What do you think?
Rate this book
Resplendent Emulation
Angels, demons, good, evil, right, wrong. . . Since the dawn of time a war has been raging beyond the fringes of human consciousness between entities that embody our wildest dreams as well as our darkest fears. In this battle we find ourselves scrambling for purpose and the deep rooted desire for happiness. Although we possess free will our actions are always subject to manipulation, our choices compromised.
Imagine for a moment, what you would do if these forces manifested themselves in a way that allowed you to interact with or be directly involved in the shaping of world events and influencing the personal choices those around you would make. Would you use your power for the benefit of humanity or would you simply pursue personal gain?
Jocelyn Burns finds herself struggling against malevolent forces that intend to do her great harm. Her faith in her spiritual guide, a riapsed called Eran, allows her to weather the adversity pitted against her by his antithesis, an epoh called Malize.
As she struggles to find meaning and direction in her life the menacing entity reconstitutes itself like the mythical phoenix from the ashes. Abandoning the prodigious form known as Maximillian Mason, this entity continues his affront in the body of downtrodden Guy Charbonneau. Assuming the mantle, Guy inherits the vast wealth and assets of this entity’s former host.
Events quickly unfold that present impediments in the expedient rise to prominence that the antagonist had anticipated. Marshalling the forces loyal to him from the ranks of malignant entities in the etherium and the converted legions of masses in the physical realm, he begins his assault upon our heroine, Jocelyn.
Empowered by the faith of Jocelyn, Eran infuses her with the confidence, strength and courage to engage the malevolent forays imposed upon her by the combined darkness and chaos in our world.
Imagine for a moment, what you would do if these forces manifested themselves in a way that allowed you to interact with or be directly involved in the shaping of world events and influencing the personal choices those around you would make. Would you use your power for the benefit of humanity or would you simply pursue personal gain?
Jocelyn Burns finds herself struggling against malevolent forces that intend to do her great harm. Her faith in her spiritual guide, a riapsed called Eran, allows her to weather the adversity pitted against her by his antithesis, an epoh called Malize.
As she struggles to find meaning and direction in her life the menacing entity reconstitutes itself like the mythical phoenix from the ashes. Abandoning the prodigious form known as Maximillian Mason, this entity continues his affront in the body of downtrodden Guy Charbonneau. Assuming the mantle, Guy inherits the vast wealth and assets of this entity’s former host.
Events quickly unfold that present impediments in the expedient rise to prominence that the antagonist had anticipated. Marshalling the forces loyal to him from the ranks of malignant entities in the etherium and the converted legions of masses in the physical realm, he begins his assault upon our heroine, Jocelyn.
Empowered by the faith of Jocelyn, Eran infuses her with the confidence, strength and courage to engage the malevolent forays imposed upon her by the combined darkness and chaos in our world.
480 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 14, 2015
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 1, 2015
"Resplendent Emulation" is a story of angels, demons, and humans and how they interact. The demons, or epoh, are inherently evil and try to malevolently influence people to gain power. The angels, or riapsed, protect and help humans who bond with them. I was about a quarter of the way through the book when I noticed that "epoh' is hope backwards, and "riapsed' is despair backwards.
I really liked the flow and style of this book, and the main character, Jocelyn, is a great heroine. She remains steadfast and loyal to her loved ones throughout the book, with the help of her riapsed Eran. I won't give away the ending, but it is really interesting how it all plays out!
I'd recommend this book to any reader who has an interest in the battle between good and evil, or anyone who is interested in the afterlife. I received the book for free through Goodreads Giveaways, thank you!
I really liked the flow and style of this book, and the main character, Jocelyn, is a great heroine. She remains steadfast and loyal to her loved ones throughout the book, with the help of her riapsed Eran. I won't give away the ending, but it is really interesting how it all plays out!
I'd recommend this book to any reader who has an interest in the battle between good and evil, or anyone who is interested in the afterlife. I received the book for free through Goodreads Giveaways, thank you!
January 22, 2016
I received a copy of this for free through Goodreads First Reads
The story has a lot of potential, however the formal and stilted way it is written makes it very hard to read. I really struggled to finish it, and it was all because of the characters unrealistic interactions with each other.
The story has a lot of potential, however the formal and stilted way it is written makes it very hard to read. I really struggled to finish it, and it was all because of the characters unrealistic interactions with each other.
October 27, 2015
Great read!! My daughter and I loved it!
September 14, 2015
It feels sad when someone has spent a lot of time on a book, to end up with something so juvenile, unfinished and unedited. I don`t know if it could turn into a good book with proper editing.
The story is described to you in the blurb. The forces of good and evil are fighting for human beings. The demons are lying to control someone while the angels play fair, claiming humans have free will and can decide their fate. Of course, the idea is flawed, as the bad forces may lie about everything. What is left of free will for someone who is told lies after lies? Some persons can feel their guardian angel, while others cannot. I had the feeling the game was not rightly played. If some have contact with their guardian angel, it is a huge plus!
Add the way women behave and you get scared for the human race. The way guys act goes with "boys will be boys", in its most obnoxious meaning. They brawl, get into fights, kill or get killed, believe they are omnipotent. They decide for the women surrounding them, who amazingly accept their behavior. Whether human or demonic, there is no noticeable difference. A "normal" woman would run away, but here, April stays. Anita is "arranged" with Bernhard, and is fine with it.
I still cannot imagine how Bernhard can transfer Max's assets to Guy without a will and without any inheritance taxes or capital gains. No matter the powers of the dark forces, they cannot be stronger than the IRS.
So, I'm not sure I like the idea the book relies on. But I could see what lack of professional editing did to the book, and it is awful. You have multiple typos which could easily be corrected. You have mostly 450 pages that should be cut in half. You know everything in Jocelyn's day, from the moment she wakes up, to the amazing number of quick showers she takes, what she eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner, her bond for her grandmother, how she handles the sound of her tv... " Jocelyn turned around and looked for the TV's remote. She grabbed the remote off the coffee table. In her tired condition, she pressed several buttons at once on the volume control button, causing the speaker output level to nearly double. She fumbled the remote in her hands as she tried to push the mute button. After regaining control of her movements she lowered the volume and shut off the TV." What does this paragraph bring to the story? nothing. Thus, it should be deleted.
You learn that bad people will be controlled by the epoh -evil forces, surrounding them, and bad people drink too much and have lascivious thoughts. Good ones listen to the riapseds -angels if they can feel them. Actually, it means man is prone to sin and without help from the angels, will become preys of their senses. Most capital sins are here, just under our eyes. Lust, greed, gluttony, hubris, envy, anger are committed all the time. As the epoh play with piped dices, they should win the war. But the riapsed seem to have greater powers.
The humans involved are very young for the girls/women, and much older for the men.
Once again, it's only the first tome of a tri- or tetralogy, so most of the adventures will happen in the next books. I know it's hard to find an editor without a publisher, but it is needed, badly needed!
As to the story, to each his own. The demons are cheating, but they gain souls that way. I found the idea rather sad. For now, at the end of his book, I still don't know where the story is going. If someone can explain it to me, welcome!
The story is described to you in the blurb. The forces of good and evil are fighting for human beings. The demons are lying to control someone while the angels play fair, claiming humans have free will and can decide their fate. Of course, the idea is flawed, as the bad forces may lie about everything. What is left of free will for someone who is told lies after lies? Some persons can feel their guardian angel, while others cannot. I had the feeling the game was not rightly played. If some have contact with their guardian angel, it is a huge plus!
Add the way women behave and you get scared for the human race. The way guys act goes with "boys will be boys", in its most obnoxious meaning. They brawl, get into fights, kill or get killed, believe they are omnipotent. They decide for the women surrounding them, who amazingly accept their behavior. Whether human or demonic, there is no noticeable difference. A "normal" woman would run away, but here, April stays. Anita is "arranged" with Bernhard, and is fine with it.
I still cannot imagine how Bernhard can transfer Max's assets to Guy without a will and without any inheritance taxes or capital gains. No matter the powers of the dark forces, they cannot be stronger than the IRS.
So, I'm not sure I like the idea the book relies on. But I could see what lack of professional editing did to the book, and it is awful. You have multiple typos which could easily be corrected. You have mostly 450 pages that should be cut in half. You know everything in Jocelyn's day, from the moment she wakes up, to the amazing number of quick showers she takes, what she eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner, her bond for her grandmother, how she handles the sound of her tv... " Jocelyn turned around and looked for the TV's remote. She grabbed the remote off the coffee table. In her tired condition, she pressed several buttons at once on the volume control button, causing the speaker output level to nearly double. She fumbled the remote in her hands as she tried to push the mute button. After regaining control of her movements she lowered the volume and shut off the TV." What does this paragraph bring to the story? nothing. Thus, it should be deleted.
You learn that bad people will be controlled by the epoh -evil forces, surrounding them, and bad people drink too much and have lascivious thoughts. Good ones listen to the riapseds -angels if they can feel them. Actually, it means man is prone to sin and without help from the angels, will become preys of their senses. Most capital sins are here, just under our eyes. Lust, greed, gluttony, hubris, envy, anger are committed all the time. As the epoh play with piped dices, they should win the war. But the riapsed seem to have greater powers.
The humans involved are very young for the girls/women, and much older for the men.
Once again, it's only the first tome of a tri- or tetralogy, so most of the adventures will happen in the next books. I know it's hard to find an editor without a publisher, but it is needed, badly needed!
As to the story, to each his own. The demons are cheating, but they gain souls that way. I found the idea rather sad. For now, at the end of his book, I still don't know where the story is going. If someone can explain it to me, welcome!
November 17, 2015
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Resplendent Emulation is a peculiar book based upon the idea of angels and demons. As a joint effort, authors Edgar Bennington and John Paul MacKenzie have renamed these ethereal entities “riapsed” and “epoh” in this rather original novel. The body hosting the epoh – or demon – named Malize has died and so Malize must find a new body to continue his malicious work upon Earth. Guy Charbonneau, a penniless heroin addict with the lack of will to fight off the evil creature, becomes the new channel for Malize to inflict havoc upon the human race. Meanwhile, an innocent, young woman named Jocelyn is being looked after by her guardian angel – a riapsed – who is determined to keep her out of danger. However, this does not prevent Malize from trying his hardest to destroy her.
A lot of this novel is very confusing, particularly Malize’s intentions. It is never properly explained why he is resolved to end Jocelyn’s life, nor why Jocelyn is so special in the first place to warrant such protection from her riapsed. Although there are many characters within this book, they are all merely pawns in the epoh’s plans, therefore it is difficult at first to work out who the main characters are as more and more names crop up.
Unfortunately, Resplendent Emulation is not very well written. Not only are there a lot of errors that need editing, the narrative is slow and boring. The characters are not very emotive and speak their thoughts rather formally and matter-of-factly. There is also too much attention to mundane details, for example how someone makes a meal or takes a shower. In fact, the characters take far to many showers than necessary to mention.
Also, what is the actual plot line? Resplendent Emulation feels unfinished. What was Malize attempting to do and why? Why was Jocelyn so special? What key role has she got to play in the future? Perhaps there is going to be a sequel where all this will be explained, but it feels like a storyline was being built up only to go nowhere.
What initially appeared to have the potential to be a great read – a mix of crime and paranormal – turned out to be a great disappointment. If it were edited properly it could have been better, nevertheless I personally found it difficult to enjoy.
Resplendent Emulation is a peculiar book based upon the idea of angels and demons. As a joint effort, authors Edgar Bennington and John Paul MacKenzie have renamed these ethereal entities “riapsed” and “epoh” in this rather original novel. The body hosting the epoh – or demon – named Malize has died and so Malize must find a new body to continue his malicious work upon Earth. Guy Charbonneau, a penniless heroin addict with the lack of will to fight off the evil creature, becomes the new channel for Malize to inflict havoc upon the human race. Meanwhile, an innocent, young woman named Jocelyn is being looked after by her guardian angel – a riapsed – who is determined to keep her out of danger. However, this does not prevent Malize from trying his hardest to destroy her.
A lot of this novel is very confusing, particularly Malize’s intentions. It is never properly explained why he is resolved to end Jocelyn’s life, nor why Jocelyn is so special in the first place to warrant such protection from her riapsed. Although there are many characters within this book, they are all merely pawns in the epoh’s plans, therefore it is difficult at first to work out who the main characters are as more and more names crop up.
Unfortunately, Resplendent Emulation is not very well written. Not only are there a lot of errors that need editing, the narrative is slow and boring. The characters are not very emotive and speak their thoughts rather formally and matter-of-factly. There is also too much attention to mundane details, for example how someone makes a meal or takes a shower. In fact, the characters take far to many showers than necessary to mention.
Also, what is the actual plot line? Resplendent Emulation feels unfinished. What was Malize attempting to do and why? Why was Jocelyn so special? What key role has she got to play in the future? Perhaps there is going to be a sequel where all this will be explained, but it feels like a storyline was being built up only to go nowhere.
What initially appeared to have the potential to be a great read – a mix of crime and paranormal – turned out to be a great disappointment. If it were edited properly it could have been better, nevertheless I personally found it difficult to enjoy.
September 15, 2015
Original and well done.
The story is about spiritual entities taking the control over some bodies and minds to realise their personal goals. It can sometimes be hard to follow exactly what is happening, but most of the time you can easily discern the ‘epoh’ from the human.
The writing style is easy to understand and the story is nicely build. The end is kind of deceiving, but puts plate for the volume 2.
I’m not sure of the title, but the cover has been well chosen. You will see people relying on their guardian angel to get through the toughest times.
It was a nice read, around 500 pages of pleasure, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone that want a little something refreshing and special.
I got to thank Edgar Bennington for the quality of the book and for giving me the opportunity to read the book through Goodreads giveaways.
The story is about spiritual entities taking the control over some bodies and minds to realise their personal goals. It can sometimes be hard to follow exactly what is happening, but most of the time you can easily discern the ‘epoh’ from the human.
The writing style is easy to understand and the story is nicely build. The end is kind of deceiving, but puts plate for the volume 2.
I’m not sure of the title, but the cover has been well chosen. You will see people relying on their guardian angel to get through the toughest times.
It was a nice read, around 500 pages of pleasure, and I would certainly recommend it to anyone that want a little something refreshing and special.
I got to thank Edgar Bennington for the quality of the book and for giving me the opportunity to read the book through Goodreads giveaways.
March 4, 2016
The battle between good and evil is first and foremost in this tale. I enjoyed following Jocelyn's story as she struggled to find herself and build her future. The interplay between her and her guardian angel is worth reading this book alone. Gives you lots to think about!
*I received a copy of this book via Goodreads Giveaways
*I received a copy of this book via Goodreads Giveaways
August 14, 2016
This book is hard to explain for me. I enjoy the angels and demons and stuff like that but the style wasn't what I was used to reading. I did enjoy though and I think I may have to go over it again just to make sure I caught everything. If you like angels and demons I suggest you check it out and send in a review!
December 6, 2015
I won this book through Goodreads.
This was a very interesting book about good and evil and humans. It has many twist. What if we could come in contact with angels and demons? I would recommend this book.
This was a very interesting book about good and evil and humans. It has many twist. What if we could come in contact with angels and demons? I would recommend this book.
January 21, 2016
Interesting premise.....guardian angels and interdimensional beings being interconnected. No matter where, when, or how, it is still a battle of good verses evil.
October 20, 2015
I won this book through the giveaways. This book has many twists that will keep you guessing. it is a fun read.
Read
February 12, 2018did not like the writing style because it made the story confusing.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews