Under the Pendulum Sun

They say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover: but Jeanette Ng's Under the Pendulum Sun is one I did judge by the cover. Embellished with ornate architecture, elegant fae, and a generous smattering of stardust - at the center of it all stands a cold figure one can only presume to be the Fae Queen. Not only do I love the attention to detail, this cover very aptly depicts the real nature of the story: beautiful with a hint of something sinister lurking below.

Plot

Under the Pendulum Sun follows Catherine Helstone, sister of Laon Helstone. He's a missionary who left for Arcadia to spread God's word among the Fae. The only problem? It's been years since his sister's heard from him, convincing her to go look for him herself.

It's interesting to see the strangeness of Arcadia manifest itself in subtle ways even as Catherine just arrives at the shore. She soon meets her guide, Ariel Davenport, who escorts her to the dark house of Gethsemane for her stay. Along the way, we're treated to wonderful visuals of the strange land and the titular pendulum sun (bless the science freak in me) hovering in the sky. Even before the first chapter ends, Ng creates a beautiful, imaginatively strange world, mirrored in Gethsemane. You just can't help but know something wrong lurks beneath the surface.

Catherine, it turns out, isn't only looking for her brother, but also for the journals of Reverend Roche, the previously Arcadian missionary who had all but disappeared. There's just one simple condition - find the journals, but do not read them. Such wonderful advice.

"Not all knowledge brings joy."

Between navigating the shifting corridors of the maze-like Gethsemane castle and trying to get through to its unsettling inhabitants, Cathy continues her quest with the determination of a woman on a mission. Not an easy task, considering she can't leave the four walls of the house without breaking the geas, or the protection conferred on the Helstones by the elusive Fae Queen. It's eerie to feel the walls closing in on her in a house she cannot leave, a land she does not know, with people she doesn't understand.

It's a while before we finally get to meet the man of the hour, Laon Helstone, in the flesh. Back after a meeting with the Fae Queen, Mab, he wastes no time warning Catherine about the dangers of being in a terrible place like Arcadia. But that's not the worst part: the Fae court is on its way to Gethsemane, with Mab at its head.

Mab's deliciously dark and decadent visit makes up some of my favorite chapters in the story. You can't help but feel that something ominous is just looming over the horizon - cue more warnings about said danger. Ng plays a strong metaphor game with the similarities between the biblical Gethsemane and the Arcadian one: it is a lavish prison for the Helstones as they count their days to the final showdown of whatever the Fae have planned for them.

It's past the 50% mark that I began to grow annoyed - for all the warnings, threats, and the general feeling of uneasiness surrounding the Fae, nothing of note really happens. There are a few brief flashes of interesting events, but nothing substantial at a point when things should be ramping up. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for character-driven stories whose main focus is not the plot, but when you're living in a haunted castle and keep receiving multiple admonishments to not "solve" the said castle, it begins to get a bit repetitive.

Sadly, the pacing in the second half just didn't work. The really slow middle caused quite a lull, dampening my initial excitement after the first half. The plot meanders around aimlessly for a while, trying to find some footing without solid ground to stand on. I won't go into spoilers here, but some things get accepted and resolved too quickly, while the rest are… terribly predictable.

As Cathy and Laon try to decipher the workings of this strange and terrible land, they finally begin to piece together what really happened to the previous missionary - leading them down a rabbit hole of chaos. I did love the maddening spiral we descend into in the final few chapters. There are a couple of good twists, but if you've been paying attention, you'll spot them a mile off. The final reveal, though, is quite disturbing, and certainly not something I expected.

Characters

Catherine

For the most part, Catherine is a pretty likable protagonist. She's determined, cautious when she needs to be, and not shy of taking the occasional risk when it's called for. She isn't reckless just for the sake of it - she's truly curious, truly hungry for knowledge.

"Do not shame me for knowledge that has been denied me. Do not patronise me over the position to which I have been born."

Watching how discovering the truth of Arcadia begins to influence her beliefs is interesting. Once the glitter and beauty start wearing off the Fae, it slowly starts to stain her own morality. Just as Arcadia begins to show cracks and reveal its true nature, you see the same effects on Catherine too.

Mab

Mab is a true embodiment of all the Fae stand for. She's cold, cunning, and plays her word games well. Ng created a marvelously wicked character who truly deserves her center spot on the cover.

Every one of her sentences is cryptic, veiled with meaning, hinting at her hand in some larger scheme of things. She's a great portrayal of the duplicitous nature of the Fae. Underneath their polished veneer, they're ultimately creatures of deception and mockery.

"It's in Mab's nature to toy with people. To make them sin. To make them fall."

Worldbuilding

Ng succeeds in crafting a gothic atmosphere that is exquisitely extravagant, insidious, and right up my alley. Her worldbuilding is colorful, immersive, and so far removed from reality, that the effect is startlingly vivid: we have shifting corridors, marketplaces for weather, and a pendulum sun. I loved reading about the science behind the sun's moment (there's even an article herewhere she outlines a consultation with a physicist to work it out.)

Something I really would have liked to know about was the political structure and the system of governance in Arcadia. There are several other titles mentioned at one point, including the 'Howling Duke,' the 'Chief of Winds' and 'She Who Sleeps For The Mountains,' but I could never quite establish who was the real power in Arcadia all this time.

Writing Style

The descriptions in Under the Pendulum Sun are breathtaking, lush with symbolism, yet insidious at the same time. A lot of the writing conjures up imagery that could be straight out of a Hieronymous Bosch painting, and I love it. Side note: The Garden of Earthly Delightsmatches the vibe perfectly - you should seriously check it out!

There is a history here but I cannot read it. A story told by a madman. Their promises, their oaths, their geas are there to hinder you, to hobble you, to hide you. They are there to blind you and to bind you. Their truth is not our truth. They wield it only as a weapon.

There are epigraphs at the start of each chapter, consisting of historical accounts, anecdotes, and the like. I loved the insights they offered as the story progressed.

It's clear that a lot of research went into writing this, given the multitude of theological references scattered across the pages. I admit here that I didn't manage to grasp the meaning of some of them (and there are a lot of them here), which made the prose overly heavy at times. For the most part, the prose flows well, but every now and then, I came across sentences that were longer, requiring me to reread them a couple of times. This could be disconcerting for the casual reader.

In Conclusion

I could have enjoyed this some more if only those slower chapters in the middle took their time to flesh things out instead of rushing the ending and the characters - and they suffer for it.

Ultimately, I still don't know if I quite enjoyed the book. The climax certainly left me with a lot to think about, along with a sour aftertaste. This seems to be a piece of work that could benefit from a second reading to better appreciate it. Nonetheless, if you're up for haunted houses, shady folk, and deliciously gray morality in a gothic world - then Under the Pendulum Sun might just be the read for you.