What do you think?
Rate this book
Otherside
A man witnesses a murder. The deceased speaks in riddles. Vertigo settles in....
Adja wakes to learn he's got the mojo. The old woman teaches him the ways of Voodoo. He must stand alone, under the guidance of Bear, against Snake, a villain, a murderer, an innate force, but there are other forces amidst the crack between the worlds.
Are you brave enough to journey...to the otherside?
Adja wakes to learn he's got the mojo. The old woman teaches him the ways of Voodoo. He must stand alone, under the guidance of Bear, against Snake, a villain, a murderer, an innate force, but there are other forces amidst the crack between the worlds.
Are you brave enough to journey...to the otherside?
170 pages, Paperback
First published September 4, 2012
1 person is currently reading
925 people want to read
About the author
Aaron Dennis
45 books144 followersDennis has been writing for 8 years and has accomplished a great deal in a short amount of time. Apart from writing and creating some wonderful stories, he learned editing from working with Chuck Sambuchino. His creative skills are easily recognized in books like War and Glory where scifi and horror are mixed, or books like Cayneian, where fantasy and horror are mixed, but he also portrays a great many psychological and philosophical issues throughout his writing.
Producers can check his list of titles at his Kirkus proconnect page.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/author/...
Producers can check his list of titles at his Kirkus proconnect page.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/author/...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 29, 2017
My Review- Meow-kay.... The protagonist, who is never actually named but referred to as Adja, is kind of a dufus, party-boy loser, who seems to have a friend in the real estate business, and together, they go to party in New Orleans, but almost immediately, while running to a liquor store, he stumbles across a murder. After the murder, the dead man's mojo goes into Adja, he passes out, and he wakes up to find an old Creole woman tending to his health. It turns out she's the grandmother of the murder victim, and since the victim chose to give his mojo to Adja, she takes him as her pupil to teach him the ways of Voodoo in order to survive, in order to exact revenge!
This is not actual Voodoo, not that I know actual Voodoo, but Dennis, the author, states that it is a fictional rendition of Voodoo, which includes hexes, charms, shape shifting, and even astral travel! Super neat-o!
Meow, the book is broken down into 4 short stories, and each serves as either a chapter or its own tale. In the first tale, Adja learns the prelims of Voodoo and goes to take on the man who killed the old woman's grandson, and what struck me as cool is that no one in the entire book has a name! They are called by either their animal guide or something else; i.e. Adja, J, Snake, Bear, Eagle, Old Woman, etc. No one turned into a cat though :(
The second story consists of Adja doing a favor for Bear, his guide. The favor is to find friends among the tribes and track down Dire Wolf, a ghost spirit, woooooo spooky pooky!
In the third story, something has happened to Bear, and Adja--with no more powers--has to find a way to help Bear by travelling directly into the spirit world, the Otherside, as it is called throughout the book.
Finally, in the fourth story, Adja has to battle a mysterious spirit that is trying to steal his body.
Never, never ever, in my life have I read something like this.
This is not actual Voodoo, not that I know actual Voodoo, but Dennis, the author, states that it is a fictional rendition of Voodoo, which includes hexes, charms, shape shifting, and even astral travel! Super neat-o!
Meow, the book is broken down into 4 short stories, and each serves as either a chapter or its own tale. In the first tale, Adja learns the prelims of Voodoo and goes to take on the man who killed the old woman's grandson, and what struck me as cool is that no one in the entire book has a name! They are called by either their animal guide or something else; i.e. Adja, J, Snake, Bear, Eagle, Old Woman, etc. No one turned into a cat though :(
The second story consists of Adja doing a favor for Bear, his guide. The favor is to find friends among the tribes and track down Dire Wolf, a ghost spirit, woooooo spooky pooky!
In the third story, something has happened to Bear, and Adja--with no more powers--has to find a way to help Bear by travelling directly into the spirit world, the Otherside, as it is called throughout the book.
Finally, in the fourth story, Adja has to battle a mysterious spirit that is trying to steal his body.
Never, never ever, in my life have I read something like this.
February 15, 2017
I think this was the first first person story by Dennis. I don't normally like first person for a fiction story, but it seemed to work really well. This is also four short stories all put together following the story of Adja, who comes off like a frat boy that gets caught up in some mysterious affairs.
While partying in New Orleans, Adja sees a murder, but the dead guy passes on his mojo and when Adja wakes up, an old creole woman starts telling him what's going on. The dead guy was her grandson, and he was a shadowman, a person who practices voodoo, but not the kind of voodoo you think. There's hexes and all kinds of herbs and magic and stuff, but this was so much more than that.
There were spirits, but they weren't your normal spirits like the ghosts of people, they were just these indescribable forces. There were plants that talked, there was shape shifting, the whole novella was a world so totally different from anything I've ever come across and it was also so totally different from anything else Dennis has written to my knowledge anyway.
In short the story is about Adja doinf favors for Bear who is fighting with Snake. Both are spirit leaders, forces that give their power to their followers in returns for completing quests, but then, like half way through the story changed direction and it became about something else, something I can't really put my finger on.
The funny thing is that at the very beginning of the book, not in the story but in the notes from Dennis, he talks about opening ourselves to the world around us and maybe I've just never taken such a thing seriously. I'm not trying to say that this book has turned me into someone who believes in spirits and voodoo but the book was definitely written a person with a very strange outlook on life in general. Another highly recommended story by Dennis, an author that leaves me wondering why he self publishes his work. The quality of writing and story telling is so far beyond anything else.
While partying in New Orleans, Adja sees a murder, but the dead guy passes on his mojo and when Adja wakes up, an old creole woman starts telling him what's going on. The dead guy was her grandson, and he was a shadowman, a person who practices voodoo, but not the kind of voodoo you think. There's hexes and all kinds of herbs and magic and stuff, but this was so much more than that.
There were spirits, but they weren't your normal spirits like the ghosts of people, they were just these indescribable forces. There were plants that talked, there was shape shifting, the whole novella was a world so totally different from anything I've ever come across and it was also so totally different from anything else Dennis has written to my knowledge anyway.
In short the story is about Adja doinf favors for Bear who is fighting with Snake. Both are spirit leaders, forces that give their power to their followers in returns for completing quests, but then, like half way through the story changed direction and it became about something else, something I can't really put my finger on.
The funny thing is that at the very beginning of the book, not in the story but in the notes from Dennis, he talks about opening ourselves to the world around us and maybe I've just never taken such a thing seriously. I'm not trying to say that this book has turned me into someone who believes in spirits and voodoo but the book was definitely written a person with a very strange outlook on life in general. Another highly recommended story by Dennis, an author that leaves me wondering why he self publishes his work. The quality of writing and story telling is so far beyond anything else.
January 7, 2013
Played out in the Creole world of New Orleans, this book is bone-chillingly dark and mysterious. Adja, an impressionable young man, finds himself transformed into the Shadowman, in a voodoo ceremony. As Adja is met with otherworldly beings in a fight to protect the natural world, he must show is abilities, courage and strength to defeat them. Every battle he incurs is intense and exciting, building the anticipation. Written with great detail, the author paints a haunting picture of a dark, taboo culture and lifestyle that readers will lose themselves in and love.
I was provided a copy of the book by BTS eMag for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review – all conclusions are my own responsibility.
I was provided a copy of the book by BTS eMag for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review – all conclusions are my own responsibility.
November 1, 2011
AAron is a very talented wrider
April 25, 2014
Not something I would normally read. It was okay.
October 16, 2016
Fiction
Shadowman
Aaron Dennis
2012
106 pages
Shadowman by Aaron Dennis is the story of a young man’s unexpected entry into the world of Voodoo and spirits. This is a fantasy novel with mystical elements that exhibit the frailty and power of the human spirit
While on vacation with a friend in New Orleans, Adja leaves their room to buy liquor. He finds himself in an alley where he witnesses a murder. He blacks out then wakes up in the home of an old woman with his body bloody and bandaged. As the old woman cares for Adja’s, she explains that his wounds can be healed with black magic. She tells him that the man who was killed in the alley was a Shadowman, capable of entering the world of humans and the “Otherside” where spirits exist. Because Adja received power from the Shadowman, he is in the man’s debt.
Adja learns about Voodoo from the old woman as he makes several journeys to the Otherside to fulfill the requests of the Shadowleader, Bear. He is exposed to acacia leaf, mojo bags and rituals that open him up to communicate with spirits. After two weeks with the old woman, Adja contacts his friend, J, who left New Orleans after Adja failed to return to the room they were renting. J helps Adja get money when he decides to remain in New Orleans.
Adja survives several missions as a Shadowman, each time gaining more control of his new powers. He learns to move from the human side to the Otherside with ease. Adja fights other Shadowbeings, including Snake and Rat, whose forms in the spirit world are the same as their names. Adja’s connection to the Shadowleader, Bear, enables him to exist on the Otherside in the form of that animal. Adja is charged with destroying dangerous spirits, rescuing a Shadowleader, and fighting for his own life when attacked by a vicious spirit.
This book is fantasy at its most imaginative: Spirits and humans co-existing with a good measure of black magic thrown into the mix. Dennis’ use of detail brings the story to life with vivid descriptions of the contrasts between the human side and the Otherside. Adja is an eager, likeable character with a mischievous streak. He dives willingly into his new life among the Shadowpeople. Even when fearful of the outcome, Adja is always open to the next challenge the spirits throw at him. What the story lacks is background information about Adja before he becomes one of the Shadowpeople.
Shadowman is an exciting read with fast moving parts that will capture the reader’s attention from beginning to end.
Melissa Brown Levine
for
Independent Professional Book Reviewers
www.bookreviewers.org
www.melissabrownlevine.com
Shadowman
Aaron Dennis
2012
106 pages
Shadowman by Aaron Dennis is the story of a young man’s unexpected entry into the world of Voodoo and spirits. This is a fantasy novel with mystical elements that exhibit the frailty and power of the human spirit
While on vacation with a friend in New Orleans, Adja leaves their room to buy liquor. He finds himself in an alley where he witnesses a murder. He blacks out then wakes up in the home of an old woman with his body bloody and bandaged. As the old woman cares for Adja’s, she explains that his wounds can be healed with black magic. She tells him that the man who was killed in the alley was a Shadowman, capable of entering the world of humans and the “Otherside” where spirits exist. Because Adja received power from the Shadowman, he is in the man’s debt.
Adja learns about Voodoo from the old woman as he makes several journeys to the Otherside to fulfill the requests of the Shadowleader, Bear. He is exposed to acacia leaf, mojo bags and rituals that open him up to communicate with spirits. After two weeks with the old woman, Adja contacts his friend, J, who left New Orleans after Adja failed to return to the room they were renting. J helps Adja get money when he decides to remain in New Orleans.
Adja survives several missions as a Shadowman, each time gaining more control of his new powers. He learns to move from the human side to the Otherside with ease. Adja fights other Shadowbeings, including Snake and Rat, whose forms in the spirit world are the same as their names. Adja’s connection to the Shadowleader, Bear, enables him to exist on the Otherside in the form of that animal. Adja is charged with destroying dangerous spirits, rescuing a Shadowleader, and fighting for his own life when attacked by a vicious spirit.
This book is fantasy at its most imaginative: Spirits and humans co-existing with a good measure of black magic thrown into the mix. Dennis’ use of detail brings the story to life with vivid descriptions of the contrasts between the human side and the Otherside. Adja is an eager, likeable character with a mischievous streak. He dives willingly into his new life among the Shadowpeople. Even when fearful of the outcome, Adja is always open to the next challenge the spirits throw at him. What the story lacks is background information about Adja before he becomes one of the Shadowpeople.
Shadowman is an exciting read with fast moving parts that will capture the reader’s attention from beginning to end.
Melissa Brown Levine
for
Independent Professional Book Reviewers
www.bookreviewers.org
www.melissabrownlevine.com
March 15, 2020
This is the story of a nameless man that is on vacation in New Orleans. While on a bender with a friend that he is vacationing with he leaves his hotel to buy more booze and is a witness to a murder, after which he passes out. After wakening, he learns that through this witnessing he has gained the name/title of Adja and the powers of a Shadowalker. The rest of the book is his trials/adventures after the fact and his dealings with Voodoo spirits around town.
I mostly liked this book. I loved the magic system. I haven’t read anything like it before and it was spelled out in a way that was easy to understand. The spirit characters were well written and added a lot to the story. I think my favorite was Jackel. (Although I wish that Spider had more written about him.) The alternate reality (the Otherland) that Adja could slip into was intriguing.
I did have problems with the book however. My main issue was everything was too easy. This was a rather short novella so I understand there was a limit to how much story could be here but it seemed every conflict was over before it started. It’s hard to feel suspense when a problem is solved almost as soon as it starts. And most of the problems weren’t solved through any main actions of the protagonist. Things just seemed to happen to him. He was always in the right place at the right time. Or he had his spirit “friends” do the heavy lifting for him.
There are several points of misogyny that irked me when I read them but they aren’t prominent. At one point he says he might “beg like a girl” and he says that a prostitute “looks pretty for a professional”.
The book was also very repetitive. Things seems to follow the same formula almost all the time. 1) Exposition in the house of the old lady that Adja meets at the start of the book. 2) Adja leaves the house to find something that is needed. 3) Adja has the thing plopped in front of him (metaphorically speaking). 4) He goes back to the house. There were a couple of times where that pattern was broken but not often enough.
Also I’m trying to be gentle with this because I’m not sure if I read a finished copy but this was riddled with grammar mistakes. The author must really love commas because he puts them everywhere. Including a lot of places where they don’t belong. There are also a ton of semicolons that should be commas and all kinds of run on sentences. I really hope that got fixed at some point after the copy I read came out.
Overall I did like the story and the characters. I think that with a turn with an editor this could really be great.
I mostly liked this book. I loved the magic system. I haven’t read anything like it before and it was spelled out in a way that was easy to understand. The spirit characters were well written and added a lot to the story. I think my favorite was Jackel. (Although I wish that Spider had more written about him.) The alternate reality (the Otherland) that Adja could slip into was intriguing.
I did have problems with the book however. My main issue was everything was too easy. This was a rather short novella so I understand there was a limit to how much story could be here but it seemed every conflict was over before it started. It’s hard to feel suspense when a problem is solved almost as soon as it starts. And most of the problems weren’t solved through any main actions of the protagonist. Things just seemed to happen to him. He was always in the right place at the right time. Or he had his spirit “friends” do the heavy lifting for him.
There are several points of misogyny that irked me when I read them but they aren’t prominent. At one point he says he might “beg like a girl” and he says that a prostitute “looks pretty for a professional”.
The book was also very repetitive. Things seems to follow the same formula almost all the time. 1) Exposition in the house of the old lady that Adja meets at the start of the book. 2) Adja leaves the house to find something that is needed. 3) Adja has the thing plopped in front of him (metaphorically speaking). 4) He goes back to the house. There were a couple of times where that pattern was broken but not often enough.
Also I’m trying to be gentle with this because I’m not sure if I read a finished copy but this was riddled with grammar mistakes. The author must really love commas because he puts them everywhere. Including a lot of places where they don’t belong. There are also a ton of semicolons that should be commas and all kinds of run on sentences. I really hope that got fixed at some point after the copy I read came out.
Overall I did like the story and the characters. I think that with a turn with an editor this could really be great.
August 12, 2014
Shadowman if the fictional story of a man on vacation who suddenly falls into the world of Voodoo/Hoodoo. He takes this news in stride and tries to succeed in this new role without a backward look at whatever life he has left behind. Fortunately he has a friend who is able to liquidate all of the assets he once had and mail them on down so he can live this new life without too much strain.
Read more at http://thecrreeds.blogspot.com/2014/0...
Read more at http://thecrreeds.blogspot.com/2014/0...
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews