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Under the Pendulum Sun

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Under the Pendulum Sun

By: Jeannette Ng
Narrated by: Emma Lysy
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Summary

Victorian missionaries travel into the heart of the newly discovered lands of the Fae, in a stunningly different fantasy that mixes Crimson Peak with Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

Catherine Helstone's brother Laon has disappeared in Arcadia, legendary land of the magical fae. Desperate for news of him, she makes the perilous journey, but once there, she finds herself alone and isolated in the sinister house of Gethsemane. At last there comes news: Her beloved brother is riding to be reunited with her soon - but the Queen of the Fae and her insane court are hard on his heels.

©2017 Jeannette Ng (P)2018 Tantor Classics Dark Fantasy Epic Fantasy Fantasy Fiction Magic
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The reasons I give this book two stars and not one are the great world building and descriptions. They have a gothic tone to it and it’s enchanting. The story though… fae, humans trying to convert fae to Christianity and incest. Nothing major happens through the whole book, and I simply couldn’t feel anything for the characters.

Definitely not my cup of tea.

Nice voice and narration but the story is seriously lacking

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I had heard decent things beforehand and the premise was admittedly rather interesting, but I was absolutely gripped by this throughout. Very much my cup of tea.
Ng weaves together the gothic horror, romance, taboo, critiques of religion and colonialism all so incredibly well. The entire book oozes atmosphere, and the themes of sin, temptation, redemption et al are all implemented well. The pacing is intentionally slow and moody, which adds to the unfolding tension, and the imagery is delightfully macabre.
It has big Jane Eyre and Crimson Peak energy, with a dash of Wonderland.

Highly recommend.

A Sumptuous Gothic Masterpiece

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A really good story ruined by poor narration. really bizarre and odd pronunciations meant this took me far longer than normal to finish as it kept pulling out of the story. If they wanted an English narrator they should have got one rather than an American doing what they thought was a good 'English' accent.

good story ruined by awful narrator

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I wanted to like this book - the premise of Christian missionaries to a faerie world is a really interesting one, and the world-building around this is well done. But it is overshadowed by the very boring - and morally yuck - story that involves characters that are not particularly interesting. Ng’s writing is particularly overwrought in places that makes the book feel more like a Mills and Boon than an interesting fantasy.
The narrator does mispronounce words in places that is odd, but I didn’t find it as annoying as some other reviewers.

Interesting premise not well written

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I enjoyed this book and the research, intelligence and craft of the author shines through. The story itself starts slow and the mysteries layer on top of the other.

Haunting

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