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Under the Pendulum Sun

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Under the Pendulum Sun
First edition cover
AuthorJeannette Ng
Cover artistJohn Coulthart
LanguageEnglish
GenreFantasy
PublisherAngry Robot
Publication date
3 October 2017
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint
Pages416
ISBN9780857667281

Under the Pendulum Sun is a 2017 fantasy novel by British writer Jeannette Ng. Ng's debut novel, it was published by Angry Robot.

Synopsis

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In an alternate history, James Cook had a fourth voyage where he discovered Fairyland, called "Arcadia", in the 1780s.

In 1847[note 1], Catherine Helstone travels to Arcadia under the endorsement of the London Missionary Society to search for her brother Laon, a missionary with who disappeared while trying to convert the fae to Christianity. Arriving in Arcadia, she is met by her guide Miss Ariel Davenport, a changeling, who takes her to the mission, a castle-like manor that they call Gethsemane.

Arriving the mission she meets Mr Benjamin Goodfellow, a gnome the only convert. She's told there's also an elusive housekeeper called the Salamander. Benjamin tells Cathy that Laon is "away-away," but will be "back soon."

As days go by and Cathy awaits Laon's return, she begins to learn about Rev Jacob Roche, who first established this mission, and in increasingly frustrated by Miss Davenport's unwillingness to tell her anything substantive.

In a moment of anger, Cathy runs away from the castle into the mists surrounding it. There she meets Laon returning to Gethsemane, although he believes she is an magical illusion in the mist. They part ways, and then both find their way to Gethsemane, where they reunite in earnest. He had gone to the court of Queen Mab to petition for access to inland Arcadia. She is now coming with her court to visit Gethsemane.

Reception

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In the Guardian, Adam Roberts called it "strange, brooding and occasionally perverse" and "opulently atmospheric."[1] SYFY declared it to be one of the 10 best novels of 2017, stating that its "world-building and atmosphere are just incredible" and emphasizing its Gothic tone.[2]

Publishers Weekly considered it "intriguing but unfocused," with "possibilities (that) are fascinating" and "period touches (that) satisfy," but an "unwieldy" plot.[3] James Nicoll called it "engaging," with Arcadia being an "odd and melancholy world," and lauded Ng's choice to reveal only the "shadow of (her) worldbuilding, (such that readers) are left to puzzle out the larger implications on their own."[4] Jeff Somers, listing it among his "50 of the Greatest Science Fiction & Fantasy Debut Novels Ever Written," called it "a truly original fantasy debut built on a truly genius premise."[5]

In 2020, Samantha Shannon picked the book as her submission for the "I wish more people would read..." feature in The Guardian, describing its premise as a "stroke of pure brilliance" and the book as having "the mark of a true Gothic masterpiece."[6]

Awards

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Year Award Category Result Ref
2018 British Fantasy Award Best Fantasy Novel Shortlisted [7]
Best Newcomer Won [8]
2019 Hugo Awards John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer Won [9]

Allusions

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The character Queen Mab comes most directly from Queen Mab by Percy Bysshe Shelley. The unusual name Laon comes from another Shelley poem, Laon and Cythna.

A Gothic novel with protagonist named Cathy and a childhood spent on the Yorkshire moors alludes to Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. More overtly, Cathy and Laon have childhood imaginary worlds named Gaaldine, Exina, Alcona, and Zamorna. These are all locations within the Brontës' childhood imaginary world (see Glass Town or Gondal).

Epigraphs

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Each chapter of Under the Pendulum Sun begins with an epigraph excerpted from either real or fictional writings. The real writings are:

Author Work Ref
Bible (Leviticus, Matthew, Song of Solomon, Revelations)
John Sanford Psalms, paraphrases, and hymns, adapted to the services of the Church of England [10]
Meric Casaubon A True and Faithful Relation of What Passed for Many Years Between Dr John Dee and Some Spirits [11]
Percy Bysshe Shelley Queen Mab [12]
Edgar Allan Poe "The Raven" [13]
Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne The Blazing World [14]
“Strange Discovery”, The Scotsman[note 2] [16]
William Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet [17]
John Locke An Essay Concerning Human Understanding [18]
Albert Stanburrough Cook "The Whale (Asp Turtle)", The Old English Physiologus [19]
John Cosin The History of the Popish Transubstantiation [20]
Edward Bouverie Pusey The Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ [21]
Reginald Heber "Morte D’Arthur: A Fragment", The Life of Sir Reginald Heber, D. D. Lord Bishop of Calcutta, by his Widow [22]

Others blur the line between real and fictional, inserting fictional alternate history text into real books:

Author Work Ref
J Ritson Fairy Tales and Folk Songs, Now First Collected, with Two Dissertations on Pygmies and on Fairies [23]
George Young The Life and Voyages of Captain James Cook [24]

Notes

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  1. ^ there is a reference "in the seven years since [the 1840 wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert]"
  2. ^ Attributed as The Times[15]

References

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  1. ^ The best science fiction and fantasy of 2017, by Adam Roberts, at the Guardian; published November 30, 2017; retrieved September 16, 2018
  2. ^ The 10 best sci-fi and fantasy books of 2017, by Swapna Krishna, at SYFY; published December 18, 2017; retrieved September 16, 2018
  3. ^ Under the Pendulum Sun, reviewed at Publishers Weekly; published October 30, 2017; retrieved September 16, 2018
  4. ^ Sometimes In My Dreams: Under the Pendulum Sun, by Jeannette Ng, reviewed by James Nicoll, published March 13, 2018; retrieved September 16, 2018
  5. ^ Somers, Jeff (9 November 2018). "50 of the Greatest Science Fiction & Fantasy Debut Novels Ever Written". B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog. Barnes & Noble. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  6. ^ Shannon, Samantha (13 May 2020). "I wish more people would read ... Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  7. ^ 2018 British Fantasy Awards Shortlist, by Mike Glyer, at File 770; published July 6, 2018; retrieved September 16, 2018
  8. ^ 2018 British Fantasy Awards, by Mike Glyer, at File770; published October 21, 2018; retrieved October 21, 2018
  9. ^ @Dublin2019 (18 August 2019). "The John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer goes to Jeannette Ng" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Sanford, John (1837). Psalms, paraphrases, and hymns, adapted to the services of the Church of England. p. 47.
  11. ^ Casaubon, Meric (1659). A True and Faithful Relation of What Passed for Many Years Between Dr. John Dee and Some Spirits. pp. 92–93 – via Internet Archive.
  12. ^ Shelley, Percy (1821). Queen Mab. canto 1.
  13. ^ Poe, Edgar Allan (1859). " The Raven.". The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe. Vol. 2. stanza 15
  14. ^ Cavendish, Margaret (1666). The Description of a New World, Called The Blazing-World – via Project Gutenberg.
  15. ^ "n/a". The Times. No. 16157. 16 July 1836. p. 1 at the Wayback Machine (archived October 4, 2024). Additional archives: p. 2, p. 3, p. 4, p. 5, p. 6, p. 7, p. 8.
  16. ^ "Strange Discovery". The Scotsman. Vol. XX, no. 1724. 16 July 1836. p. 3 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  17. ^ Shakespeare, William (1900). Dowden, Edward (ed.). The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. act 1, scene 4.
  18. ^ Locke, John (1689). An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. book 4, ch. 4, § 14.
  19. ^ "The Whale (Asp Turtle)". The Old English Physiologus. Translated by Cook, Albert Stanburrough – via Project Gutenberg.
  20. ^ Cosin, John (1676). The History of the Popish Transubstantiation. pp. 37–38.
  21. ^ Pusey, Edward Bouverie (1885). The Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. p. xxiii.
  22. ^ Reginald, Heber (1821). "Morte D'Arthur: A Fragment". The Life of Sir Reginald Heber, D. D. Lord Bishop of Calcutta, by his Widow. canto 2, verses 12 and 13
  23. ^ Ritson, Joseph (1831). Fairy Tales, Now First Collected: to which are prefixed Two Dissertations on Pygmies and on Fairies.
  24. ^ Young, George (1836). The Life and Voyages of Captain James Cook. p. 17.
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