Listen carefully. You may hear whispers of the city’s mysteries just below the howling of the wind through the rafters of the abandoned fish market. Odd creatures serve a witch in the haunted salt marshes. Sigils of ancient and forgotten magic mark the cliff overlooking the bay. A ruined stone tower of unknown age stands in the square. Do not speak too loudly of these mysteries, lest the Old God send his servants to silence you.Fear Jacob, the most loyal and gifted of these assassins. He has killed many, from babbling ex-sailors who uncovered too many secrets in dark and faraway lands, to millionaires’ wives summering in mansions on the cliff and wandering one step too far into the occult.But peer into Jacob’s eyes and you may see a hint of doubt. You may discover what you have suspected all along.History is a lie.The world is not what we think it is.And, it is all about to come crashing down.
J. P. Moore writes in southern New Jersey, which is a long way from the settings of his novels and stories. He has fond memories of a childhood in the Pine Barrens, however, where endless tracks of mossy wilderness informed the spirit behind his fiction.
Whether in worlds of his own design, or slightly off-center historical settings, Moore digs for the streams of mythology and folklore that run beneath day-to-day life. Pulling them forth, Moore makes prime motivations and manifest realities of these undercurrents. He finds his characters as bystanders and transforms them into heroes and heroines as they face horrific enemies.
Perhaps no surprise, J. P. Moore is a student of speculative history. His library card unlocks a Best of the Best parade of works on King Arthur, the Knights Templar, Gnosticism and countless other mysteries from ancient and medieval history. His browser's bookmarks lead to a mess of conspiracy theories that, in conglomeration, present a truly frightening world.
Just the right kind of world for his characters, however--Moore's settings are on the brink. Their histories are lost, or misunderstood. Their futures are uncertain.
All of the heroes are gone.
Only the unlikely heroes are left.
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