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Chasing the Avatar: Descent Book 1 (Descent
A novel dangerously close to evil and too close to reality... dabbling in things not of God. Maya is a young woman with extraordinary prospects who is drowning in intense discontent. In the midst of her anguish, she meets Cha Ma, a Hindu guru. Immediately she believes that Cha Ma is an avatar—a human incarnation—of the goddess Kali, the most malevolent and destructive of all Hindu deities. Spellbound, Maya leaves behind her parents, faith, career, life, and moves to India to live in Cha Ma's ashram as a Hindu. Her choice hurls her parents into emotional, physical, and spiritual battles far beyond their wildest imaginations, for they must fight for their daughter's life and soul as she teeters on the edge of her very existence. Spirits supernaturally collide as they battle for the lives and souls of Maya, her parents, and the people attached to them. As Maya seeks truth, she finds the dabbling in things not of God makes way for the insidiousness and slipperiness of evil and the danger of sliding deeper and deeper into its darkness.
304 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 10, 2010
The debut novel "Chasing the Avatar" by Jovan Jones surprised me. I admit I had no idea what to expect from this Harvard graduate who spent two years in India. An autobiography mixed with a simultaneous tale from the Spirit World was quite fascinating and imaginable. This tale of good versus evil was told in the most mesmerizing way. I found myself identifying with this "desperately unsatisfied searcher." I was intrigued to see what "truths" the reader had discovered while chasing her Avatar [a human incarnation of a god or goddess].
I found the story of a mother's love and fervent prayer. A tale of a Heavenly Host sent to protect and demonic minions lured to destroy. In the midst, I discovered a woman in search of her destiny and willing to travel the World in order to experience freedom through spiritual enlightenment. It didn't seem odd or unbelievable. It's the journey that we all seek in one way or the other.
I loved the chapter entitled "The Name." I could clearly envision the Spirit of Death and Despair forced to bow at the name of Jesus. At that moment I realized that the author had a wonderful ability to take Scriptures from the Bible and bring them to life in a convincingly vivid way.
I was frightened by the description of Kali Leela and found the transformation of Kartika [one of the beautiful ones] disturbing but riveting. Maya's Avatar was Cha Ma, a Guru, who claimed to be the incarnation of Kali. Kali was a wicked Hindu Goddess. She was often depicted with a severed head in her hand and a bowl of blood beneath it. I anticipated the time when Cha Ma would show her true colors. She demonstrated her cruelty in no time.
As the author's journey continued in the natural, the spiritual battle remained unrelenting. The prayers of Maya's mother travailed until her intercession changes the expected outcome. However, in the midst of the battle Maya experiences challenges in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual; that leave her standing at the edge of eternity by the end of book one.
"Chasing the Avatar: descent book one" dabbles in the mystical and explores the supernatural in such a dramatic way until it must be read, whether you believe it to be non-fiction or fantasy. I look forward to reading book two "Dancing with the Avatar" when it's released soon.
Dianne Rosena Jones
Author of "Tragic Treasures: Discovering Spoils of War in the Midst of Tragedy" Tragic Treasures: Discovering Spoils of War in the Midst of Tragedy
and
African American Literature Editor at BellaOnline [...]
I found the story of a mother's love and fervent prayer. A tale of a Heavenly Host sent to protect and demonic minions lured to destroy. In the midst, I discovered a woman in search of her destiny and willing to travel the World in order to experience freedom through spiritual enlightenment. It didn't seem odd or unbelievable. It's the journey that we all seek in one way or the other.
I loved the chapter entitled "The Name." I could clearly envision the Spirit of Death and Despair forced to bow at the name of Jesus. At that moment I realized that the author had a wonderful ability to take Scriptures from the Bible and bring them to life in a convincingly vivid way.
I was frightened by the description of Kali Leela and found the transformation of Kartika [one of the beautiful ones] disturbing but riveting. Maya's Avatar was Cha Ma, a Guru, who claimed to be the incarnation of Kali. Kali was a wicked Hindu Goddess. She was often depicted with a severed head in her hand and a bowl of blood beneath it. I anticipated the time when Cha Ma would show her true colors. She demonstrated her cruelty in no time.
As the author's journey continued in the natural, the spiritual battle remained unrelenting. The prayers of Maya's mother travailed until her intercession changes the expected outcome. However, in the midst of the battle Maya experiences challenges in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual; that leave her standing at the edge of eternity by the end of book one.
"Chasing the Avatar: descent book one" dabbles in the mystical and explores the supernatural in such a dramatic way until it must be read, whether you believe it to be non-fiction or fantasy. I look forward to reading book two "Dancing with the Avatar" when it's released soon.
Dianne Rosena Jones
Author of "Tragic Treasures: Discovering Spoils of War in the Midst of Tragedy" Tragic Treasures: Discovering Spoils of War in the Midst of Tragedy
and
African American Literature Editor at BellaOnline [...]
November 9, 2010
OMG!!!! This is one of the best books that I've read in a long time. The way Jovan describes in detail the Good vs. Evil....is just AMAZING!! The detail she describes Katarina before and after was like seeing her before your eyes. The illness & confusion that Maya went through, you really "feel" her agony.I HIGHLY recommend this book. If you don't believe in God (Ipray for you), this book I believe will make you a true believer. And, you may question yourself, "What was I thinking?"
November 29, 2010
This story takes you into the spiritual warfare that happens. it reminds us of the unseen forces of darkness that exist.
June 27, 2014
Maya is an educated and highly successful black woman who is somewhat lost in her life. In search of meaning and higher purpose, Maya latches on to Cha Ma, a believed avatar for the Hindu goddess Kali. The story that follows is a recount of any and everything Maya is willing to do to reach enlightenment, but then there’s also the presence of Maya’s Christian praying parents.
Initially the idea of this story had me more than intrigued. I read a few pages in the bookstore just to get a feel of what the narrative would be like, and what I sampled, pulled me in. Unfortunately, trying to read the whole story wasn’t so exciting.
So, here’s the good. The descriptions in the book are amazing and full of life and emotion. Seeing the difference and, oddly enough, the seminaries of worship and praise rituals between the Hindu faith and the Christian faith were astounding. If someone were completely foreign the ideas of Hinduism and Christianity, they may have trouble deciding which they’d prefer, given that both are depicted in such a powerful way in the beginning of this book.
My favorite parts of the story quickly became the passages describing Maya’s day to day encounters while staying in India, but they didn’t remain my favorites for long. Also, the contrast of Maya’s adventures in India and her parent’s struggle back home started out as this epic spiritual battle that was entertaining to see unfold, but alas it didn’t end that way.
The bad came on so slowly, I almost didn’t see it until I realized that reading the story was starting to make me angry. Everything in the beginning of this story was so powerful, and vibrant, and new, but after a while everything became repetitive. The back and forth spiritual struggle, while entertaining at first, became monotonous. Maya didn’t start off the story being an especially likable character, but she was an interesting character with a spiritual dilemma that many could possibly relate to, but after a while, she just became annoying.
I could go on debating the many aspects of this story that I truly appreciated in hopes not to turn others away, but in the end, I just didn’t enjoy this reading experience. For anyone who’s read any of my other reviews, it shouldn’t come as too much of a shock that I was also annoyed that this book had no conclusion. It leaves you hanging on for the next book, but it doesn’t exactly leave you with a cliffhanger. I also have to be completely honest and admit that I’d already started skipping around through the book when I discovered the ending was lacking.
I have a feeling that my tendency to read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi may have had something to do with why this reading experience was so unpleasant, but I’m not putting all the blame on that. I’ve been expanding my reading horizons lately and this book just didn’t keep my attention, even though it had so much potential.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book unless you happened to be interested in religious mash-ups and spiritual warfare, but I do have a few people in mind that I’m going to share this with.
Initially the idea of this story had me more than intrigued. I read a few pages in the bookstore just to get a feel of what the narrative would be like, and what I sampled, pulled me in. Unfortunately, trying to read the whole story wasn’t so exciting.
So, here’s the good. The descriptions in the book are amazing and full of life and emotion. Seeing the difference and, oddly enough, the seminaries of worship and praise rituals between the Hindu faith and the Christian faith were astounding. If someone were completely foreign the ideas of Hinduism and Christianity, they may have trouble deciding which they’d prefer, given that both are depicted in such a powerful way in the beginning of this book.
My favorite parts of the story quickly became the passages describing Maya’s day to day encounters while staying in India, but they didn’t remain my favorites for long. Also, the contrast of Maya’s adventures in India and her parent’s struggle back home started out as this epic spiritual battle that was entertaining to see unfold, but alas it didn’t end that way.
The bad came on so slowly, I almost didn’t see it until I realized that reading the story was starting to make me angry. Everything in the beginning of this story was so powerful, and vibrant, and new, but after a while everything became repetitive. The back and forth spiritual struggle, while entertaining at first, became monotonous. Maya didn’t start off the story being an especially likable character, but she was an interesting character with a spiritual dilemma that many could possibly relate to, but after a while, she just became annoying.
I could go on debating the many aspects of this story that I truly appreciated in hopes not to turn others away, but in the end, I just didn’t enjoy this reading experience. For anyone who’s read any of my other reviews, it shouldn’t come as too much of a shock that I was also annoyed that this book had no conclusion. It leaves you hanging on for the next book, but it doesn’t exactly leave you with a cliffhanger. I also have to be completely honest and admit that I’d already started skipping around through the book when I discovered the ending was lacking.
I have a feeling that my tendency to read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi may have had something to do with why this reading experience was so unpleasant, but I’m not putting all the blame on that. I’ve been expanding my reading horizons lately and this book just didn’t keep my attention, even though it had so much potential.
I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book unless you happened to be interested in religious mash-ups and spiritual warfare, but I do have a few people in mind that I’m going to share this with.
December 13, 2014
This eye-opening book drops you straight into the world of Hinduism. A frightening portrayal of one women's quest for truth where she finds a dark, supernatural world of very real evil. To me, the most horrifying aspect in its pages is the fact that many people are so blind. I wanted to shake all the characters in the book to wake them up from the darkness! Based on a true story - this one is a must read.
February 1, 2016
I found this to be an interesting read. I've never personally spoke with someone regarding how they came to faith, so the whole process that the character went through was eye opening.
October 12, 2009
This was really powerful and it really, authentically sounds like Jovan's voice. We don't lean the same way in terms of faith, so the angels part didn't do as much for me, but the ashram story is really compelling. I am sorry I have to wait a year until the next part comes out!
September 11, 2012
I know the author from my church and she is an amazing woman with such a testimony to share! This book just touches the surface.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews