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Empire of Resonance #1
Beggar's Rebellion
The Councilate controls everything except the truth. With it, he shall destroy an empire.
Tai Kulga lost the rebellion and his best friend on the same day, stripping him of everything even as a strange power flooded his bones. When the friend returns as a spirit guide, it feels like a second chance—but his friend is not who he was, and the Councilate is not done oppressing his people. Trouble with lawkeepers lands Tai’s surviving friends in a prison camp, and he goes underground seeking the last of the rebels, to convince them to break his friends free.
Along the way he meets Ellumia Aygla, runaway Councilate daughter posing as an accountant to escape her family and the avarice of the capital. Curious about the link between spirit guides and magic, her insights earn her a place among the rebels, and along with Tai’s new power help turn the tide against the colonialists.
But as the rebels begin to repeat the Councilate’s mistakes, Tai and Ellumia must confront their own pasts and prejudices, before the brewing war turns them into the monsters they fight.
Tai Kulga lost the rebellion and his best friend on the same day, stripping him of everything even as a strange power flooded his bones. When the friend returns as a spirit guide, it feels like a second chance—but his friend is not who he was, and the Councilate is not done oppressing his people. Trouble with lawkeepers lands Tai’s surviving friends in a prison camp, and he goes underground seeking the last of the rebels, to convince them to break his friends free.
Along the way he meets Ellumia Aygla, runaway Councilate daughter posing as an accountant to escape her family and the avarice of the capital. Curious about the link between spirit guides and magic, her insights earn her a place among the rebels, and along with Tai’s new power help turn the tide against the colonialists.
But as the rebels begin to repeat the Councilate’s mistakes, Tai and Ellumia must confront their own pasts and prejudices, before the brewing war turns them into the monsters they fight.
- GenresEpic FantasyMagicFantasy
492 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 2, 2021
50 people are currently reading
71 people want to read
About the author
L.W. Jacobs
9 books4 followersI've been a teacher, a cook, an orphanage adminitrator, a grad student, and a farmer, but never happier than when I'm writing stories. Thanks for checking them out--click FOLLOW up above to get notified when the next book is out. I'll make sure to keep them coming.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 17, 2021
TL;DR: An enjoyable read with a wonderful original world, noblebright-inspired YA characters and the beginnings of an epic narrative to (slowly) sweep you away. A little patchy in places, but makes up for it with it's boyish, Avatar-like charm.
The Essay:
I went into this book knowing three things: it's fantasy, it was a highly-ranked SPFBO contestant, and lots of people said this guy was like another Sanderson.
It's not quite Sanderson... Yet.
There's the imagination and writing chops for sure, but this one felt to me like a book that's been through a few too many fragmented editing processes, or else was written and edited by people who knew the world inside out and wouldn't notice inconsistencies. Seriously, another round of fixes and a little more on getting across the world building would make this a boyish YA Sanderson-esque series starter to make The Last Airbender fans drool (though to be fair, it probably does already; I'm just holding it to the higher standards that I, as an opinionated reader of excessive amounts of fantasy books, seriously think it deserves).
While I may sound negative at times, I don't write essays on books I don't care for or about. This book helped lift me out of a major bad patch in my life by spiriting me away on a wild ride of magic and mayhem. While it could be even better, I'm glad it exists at all because it was epic YAish fun that reminded me of all those oldskool fantasies I used to adore without feeling derivative of anything.
We start our story with Ella. She's an amateur scholar and traveling calculist (aka bookkeeper) though she isn't technically licenced to be so by the almighty Councilate authority she's set on escaping. Y'see, she's got a bit of a troubled past with her well-off family, and wants to make a life for herself away from the rules of the empire's capital. She's going to study resonances, the magical forces weilded by all peoples of the empire yet there are some who are better than others. She, a "lighthair" Yersh girl needs yura moss to access her powers, but out in the wild only-just-conquered lands there are "darkhair" people who can use it without, and she wants to know more. But alas, she hits a spot of bother and ends up trapped in bad circumstances -legal and physical- in the backwaters of Achuri. It's there she meets Tai, child of a failed rebellion against the Councilate's rule, street rat, and unlikely master of the resonance known as "wafting" - without needing yura. He's just trying to survive, to keep the kids in his gang alive and out of the prison camps. Fate throws the two together, and between their ideas, ideals and strangely good timing, they set in motion what could be the fall of the Councilate's hold on the land.
It's actually pretty darn hard to sum up this book well. It's known as Epic Fantasy for a reason, and you cannot fault this one for having seriously epic ambitions. I found the history and world itself a little bit sketchy in the way everything's gotten across, but that's not to say there's no thought been put into it; quite the reverse. There doesn't seem to be enough time spent setting the scene about things like all the different races, their beliefs and cultures, the city settings, or the failed rebellion that inspired Tai's entire plot line. They're rather important to the events. Many times things are just dropped in, perhaps retrospectively ("Oh, btw that's one of the things X race believes" style), that don't feel wholly natural to the world building, and that is the only thing that made this a less than awesomely designed fantasy setup for me.
But let's take a step back and just savour the weird and wonderful magical world of resonances. They're Avatar-style superpowers: wafters manipulate air, brawlers are super strong, timeslips can slow time... Pretty simple really, but nicely done, especially with the rules on how powers work. A person must "strike resonance", and can only do that if they have enough uai to do so; think mana in RPGs, and like mana it needs replenishing with special foods. They also need to chew on yura moss to access the power (unless they're one of the special people who don't need it any more) - this bit is pure Sanderson's Mistborn and it works. There's also the strange addition of people having "voices" in their heads, and these voices may or may not have something to do with resonances. While we do get to learn more about this throughout the book, I honestly wished there had been more establishing of all those different cultural beliefs about the voices (each race has their own take on them, be it "evil temptations" or "ancestral spirit guides") and witnessing characters other than the protagonists having everyday interactions with their own inner voice. We can go large chunks of the book with these voices entirely forgotten, so while they reminded me again of a Sanderson trope they didn't feel quite as baked in to the story or characters. There even seemed to be times when the rules of magic were forgotten... Or just plain unknown.
Our main characters of Elluria and Tai are the only really memorable faces, but they play their tropes well. Ella is your slightly uptight, curious girl from a well-off background who isn't afraid of getting her hands dirty. Tai is the golden-hearted boy who can be easily swayed by a pretty face or a compelling argument even when he shouldn't be. They're both innocent idealists, though their temperament can seem a little inconsistent (Ella's cool and collected until in captivity, where she suddenly acts really idiotically in the face of her problems before reverting to type later; Tai's all go-getting and headstrong , then suddenly a world-weary noble-hearted warrior with a rebellion to accidentally lead. I wished we'd gotten a better look at their respective backstories, Tai in particular given how little we actually know about his time with the old rebellion or what actually happened in the battle that gave him the name Blackspine (what's up with the "spine" thing anyway?)
The side characters are there, doing their thing either for good or for ill. Ella also gave some strange vibes, like maybe she wasn't always intended to be a "calculist" prior to meeting Tai. I'd say Aeygan stood out the most to me amongst the rebels, and Sablo the Arbiter for the opposition , purely because they got the most conversation time. To me, quite a few rebels could feel a bit interchangeable.
I'd say pacing is pretty slow and steady, so while there is action, don't expect it all the time. There are battles with blood and spray and swooping (that Tai loves to swoop!), usually featuring daring rescues or sudden attacks (usually executed by or performed on Tai - that boy blacks out a lot, poor kid). There's a court case. There's a lot of slow burn plot time that surprisingly I enjoyed as it gave time for events to evolve. There are times when timeskips seem to occur, and it didn't always make sense to me why those bits had been cut and could feel rushed towards the end, but even with the strange feeling that some things had been left on the cutting room floor it was a compelling story with a semi-cliffhanger/Happy For Now ending.
Overall, I wouldn't want to put anyone off reading it. While it's not quite there for me, it'll probably still appeal to those looking for the kind of magic-infused epic that was written for their teenaged selves. The things that will keep me reading are the writing style, which is eminently engaging (this from the pickiest sod of a reader in the midst of a massive reading slump/depressive episode), and the fantastic world that has been created. There's a great deal of talent and promise to the writing, and the shear scale of the story is enough to make you salivate for more.
I hope further books go deeper into the world, the characters, the magic... Basically, everything. Because after all the work and thought and love that's evidently gone into creating this, it deserves it.
The Essay:
I went into this book knowing three things: it's fantasy, it was a highly-ranked SPFBO contestant, and lots of people said this guy was like another Sanderson.
It's not quite Sanderson... Yet.
There's the imagination and writing chops for sure, but this one felt to me like a book that's been through a few too many fragmented editing processes, or else was written and edited by people who knew the world inside out and wouldn't notice inconsistencies. Seriously, another round of fixes and a little more on getting across the world building would make this a boyish YA Sanderson-esque series starter to make The Last Airbender fans drool (though to be fair, it probably does already; I'm just holding it to the higher standards that I, as an opinionated reader of excessive amounts of fantasy books, seriously think it deserves).
While I may sound negative at times, I don't write essays on books I don't care for or about. This book helped lift me out of a major bad patch in my life by spiriting me away on a wild ride of magic and mayhem. While it could be even better, I'm glad it exists at all because it was epic YAish fun that reminded me of all those oldskool fantasies I used to adore without feeling derivative of anything.
We start our story with Ella. She's an amateur scholar and traveling calculist (aka bookkeeper) though she isn't technically licenced to be so by the almighty Councilate authority she's set on escaping. Y'see, she's got a bit of a troubled past with her well-off family, and wants to make a life for herself away from the rules of the empire's capital. She's going to study resonances, the magical forces weilded by all peoples of the empire yet there are some who are better than others. She, a "lighthair" Yersh girl needs yura moss to access her powers, but out in the wild only-just-conquered lands there are "darkhair" people who can use it without, and she wants to know more. But alas, she hits a spot of bother and ends up trapped in bad circumstances -legal and physical- in the backwaters of Achuri. It's there she meets Tai, child of a failed rebellion against the Councilate's rule, street rat, and unlikely master of the resonance known as "wafting" - without needing yura. He's just trying to survive, to keep the kids in his gang alive and out of the prison camps. Fate throws the two together, and between their ideas, ideals and strangely good timing, they set in motion what could be the fall of the Councilate's hold on the land.
It's actually pretty darn hard to sum up this book well. It's known as Epic Fantasy for a reason, and you cannot fault this one for having seriously epic ambitions. I found the history and world itself a little bit sketchy in the way everything's gotten across, but that's not to say there's no thought been put into it; quite the reverse. There doesn't seem to be enough time spent setting the scene about things like all the different races, their beliefs and cultures, the city settings, or the failed rebellion that inspired Tai's entire plot line. They're rather important to the events. Many times things are just dropped in, perhaps retrospectively ("Oh, btw that's one of the things X race believes" style), that don't feel wholly natural to the world building, and that is the only thing that made this a less than awesomely designed fantasy setup for me.
But let's take a step back and just savour the weird and wonderful magical world of resonances. They're Avatar-style superpowers: wafters manipulate air, brawlers are super strong, timeslips can slow time... Pretty simple really, but nicely done, especially with the rules on how powers work. A person must "strike resonance", and can only do that if they have enough uai to do so; think mana in RPGs, and like mana it needs replenishing with special foods. They also need to chew on yura moss to access the power (unless they're one of the special people who don't need it any more) - this bit is pure Sanderson's Mistborn and it works. There's also the strange addition of people having "voices" in their heads, and these voices may or may not have something to do with resonances. While we do get to learn more about this throughout the book, I honestly wished there had been more establishing of all those different cultural beliefs about the voices (each race has their own take on them, be it "evil temptations" or "ancestral spirit guides") and witnessing characters other than the protagonists having everyday interactions with their own inner voice. We can go large chunks of the book with these voices entirely forgotten, so while they reminded me again of a Sanderson trope they didn't feel quite as baked in to the story or characters. There even seemed to be times when the rules of magic were forgotten... Or just plain unknown.
Our main characters of Elluria and Tai are the only really memorable faces, but they play their tropes well. Ella is your slightly uptight, curious girl from a well-off background who isn't afraid of getting her hands dirty. Tai is the golden-hearted boy who can be easily swayed by a pretty face or a compelling argument even when he shouldn't be. They're both innocent idealists, though their temperament can seem a little inconsistent (Ella's cool and collected until in captivity, where she suddenly acts really idiotically in the face of her problems before reverting to type later; Tai's all go-getting and headstrong , then suddenly a world-weary noble-hearted warrior with a rebellion to accidentally lead. I wished we'd gotten a better look at their respective backstories, Tai in particular given how little we actually know about his time with the old rebellion or what actually happened in the battle that gave him the name Blackspine (what's up with the "spine" thing anyway?)
The side characters are there, doing their thing either for good or for ill. Ella also gave some strange vibes, like maybe she wasn't always intended to be a "calculist" prior to meeting Tai. I'd say Aeygan stood out the most to me amongst the rebels, and Sablo the Arbiter for the opposition , purely because they got the most conversation time. To me, quite a few rebels could feel a bit interchangeable.
I'd say pacing is pretty slow and steady, so while there is action, don't expect it all the time. There are battles with blood and spray and swooping (that Tai loves to swoop!), usually featuring daring rescues or sudden attacks (usually executed by or performed on Tai - that boy blacks out a lot, poor kid). There's a court case. There's a lot of slow burn plot time that surprisingly I enjoyed as it gave time for events to evolve. There are times when timeskips seem to occur, and it didn't always make sense to me why those bits had been cut and could feel rushed towards the end, but even with the strange feeling that some things had been left on the cutting room floor it was a compelling story with a semi-cliffhanger/Happy For Now ending.
Overall, I wouldn't want to put anyone off reading it. While it's not quite there for me, it'll probably still appeal to those looking for the kind of magic-infused epic that was written for their teenaged selves. The things that will keep me reading are the writing style, which is eminently engaging (this from the pickiest sod of a reader in the midst of a massive reading slump/depressive episode), and the fantastic world that has been created. There's a great deal of talent and promise to the writing, and the shear scale of the story is enough to make you salivate for more.
I hope further books go deeper into the world, the characters, the magic... Basically, everything. Because after all the work and thought and love that's evidently gone into creating this, it deserves it.
July 16, 2021
Audible
An interesting new fantasy world. Full of politics, the revenants/ancestor spirits make it unique.
An interesting new fantasy world. Full of politics, the revenants/ancestor spirits make it unique.
March 15, 2021
Sorry, but this is just not good. Poor setting descriptions, rushed plotlines. I actually forced myself to keep trying after a terrible anachronism. Using the phrase "par for the course" in a world where golf doesn't exist...unless the characters later in the story somehow slip into another dimension and head to the country club.
July 5, 2021
I received this book for free but the review is left of my own Accord.
The two main characters are well written and while they do grow as people from when the book began, I'm not sure how much is actual personality or outlook growth opposed to just growth in their understanding of their abilities. Either way, both are interesting in their own ways and they seem to complement each other well.
The magic system in this book, along with several other bits here or there, remind me of the Mistborn and Stormlight series, which is a good thing. I think the magic was explained well without seeming too exposition-y.
The story focuses on two different subplots and I honestly found the legal drama centered one more interesting than the other, but that probably just cause I enjoyed that character more. I liked how both stories played out and was glad to see the plots basically weaving around each other as they went.
I wasn't expecting an ending like this, so I'm eager to see where the story heads in the next book.
Read this if you like Mistborn or Stormlight magic systems.
Read this if you strong female characters.
Read this if you like little guys challenging the status quo type stories.
The two main characters are well written and while they do grow as people from when the book began, I'm not sure how much is actual personality or outlook growth opposed to just growth in their understanding of their abilities. Either way, both are interesting in their own ways and they seem to complement each other well.
The magic system in this book, along with several other bits here or there, remind me of the Mistborn and Stormlight series, which is a good thing. I think the magic was explained well without seeming too exposition-y.
The story focuses on two different subplots and I honestly found the legal drama centered one more interesting than the other, but that probably just cause I enjoyed that character more. I liked how both stories played out and was glad to see the plots basically weaving around each other as they went.
I wasn't expecting an ending like this, so I'm eager to see where the story heads in the next book.
Read this if you like Mistborn or Stormlight magic systems.
Read this if you strong female characters.
Read this if you like little guys challenging the status quo type stories.
September 14, 2022
What It's About: Former rebel Tai and runaway noble girl Ellumia must form an unlikely friendship and master their magic if they are to have any hope of fighting for a better world.
What I Thought: I loved this one! Ella is a wonderful character. Her curiosity about the world really charmed me. I loved seeing her friendship with Tai develop. I think my only quibble is that I'm not sure how well the lighthair/darkhair aspect of oppression worked. The themes of class were dealt with very well, and the world is extremely persuasively built, but I'm personally not a big fan of fantasy metaphors for racism unless they're done very thoughtfully with regard to how they interact with real-world concerns, and here it felt a bit pro forma? A minor quibble, though, in an otherwise splendid book.
Who I'd Recommend the Series To: I think this would be perfect for YA readers, especially more ambitious ones. If you're looking for something with epic scope, but exploring coming-of-age and other themes relevant to younger readers, this is a great option!
What I Thought: I loved this one! Ella is a wonderful character. Her curiosity about the world really charmed me. I loved seeing her friendship with Tai develop. I think my only quibble is that I'm not sure how well the lighthair/darkhair aspect of oppression worked. The themes of class were dealt with very well, and the world is extremely persuasively built, but I'm personally not a big fan of fantasy metaphors for racism unless they're done very thoughtfully with regard to how they interact with real-world concerns, and here it felt a bit pro forma? A minor quibble, though, in an otherwise splendid book.
Who I'd Recommend the Series To: I think this would be perfect for YA readers, especially more ambitious ones. If you're looking for something with epic scope, but exploring coming-of-age and other themes relevant to younger readers, this is a great option!
July 23, 2021
Audiobook format review.
I really appreciate the pacing of this novel. It moves along at a smooth and then fast pace where it should.
Even better the emotional growth and relationship pacing is great. No I love the first person I see and getting to it in the first half of the book.
Characters that fail, get up, fail, have friends pick them up, fail, and keep going. It's just like life.
The story does take a chapter to get going learning your place around some terms etc. but it's worth it to keep reading.
The two MC's seem to have opposing abilities, idiologies, etc. and between the action of the struggles and of the characters growth they learn to work together to kick some butt.
The narrator does a great job I'm not sure why another review didn't seem to like it. It was very well done and I know the characters by voice now.
I really appreciate the pacing of this novel. It moves along at a smooth and then fast pace where it should.
Even better the emotional growth and relationship pacing is great. No I love the first person I see and getting to it in the first half of the book.
Characters that fail, get up, fail, have friends pick them up, fail, and keep going. It's just like life.
The story does take a chapter to get going learning your place around some terms etc. but it's worth it to keep reading.
The two MC's seem to have opposing abilities, idiologies, etc. and between the action of the struggles and of the characters growth they learn to work together to kick some butt.
The narrator does a great job I'm not sure why another review didn't seem to like it. It was very well done and I know the characters by voice now.
August 9, 2022
It's not often that a fantasy book seems legally and politically credible. Here, we have a convincing rendition of a trial and an elaborate reflection about what it takes to fight against a system without adopting all its shortcomings. In this regard, a classical action-packed epic-fantasy novel can overcome the usual drawbacks of the genre.
June 12, 2025
I have submitted this review after listening to the audiobooks of this series set box. (Audible)
This has been a story that has caused me to miss sleep over. I had no intention of stopping the tale until I came to the end. So be warned, if you have a job to go to, don't start this book until you have the ability to read for 16 hours.
It was worth the effort!
This has been a story that has caused me to miss sleep over. I had no intention of stopping the tale until I came to the end. So be warned, if you have a job to go to, don't start this book until you have the ability to read for 16 hours.
It was worth the effort!
March 13, 2021
Beggar's rebellion is a great fantasy story.
I loved this story about having power in your body to fly,move so fast that nobody can see you, called timeslip. Also be very strong 💪 and smart. Be connected the elements like the earth, wind, fire,water etc....
I loved this story about having power in your body to fly,move so fast that nobody can see you, called timeslip. Also be very strong 💪 and smart. Be connected the elements like the earth, wind, fire,water etc....
March 6, 2021
WOW !!!!
What a **GREAT ** start
to a series !!
Enjoy !!
Phyllis S.
What a **GREAT ** start
to a series !!
Enjoy !!
Phyllis S.
March 26, 2021
Good read
I enjoyed the characters in this book especially the hero and heroine- very caring characters.
The secondary characters were also quite interesting- I liked the Minchu
I enjoyed the characters in this book especially the hero and heroine- very caring characters.
The secondary characters were also quite interesting- I liked the Minchu
October 17, 2022
Awesome, Thrilling story
This book simply grips you and doesn't let go until you get to the very end, yet you'll still want more. Very captivating read!
This book simply grips you and doesn't let go until you get to the very end, yet you'll still want more. Very captivating read!
October 20, 2024
Not sure but did finish and have started paupers empire
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews