SYNOPSIS:
Eric Albright, a twenty-six-year-old unemployed journalist, and Stuart Casey, a homeless old drunk, fall through a door in a graffiti-covered wall into the strange world of Levall, where a mountain-sized dragon with the powers of a god lies sleeping beneath a great white castle. Here they are the otherworlders, Pilgrims, and their lives are never going to be the same again. In the castle the sinister Lord Vous rules with an iron fist as the Project, designed to effect his transformation into an immortal spirit, nears completion. But Vous' growing madness is close to consuming him, as is his fear of the imaginary being named 'Shadow'. And the arrival of the otherworlders in Levall is about to lend substance to that fear. No one has ever seen what lies beyond the impossibly vast Wall that divides Levall, but the Pilgrims possess powers strong enough to break it down. If they do, what will enter from the other side? Will Elliott's brilliantly subversive and creative imagination twists the conventions of the genre to create an unforgettable alternate-world fantasy.
REVIEW:
I love to read a story where I’m not sure what I’m going to get and whilst I was routing for this title from the start it felt a lot like a compendium of many of the idea’s that have gone before in the fantasy world to one extent or another. It is a story of discovery, a tale of exploration and for the reader a story where the characters impact upon the world concerned becomes the main focus but in parts it felt that it was stalling as if the author needed chance to recharge his batteries to get some idea of where to go next.
Whilst it was an interesting read I did find it a difficult one as I didn’t like the principle players always becoming more fascinated with the supporting cast which I felt didn’t get much of a fair crack in the tale. All in its an OK book but I hope that the second story really picks up with a lot of the world building already done concentrating on character development to give me more to like. I’ll have to wait and see.
SYNOPSIS:
Book II of the Pendulum Trilogy. Eric and Case came to the world of Levaal through a door in an old railway arch, and it wasn't long before they found themselves caught up in the war to control this strange land. But the Wall at World's End, which once divided Levaal, has been brought down. Eric and his companions are forced to flee from the Tormentors, the dreadful creatures that poured through the breach, and there are rumours that one of the great dragons has escaped its sky prison. But there is even more to fear, for the transformation into a god of Vous, Friend and Lord of the world, is almost complete, and a being called Shadow who looks remarkably like Eric is wandering Levaal with great power but no purpose it yet understands. The end might be coming faster than anyone thinks.
REVIEW:
The second tale in the Pendulum Trilogy and whilst I’d had a hard time getting on with the characters in the first outing, I had reasonable hopes for the second.
Sadly for me the first half of the book really didn’t accomplish much for me as a reader, it was slow going, the characters sadly under developed and utilised and all in it felt sadly that it was doomed to disappoint. That said the second half did pick up but to be blunt here there will be a fair few that will put this down never to get that far.
All in its sadly flat and disappointing to me as a reader and whilst I do like the concepts within and some of the idea’s presented, the execution for me is something that feels like it hasn’t been fully realised. I will read the final part of the trilogy but to be honest it will be one that will be read when I have very little else to do and could remain on my TBR pile for quite some time.
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