Review by Poesgirl1 -- Otherside by Aaron Dennis
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Review by Poesgirl1 -- Otherside by Aaron Dennis

4 out of 4 stars
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Sometimes life in The Big Easy can be complicated because of its close connection to the intersection between life and death. In the book Otherside, by Aaron Dennis, the main character, Adj, witnesses a murder while on a booze run for an impromptu party with his best friend and some hookers. He ends up inhaling a mysterious mist from the dying man and blacks out. He wakes up in an old, Creole woman’s house where she informs him that he is now a Shadow Man and must take over for her murdered grandson.
Endowed with the ability to crossover to Otherside, a realm home to various spirits, Adj has to adjust to his new role of serving Bear, his spiritual guide and benefactor, while fighting rouge spirits, avoiding hexes, forming magical alliances, and preventing the entire universe from going topsy-turvy. Plus, he has to learn the ins and outs of Voodoo and other spiritual practices, while on the job. If Adj is not careful, his very soul may be lost in the supernatural nightlife of The Crescent City.
What I like the most about this piece is how Adj just accepts his role as a Shadow Man without having a nervous breakdown. In fact, he has a very existential/nonchalant attitude throughout the entire experience. He doesn’t try to search for deeper meanings; he just accepts that this new spin on his reality is just part of the absurd natural order of things. For example, he often comments on how if he died that would be okay. In addition, I love how the individual chapters can stand alone as separate journeys but still build towards a solid ending. This text was definitely professionally edited. I did not notice any grammatical errors.
Honestly, the only thing I could find off about this text is that I wanted to know more about the spirit named Spider. He is an intriguing character, but he only shows up a few times. His creepy demeanor and wild physical traits made me want to see him more involved in the story. The other animal spirit guides are more teased out and are more emotionally and physically present throughout the piece.
I give this book 4 out of 4 stars because I have never encountered a protagonist that simply just accepts everything about his new supernatural situation with such Zen-like composure and style. The piece is definitely meant for adults who are looking for a new take on the paranormal genre. I hope that the author is going to make this part of a series because the world needs more characters like this to show readers that, sometimes, things are just part of a larger design, and your best option is to go with the flow.
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Otherside
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