We’re excited to chat with Stone Abdullah about Journey of the Shadow: Volume One. Check out our conversation below.
Stone, it’s so good to be connecting again, this time to discuss one of your favorite books. So – let’s jump right in, can you tell us about Journey of the Shadow: Volume One – what should our readers know about this book?
Absolutely! “Volume One” is the “cliff notes” version of the Journey of the Shadow series, giving readers a concise introduction before being thrown into its expansive lore. We’re in a modern-day setting where a secret supernatural warrior organization known as the Sonzai protects humanity from the forces of darkness. 19-year-old Commander Tsumisu leads the 300 Sonzai warriors on a global mission to investigate how an ancient evil necromancer named Nyugo is staging his resurrection.
Along the way, Tsumisu discovers his high-school friend Shujin is the “Chosen One.” His presence on Earth attracts two powerful extraterrestrial women—Mercenary Tetyana Ordovicia and Princess Suzuka Devonia—revealing their eight-hundred-year-old struggle to claim Shujin’ for more than just political reasons… This activity doesn’t go unnoticed, as military officer First Lieutenant Arlette Sauveterre of the Devonian galactic empire arrives, her spaceship averting a crashlanding by Tsumisu’s bare hands. She announces the galaxy’s most wanted criminal super-cyborg Taras also seeks Shujin’s power. In the meantime, the lieutenant goes after the commander’s attention… As battles are waged, Commander Tsumisu encounters a sultry and cunning genius named Dr. Nataliya Artemis who seems to possess knowledge of Tsumisu’s incredible abilities. But how’s that possible? The galaxy just became smaller, and now the Sonzai Commander must determine the correlation between himself, Nyugo’s resurrection, and aliens. Can he do it before Nyugo succeeds and reigns havoc on mankind?
Great, so maybe you can get into a bit more detail about why this book feels relevant to you and perhaps you can touch on any lessons or insights that resonated with you?
“Volume One” is the foundation behind every idea surrounding Journey of the Shadow. It’s the product of the story’s first 16 years of existence inside my head, numerous drafts and rewrites, and all my life experiences and influences. “Volume One” was never a project to prove anything to anyone, fit a particular mold, or hop on an ideological bandwagon. If anything, the book proves I had the will to give something creative back to people, regardless of potential praise or criticism. All of which taught me that acting in service of art takes courage, humility, discipline, and a sense of self.
Moreover, I discovered how the art of storytelling contains incredible power to captivate, engage, and impact individuals. To this day, I still can’t believe that fictional characters that have lived in my head rent-free for decades somehow resonated with readers, illustrators, musicians, and so on. In summation, the most rewarding result of “Volume One” has been sharing ideas with others, which subsequently inspires me to keep creating, and as time went along, inspired others to start writing their own stories.
Were there any twists or surprises that caught you off guard?
Yes! LOL No spoilers, but it involves the budding relationship dynamic between Commander Tsumisu and Doctor Nataliya Artemis. Later in “Volume One,” there’s a particular scene that, even while writing it, I didn’t anticipate would go in such an intense direction and continue to escalate. However, most fans and readers enjoyed the surprise and unorthodox action. I will say that this “intense” scene was like Karma striking Tsumisu with a vengeance given his choices of how to handle (or not handle) the situation involving the other extraterrestrial women earlier in the story.
Have you read other books from Stone Abdullah? If so, which others do you recommend and can you tell us a bit about those?
Another yes! The sequel to “Journey of the Shadow: Volume One” is “Journey of the Shadow: Darkness Falls,” released in May 2022! This novel is where the story greatly expands, you dive further into the characters’ motivations, their powers and abilities, and backstories, and you learn more about the Devonian galactic empire, the villains, and everything.
Picking up from “Volume One,” Commander Tsumisu and the Sonzai continue their efforts against necromancer Nyugo to stop his plans of resurrection. However, a spawn of Nyugo arrives: Yorro, the Wretched. Yorro brings a new depth of evil that Tsumisu has never faced before, and suddenly the galaxy is in peril, perhaps even the Novum Goddesses themselves. Tsumisu doubts his ability to stop this new threat, but the combined strength, intelligence, and affection of Mercenary Tetyana, Princess Suzuka, Lieutenant Arlette, and Doctor Nataliya may be the answer. If not, darkness will fall.
Thank you so very much for your interest in Journey of the Shadow! This story is quite literally my life’s work, and to share it with the world is a dream come true. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it.
- Website: https://journeyoftheshadow.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jots_store
- Other: https://www.threads.net/@jots_store
Image Credits
Photo credit: Stone Abdullah
