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THE POCKET AND THE PENDANT by Mark Jeffrey

THE POCKET AND THE PENDANT

by Mark Jeffrey

Pub Date: Sept. 30th, 2004
ISBN: 1-4116-1323-6

A sci-fi adventure steeped in the lore of an ancient civilization that will appeal to children and adults alike.

Max Quick's life drastically changes after time suddenly stops. The young man of 12–harassed by bullies, living as an orphan in a violent home for boys and about to be thrown into juvenile hall–is mysteriously immune to this chrono-freeze. He soon discovers other children who are impervious as well–namely, Casey Cole and Ian Keating–and the three find themselves embarking on a thrilling quest to save the world from an all-powerful foe from outer space. Heavily inspired by the folklore of the Sumer civilization of ancient Mesopotamia, the narrative shines brightest in the chapters that focus on the re-telling of this fascinating history. Jeffrey skillfully infuses the story with an authentic historical context, and then thrusts the narrative into the future by introducing aliens, time travel and massive gems with the power to stop time and minds–a difficult task indeed, but one that he successfully accomplishes. Alas, the story does suffer from thin character development and some amateurish dialogue, which, in many instances, is plain unrealistic, with the characters' voices often coming across as affected. Furthermore, the characters tend to have thoughts or make pronouncements that belie their actual age, or take actions that do not seem in line with their previously established personalities. (Casey, age 12, vacillates constantly between a spoiled, temperamental eight-year old and a sexually conscious adolescent vying for male attention.) Fortunately, the story is compelling enough to supercede these minor quibbles.

Dotted with cliché and melodrama but driven–and driven well–by good old-fashioned sci-fi storytelling.