What would you sacrifice to gain your deepest desire?
In the Dominion of Aleznuaweite, anyone can rise to the greatest heights—if they are willing to pay the price.
Failure is a luxury Rahelu can’t afford. Her family sold everything, left their ancestral home, and became destitute foreigners for the sake of her resonance skills. Now she can manipulate emotional echoes to discern truth from lies, conjure the past, and even foretell the future.
But an act of petty revenge by her rival destroys her chance at joining one of the great Houses. Desperate to prove her family’s sacrifices were not in vain, Rahelu calls upon the most dangerous magic of all—altering fortune.
A slight twist of fate is enough to restore her way forward…with deadly consequences she never bargained for. The Houses make a pawn of her in their bitter struggle for control of the Dominion. A shadowy cult grows ever closer to completing an ancient ritual.
And Rahelu discovers that fulfilling her oath to her family might come at the cost of her mother’s life.
Publication details
Book 1 of Resonance Crystal Legacy. Published 30 May 2022. ISBNs: 978-0-6455100-0-3 (ebook), 978-0-6455100-1-0 (paperback), 978-0-6455100-2-7 (hardcover).
Intended Audience
This work of fiction is intended to be new adult/adult.
Abuse (emotional, physical, verbal), bodies/corpses, classism, death (including murder), mature language (including profanity), mental intrusion/emotional assault, self-harm (cutting), sex (masturbation), slavery, and violence (including blood/gore/sex).
The following definitions have been used for intensity ratings:
Implied: Not directly mentioned in the text but is clear from the subtext.
Mentioned: Text makes direction reference to the content but does not dwell on the content. Usually no more than 1-2 lines.
Discussed: Content is the subject of direct discussion in the text but the content is not dramatized in the scene. E.g. corpses and manner of death discussed in dialogue between characters undertaking a murder investigation.
Depicted: Content is dramatized in the scene with some descriptive detail. Usually at least several paragraphs.
Explicit: Content is dramatized with graphic/extensive detail in the scene.
| Chapter | Content (type, intensity) |
| Prologue | Gore (mild, depicted), bodies/corpses (depicted), ritualistic self-harm (cutting, depicted) |
| 1 | Blood (minor) |
| 2 | Bullying (depicted), physical violence (depicted), sexual assault (attempted, depicted). |
| 3 | Blood (gore) |
| 4 | |
| 5 | Ritualistic self-harm (cutting, mentioned) |
| 6 | |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Physical violence (depicted), mental intrusion (depicted) |
| 9 | Physical violence (depicted) |
| 10 | |
| 11 | Sex slavery (depicted), sex (masturbation, depicted) |
| 12 | |
| 13 | Self-harm (cutting, depicted), physical violence (depicted), slavery (depicted) |
| 14 | Physical violence (depicted), mental intrusion (depicted), blood (minor), |
| Interlude | Murder (depicted), bodies/corpses (depicted), blood (minor, depicted), gore (mild), physical violence (depicted), mental intrusion (depicted) |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Bodies/corpses (mentioned), murder (mentioned) |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Murder (discussed), bodies/corpses (discussed), blood (discussed), physical violence (discussed) |
| 19 | |
| 20 | Murder (depicted), bodies/corpses (depicted), physical violence (depicted) |
| 21 | Bodies/corpses (depicted), death (depicted), drug use (implied), physical violence (depicted), blood/gore (graphic, depicted), |
| 22 | Sex (masturbation, depicted), bodies/corpses (depicted), blood (depicted), murder (depicted) |
| 23 | Blood (depicted), gore (mild, depicted) |
| 24 | Gore (gutting a fish, depicted) |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Physical violence (threatened, implied) |
| 27 | Self-harm (cutting, implied) |
| Epilogue | Attempted suicide (suffocation, depicted) |
Media
- 2 September 2022: Bookclub Author Q&A on r/Fantasy
- 16 September 2022: Bookclub Midway Discussion on r/Fantasy
- 30 September 2022: Bookclub Final Discussion on r/Fantasy
- 18 January 2023: Author interview on Jamreads.com
- 22 May 2023: Reader review on Whistling in the Dark
- 18 June 2023: SPFBO9 (2023) Interesting Titles Spotlight II
- 30 June 2023: Indie Fantasy Fund: WINNERS 2023
- 7 August 2023: Indie Spotlight on Sue’s Musings
- 6 September 2023: #SPFBO9 review on Before We Go Blog
Praise for Petition
Editorial reviews
“One of the themes that really hit me was that of immigration and the struggle for immigrants to be allowed opportunity and the economic means to integrate into the society and culture of where they have settled….This theme certainly made me think about my white privilege and how our capitalist system is biased against giving refugees and immigrants a chance for a new life.”
“Delilah Waan’s writing is rich…I found Petition a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging read, full of fantastic characterisation, the core themes are explored throughout, and it is an action-packed, entertaining fantasy story. I, for one, really look forward to book two and discover what’s in store for Rahelu.”
—Luke Winch, SPFBO9 judge for Before We Go Blog
“Waan immediately throws readers into the deep end, trying to unravel the nuances of a hard magic system and a deeply political society. The details of the magic system are so interesting…Rahelu was immediately such a compelling character…I was immediately drawn in, rooting for Rehelu in her successes and feeling her despair in the losses.
“Waan’s prose was fantastic, the pacing moved quickly but also paused when required to build up to impactful moments. There was a balance that was struck, and all the pieces clicked into place for me. Reading Petition was a delight.”
—Tyra Leann, SPFBO9 judge for Before We Go Blog
“Petition is so imbued with honest, earnest love of the genre and of family, that it positively glows from within.
“Waan’s prose is a balance of pain and wit, offering hilarious highs and heart-wrenching lows…I could go on forever and ever about how much I love this book…”
“Delilah Waan’s debut in high Fantasy is a solid read front to back, with a well-paced plot and set in an intriguing world full of magic. The book is rife with action and suspense but also personal and interpersonal conflict.
“Waan’s characterization provides us with unique characters, each rich with their own voice.”
—Stephen Wolberius, author of Night Demon via Goodreads
“Petition sticks to familiar tropes but twists them here and there and introduces a layer of the unexpected.”
—Lukasz Przywoski via Goodreads (Fantasy Book Critic, u/barb4ry1)
“…a solid debut novel, which kept me hooked from the start to the end, and twisted some of the tropes of high fantasy in a way that hit directly in the feelings.
“…perfect for people who like to read epic fantasy that takes place in a smaller setting…and great also for people who like interesting proposals that are different from classic fantasy.”
—Jamedi via Jamreads.com
“Delilah Waan’s debut in high Fantasy is a solid read front to back, with a well-paced plot and set in an intriguing world full of magic. The book is rife with action and suspense but also personal and interpersonal conflict.
“Waan’s characterization provides us with unique characters, each rich with their own voice.”
—Stephen Wolberius via Goodreads
Reader reviews
