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The Pilgrims (Pendulum #1)

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The Pilgrims (Pendulum #1)

2010 | Dystopia | Fiction & Poetry | Science Fiction/Fantasy

Eric Albright is leading a normal life until a small red door appears under a train bridge near his home. Then a ghostly being wakes him in the dead of night, with a message from another world: You are Shadow. In Levaal, the world between worlds, the dragon-gods grow restless in their sky prisons, and the Great Spirits struggle to contain them. Vous, the worlds Friend and Lord, simmers in madness as he schemes to join the ranks of gods. He and the Arch Mage have almost won their final victory over the Free Cities. A dark age dawns. But Eric and his friend Case are now Pilgrims, called to Levaal for a battle more ancient than the petty squabbles of men. And they will learn why some doors should not be opened ...

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Will Elliott
Published by Tor Books

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Phil Leader

Added this item on Nov 25, 2019

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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated

Nov 25, 2019  
The Pilgrims (Pendulum #1)
The Pilgrims (Pendulum #1)
Will Elliott | 2010 | Dystopia, Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy
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9.0 (1 Ratings)
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The Pilgrims is the second book by Will Elliott and the first in the Pendulum trilogy.​ It follows Eric (a down on his luck journalist) and Case (an old vagrant that Eric befriends) who discover that a small door under a bridge leads to a different world.

The story follows them as they travel across this new land of Levaal and encounters various inhabitants - human and other races. There has been a war simmering between The Castle - ruled by the (not to beat about the bush) insane Vous - and a coalition of still-free cities governed by their respective mayors. Eric and Case arrive just as the war is about to become a full battle, and it's clear that this is not a coincidence.

I'm always wary of fantasy books where people cross from this world into the world of the writer's imagination, it always seems like a bit of a fanboy's wet dream and sometimes it isn't handled well and leaves a lot of holes. Elliott does adequately well in addressing these - Eric (at least) does not cross by accident, the magic that brings them to the world allows them to speak the correct language and so on. Elliott also wisely immediately plunges the antagonists into action, revealing the wonders of Levaal rather than letting them frolic on some untouched green hillside.

The other notable deviation from this being any sort of wish fulfillment fantasy is that Levaal actually isn't very.... nice. Danger, intrigue and double dealing abound. Vous could be nominally labelled as the 'bad guy' but it's clearly described that he is doing what are bad things for what he considers the right reasons. There are no 'dark lords' here and by the same token the 'good guys' really aren't particularly good.

Eric and Case are not spared from this. Neither is a paragon of virtue, Eric has some distinct character flaws, which are made very clear to him by other characters and perhaps at least some of the arc of the trilogy will be Eric becoming a 'better' person. Case has served time in prison for murder and is an alcoholic, the latter fact makes him behave erratically at best.

The inhabitants of Levaal do not deviate far from stock fantasy races, but all are unique and the world does seem to fit together and work quite well as a 'real' place, I did like the mechanism of how the magic worked and its limitations. Elliott has really put some thought into this.

The writing is hard to find fault with; the descriptive passages have real atmosphere, the dialogue is sharp and always in keeping with the characters, which in themselves are complex and nobody is represented as a cipher or standard trope. The story is engaging and moves at a terrific pace, covering a lot of ground (both metaphorically and across Levaal).

The ending is a real cliff hanger with a sting in the tail and it will be interesting to see where the story goes in the next volume, Shadow.

Highly recommended, though not for younger readers due to explicit sexual references.