The Testing

Third Soul #1

by Jonathan Moeller

Rachaelis is an Initiate of the Conclave, the powerful order of mighty mages. But to become a full Adept of the Conclave, she must first survive the Testing. Those who survive the Testing never speak of the trials they endured.

Those who fail the Testing are never seen again.

And now the Magisters of the Conclave have come to take Rachaelis to undertake the Testing. And there she shall face perils to both her body and her sanity.

And creatures that yearn to devour her soul…

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic, Amazon, Paranormal

86 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 18, 2011

About the author

Standing over six feet tall, USA Today bestselling author Jonathan Moeller has the piercing blue eyes of a Conan of Cimmeria, the bronze-colored hair of a Visigothic warrior-king, and the stern visage of a captain of men, none of which are useful in his career as a computer repairman, alas.

He has written the DEMONSOULED series of sword-and-sorcery novels, and continues to write THE GHOSTS sequence about assassin and spy Caina Amalas, the COMPUTER BEGINNER'S GUIDE series of computer books, and numerous other works. His books have sold over one million copies worldwide.

Reviews

[Ryan Mueller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. It was short and competently written, with only a few editing issues. I would have liked a longer story, however. As it was, it felt like the beginning of a story rather than a complete story all by itself. If I'd paid for it, that would have made me mad, but since it was free, I'm okay with the lack of completeness, and I'll probably read more in the series.

There are promises of an interesting world here, and while I didn't spend much time with the main characters, they did seem like people I could grow to like. Mostly, this story was okay, but I think the series has potential to grow on me.

Rating: 6.5/10

[Perry Chalmers · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book of a great series of short novellas by the author. A family torn apart by jealousy and pettiness. A father angry and grieving father, the lifeless body of an older brother that didn't die, the younger son, banished for a "crime", and a sister on the verge of taking her testing to take her place among the Adepts - wielders of magic who rule the city.

What can go wrong?

[James Zimmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting concept

Well written and the characters are well developed. First tried this author with a book on Ubuntu, liked his style so thought I would try his fiction. All I can say is he is easy to read and is a master of his craft.

[Takiyah Dudley · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good start to a new series. im not sure if im suppose tobbe more interested in the side story than the actually testing & its initiative but i was.

[Russell Whyman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another world to explore ...

I enjoyed this book very much and the rest of the series is now on my TBR list after finishing the new SevenFold Sword and Cloak Games books.

[Candace Graham]

Awesome

Unlike any story ive read. Very interesting world and characters. I could not stop reading. Reccommend for sure. I am excited to get the next book.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short introduction to a new series

This book has some memorable characters & introduces kind players to a cruel world. It will be interesting to see how the story progresses.

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a standalone book. You have to read the first four books in this series to get to a sensible breakpoint.

[Anne Patkau · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rachel goes beyond simple testing to find higher connection.

[amber shovald-plamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting

This was a nice introduction to this series. Got to know the main characters & their stories with a little more to leave you wanting to know what's next!

[Surabhi Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jonathan Moeller is such an awesome writer, I sometimes think we don't deserve him.

This is a nice introduction to a fantasy series, full of potential. I'm not a big fan of dual POVs, but I think it was well done and I'm invested in both sides of the story. The only problem with me is that this book ended too abruptly, without any true standalone story arc. I read the reviews about it being too short and was like, how abrupt can it be? But nope. They were right.

But I'm fine with it, really. I see this series as those MCU shows, a big movie chopped down into easily digestible bits. With someone else, I would've been furious. But of course this is written by JM so I'm biased.

This book is perfect to read between other books, or if you're stuck in some sort of reading slump. I literally read it in one sitting, and I'm a pretty slow reader. The world building & character introduction are just too good!

On to book 2 :)

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* It is an interesting read but am a little confused as to what the secondary MC brings to the table. Rather than a focus on Rachaelis and her testing at times it feels like a secondary story rather than the one in the main blurb. The world is dark and there is much going on beneath the surface. This short first book seems as if a teaser for the rest of the series. I am interested in seeing where this goes.

[JWinter · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short, interesting start to a new series.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

More a prologue than a true fantasy novella, and I'm not a fan of that "buy the next book" cliffhanger technique. I let myself be talked into releasing a book that way once. Then I realized how jarring it is to be reading along and reach the end of the book without reaching the end of the story. Never again.

Other than that, I enjoyed the story. Good characters, good plot, and the ending point is at least after the testing is completed rather than somewhere in the middle of it. If the story portions were combined into a full-length novel, I'd consider buying it. As it stands, 3.5 stars.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was another decent but not ground-breaking fantasy series opener with pretty interesting characters from Jonathan Moeller. I suspect he's been playing Dragon Age: Origins again - after the character in another of his books who was a transparent knockoff of a character from said game, this book's mage initiation plot suspiciously resembled the Mage Origin prologue (though it could also be inspired by other fantasy mage initiations, like the trial for Accepted Aes Sedai in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time).

[Janejellyroll · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting intro. Two apparent MCs are introduced. The story of the 1st -- a young woman who is facing mysterious testing that is the culmination of her magical training -- is much more interesting than the 2nd. My main issue here is that this is nothing more than the beginning of a story -- it's not standalone. It looks like the rest of the story is at least 5 more purchases.

[Annie Arbuckle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like it, but it's too short. Seems like he should combine these into one somewhat decent-length book, instead of what are basically short stories.
Otherwise, very interesting and am excited to read more of this author. Saw a couple grammatical errors, but not enough to worry over.

[Michelle Gross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked this. The testing was a neat idea. The description didn't come off as frightening as it should have. Sometimes terror doesn't read well. Kind of like Stephen's King Cujo - boring read, definitely more scary as a movie.

[William Mayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read, not your typical hero walks over the evil like its not even there stuff. Its tough fights, and your not sure who will survive. Even though you assume they will win in the end its usually because they worked together and not just one Superman. But... sometimes people die....

[Simon Forsyth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two disconnected stories, only one of which has any sense of a buildup or real conflict. Fine as the first third of a novel, which about matches its length, but it would have been better as just a short story featuring Rachaelis and saving the other character for a separate story.

[Amanda Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read

I love magic books end this one is different than the usual and that intrigues me. I am interested in seeing how the series ends.

[H.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

I thought this story was a little odd, and way too short. I would like less of Rachaelis’s perspective too.