Under the Pendulum Sun

Book Title: Under the Pendulum Sun

Author: Jeannette Ng

Date Started: August 19th 2017

Date Completed: August 26th 2017

Genres: Fantasy, Historical, Romance, Mystery
Quality Rating: Three Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Three Star

Final Rating: Three stars

Review:

◆ Thanks to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

This book had a promising start and I found myself pleasantly surprised in the opening chapters. But the more I read, the more it felt like I was walking in circles - albeit, very pretty and whimsical circles in this creative interpretation of the the old-fashioned kind of fae - but in aimless directions nonetheless.

Under the Pendulum Sun's strength was undeniably in its whimsicality and imagination. I haven't read any Young Adult fantasies that draw so strongly from the 19th Century style of fae. This was a breath of fresh air for me; the 1800s is a favourite of mine, and I read a lot of this kind of thing when I was little. Ng also adds to the traditional ideas of the fae with her own creations which was what made this book interesting. The only problem was that I don't think it was her priority. At some points there's a great deal of care and imagination that goes into describing and explaining the world (how the Pendulum Sun works, the sea whales that live in the ground, the clockwork dancers at the ball), but at others it's lacking in much detail at all if the characters are more important at the time. It's a shame since the world building was the most enjoyable part of the book.

The story of this book takes after traditional gothic mysteries, where the protagonist is told precious little and has to work it out for themselves. The problem is that 80% of Under the Pendulum Sun is Cathy complaining that no one will tell her anything, and that's about it. As you can imagine, it gets old and repetitive pretty fast (which is why the elaboration in the world building was the interesting part and should've been given more attention). I also have to say, I didn't entirely understand the explanation of what was really going on when it was revealed at the end. I'm still not sure what actually did happen.

This is, in part, to do with the abundance of Christianity in the plot. At first I thought it was for the time period and the connections to the fae were interestingly done, but as I read on it became so tied into the plot that it became harder to understand all the metaphors and references. It expected you to know quite a bit about the teachings of the Bible (either that or it thought referencing it every sentence is all the explanation you need), and since I'm not overly familiar with it I was lost pretty quickly. I thought I'd be able to appreciate the references and the eventual conclusion of the novel without being given this information, but I don't think I was right.

Character-wise, I wasn't overwhelmed. It's a small cast and people drop in and out when necessary to the plot. In the story they're all pieces in the Pale Queen's games, but in the context of the novel they're the author's puppets instead. It doesn't feel like any especially meaningful relationships are developed past that of the romance. Regardless of the morality of the situation, I didn't feel much chemistry between the characters as lovers (ironically they felt more genuine in their previous relationship). I'm still not entirely sure if the reader was supposed to feel conflicted about their affections, but I was just waiting for the next piece of magic honestly.

Under the Pendulum Sun is a creative and different look at the fae that got too bogged down in the complexities of a religion it expects you to know the details of and a controversial romance that lacked chemistry, while you sit there hoping for another whimsical creation to distract from the weak plot.