“…action-packed, fast-moving tale…a solid debut novel…”
-Fantasy Book Spot (Demonsouled)
“a gripping account of one man’s battle against both inner and external demons, and I would recommend it to anyone who desires an action-packed story riddled with twists . . . ”
-Sffworld.com (Demonsouled)
“Jonathan Moeller has written an epic fantasy in its classic form that all lovers of fantasy will embrace.”
-Love Romances (Demonsouled)
“Jonathan Moeller will definitely capture the attention of many with DEMONSOULED, a suspenseful fantasy novel that is not to be missed.”
-Romance Reviews Today (Demonsouled)
“It was better than I thought it would be.”
-Joel Moeller, author’s younger brother (Demonsouled)
“Here’s a fantasy adventure with plenty of thrills and chills. After a gap of many years, a hardy warrior and his companions return to their homeland. One of them discovers that his sister has been kidnapped and that his brother is plotting an ill advised rebellion against a less than sterling local ruler. Throw in some malevolent magic including a small army of reanimated corpses, a secretive plot, lots of derring do, a sinister mystery, and a magical assault that threatens to turn our hero into an instrument of evil. Exciting, occasionally surprising, with readable prose and a diverse set of characters. What more could you ask?”
-Don D’ammassa (Demonsouled)
“‘Bugs in the Wall’ by Jonathan Moeller is a complicated, tricky story that builds a unique and dense world in six pages. That’s impressive enough to make this a must-read. It also presents a political/economic struggle, nanotechnology, a little torture, and a twist. Some stories you summarize; some you don’t. This is one of the latter. Instead, I’ll just advise you to read it, and suggest that Moeller expand it to a novel; there is more than enough material.”
-Tangent Online (”Bugs in the Wall”, Apex Digest #2)
“This is a story full of mystery and magic, its action scenes heavy and brimming with tension, its world both interesting and unexpected…thinking of Moeller’s work as a holy mixture of an episode of Firefly, an adventure akin to something Mercedes Lackey might storm up, and an explosion of fantastical espionage.”
-Paul Abbamondi (”Black Ghost, Red Ghost”, Sword & Sorceress 22)
“…I still enjoyed watching [Caina] overcome traps and ambushes during her investigation. The ghosts of murdered victims add depth and urgency to the story. I found myself hoping Moeller might expand this story into a longer work.”
-Jim C. Hines (”Black Ghost, Red Ghost”, Sword & Sorceress 22)
“Moeller crossbreeds the genres of fantasy, horror, and mystery, combining deliciously gory description, nimble pacing, and deft insertion of clues to render a tidy magical detective story. I’ve read enough mysteries that the form is creakingly obvious to me, so I appreciate when authors like Moeller take a worn-out form and elevate it to a punchier level by making every word count.”
-The Fix Short Fiction Review (”Black Ghost, Red Ghost”, Sword & Sorceress 22)
“Black Ghost, Red Ghost” is a tale of intrigue and adventure, as a woman acting as a royal spy investigates a governer suspected of treason. Magic, action, and unavenged ghosts mix together to weave a strong, fast-paced story filled with twists and turns. At the risk of sounding repetitive, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of this setting and the main character.
-Green Man Review (”Black Ghost, Red Ghost”, Sword & Sorceress 22)
For more sharply defined adventure, we turn to Jonathan Moeller’s “Stolen Ghosts,” another story about spy and assassin Caina, who first appeared in Sword and Sorceress XXII. Still stalking an undead magician, Caina finds her quest turning personal when said magician possesses, then kills, first an assassin out to get her , then Caina’s own mentor. Moeller allows us to pick on the body-switching just as Caina’s situation grows dire; thus we root for her impatiently to figure everything out and kick ultimate butt. Though knowing Caina’s previous adventures enrich one’s enjoyment of “Stolen Ghosts,” the second story can stand on its own, thanks to Moeller’s economical and suspenseful creation of an action story with mystery elements.
-The Fix Short Fiction Review (”Stolen Ghosts”, Sword & Sorceress 23)
