 First edition cover | |
| Author | Jeannette Ng |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | John Coulthart |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Angry Robot |
Publication date | 3 October 2017 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 416 |
| ISBN | 9780857667281 |
Under the Pendulum Sun is a 2017fantasy novel by British writerJeannette Ng. Ng's debut novel, it was published byAngry Robot.
In analternate history,James Cook had a fourth voyage where he discoveredFairyland, called "Arcadia", in the 1780s.
In 1847[note 1], Catherine Helstone travels to Arcadia under the endorsement of theLondon Missionary Society to search for her brother Laon, amissionary with who disappeared while trying to convert thefae to Christianity. Arriving in Arcadia, she is met by her guide Miss Ariel Davenport, achangeling, who takes her to the mission, a castle-like manor that they call Gethsemane.
Arriving the mission she meets Mr Benjamin Goodfellow, agnome 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 a 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 ofQueen Mab to petition for access to inland Arcadia. She is now coming with her court to visit Gethsemane.
Inthe Guardian,Adam Roberts called it "strange, brooding and occasionally perverse" and "opulently atmospheric."[1]SYFY declared it one of The 10 Best Novels of 2017, stating that its "world-building and atmosphere are just incredible" and emphasizing itsGothic 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 inThe Guardian, describing its premise as a "stroke of pure brilliance" and the book as having "the mark of a true Gothic masterpiece."[6]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | British Fantasy Award | Fantasy Novel | Shortlisted | [7] |
| Newcomer | Won | [8] | ||
| 2019 | John W. Campbell Award | — | Won | [9] |
The characterQueen Mab comes most directly fromQueen Mab byPercy 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 theYorkshire moors alludes toWuthering Heights byEmily Brontë. More overtly, Cathy and Laon havechildhood imaginary worlds named Gaaldine, Exina, Alcona, and Zamorna. These are all locations within theBrontës' childhood imaginary world (seeGlass Town orGondal).
Each chapter ofUnder the Pendulum Sun begins with anepigraph 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 DrJohn 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 fictionalalternate 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] |
canto 1.The Raven.".The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe. Vol. 2. stanza 15act 1, scene 4.book 4, ch. 4, § 14.The Whale (Asp Turtle).".The Old English Physiologus. Translated by Cook, Albert Stanburrough.