Under the Pendulum Sun
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
In an alternate history, James Cook had a fourth voyage where he discovered Fairyland, called "Arcadia", in the 1780s.In 1847, 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 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 of Queen Mab to petition for access to inland Arcadia. She is now coming with her court to visit Gethsemane.
Reception
In the Guardian, Adam Roberts called it "strange, brooding and occasionally perverse" and "opulently atmospheric." SYFY declared it one of The 10 Best Novels of 2017, stating that its "world-building and atmosphere are just incredible" and emphasizing its Gothic tone.Publishers Weekly considered it "intriguing but unfocused," with "possibilities are fascinating" and "period touches satisfy" but an "unwieldy" plot. James Nicoll called it "engaging," with Arcadia being an "odd and melancholy world," and lauded Ng's choice to reveal only the "shadow of worldbuilding, are left to puzzle out the larger implications on their own." 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."
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."
Allusions
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.
Epigraphs
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 | - | |
| John Sanford | Psalms, paraphrases, and hymns, adapted to the services of the Church of England | |
| Meric Casaubon | A True and Faithful Relation of What Passed for Many Years Between Dr John Dee and Some Spirits | |
| Percy Bysshe Shelley | Queen Mab | |
| Edgar Allan Poe | "The Raven" | |
| Margaret Cavendish, Duchess of Newcastle-upon-Tyne | The Blazing World | |
| "Strange Discovery", The Scotsman | ||
| William Shakespeare | Romeo and Juliet | |
| John Locke | An Essay Concerning Human Understanding | |
| Albert Stanburrough Cook | "The Whale ", The Old English Physiologus | |
| John Cosin | The History of the Popish Transubstantiation | |
| Edward Bouverie Pusey | The Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ | |
| Reginald Heber | "Morte D’Arthur: A Fragment", The Life of Sir Reginald Heber, D. D. Lord Bishop of Calcutta, by his Widow |
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 | |
| George Young | The Life and Voyages of Captain James Cook |