Under the Pendulum Sun

By: Jeannette Ng

Narrated by: Emma Lysy

Victorian missionaries travel into the heart of the newly discovered lands of the Fae, in a stunningly different fantasy that mixes Crimson Peak with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

Catherine Helstone's brother Laon has disappeared in Arcadia, legendary land of the magical fae. Desperate for news of him, she makes the perilous journey, but once there, she finds herself alone and isolated in the sinister house of Gethsemane. At last there comes news: Her beloved brother is riding to be reunited with her soon - but the Queen of the Fae and her insane court are hard on his heels.

©2017 Jeannette Ng (P)2018 Tantor

Much nastier book than I expected but very good

Went into this expecting something playful in the vein of other adult fairy tales like Lud-in-the-Mist or Jonathan Strange and Mister Norrell... and it's not that.

There are some fun trappings, such as fairyland’s unconventional moon and sun, but at it's core this is a very dark, almost gross out at points, gothic pastiche and a very serious minded and sustained exploration of how Christianity might come to grips with the newly discovered supernatural.

There are some moments of character illogic that I suspect might break the book for some people, but for me felt all of a piece with the waking nightmare vibe of it all.

This isn't going to be for everyone, but it's fantastic on the admittedly abrasive terms it sets for itself.

Fluttering wights: Brontëan fan fiction

I quite liked Ms. Lysy as the narrator; she's the best thing about the recording. Her rich, plummy voice was perfect for this novel, even though she is American and not English. However, there were a few words in the story that I simply could not understand, and I'm not sure if that was a narrator issue or my deficient vocabulary.

However, I was quite disappointed not in the writing, which is good, but in the story itself. The first five or so chapters are very promising: lots of riddles, hints, implications, mysteries, etc. that you can't wait for the author to explore. But the way in which Ms. Ng does so is plodding, dull, and tiresome. She creates a wonderful world for her readers, and then for reasons unknown hems them in and hobbles them. I wanted to explore the Faelands and meet the wild Fae royalty. Ng wants to explore Protestant theology and have her heroine endlessly reminisce about her brother. The Fae castle of Gethsemane becomes a claustrophobic chessboard where Ng moves her creations hither and yon without rhyme or reason. "Yes, but that's the point", I hear you object, "they're in Arcadia." The opening chapters seem to promise a harrowing tale that will end in horror or epiphanies or dark revelations, but once you hack your way through the text and the endless saltings of food and the numberless fingers entwining together you don't care what is waiting for you at the end.

What's amusing is that there are reviewers who had issues with the very obvious culmination of the relationship between the protagonists, but I'm sure these reviewers do not lift an eyebrow reading the Bible, Greek myth, or A Game of Thrones.

This is a very unique, idiosyncratic, and terribly disappointing novel that resembles Waiting for Godot, but in a bad way. Nothing keeps happening.

Great setting, cringy twist

struggled to finish, dragged after first 150 pages. the twist in the middle of the book was sickening, and I almost put it down. I finished it hoping for a redeeming resolution, which never came.

What a waste of time

What a waste of time, half the book was about describing the surroundings yet you never get to learn about anybody, interesting theological questions but didn’t really dive into it, and the ending WTF… enduring such boring book to end up justifying the Cersei - Jaime relationship…

build up

so much potential for a fantasy book.. ruined by something so .. what's the word, unnecessary??

Enjoy incest? This books for you!

I don't enjoy the experience of sexual tension between a brother and sister, so I stopped listening about half way through. I like dark stories and complicated moral questions, but by half way through the book, it seemed nothing had really happened except making me feel cringy.