried past.

Are the incidents at the university & in her bedroom for real or just a dream or hallucination, or from her past life? Was Ramona (man?) really Tej, or Ambrois (woman?) a male or female? Were they all 1/same stalkers that were haunting Sanay? Or was Ramona & Ambrois just trying to save Sanay from eternal death? What is the pale-green liquid in the syringe? What is it used for?

An ethnic concept. Several twists/turns, suspense filled, lots of mystery, where it all begin (pg. 68). No grammar errors, or out of story line sequence, easy to read/follow, Unique characters. Maybe movie material. The book did not wow me but I enjoyed reading it, it pulled together at the end. I changed my mind & rated it at 5 stars.

Thank you for the free book
Tony Parsons MSW
Profile Image for Michelle Hofacker.
62 reviews10 followers
August 20, 2013
Aymaran Shadow is hands down the best past-life thriller I have ever read.
It is an intensely suspenseful book being the first in a long time that has had me not knowing who the real 'bad' guy was. Despite minor translational language/text issues (which did not interfere with the story flow and were easily forgivable) the plot was easy to follow and to get deeply invested in. When I was not reading, I found myself constantly wondering what would be revealed next and anxious to get back to the book. The characters and supporting details are artfully crafted with vividly in-depth, three dimensional precision. An example of such details would be as the main character struggles to doubt her sanity from the various surreal events occurring, I too was left bewildered. The descriptions fooling the reader with the same vibrant delusional hallucinations on the pages.
Overall, Aymaran Shadow is a majestic journey through the ages taking your senses and emotions on an unforgettable ride. I would highly recommend this book and gladly read anything that Mr. Gorur writes next.

*I received this book from a giveaway and having received it free did not influence my opinion or review in any way*
Profile Image for Kelly O'Callan.
Author 8 books18 followers
October 7, 2013
Amyaran Shadow delivers the hot concept of past lives with the additional element of social networking into the fold. In the story, we follow Sanya, a young woman who falls prey to the old adage "Keep your enemies closer" when she befriends two random strangers she instinctively feels may be trouble, on the social network, Facebook. Being a student of psychology, Sanya finds herself intrigued - and easily manipulated - by the strangers, especially when they tell her of occurrences in her life that they simply could not be aware of. We take the journey with Sanya to put several puzzle pieces together in what leads us to answers to the Amyaran Shadow's true role in the tale.

I enjoyed not only the high level of suspense in this story, but the captivating premise as well. I also enjoyed the author's writing, as I found it clean and intelligent. The only issue I found in the writing was the excessive use of adverbs - more so in the beginning half of the book - which left me to contemplate leaving a 4 star instead of a 5, but it did not take away from the story itself.

Great read!!
Profile Image for Tara.
71 reviews
August 4, 2013
I received a copy of Aymaran Shadow from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

I haven't read many paranormal thrillers. This story started out strong and it held my attention until the very end. The suspense was phenomenal. Sanya Rawat was a very believable character, living an ordinary life, while experiencing extraordinary events. This was definitely a page turner.

Pros: The characters are written really well. I can clearly envision them while reading the story. The scenery is very vivid.

Cons: The only drawback I have is the ending. I don't won't to give any spoilers. There were some loose ends with some characters that I wish would have been finalized.

I would definitely recommend Aymaran Shadow
17 reviews3 followers
August 5, 2013
A debutante fiction novel by Hemanth Gorur, The Aymaran Shadow has all elements that are required to keep you at the edge of your seat while reading it.
This is the story of Sanya Rawat, an Indian girl and the life threatening revelations she experiences in a matter of days. How Sanya sees shadows of a previous birth come to life with two strangers traveling across the globe, entering her world and shattering it to pieces forms the premise for this book. A promising plot with a fine blend of suspense and drama makes this a scintillating read.

At some points, the story line does tend to get a strong flavour of local culture however as an Indian reader it was easy to associate with it.
All in all, The Aymaran Shadow has made Hemanth, a writer to look out for.
Profile Image for Julia.
Author 25 books33 followers
February 12, 2014
This is an exciting book! It's a thriller, a story about hidden identities, a look into the past and the present, and much more. I really enjoyed the vivid scenery and the way the author transported the readers through time and space. The story spans such diverse locations as present-day England, present-day India, and Bolivia of the 18th century. The book is tense throughout, both in the parts that show Sanya's face-to-face interactions and her online conversations with Ramona and Ambrois -- the mysterious strangers that were the impetus to the development of the whole story. The characters are well-drawn and realistic, and the author's prose has a unique and mesmerizing feel to it. Very interesting!
Profile Image for Janaki Murali.
Author 6 books24 followers
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November 13, 2013
I finally finished Hemanth's book Aymaran Shadow. Hemanth had sent me a free copy ages ago, but it took me a while to get to it. I was quite intrigued by the title, and wanted to see how the story panned out. Hemanth takes the story to three geographies and that was interesting. I was a tad puzzled with a couple of main characters not being named till the end, I would have liked to see them with names. I liked the twist at the end. I would have liked to see Sanya and her mother's relationship fleshed out some more, just as seen the boyfriend too, he seemed to disappear.
4 reviews
October 18, 2013
What an amazing mystery story. It was very well written. Keeping you on the edge of your seat and a real page turner. The author tells his story in a way you don't see the words, but the actual scenes like in a movie. I will definitely want to read more books from this author.
1 review
October 27, 2013
This is a great past-life thriller. I was immersed from the beginning and I honestly was kept guessing. This is a great thing as I easily tire of already knowing the plot twists due to predictability. Highly recommended.
Profile Image for Lucy Pireel.
Author 10 books162 followers
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October 26, 2013
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This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Virginia Winfield.
2,902 reviews13 followers
November 10, 2013
This was a good story but I thought it would be a little more suspenseful. It did keep my interest and I enjoyed the ending. I got this book through LibraryThing.
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