The Other Side: Limited Edition

The Other Side Series #1

by Nitsuj Yaj Enotsdalg, Nitsuj

"If one thought created the universe, then who was the first to think?"

The Other Side is a mystery and fantasy novel that delves into a parallel world that almost completely reflects our own.

If people reflect us, then what could we say about our emotions? Is our sadness a result of their happiness?

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲...


Leon J. Granttley is a seventeen-year-old boy who was diagnosed with a rare mental disorder known as; 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟. (DID for short)

To cope with this issue, he was forcibly enrolled in an institution known as the 𝐸𝑎𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑦. It is here where therapists help patients like him cope and adapt to their 𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠.

Despite his years of treatments...Leon's family and friends would hear his ongoing complaints about this devilish voice in his mind...

One that would 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲 taunt him...
One that would 𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲 tease him...

No matter what path Leon would choose, this 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒 would have a conflicting opinion to rival it. This 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒...would be so influential, that sometimes his choices would feel like they were not his own.

It is this reasoning that makes the authorities in Leon's neighborhood believe that 𝒉𝒆 is the person who assaulted a kind young girl by the name of, 𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑒 𝑅𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑎𝑡ℎ.

Leon is the 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 one who believes that he did not harm this girl.

The citizens of 𝐴𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑦 say otherwise.

Find the truth of Leon's innocence, on 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙞𝙙𝙚.


𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊:


𝐐𝐑 𝐂𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐬- These are tiny scannable squares that allow you to see 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 where the main characters are! (iPhone or Android required)

𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐭- Occasionally you'll find text within the story to be...ɘldɒbɒɘɿnυ......Only by holding those said words to a 𝑚𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟, will you decipher the riddles of wonder...

𝐓𝐎 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐎𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘: I highly recommend grabbing a copy of 𝑬𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒖𝒎 & 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒔.

It is a companion book that contains detailed illustrations that help explain 𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑦 elements within the story. Of course, you don't 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 this extra book, but according to many readers, it has livened their experience.

If you would like these detailed pictures inside your book, then I suggest getting 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒊𝒅𝒆: 𝑳𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑬𝒅𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.

Genres: Fantasy

659 pages, Paperback

First published October 8, 2022

Reviews

[Belu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encantó. Completamente distinto a los que suelo leer, con una temática muy entretenida y muy flashera 🤩

Es un libro que te mantiene leyendo constantemente porque está lleno de misterios que querés que se resuelvan cuanto antes. Además, está contado de una forma bastante peculiar, con mucho material adicional.

Lo disfruté muchísimo y me muero por leer la segunda parte, ya que aún quedan muchas dudas sin respuesta 👀

(English 👇🏻)

I loved it. Completely different to the books I usually read, with a thematic really entertaining and mind-blowing 🤩

It’s a book that keeps you reading constantly because it’s full of mysteries that you wanna solve as soon as possible. Besides, It’s written in a really peculiar way, with a lot of special features.

I really enjoy it and I’m dying to read the second part, because there are a lot of doubts without answer yet 👀

[Gee Rothvoss · Rating 4 out of 5]

"If the world began with one thought, then who was the first to think?"

First things first: I received a copy of “The Other Side I” in exchange for an honest review, so I’m first of all thanking the authors, Justin and Nitsuj, for such a lovely gesture! What caught my attention from the first moment was the book’s ultimate concept: what would happen if our world had some sort of reflection? Another dimension in which reversed equivalents of our world’s objects, creatures, and events existed, in which every person had an “other”. As a child, I used to toy with this idea, maybe in my longing for a twin sibling; discovering a book series that played with the same concept was simply amazing. Multiple universes are always a fun trupe!

In “The Other Side” we meet and follow Leon J. Granttley, a boy who’s been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and taken to a mental health facility. Accused of sexually assaulting one of his best friends and secret crush, Allie, Leon knows there’s no way he could’ve done such a thing. He loves Allie, and he’d never hurt a fly; let alone another person. But everyone seems to be convinced that Leon did it, to the extent that even he doubts if the cruel voice inside his head is another identity, or just a remorseless side of him. Soon enough, though, he discovers that there may be a third explanation…, when he’s taken by force to a dimension that mirrors his own. His reflection, Néol, has swapped places with him; and now Leon is trapped in Planet Heart, where everyone expects him to be Néol and nobody knows about Planet Earth and the reflections. If he wants to make it back home, Leon will have to find a way to understand Planet Heart and how the two worlds are connected. But he’s just a pawn in a bigger game; soon enough, fearsome enemies called Lunae Lux and unlikely allies that present themselves as the Neo Knights will make Leon see that there’s more to what’s happening than he originally thought.

I’ve got a lot of thoughts on TOS, and I’m so worried that I won’t be able to put them all down correctly! There were things I adore, things I liked, and then some things I thought could improve. I’ve been debating the stars rating (I hate that you can only give full-stars, rather than ½ or even ¼-¾. This is a very solild 3.5-3.75 stars for me) for weeks now, because there are so many things to take into account here.

First, I want to talk about the concept itself. I don’t think I can ever begin to convey just how awesome the idea is; a reflection of our own reality, in which things are mirrored, and with which we aren’t supposed to come into contact… Except, some people do. Accidentally? Per someone else’s deliberate intervention? You’ll have to dive into TOS to see! There are several Reflection Principles. Although some are almost too precise to be principles per se, they allow the reader to quickly and easily understand how this book’s worlds work, and how the mirrored realities, people, and events are related. Still, although there’s a fantastic concept that I couldn’t help but love from the very first moment, I felt like the book could’ve used a more clear way of explaining. One of the characters I’ll get to later, Stefano Giro, acts as a mentor of sorts, “teaching” Leon his way around Planet Heart. Whenever he spoke, he was supposed to clarify things, but he only managed to confuse me with quizzical explanations and riddles. I found myself feeling lost often because, until Leon meets other people, Stefano is the only more or less solid source of information regarding the two worlds, and he isn’t clear.

Then there’s the world/s itself/themselves. Again, I was fascinated by the idea. Everything we do in Planet Earth is reflected in Planet Hearth; in our reflection, and in their life. Our reflections have not only anagrams as names (say, Leon/\Néol, Miles/\Selim, Jacaline/\Anjelica, Amy/\May, or Silvia/\Ailvis), but also reflected tastes, behaviours, personalities, fortune, and even genders sometimes. If Leon avoids a tragic event, Néol will experience it; Miles is dilligent and calm where Selim is erratic and adventurous; and so on. Each character and their reflection were different, and had unique reflected traits. I was really in the zone every time we met a new character and their reflection, and could start catching the bigger and smaller mirrored things! It’s like playing some sort of game, and it was definitely funny.

Still, and maybe because there was a large cast (that was, aside from large, mirrored), I couldn’t quite connect with most characters. I think this had to do with the occasional inconsistencies in their personalities, or actions. In Leon’s case, he was just so… Pasive. The book happened around him, and he felt less than a main character than as a plot device of sorts. Aside from his passivity and his need to return home, I didn’t really know what to make of him. Sometimes he’s bolder, sometimes he’s frozen in place, sometimes he’s mindful of others, sometimes he couldn’t care less. I didn’t see any sort of development, regarding his persona, in the book, and many times I didn’t really understand him. He wants to go home, Okay, understandable. Beyond that, what fuels his decisions in Heart? I didn’t know, half of the time. I would’ve preferred Néol as the main character, to be honest, because he had much more energy, and depth as a character, than Leon. He made things happen actively, rather than sit around and wait like Leon did.

Most of the other characters gave me the same issue; they didn’t feel very real. At least, not enough for me to get invested or attached. And I’m very frustrated to say this, because I wanted to love them so much. Save for maybe Selim and Miles, and Ellia, I haven’t really connected with the others. Maybe this will change in future installments! But… In this first book, although some big revelations happen and some ground-shattering truths are handed out, the characters didn’t really react to them in depth. Part of this impression comes from the way the dialogues didn’t quite click sometimes. Most of the cast are teenagers, but the way they spoke wasn’t really teenage-ish at all. They were too straight to the point, half of the time, and talked only about what was convenient for the plot at that moment. In the case of the Lunae Lux, who were supposedly fearsome and oh-so-cruel, I didn’t understand them much, either. Half of the time they hang around, perform a little violence here and there, and talk to each other. Again, I’m sure this will improve in the next books.

"All humans have a bit of the seven sins inside them."

There were, obviously, characters I did like. Mainly Selim and Miles, and Néol. Selim and Miles are each other’s reflection, and instead of fighting to remain in either world, they’ve come to understand and accept the other’s existence. Besides, as a part of the Neo Knights and an experienced traveller between Earth and Heart, Miles is a very important character in Leon’s journey. From the moment he popped up, he helped the story progress, and he was much more informative regarding the two worlds than Stefano could ever hope to be. I immensely enjoyed seeing Miles and Selim interact, and I’m very ready to meet them again in TOS 2! Néol was, on the other hand, a darker, much more morally grey character, whose snarky remarks and shady plans made him so interesting. One can never know whether he’s “good”, “bad”, or something else entirely, and I loved how smart and quick-witted he was. Even if he says questionable things sometimes and pursues pretty individualistic goals, he’s the kind of character that steals everyone else’s thunder. He was one of the reasons why I got hooked!

There’s a character in particular I couldn’t understand: Stefano, and his reflection Festano, who spent most of the novel waiting and watching rather than doing something at all. I couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out what moved them. Festano is the villain of sorts, with his sequitum of fearsome Lunae Lux, whereas his counterpart, Stefano, was fooled by him in the past and is now trying to… What? I guess Stefano wants to stop Festano, but throughout the book, all he does is deliver his riddles and hide. We never know what he does when he’s not talking to Leon, we never get to truly glimpse his ultimate goals, and at least in my case, I never got to understand why I should be rooting for him at all. I couldn’t make sense of this character’s purpose, beyond the mentoring he briefly does. Once again, I hope this will be sorted out in future books, because I do feel like he’s meant to me much deeper and much more important than I saw him as.

Regarding the plot itself… I got the main idea: Leon wants to get back to Earth, and un-swap places with Néol. Néol isn’t all too happy about that, obviously. And then there’s Stefano and Festano messing around. I really enjoyed the last part of the book, in which Leon and Néol converge to work towards a common goal, and more action happens. The first part, though, was a little dense for me, as there were too many characters exchanging dialogues and not much more. I missed some more description to be able to picture the surroundings, too. Still, I knew the very basics to get what was going on, so it’s not that big of an issue. There weren’t subplots to keep one busy, and the first one was sometimes a little slow. Say, Stefano’s chunk? But the ending picked up some speed, and the last 100 pages or so made up for the rest.

"[Diagnostic] labels are how they validate themselves, and removing them would take away a large chunk of who they already are."

One of the best parts of TOS was how it touched several aspects of mental illnesses. (Trigger warning the size of a house, though, for abusive therapists. I swear they’re NEVER meant to be like Dr. Allure) This quote, in particular, is such food for thought! In “The Other Side”, we tag along a character who has been diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (which is a real and valid mental illness, previously known as Multiple Personality Disorder). Although Leon’s told he has this illness from which his symptoms stem, throughout the book we start to wonder whether it’s that, or the opposite. Does he have those symptoms because of the illness, or has he been told that he has an illness because of those sympotms? Do they act that way because of the illness, or in consonance with the illness they've been told they have? To what extent can diagnostic labels be helpful vs. contribute to unnecessary and harmful pathologization of different people's behaviours? Once diagnosed, forever diagnosed? As Planet Earth is introduced and explained, more and more doubt arises that Leon ever had a disorder, per se. I loved how this subtly challenges the idea that mental illnesses are static, tangible diseases, rather than the name we use to talk about a series of symptoms that tend to appear together and covary throughout time and space. I also loved how different disorders were touched, and how the characters never gaslit or invalidated one another. In my opinion, this rep was very neatly done, and really stirs up a lot of reflection upon these topics. Also upon other ones: are emotions inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad’? Can one trust everything they think, or are thoughts a product we can either take, or gently push away? This was a great strength of the book.

All in all, the experience of reading “The Other Side I” was one of a kind. The book contains art with the Principles, symbols, QR codes, sentences that can only be deciphered and read with a mirror, and a very nice interior formatting. This makes it a much more immersive experience, as the reader has to actively engage with the codes and mirrored sentences, and it gives one a taste of Planet Heart page after page. Despite the different issues I’ve mentioned in this review, which has been written in such depth because this book doesn’t deserve any less than this, I did enjoy “The Other Side I”, and I’m more than curious about the next installments in the series. These books have an immense potential, thanks to the years of worldbuilding that Justin and Nitsuj have spent already to create this universe, and I have no doubts that this can only grow bigger, and better. See you on the Other Side, everyone!

CWs: Abuse (emotional, verbal, child neglect, domestic), Alcoholism, Memory issues, Death threats, Hospitalization, Manipulation, Mental Illness (Dissociative Identity Disorder, Pyromania), Sexual assault (metions + a memory of the event), Torture, Trauma, Violence.

[Shannon Rohrer]

DNF at 26%. I really wanted to like this, because the concept seems right up my alley. Unfortunately, too many issues got in the way, constantly dragging me out of the story. Grammatically, there was a lack of punctuation, words being used incorrectly, and other miscellany. Outside of that, my other issues with this story came down to characterization, dialogue and setting: The characters were often inconsistent in their personalities and actions, the dialogue felt forced or made little sense, and I was never given a particularly strong sense of the surroundings. I could never get immersed in them, nor did I feel Leon possessed much depth. His thoughts, actions... Everything felt perfunctory, simply used to get from point A to point B without ever feeling organically done.

Though I didn't wind up liking this enough to finish, I wish the author great success in future endeavours. Perhaps I'll give it another chance in the near future.

[brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

“As the blinding light swallows Leon, the background begins to evaporate, the once tenacious bowel of light is now cloaked by a bottomless abyss, stretching stygian blankets amongst lightyears farther than the eye of curiosity can possibly ensue.
From the opposite end of the illuminated transparent path, is Leon or so it seems to be; he stares unkindly to his reflection. Inhumane and yet satisfied, The Voice continues down its path.
“It’s about time,” The gravely-throaty voice assents while walking towards the boy trapped in slumber.
“It’s time I take what’s mine, for good,” The twin says with a satisfied grin.”

I wish I could rate this book with 5 stars.
I wanted to love this so badly, but unfortunately, I don’t.
And I have to be completely honest – I couldn’t even finish this book. I quit on page 253.

I don’t really understand why it hasn’t worked for me. The plot is incredible, the idea for the book is original… but still, this one just confirms that it’s getting harder each time for me to like a book.
To try to be as clear as possible, I made a list of all the things I liked and what I didn’t like about The Other Side:

What I liked:

*The idea for the plot
*The fact that the main character suffers from dissociative identity disorder. Please don’t take this the wrong way – it’s just that it’s not typical for main characters to have a mental disease. It makes you reconsider a lot of things. The author shows what it feels to be cast out due to that and no one believing you. I just felt powerless while reading how bullied he was, even by his own therapist.
*The fact that there’s another side in which things and people are kind of reversed – even names. That’s cool.
*The scientific facts that were included, with several explanations about certain topics.
*The drawings included. Some pages also had QR codes to scan and check!
*The chapter division. It made the reading easier to follow.
*Use of objects as something symbolic.
*The cover and the quote included - “If one thought created the universe, then who was the first to think?”

What I didn’t like:

*The story development. Some elements and facts seem to be out of the blue, and I too often got the feeling that I was reading a sequel instead of a first book. I felt that the author knew what he was talking about, but because of doing that, failed to see what we as readers do not know.
*The characters. Even though there are some scenes or moments in which there is a great revelation or little action, I still didn’t feel that I would care for them. They were more like excuses for the plot to happen, and I think that if used correctly, that technique works perfectly. But in this case, everything felt unnatural, as if it were all part of a play.
*The book edition. I find it very flawed: it does not contain a synopsis; the introduction is way too long and I feel it would be better if left for the end of the book, so that I would care to know more about the story and the author. Way too many pages were wasted, there are a lot of blank spaces and too many spacing between lines. The book itself is too heavy to carry around, so it gets uncomfortable to hold it (hey, I pay attention to these details. In this case, I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. But paying for this? I don’t know. I wouldn’t be very happy).
*The lack of world-building. It sometimes felt as if characters were speaking with each other, but with no physical space around them. I don’t know how to explain this. It was more like a dialogue, not a setting. It was difficult to understand the surroundings.
*The lack of revision. Several punctuation errors, grammar mistakes, inconsistency in the naming or typography of certain words.
*The inconsistency in writing. It felt as if sometimes the idea for the book was one, and sometimes another. It feels as if the book had been written by different people.

Don’t feel discouraged by my review. A lot of people loved this book, and I’m sure the author will continue to write even more awesome stories. It was simply not meant for me.

I would love to read another book by this author.

[Daryl P Goodwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating concept marred by inconsistency and poor writing.

The special edition is not an easy book to read. You need a hand mirror and a smartphone equipped with QR code reading app to get the full experience intended by the author(s). You also need a lot of patience. One of the characters says "that wasted three hours of my life". This book is 14.5 hours at my usual reading speed. It will take longer because of the need to get the mirror to read the writing in some sections.
That the acronym for Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a palindrome may have triggered this book. The disclaimers about mental disorder and being a work of fiction make the imagination used all the more impressive if Justin Jay Gladstone is not personally acquainted with someone suffering from DID. That another author is credited alludes to this possibility as the second author is intended as a mirror image of the first author's name. The plot revolves around the main character (male) being accused and punished for a sexual assault on a female. The main character has DID and denies that he committed the crime. Subsequent events and locations involving a mirror image of Earth (Heart) and people who are intended to be mirror images of each other give glimpses of DID and possible explanations for apparent erratic behaviour. There is an inconclusive ending to the story question of the relationship between the main character and their mirror image "other" in this tale.
Inconsistencies abound and the rules set out at the end of the book (which you are not meant to read until after completing the story) are not followed. One premise is that one half of the mirror image pair experiencing joy will result in the other being miserable. Balancing out by both co-operating will not result in mutual joy or mutual misery, but boring blandness in between. The mirror image of the author's name would have the capital letters at the end of the word and not at the beginning. Several mirror images of historical Earth figures have their gender changed, but not all. None of the characters are portrayed as switching genders and that would make the central plot point difficult if they did. Geographical mirrors are also inconsistent with lakes both being present in the same location, but the mirror of Aspen has a crater instead of a mountain. The author tries to get out of the bind by saying that anagrams are allowed as well as mirror word or palindromes, but this is also inconsistent with several anagrams of "French" being used.
The author needs to learn that less is more readable. There are several surplus scenes that neither drive the plot nor story. There is also repetition which seems needless as the point is made with one example. As there are illustrations, I would like to have seen more of these to support the story as the author seems to have forgotten that a picture is worth a thousand words. Locations, characters, relationships could all have been illustrated and saved us from purple prose. The text has weak adverbs and extraneous adjectives littered throughout. Several sentences make no sense as: extra words; wrong words or important words are added or left out. An example of this is a character saying "I must have dosed off". I don't think they were talking about medication, but sleeping - which is dozed. I know that the book centres on DID, but the author is also guilty of the writing crime of "head-hopping", giving the reader another character's internal thoughts when the scene is written from a different character's point of view. That the scene is from the male character's point of view and then hops into a female's thoughts and feelings gives the game away.
The end notes feel like material compiled by the author to aid their writing, but are exposition upon exposition if intended to be part of the story. Reading as an e-book makes reference to them difficult, but some readers may benefit from disobeying the author's instruction and reading these first as they tabulate places and names.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Mael.Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hola amigos lectores, feliz fin de semana y que tengan buenas lecturas.
¿Cuál es su lectura actual?

🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙
Hoy quiero hablarles de un libro fascinante y muy entretenido que habla acerca de mundos paralelos, la trama nos envuelve en un chico y su vida entren dos mundos más real de lo que parece.

🌓Mil gracias al autor por la confianza y la oportunidad de leer un libro tan emocionantes, los invito a seguirlo en @theothersidebooks su Instagram es un guía del libro.

The Other Side es narrada con saltos en el tiempo, llevando un hilo para comprender al protagonista y conocer a los personajes que juegan un papel importante. El libro te mantiene con dudas y con muchas ansias de lo que va a suceder porque también la psicología juega un papel fundamental y cuando estás llegando al final todos los interrogantes comienzan a resolverlos dando un gran final para saber más y ya quiero leer la segunda parte.

🌙El libro tiene herramientas como códigos Qr, ilustraciones, juegos de palabras y utilizar un espejo para mirar mensajes al revés, simbologías para entender los saltos en el tiempo y el mundo en el que está siendo narrado.

🌑Lo recomiendo y el inglés es intermedio, Lo amé y los mundos paralelos es de mis temas favoritos.
¿Ya leyeron libros con temáticas de mundos paralelos? ¿Les gustaría leer Other Side?

4/5 🚀

🇺🇲

Thank you @theothersidebooks, it was a great read and in the translation option you can see the review.

🌓The Other Side is narrated with leaps in time, carrying a thread to understand the protagonist and know the characters who play an important role. The book keeps you in doubt and anxious about what is going to happen because psychology also plays a fundamental role and when you are reaching the end all the questions begin to solve them giving a great end to know more and I want to read the second part.

[Roxy_cine · Rating 1 out of 5]

El autor me envió este libro a cambio de una reseña honesta.

A decir verdad, el libro tiene muchísimos fallos, tanto de historia como de escritura. Es difícil poder puntuar algo que consideraste no poder terminar, el mero hecho de decir no puedo terminar de leer esto, ya debería ser considerado una reseña. Pero ante todo pronóstico lo termine para poder dar mi reseña con toda la información posible.
Lo que me gusto:
• Los mundos reflejos, tiene un concepto muy interesante.
• Es divertido, hace juego de palabras con las frases inversas a este mundo, me falto que cambien el “HELLO” por otra cosa al contestar el teléfono.
• Los QR es lo mejor de este libro, danto información extra e ilustraciones de los personajes que hicieron el libro mucho mejor.
• Neol es un personaje entrañable, me cayo muy bien al igual que Miles.

Lo que no me gusto:
• Los capítulos están dividimos de maneras muy random, dejando algunos muy largos, dividiendo otros en plena escena, en vez de dar intriga y ganas de seguir genera desconexión.
• La manera de introducir un personaje es siempre la misma, al describir un personaje se debe enfatizar su característica más llamativa, en este libro se limita al color de pelo y de piel, dejando de lado otras características y haciendo repetitivo la introducción de un personaje nuevo.
• "Leon swallows" es una frase que se repite una y otra vez a lo largo de toda la novela, llegando a ser repetitiva e irritante.
• El comienzo de la historia es lento y lleno de información irrelevante que hace perder al lector.
• Nunca terminaron de explicar la parálisis de sueño de Leon, ni nada de lo que pasaba en esos momentos.
• Algo que me molesto MUCHO que le pregunten a alguien si recuerda en que fase estaba la luna mientras estaba siendo secuestrado. -Nota para mí, si estoy siendo secuestrada por un grupo de personas con máscaras, ver la luna-
• Al introducir un personaje con poderes telequinéticos o control del viento, no pega mucho con la historia que nos venían contando.
• Pierde la racionalidad y el actuar normal por momentos, lo que hace muy irreal y poco entretenida la historia.
• El hecho de personas “buenas” y “malas” nadie es así, somos personas, con matices, no hay blanco o negro, somos personas grises, buenas por momentos, malos por otros.
• Leon, es un personaje insufrible.
• El villano esta tardando demasiado en llevar a cabo su plan, tiene poder, dinero, gente a su cargo, es entendible que quiera que el planeta Heart sea más feliz, y para eso debe hacer infeliz al planeta tierra, hay mil maneras de hacer eso, como Argentina se por experiencia que un país con economía inestable hace a millones infelices, tan sencillo como eso. Argentina en planeta Heart debe ser potencia mundial…
• Semanas sin comer o tomar agua matan. cómo iban al baño si tenían las manos atadas? ¿Y si no las tenían atadas, porque no se sacaron la venda?
• Al parecer, Neol y Leon solo tienen un outfit, Leon solo tiene en su closet un buso azul con pantalones. Neol solo tiene un buso rojo, una chaqueta y pantalón negro. Lo usaron TODO EL LIBRO.


Estas son algunas observaciones, no quiero extenderme más, disfruté el reto de leer esto, me reí bastante.

The author sent me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Truth be told, the book has many flaws, both story and writing. It's hard to rate something you considered not being able to finish, the mere fact of saying I can't finish reading this should be considered a review. But against all odds I finished it so I could give my review with as much information as possible.
What I liked:
• The reflection worlds, it has a very interesting concept.
• It's fun, it makes wordplay with the reverse phrases to this world, I missed that they change the "HELLO" for something else when answering the phone.
• The QR is the best thing about this book, giving extra information and illustrations of the characters that made the book so much better.
• Neol is an endearing character, I really liked him and Miles.

What I didn't like:
• The chapters are divided in very random ways, leaving some very long, dividing others in the middle of a scene, instead of giving intrigue and desire to continue it generates disconnection.
• The way to introduce a character is always the same, when describing a character should emphasize its most striking feature, in this book it is limited to hair and skin color, leaving aside other characteristics and making repetitive the introduction of a new character.
• "Leon swallows" is a phrase that is repeated over and over again throughout the novel, becoming repetitive and irritating.
• The beginning of the story is slow and full of irrelevant information that loses the reader.
• They never finished explaining Leon's sleep paralysis, or anything else that was going on in those moments.
• Something that annoyed me A LOT that they ask someone if they remember what phase the moon was in while they were being kidnapped. -Note to self, if I'm being kidnapped by a group of people wearing masks, see the moon.
• By introducing a character with telekinetic powers or wind control, it doesn't fit much with the story we were being told.
• It loses rationality and normal acting at times, which makes the story very unreal and not very entertaining.
• The fact of "good" and "bad" people, nobody is like that, we are people, with nuances, there is no black or white, we are gray people, good at times, bad at others.
• Leon, is an insufferable character
• The villain is taking too long to carry out his plan, he has power, money, people in his charge, it is understandable that he wants planet Heart to be happier, and for that he must make planet Earth unhappy, there are a thousand ways to do that, as Argentina I know from experience that a country with an unstable economy makes millions unhappy, as simple as that. Argentina in planet Heart must be a global power
• Weeks without eating or drinking water kills. How did they go to the bathroom if their hands were tied? And if they were not tied, why didn't they take off the blindfold?
• Apparently, Neol and Leon only have one outfit, Leon only has in his closet a blue hoodie with pants. Neol only has a red hoodie, a jacket and black pants. They wore it ALL THE BOOK.


These are some observations, I don't want to extend more, I enjoyed the challenge of reading this, I laughed a lot.

[Katia Ibáñez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leon, un chico normal de 17 años, vive con su familia en Colorado, pero su vida cambió 2 años atrás cuando su amiga lo acusa de haber abusado de ella. Él no recuerda el hecho y desde ese momento está llevando terapia psicológica en una institución rara por decir lo menos; en ella lo diagnostican con un trastorno de identidad, pero Leon no termina de aceptar esto. Irá descubriendo que detrás de la institución y de la voz que lo atormenta, se esconde otro mundo, el otro lado.
Este libro llegó a mí gracias al autor, quien envió su libro a cambio de una reseña sincera y aquí está.
Primero hablemos de las cosas que me gustaron: el libro plantea un mundo interesante con otras versiones de nosotros existiendo en otras dimensiones y unas leyes de este mundo; otra cosa interesante es que el autor incluye códigos QR para conocer a sus personajes y escritos que están al revés para los que sugiere un espejo para poder leerlos. Se nota el entusiasmo y pasión del autor en cada detalle del libro, lo malo es que al incluir tanto detalle, a veces se hacen innecesarios; el nivel de inglés es intermedio pero siento que algunas escenas no están bien escritas porque no se terminan de entender, claro que el inglés no es mi primer idioma.
La historia ha sido remasterizada y quizá hay algunas cosas que se perdieron en la edición o que están demás en esta versión. El final del libro es abierto puesto que el autor pretende escribir una saga y creo que para hacerlo es necesario mejorar varios detalles, a veces menos es más.

This book was sent to me by the author in exchange for a real review and here it is. I liked certain things about the book, the premise, the fact that it was about other dimensions and different versions of the characters, The other side. I thought it was really creative to use QR codes to get to know the characters, although it becomes annoying to stop the reading to see only a character, not a scene being shown. I loved the fact that it included texts written backwards, but those texts only happened in the first half of the book and you don't need them anymore (maybe they are for the sequel).
Some scenes are difficult to understand, I don't know if it was because English is not my mother tongue, or is it because the writing was not clear enough. There are too many details that I think do not help with the story and become too obvious as one read. I think there are a lot of characters that make the story diffuse, and some of the dialogues feel off.
One can see the author's passion and enthusiasm on every page, I hope he continues improving so more people get to know this story.

[Jazmin Tischler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not a big fantasy fan, I tend to avoid it, but I gotta admit that after reading so many good reviews about TOS my expectations couldn’t have been higher. And those were totally fulfilled!

After seeing the amount of pages, I thought it would take me a loooong time to read it, because I usually take my time with long books. But I was so intrigued, that in 3 days I’d finished it.

The plot is original, dynamic and, even though it has some technicalities, the reader can read it with no trouble at all.

I missed reading in English! There were a few words that I missed, so I would say it’s an advanced level, so beware, have your dictionary all set, hehe.

Justin’s writing is light, pleasant and, as I mentioned before, v dynamic. I grew fond of most characters - can’t say all, can I now? And, even though it’s fiction, mental diseases are v much present, which I appreciate a lot.

The author uses a variety of resources so that the reader can experience the book in a whole new level. It comes with QRs, phrases written backwards - gotta get a mirror! - and many others that makes the pages fly fast.

The issue itself is amazing, and when I finished the book I saw things that I’d just overlooked! And, if you’re as forgetful as I am, don’t worry, the last few pages serve as an index with the characters’ names, places, and more. But be careful, don’t read those before actually reading the book in its entirety!!

I’m really glad that a 2nd book is on the way, I’ve come up with so many theories and answers to my questions that I need for them to be solved asap!

-----------------

No soy fan de la fantasía, suelo evitarla, pero debo admitir que después de leer tantas reseñas excelentes del libro mis expectativas estaban altas: ¡y logró cumplirlas!

Pensé que iba a tardar muchísimo en leerlo, tiene 600 páginas y suelo trabarme con los libros largos. Pero estaba tan enganchada, que en 3 días lo empecé y terminé.

La trama es original, dinámica, y, a pesar de tener bastantes cuestiones quizás más técnicas, se entiende lo más bien.

Extrañaba leer en inglés, habían un par de términos que desconocían. Es un nivel avanzado, así que si están medio flojos con el idioma les diría que preparen el diccionario, jeje.

La escritura del autor es muy amena, entendible y dinámica. Me encariñé con los personajes - no todos, jaja - y, más allá de que es ficción, el tema de las enfermedades mentales está presente, cosa que aprecio y mucho.

Tiene un montón de recursos para que la experiencia del lector sea más que agradable. Cuenta con códigos QR a través del libro, frases al revés - hay que tener a mano un espejo, ojo - y muchas otras herramientas que facilitan la lectura de tantas páginas y enganchan al lector en la trama.

La edición es increíble, ¡cuando terminé el libro vi un montón de cosas que antes no había registrado! Y, para los que como yo son olvidadizos, al final hay un índex con los nombres de los personajes, los lugares y demás. OJO, ¡¡no vayan al final antes de empezar porque se van a spoilear!!

Me alegra que el segundo libro esté en camino, ¡porque tengo muchas dudas que quiero que se resuelvan yaaaaa!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent this book by someone who I am pleased to call a new friend, and was instantly intrigued by the plot. It took me a while to finish this book because of the timing, I had a lot of University work to contend with but it was lovely to come home to read this.

I was immediately struck by how creative the book is, the QR codes are an ingenious idea. To be able to create an image in your head from the narrative, and then see direct images of how the work has been envisaged is really fun.

The creativeness carries on throughout every element of the story, the plot itself is so inspired and has so many parts to it. Every time I think that I’m back on top of the narrative, and know what’s going on – something new happens and a whole plot twist occurs that throws everything off. The dedication that it must have taken to construct the whole story and keep it moving along, is such a credit to the author.
I think at certain points there was a bit too much plot work, and it got too confusing.

The characters themselves are really well defined, and have such interesting characteristics and personalities. It really made the whole plot fit perfectly because of the well-built characters.

There were a couple of niggling little points that I wasn’t so keen on, such as the use of “Haha” “Hehe” “Heh” etc. It is a personal point, but I don’t really like reading things like that in the story. I would also focus on balancing out the use of speech which was quite overwhelming and implement the use of setting and description slightly more.

Apart from that, it was a really interesting story which had evidently been worked on extremely hard and is something that the author should be so proud of. I would recommend it to anyone who finds fantasy, mystery, sci-fi intriguing – and then mixed in with questions of who we are and who we could be.

Rating: 4 stars.

[Neha Garg (thereadingowl_) · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I liked:

📌The blurb made me super excited when I first came to know about it, Multiple universes which reflect your own? Yes please.
📌The next best thing is the cover. The design is oh so intriguing. And it comes with a companion book that has gorgeous illustrations.
📌Coming to the book now, I liked the concept. It is fresh and brilliantly thought through. Justin has created new scientific phenomenons which he has used as base of how the worlds coexist and communicate. The timeline is also well created.
📌All the characters are very well developed. You come to know each one personally and start empathizing with them. You can figure out how their selves and personalities are reflected in the alternate universe.
📌The scenes are detailed but somehow I felt this detail could be more relevant. Some parts could be omitted to include others which would have actually added substance to the story.

This brings us to what could be done to improve the reading experience.
📌My copy has grammatical mistakes. They were a huge pet peeve but I am told that the new versions have them corrected.
📌Transitions from one scene/dimension to another were confusing. More world building and imagery could be added to help visualize the places referenced. It felt like Justin had all figured out in his mind but somehow what came out on paper could not do it proper justice.

A better pace would have helped too.

🔖I really think the book has the potential to be a great series but it needs proper editing, both in terms of language and content. If you are a fan of science fiction or gothic teenage drama, this one is a perfect read for you.

[Vachara · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while but I finally finished 🌛THE OTHER SIDE🌜 by Justin Jay Gladstone 
 
What is sure is that this book is simply unique: to read it, you will need a mirror for some passages but also your phone because there are QR codes that will lead you to illustrations.  
 
The author took several years to write this novel and you can feel it in the evolution of his writing style, the second part of the story is much more structured and more intriguing too. 
 
The construction of the universe and of all the characters must have taken an unimaginable amount of work, but his imagination seems endless. 
 
Some of the characters are better developed than others: I just wish we had spent less time on Leon and more on Stefano, Allure or Ephraim, for example.  
 
After finishing the book, I couldn't help but ask myself some questions that may remain unanswered until the sequel comes out. 
How is the gender reflected? The Aron/Nora case, for example, how does it differ from the others?  
What is the 'é' rule? 
If East and West are reversed, what about South and North? Does the sun also rise in the East on the planet Heart?  
The principles of reflection are even more subtle than they seem: can one character and his other be happy at the same time, as addictions seem to be partly shared by both sides? 
 
SO MANY QUESTIONS!!!!! 😁😁😁 

[Sol Chiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Por mi parte lo disfrute mucho! Aunque la trama es súper profunda y compleja, la lectura nunca llega a volverse pesada o aburrida; la acción, la intriga y el misterio están presentes todo el tiempo. La manera de escribir del autor es demasiado atrapante y no te deja soltar el libro!
Desde un primer momento desconfíe de todo el ambiente de la Facility, me parecía súper turbio. Me encanto el giro que toma el libro antes de llegar a las 100 páginas, uno no se ve venír todo lo que va a pasar cuando empieza a leer la historia. Cuando empecé a leer me costó mucho conectar con Leon por todo lo que estaba pasando, pero cuando empecé a saber más me llego a dar lastima, pobrecito no se merecía nada de eso! Tengo que destacar a Miles y Selim , todas las escenas en las que están juntos son geniales. Neol me parece un personaje con mucho mucho potencial, espero que ese personaje se profundice en la segunda parte, quiero saber más sobre el!

[Keava · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a great story. It is a fantastical sci-fi adventure that will leave you reeling. The artwork on the cover is magnificent and mirrors exactly what this story is about. It was a fascinating yet complex story that deserves and commands the readers attention. I think the plot and characters were very well developed as the author was very descriptive in his writing. If you enjoy reading sci-fi, mystery or fantasy, you will more than likely enjoy this book.

[Jessica Burrows · Rating 3 out of 5]

Names, ethnicities, genders, sexes, events, morals, truly anything that exists can be reflected.
People are only innocent at birth.

I was given an ebook of The Other Side from the author in exchange for an honest review.

With our interests now pointing towards diverse casts in novels, readers are focused on what makes us important as humans. We are no longer our illnesses, whether physical, mental or otherwise. But we must remember that our illnesses make us who we are.

We are seeing an increasing number of books with a main character (or a close supporting character) who suffers from some sort of ailment. Not only does this encourage inclusion, it also brings these issues to the surface. Readers are relating to characters more so now than ever, I would like to state, and I don’t believe that opinion is too far-fetched.
The reason why I began with an introduction expressing such points is due to the nature of The Other Side.

Leon Granttley has been accused of immoral behaviour with the girl he loves but he has no memory of the incident. He also couldn’t even bring himself to hurt an insect—he’s far too gentle—so where has this come from? Through attending The Earthshine Facility, Leon learns that he suffers from dissociative identity disorder (DID). He also learns that this illness causes him to black out when another identity takes over.

This other identity wants out, he doesn’t want to live in the depressing world he’s been born into, but does he have a choice? When one wicked doctor with a plan decides to assist Leon’s other, Neol is brought to Earth. Without warning Leon wakes up on Heart, Earth’s other, and the world around him couldn’t be stranger. Every person he meets, every other, is the opposite of the people he knows.

Now he must work with his new friends to get back to Earth and stop the doctor from creating more trouble.

I rated The Other Side a strong 2.5 stars because of the topics discussed and the overall plot. While The Other Side could have used some work (line-editing and developmentally), the plot is clear and engaging.

Not only have I learned more about an illness I’ve never had to endure, but I also got to read an enjoyable tale of a walk into the darkside. The Other Side explores themes such as: what is happiness and how does one find it? Is a parallel universe possible? How can we marry our emotions to be the best we can be? Beyond the written word, The Other Side makes you think about who you are and who you want to be.

After the accusation, the people around Leon are wary. However, they seem to have moved passed the incident in some scenes and then latch onto it in other scenes. Due to this, the beginning is rather confusing, as most of the characters detest Leon. And there are many characters in the beginning (if you like character-heavy stories, this is one for you!), but don't worry if this doesn't appeal to you as most of them fall away, becoming irrelevant.

Not only are the people around Leon cruel to him, but his psychologists were proper psychopaths (the reason why is revealed later in the novel):

"Allure leans back, “Don’t know me well enough, huh? Leon, it doesn’t matter who we are, we all share the same title. And now, it’s up to you to play your part as a patient. You’d be wise to agree.”

"Allure slams her fist on the table, the shockwave knocks a book off from the shelf on Leon’s right."

After the mild confusion during the beginning of the novel, the story begins to unfold in the most spectacular way. Not only are the formatted headings insightful (The Heartshine Facility /\ Festano’s Office Daytime), but we get to meet all the others that are involved in the story. I particularly enjoyed Miles and his counterpart Selim, and Toni. Miles and Selim are great to read. As others, they worked together to help Leon transition into his new role and have been involved in the major plan to rid the world of the evil doctor since before the novel began. They have depth and so much personality, which helped separate them from the other characters.

Toni is my other favourite character. She’s great. My favourite. I can’t wait to read more about her. After “burning down her house” when she was younger, Toni was admitted into the Facility for pyromania. Not only is her story captivating, but she's also one heck of a cool chick who carries a lighter with three settings to match her moods!

It is clear that the author put a lot of effort into the world-building (this can also be seen on his YouTube channel, here).

So, as much as I like Leon, I have to say this...

Call me biased but I would have preferred his other, Neol, as the main character. Leon is very subdued and because of this, he is quite inactive for most of the novel. Neol gets things done, he is proactive and always lurking in the background. Though before I write anything further...I'm going to wait for book 2!

I was disappointed with the villains/antagonists of The Other Side. Unfortunately, the doctor's lackeys are not intimidating. They spend half the novel watching and waiting rather than taking action. And the doctor is not particularly relevant until we near the end of the novel. But when he gets some page time, he is morbid and cruel. Neol is quite possibly one of the best antagonists I have read though, so that might just make up for the others behind him. (Neol is probably my favourite character...read the book and you'll see why!)

If not for a mutual friend of ours, I may never have had the opportunity to read The Other Side. I believe this is an important story to read merely for the themes the author tackled.

Would I recommend this? Yes!

[Euge · Rating 4 out of 5]

The other side I is a sci-fi book about Leon, a boy dealing with Dissociative Identity Disorder, who will soon discover there is a side of the universe he doesn't know about.

How to start this review? Simply WOW. I had been watching this novel for some time and having been able to read it in physical was an impressive experience.

Leon is a boy who, after a very ugly episode with a friend, must attend an unconventional therapy since he is diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder. After "graduating" from therapy, a confusing event causes him to end up in a dimension where everything is very different and very similar, at first hand, everything seems to be bad. It is then that Leon begins to meet people like him who will try to help him return home. I really liked the character, throughout the story you can see how he learns to navigate this universe and learn the laws of the multiverse. I found him very nice and I loved seeing him unfold.

I really enjoyed the writing, although once I found a tiny editing error, it always remains light and makes 100 pages read in a short time. The fact that there are QR's, drawings and sections makes it possible to go deeper into history and not get lost so much. The characters are super charismatic and, although they are a lot, there comes a point where they are recognized and it is inevitable to want to know more and more.

I think the best thing is to go in a bit with your eyes closed and let yourself get lost and imagine what your other self would be like in a different universe. I just can't wait to read the second and to have it in spanish.

⚠️TW: physical and verbal violence.

****
The other side l es un libro de ciencia ficción sobre Leon, un niño que sufre un trastorno de identidad disociativo, que pronto descubrirá que hay un lado del universo que no conoce.

¿Cómo comenzar esta revisión? Simplemente WOW. Llevaba tiempo viendo esta novela y haber podido leerla en físico fue una experiencia impresionante.

Leon es un chico que, tras un episodio muy feo con un amigo, debe asistir a una terapia poco convencional ya que le diagnostican un Trastorno de Identidad Disociativo. Después de "graduarse" de la terapia, un evento confuso lo lleva a terminar en una dimensión donde todo es muy diferente y muy similar, a primera vista, todo parece estar mal. Es entonces cuando Leon comienza a conocer gente como él que intentará ayudarlo a regresar a casa. Me gusto mucho el personaje, a lo largo de la historia se puede ver como aprende a navegar este universo y aprende las leyes del multiverso. Lo encontré muy simpático y me encantó verlo desenvolverse.

Realmente disfruté la escritura, aunque una vez que encontré un pequeño error de edición, siempre se mantiene ligero y hace que se lean 100 páginas en poco tiempo. El hecho de que existan QR's, dibujos y secciones permite profundizar en la historia y no perderse tanto. Los personajes son súper carismáticos y, aunque son muchos, llega un punto en el que se les reconoce y es inevitable querer saber más y más.

Creo que lo mejor es entrar un rato con los ojos cerrados y dejarte perder e imaginar cómo sería tu otro yo en un universo diferente. No puedo esperar a leer el segundo y tenerlo en español.

⚠️TW: violencia física y verbal

[Kimberly Godwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leon has a problem, he stands accused of sexually assaulting his friend Allie but he has no memory of the day that the assault happened. There are times when he hears another voice inside of his head, his devil on the shoulder, that teases him and tells him to act contrary to his nature. His relationships with his friends are strained as they are unsure of which friend to believe. Leon doesn’t know himself. He cares for Allie and wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, but something happened. And she understandably, hates him for it.

Following a suicide attempt, Leon is taken to the Earthshine Facility for treatment and diagnosed with Disassociate Identity Disorder. He is required to attend therapy and must have no incidents in order to process in treatment from ‘pawn’ to ‘knight’ towards “graduation” which allows him more freedom and shows that the treatment is working. But on the night of his graduation from the facility, his world shifts and he finds himself in another world similar yet different from ours.

Leon’s search for his truth also becomes a quest to return home.

Told in third person active tense, the Other Side is ambitious in both its world building and altering the reader’s experience through the use of different devices. The book uses QR codes to link to area illustrations, symbols to signify progression and regression of time, and words that need to be read in the mirror to be understood. I switched between the physical copy and the ebook copy of the Other Side to get the full experience since it is difficult to scan a QR code with my phone if I am reading the book on my phone too.

There are character illustrations and object illustrations along with universe rules sprinkled throughout the book to help the reader’s understanding and over all experience with the Other Side.

It took me a while to get used to the narrative style since I am used to reading in past tense. It made the book feel like someone else was watching the events unfold and relaying it to me, which might be part of the desired effect. There are some spelling errors and some of the terms used feel out of place at times. It’s immature but I laughed when “ejaculated” was used to identify someone saying something quickly and suddenly- this usage is correct but it’s odd to see in a modern novel.

I enjoyed the narrative and the world lore. Most of the mechanics used enhanced the reading experience when you were reading the physical book. While the QR codes could take you out of the story if you still and pull your phone out to look at the illustration.

The official synopsis describes the Other Side as a mystery and it is. It takes most of the novel to unravel the secrets that the narrative is hiding and leaves off at an important decision point. It poses the question of how far you’d be willing to go to find the truth. And what would you do when that truth isn’t what you were expecting? Which is better, to live in ignorance or to realize that you’re living a lie?

The Other Side is Leon’s quest for his own personal truth. Is he a monster that preyed on his friend to sate his own desires? Is he really sick?

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if you learned that you had an other? Not a twin or a doppelgänger, but another version of you living in an alternate dimension?

Leon Granttley has been accused of sexually assaulting his best friend, Allie, and instead of facing jail time, he’s sent to the Earthshine Facility for rehabilitation. Ultimately diagnosed with DID, Leon works through the program in hopes of being discharged and conquering the malicious voice inside his head. But what he doesn’t yet realize is that the voice isn’t Leon - it’s his other, Néol. When a terrifying turn of events leads to Leon and Néol switching places, Leon must do everything he can to get back to Earth and make things right.

What an absolute rollercoaster this book was! The story and special features (part of the limited edition volume which I’ll address in a bit) create an immersive experience which just might have you wonder if you’ve ever encountered your other.

Gladstone dives straight into the action from page one, weaving a high-stakes tale wrapped in mystery and mental self-exploration. Did Leon attack his friend Allie? Why didn’t he remember doing so? Is the Earthshine Facility really helping fix Leon, or does it serve some other, nefarious purpose? Finally, who is from Earth, and who is from planet Heart?

The Other Side does a great job immersing the reader in the story. From detailed character descriptions to well-explained locations, the reader won’t miss a beat as to who’s talking or where the characters are, which is a big deal because there are several prominent locations throughout the story. Another great aspect are the interactive pieces included in the limited edition copy I received (thank you!). Gladstone incorporates character drawings, images of the Reflection Principles, and scannable QR codes that take the reader to additional material on his Tumblr page. Oh, and did I mention that you’ll need a mirror to read certain parts? Move aside, choose your own ending books, The Other Side was definitely the coolest reading experience I’ve had.

Another thing Gladstone brings to the table is a good understanding of disorders and their affects on human mentality. As a psychology major, I really enjoyed the attention that was paid to describing Leon’s DID, the way others treated him because of the diagnosis, and the mental shift he goes through when he learns that his disassociations are actually caused by Néol. It’s dark and twisty, and altogether a great character arc for Leon.

My only (minor) marks against The Other Side are with verb tense and formatting. Written primarily in present tense, there are a some spots when the action slips into past tense, and not just for flashback scenes. A few line indentations and gaps on pages make for the occasional odd layout, but none of these seriously detract from the spellbinding story that Gladstone tells.

Many thanks to the author for sending me a physical copy of the book! I greatly enjoyed this first installment in his debut series, and I’m looking forward to the mischief that Leon and Néol, as well as the rest of the cast, get into.

[asia - books district · Rating 3 out of 5]

RATING: 3.5
❝This book itself is the correction to all the error that my mind wrote. ❞
—The other side
📚
This book was sent to me by the author, so I want to want to take a moment to thank him again.
Before starting with my thoughts on the story, can we talk about how beautiful the cover is?! It was the first thing that captured me, before reading the plot. I have to admit that these kind of books, science fictional ones, are not what I'm usually into...but after reading that this book was about Multiple Universes, I just couldn't resist: I had to read it! It has always been something that fascinated me.
The book starts with our main character, Leon, who suffers from dissociative identity disorder (DID), talking to his therapist, Stefano Giro. Leon is not going through an easy time: everyone says he sexually abused a friend of his, Allie, but he doesn't remember anything about that mysterious day.
There are so many things happening in this book, that telling you something more about the plot without spoilering, would be impossible!
I can only add that, suddenly, Leon finds himself in a place that he doesn't recognize as his home, surrounded by people he don't know or that act in a completely different way than the usual...it almost feels like his entire life has been turned upside down... While reading it, I couldn't help but thinking of how difficult and complex it must have been to create such a complete universe, the 'Other side'. It's so well constructed that there's even a companion book, "Equilibrium & Chaos". Some things that I didn't aprreciate the most were:
—too many characters. It was hard to remember all the names and how they were related. Plus, I would have liked to see more about their psychological aspects. Some of them are well described, others aren't;
—sometimes it was too slow. I know that a complex world like this needs a good explanation, otherwise the reader would just be confused, but sometimes I felt like it was getting boring;
—Poor use of punctuation, in my modest opinion.
On the other hand, the aspects that I enjoyed:
—lots of dialogs made more realistic by using slang;
—how there were many plot twists and how interesting the story was;
—a complex, well constructed world;
—plus, there were QR codes during to scan & texts that you could understand only by using a mirror, which made the entire journey through the book funnier!
In conclusion, it has been a short - since I read it in only two days, it really captured me- but intense journey. I definitely recommend y'all this books, mostly if you're into sci-fi s!

[Erika Zamora · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I want to clarify that I read the book in audiobook format, so it was a totally different experience than reading the book in the traditional format.
I liked the narration and dramatization, I think that the fact that he used different voices for the thoughts, dialogues and the voice inside Leon's head was very helpful, in addition to that sometimes the main character finds texts that don't make sense (at least at the beginning) and the narrator reads it just as it is, which confused me at first, but in the end it was something that gave the book its own special charm.
It helped me to get out of a reader's block, since it was a story that from the beginning was straight to the point (or that's how I felt it). I also liked the concept of the book, the moons, the fact of the Dissociative Identity Disorder, the mystery itself, I've even seen some of the Instagram posts of the printed book and I liked the elements used and the aesthetics.
In general I think that for the first book it's fine, but of course it could improve, especially in the development of the story and the characters, since in the middle of the book, for some reason, it seemed to me that it becomes difficult to move forward.


REVIEW EN ESPAÑOL:
Primero, quiero aclarar que leí el libro en formato audiolibro, así que fué una experiencia totalmente diferente a leer el libro en el formato tradicional. La narración y dramatización me gustó, creo que el hecho de que use diferentes voces para los pensamientos, diálogos y la voz dentro de la cabeza de Leon fué de gran ayuda, además de que algunas veces el protagonista encuentra textos que no tienen sentido (al menos al principio) y el narrador lo lee tal cual, lo que me confundió al principio, pero al final fué algo que le dió el toque al libro. Me ayudó a salir de un bloqueo lector, ya que fué una historia que desde el inicio fué directo al punto (o al menos así lo sentí yo). Además me gustó el concepto del libro, las lunas, el dissociative identity disorder, el misterio en sí, incluso he visto las imágenes del libro en físico y me gusta la estética que tiene. En general creo que para ser el primer libro está bien, pero claro podría mejorar, sobre todo en el desarrollo de la historia y de los personajes, ya que a mitad de libro, por alguna razón, a mí me pareció que se vuelve más pesado y difícil avanzar.

[Aleja Morales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muchísimas gracias a Justin por el envío del ejemplar y darme la oportunidad de conocer este maravilloso mundo a cambio de una reseña honesta.

Traté de ir sin expectativas pero con la emoción de conocer el mundo creado y que la ciencia ficción no es de los géneros que más haya leído, la historia me sorprendió y me gustó mucho. Me encariñé muy rápido con los personajes desde el principio y me pareció genial la idea de los códigos QR y las imágenes que complementan la historia, esto sin duda alguna enriquece la experiencia del lector y hace que uno se sumerja en ambos universos. Aunque el libro tiene más de 500 páginas, no se sienten y te mantiene al hilo de saber qué es lo que sucederá.

Eso sí, me quedaron algunas dudas sin respuesta y espero con ansias que en la segunda parte se resuelvan. Es increíble la manera de cómo el autor hizo transición de ambos mundos y Leon me generó nostalgia porque me hizo recordar a un ser querido que olvidaba las cosas que hacía en ciertos momentos. Los personajes están bien construidos y sin duda alguna, quiero seguir leyendo las aventuras que nos traen en la segunda parte.

---

Thank you so much to Justin for sending the issue and giving me the opportunity to know this wonderful world in exchange for an honest review.

I tried to go without expectations but with the excitement of knowing the created world and that science fiction is not of the genres I have read the most, the story surprised me and I liked it very much. I quickly became attached to the characters from the beginning and I thought it was great the idea of qr codes and images that complement the story, this certainly enriches the reader's experience and makes you immerse yourself in both universes. Although the book is over 500 pages long, it doesn't sit and keeps you in the loop to know what will happen.

However, I still have some unanswered questions and I look forward to the second part resolving them. It's amazing how the author made the transition from both worlds and Leon made me nostalgic because he reminded me of a loved one who forgot the things he did at certain times. The characters are well constructed and without any doubt, I want to continue reading the adventures they bring us in the second part.

[Parnika Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚 Book Review : The Other Side by @theothersideeb 📚
The Other Side was sent to me by my good friend Justin Jay. I was quite intrigued by the cover picture itself. I didn't know about the concept in the book but the cover is what attracted me towards it.
The Other Side is the story of Leon and his struggle with a voice in his head. The book takes us on a journey with Leon to discover his "other" And all the troubles that come along with it. The book is based on the reflection principles that are carefully curated by Justin's other book or the companion book to the other side called the "equilibrium and chaos". Equilibrium and chaos explains every reflection principle used in the book. .
.
📚 What I liked about the book 📚

The book comes with a really new and innovative concept that I didn't come across ever. I loved the cover page and the mystery that came with the title and blurb. The book is carefully designed to capture the interests of the readers and the concept of reflection principles that are incorporated in the book gives it an extra edge. I liked the progression and regression in the book. The book has various QR codes that adds to the Individuality to the book. The characters are created with patience and are well written. Every character along with its " Other" is a whole package and you can see the contrast in the characters is well defined.
.
.
. 📚 What i didn't like 📚

The story progresses nicely with some inconsistences here and there. Some portions felt like a drag and could have been properly arranged if possible. The one thing I didn't like in the book has nothing to do with the story but still is something that put me off, the book had some editing issues and grammatical errors as well. The publishing of the book could have been better , the font size and style didn't go well with me.
.
.

Conclusion

The book is a good read and should be given a chance. The concept is new and intriguing. If you like fiction, mystery and fantasy then you should definitely give this one a chance.

[Sele - Historiasentretusmanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Para ponerte en situación antes de comenzar la reseña, la novela trata de que nuestro personaje principal, Leon, sufre de un problema/trastorno mental que lo lleva a escuchar voces en su cabeza. Un día es llevado a otro mundo paralelo al mundo (todo es igual, obvio, pero en su opuesto) y a partir de allí.... tendrás que leerlo para saber 😱
En un comienzo me sentía perdida y no sabia hacia donde sabía hacia donde quería apuntar Justin pero con el correr de las páginas la trama va tomando consistencia. Me encantaría que sea traducida y todos la lean, es excelente!!
Los personajes son increíbles y el autor logra de forma extraordinaria un balance entre "los originales" y sus opuestos. Al final esta edición tiene un extra donde verán los nombres de los puestos y otras cosas más del mundo que 🤯
Retomando 😂 Otra cosa que me gustó es que al ser vario, logra que los conozcamos a todos sin perder el hilo de la trama.
En cuanto a la escritura de Justin, por momentos me sentía perdida ya que la historia se va contando entre el pasado - presente. Cuando le agarré el ritmo, fue genial. Él marca el cambio de tiempo en los capítulos pero a mi Inglés aún le falta 😅
Ésta edición además está acompañada con ilustraciones y códigos QR volviéndolo un libro interactivo, lo que le suma un plus a la lectura.
Te super recomiendo este libro si sos fan de la ciencia ficción - fantasía y de los libros interactivos, ésta novela es para vos! Sin duda la vas a disfrutar un montón

[Liana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quiero agradecer a Justin por enviarme el libro a cambio de una reseña honesta.

Puntuación:4

Para comenzar, es admirable el trabajo que ha hecho el autor con este libro. Lo que más llama la atención es que es único en su clase, te ofrece toda una experiencia donde vas a tener que usar tu celular para escanear códigos QR, o un espejo para descifrar ciertas partes del libro. Es un libro con un concepto ambicioso.
La historia se centra en Leon, un joven con Trastorno de Identidad Disociativo, que escucha una voz en su cabeza constantemente contradiciéndolo y causándole más estrés. Leon intenta llevar una vida normal en sus estudios, va donde su psiquiatra y tiene una relación con varios amigos. Sin embargo, no todo anda bien. Es acusado de agredir a una de sus amigas, y aunque su familia dice que lo afronte y sus amigos no le creen, Leon no recuerda lo ocurrido.
Las primeras páginas del libro son fluidas y aunque a mí me costó un poco entender los códigos de temporalidad y espacio, una vez los entendí con claridad pude concentrarme y avanzar en la historia. El ritmo es rápido ya que muchas de las situaciones y pensamientos en vez de ser descriptivos son diálogos, pero esto también puede ocasionar que a veces se creen vacíos.
A mí me ayudó mucho el uso de los códigos QR para representar correctamente a los personajes, lo que me hizo más fácil poder conectar con ellos. Porque hay bastantes, y muy diferentes.
Lo que más admiro de este libro es la construcción del mundo. Toda la historia da un twist cuando Leon se ve transportado a otro mundo: Heart, the other side. Y eso se me hizo muy interesante, la capacidad que tiene el autor para que entendamos los dos mundos, y no es fácil. Hay momentos confusos y difíciles de digerir, pero al final logra guiarte.
Otra cosa es como el autor pudo representar el TID del personaje principal. No había leído un libro con esta temática nunca, y aparte de original, permite darte una idea de las enfermedades mentales.
Mi impresión final es que es un libro muy interesante y original, y admiro el trabajo realizado. Pero en ocasiones se hace difícil mantenerse conectado, hay detalles que se pueden mejorar para que le sea más fácil al lector seguir la historia.
A por cierto, la edición es muy bonita, pero es bastante pesada por lo que dificulta la movilidad y comodidad al leer.


---------------------------
ENGLISH REVIEW:

I want to thank Justin for sending me the book for an honest review.

Score:4

To begin with, the work the author has done with this book is admirable. What is most striking is that it is unique in its class. It offers you an entire experience where you will have to use your cell phone to scan QR codes, or a mirror to decipher certain parts of the book. It is a book with an ambitious concept.

The story centers on Leon, a young man with Dissociative Identity Disorder, who hears a voice in his head constantly contradicting him and causing him more stress. Leon tries to lead a normal life in his studies, goes to see his psychiatrist and has a relationship with several friends. However, all is not well. He is accused of assaulting one of his friends, and although his family says to face it and his friends don’t believe him, Leon doesn’t remember what happened.

The first pages of the book are fluid and although it was difficult for me to understand the codes of time and space, once I understood them clearly, I could concentrate and move forward in the story. The pace is fast since many of the situations and thoughts, instead of being descriptive, are dialogues, but this can also sometimes feel empty.

Using QR codes helped me a lot to correctly represent the characters, which made it easier for me to connect with them. Because there are quite a few, and very different.

What I admire most about this book is the world building. The entire story takes a twist when Leon is transported to another world: Heart, the other side. And that was very interesting to me, the ability that the author has for us to understand the two worlds, and it is difficult. There are confusing moments to digest, but in the end, it guides you.

Another thing is how the author could represent the TID of the main character. I had never read a book with this theme before, and apart from being original, it gives you an idea of ​​mental illness.

My last impression is that it is a very interesting and original book, and I admire the work done. But sometimes it becomes difficult to stay connected. There are details that can be improved to make it easier for the reader to follow the story.

By the way, the edition is very nice, but it is quite heavy, which makes mobility and comfort difficult when reading.

[Julisa Basak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Justin Jay Gladstone/Nitsuj Yaj Enotsdalg creates a unique vivid world, or rather dual worlds, in his book ‘The Other Side’. To put it simply, it’s the kind of Gaiman meets Black Mirror-esque setting where a parallel world reflecting our own is explored through a grand conspiracy unknown to the protagonist himself. I had the privilege of receiving the audiobook of this series to review, and in short: it was a ride from start to finish. The story begins by introducing a notable conflict—The main character, Leon, is diagnosed with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) and placed in a psychiatric facility after being framed for committing an indecent act on his childhood friend. The problem is that he apparently has no recollection of the incident. Right then, it opens up a can of curiosity for the reader on this overarching unsolved mystery. And the mystery indeed takes us places, to the other side (no pun intended) of our own reality in fact once Leon is dragged into a parallel universe against his will. The author builds this alternate world in a very meticulous and thought-provoking way, with its own set of lore, rules, customs and ethics. Without giving away too much, it gives us a very detailed understanding of how one world affects the other, how the characters (or rather doppelgängers) of both worlds interact, and how it’s ultimately possible for this conspiracy to prevail. Besides the world-building, the characters are also interesting in their own way to move the story forward. Miles and his other, Selim, became two favorites, as well as Toni and Aepis, but I would say the whole Neo Knights crew have this ragtag flair that I enjoyed.

The story overall has a lot of bends and turns, with unique moments for exploration and reflection. The different voices by the narrator helped to differentiate each character, and although it took some time to recognize who was who, I was able to pick up the important ones to pay attention to soon enough. I will admit there were some areas where I got lost or had trouble paying attention, but that’s mostly because audiobooks aren’t generally my style and for such a rich and complex world with multiple characters, I need a physical book to go over more thoroughly. That will be my direction for the 2nd installment, as I am looking forward to seeing where the story leads us next (Although with the author narrating Book 2 himself, it would be hard to resist an audiobook version too). Great debut!

- Julisa B

[Srishti Mahato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who created us? Who created this world? Is there a parallel universe? Is earth the only planet with life? 🌎

As not many people know but I am a physics student and I'm always interested in theories of physics which involves multiple universes. I've spent a fair amount of time over the last few years reading about them and discussing the ideas with my fellow classmates. So this might be the longest time I've taken to review a book and I'm very apologetic about it to the Authors. But it is also because I had a lot to talk about it and couldn't complete it.

So THE OTHER SIDE is based on the main idea or claim that there is a great deal of evidence to support the claim that we are one of the many universes and moreover we know that these other universes are. The main character Leon suffers from a 'mental sickness' but the doctors looking after his treatment aren't really treating his illness but there is conspiracy behind it. They capture Leon in a different universe, a universe just parallel to ours! And how he learns about this new world and tries to get back to earth.


This book is a perfect example of a simple book with not a simplistic story. The Other Side is a fine way to introduce the topics of segregation, reflection principles and interpersonal relationships. Now this character Leon has been portrayed from a realistic perspective which is very appreciative. Like when we talks with his friends and how he's not open about the voices he's been hearing inside his head so that people don't make a fun of him. The plots were so surprising everytime, it kept the story intriguing.



Most impressive thing about the book? Of course the QR Codes that were given throughout and when scanned it reveals the story through the character's eyes!
And if I had to mention one demerit I think, I'd be length of it and the intersperse of a lot of information throughout, made it a bit difficult to remember all the details.

I recommend this book for all the Sci-Fi lovers! Lastly I'm very grateful to
@theotherside for sending me a copy of his book❄️

[Hermes Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leer este libro ha sido toda una experiencia. The other side es ambicioso tanto en la construcción del mundo como en la alteración de la experiencia del lector mediante el uso de diferentes dispositivos. El libro utiliza códigos QR para mostrar ilustraciones de áreas, símbolos para indicar la progresión y la regresión del tiempo, y palabras que necesitan leerse en el espejo para ser entendidas.

En esta historia seguimos a Leon, un chico que se le ha diagnosticado TID (trastorno de identidad disociativo) y se lo interna en un centro psiquiátrico después de haber sido acusado de agredir sexualmente a su amiga Allie. El problema es que él no recuerda el incidente. Pero, su mundo cambia y de repente se encuentra en otro mundo similar pero diferente al nuestro. Leon es arrastrado a un universo paralelo en contra de su voluntad. La búsqueda de Leon de su verdad también se convierte en una búsqueda para volver a casa.

La construcción del universo y de todos los personajes debe haberle costado una cantidad de trabajo al autor, este construye un mundo, o más bien dos mundos paralelos de una manera muy meticulosa y estimulante, con su propio conjunto de tradiciones, reglas, costumbres, etc. Me gustó mucho el leer cómo un mundo afecta al otro y cómo interactúan los personajes. La historia en general tiene muchos plot twist con momentos únicos para la exploración y la reflexión.

Hay ilustraciones de personajes e ilustraciones de objetos junto con las reglas del universo esparcidas por todo el libro para ayudar a la comprensión del lector y sobre todo a vivir una nueva experiencia.

El concepto es nuevo e intrigante. Si te gusta la ficción, el misterio y la fantasía, definitivamente deberías darle una oportunidad.

NOTA: para leerlo necesitarás un espejo para algunos pasajes pero también tu teléfono porque hay códigos QR que te llevarán a las ilustraciones. Además, el libro solo se encuentra en inglés.

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Other Side book is an enigma. It's a book that is so complex, so descriptive and creative, it comes with a companion. My copy has it built in with carefully crafted images, QR Codes and even symbols at the bottom of the pages to let you know whether you're in the past or in the future. ALSO, explanations to Reflection Principals and there are even YouTube videos that tell the story and share the characters of the novel. How is that for creativity? It's set unto allow you experience of the book instead of simply reading it. The book's enormous, giving you not only our money's worth, but a real adventure.

The book is rather long, near 500-pages, so you get to know everyone in the book. Sometimes, because of the excess information, it did tend to drag a bit in spots, but when you go to places like Equilibrium and Chaos, you aren't bored at all! The story is one that you will never forget, just be sure to have 20/20 vision and a bit of time to read it all.

My only negative was it was hard for me to read. Because of the size of the book, the font is terribly small. I have bad eyes though- it's different for me. Due to the size being so small, and there not being an ebook version, it took me longer to rad this novel, than any other book. Ever! Though it can also be a tad confusing to some, when it comes to going back and forth in time or to other worlds, The Other Side could become tricky. Unfortunately, that happens with many books, so I can't even hold that against him.

I think Gladstone has great potential and can become an excellent storyteller, but if it takes him another thirteen or so years to write his next book, I may not be able to read it! LOL Cheers to this new and budding author and I look forward to seeing more from him. You should look for The Other Side, while I move on to the next read.
http://bit.ly/AlternateUniverses

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

First of all, I have to say, science fiction is not my type of genre and I really wanted to give it a try to see if I liked it but clearly it’s not a genre that I enjoy, this review is based on my thoughts reading this book, keep in mind that I’m not used to sci-fi books and maybe it was a little bit hard for me to read it because of that. If you enjoy this genre I think you could really love this book.
When I started it I was really excited and I read the first 100 pages very fast but then I kept reading and I started to get kind of bored, I wasn’t motivated to keep on reading the story but day by day I finally got to it.
It was difficult for me to engage with the writing style, it’s not my type of writing and I felt it kind of forced.
The second half of the book was better, the writing style was much more dynamic, I could see the progress and the development between both half’s, but I was still uncomfortable thinking about the first half of the book.
I liked some of the characters, they didn’t drive me crazy but they made the story a little bit easier to carry on reading.
In some parts I got lost and I was really frustrated by it, sometimes the book was talking about the present and other times it was talking about the past and in those parts I felt very confused.
The book has a lot of extra material like QR codes to see digital media related to the book, that part was awesome and I can see the hard work through the whole book.
Dear author: if you read my review, do not feel discouraged, you have a lot of potential, it was not the book for me, I think a lot of people would enjoy it and keep writing! I think you can achieve amazing things❤️❤️.

[Prarinthepustakaaley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book. OMG THIS BOOK. Science fiction is not my cup of tea, never been, but I had an absolute Gala time reading this. I took my own sweet time reading this book because 1. the book is so thick and I didn't want it to end & 2. It is written so beautifully that the images start playing in your head and you have to stop and absorb everything. And the companion book and QR codes just add up to the amazing book and make it an experience. I'm going to remember this book for the years to come because of the visuals. Justin has created a beautiful universe.

I honestly cannot wait for the second book because this idea that Justin has birthed has limitless potentials and I can't wait what the second book has in store for the beautiful, strong and quite relate-able characters. The story is so different and compelling and I couldn't stop reading it, waking up early and making time in my life to read this masterpiece. I've read nothing like it and I don't think anyone can come up with a concept this amazing in the near future.