Customer Reviews

The Pocket and the Pendant

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The invented mythology that fuels the plot of this book, a blend of Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and many others that I'm sure I missed, was absolute genius. Upon reaching the portion of the book where the backstory was told (think of Frodo arriving at Rivendell and everyone sharing their stories, particularly Gandalf), I became hooked. Many of the questions I had amassed during the pages prior to this were answered, as well as ones I didn't know that I had. It's a testimony to the author's inventiveness that he held my attention from the moment the mythos was being explained until it was over. What makes it more impressive is that this took roughly forty-five pages.

The problem is that I almost didn't get there. The first chapter was a great hook, with time stopping and all, but I grew wary when inconsistencies started popping up, and I felt that certain portions of the text should have come before others and so on...and then UFOs entered the picture. I had some difficulty with Sumerian artifacts, magic books, and UFOs being in the same picture, but, like I said, all of that was answered during the explanation referenced above. Also, italics are used far too often. One uses italics to emphasize, but when they're overused, they lose their emphasis and begin to blend in with everything else on the page. The tyranny of italics...

I believe that there is a great story here, that the author has a tremendous, inventive imagination (frankly, the concepts often left me speechless), and that what separates this book from "good" and "excellent" (i.e., 3 or 5 stars) is a competent editor. Books that include time travel are very difficult to plan, organize, plot, and ultimately write.

One other thing: I thought the book ended stronger than it began (with the exception of the first chapter).

And in a second book, which is not so casually hinted at, I'd like to see the characters resolving their conflicts instead of relying on a god-like character which is, essentially, an adult. There's nothing wrong with strong adult presences in young adult literature, but the young adults in the book should be a bit more involved, in my opinion.

Still, I want to emphasize that this is *not* a negative review. Three stars, in my rating system, is "good"; therefore, this is a positive review. There's good material here, I just think with some tightening it could be even better. And personally, I'm looking forward to the follow-up to this book.

I do not think you can really say that someone is being too imaginative, because these is nothing about an overwhelming collection of creative concepts that could not be cured by a solid academic essay or an annotated edition. But then few people have jammed as much imagination in a 212-page book as Mark Jeffrey has in "The Pocket and the Pendant." For this one you need to be up on your knowledge of the mythology of the ancient Sumerians, both the basic and complex rules of traveling through time and realities, a few of the fundamental laws of science, and how to read between the lines.

If you note that the book does not have a dedication, but rather a statement of ownership, then you are aware that you have entered into a special place before you get to the first page of the story itself. The first chapter introduces so to "A Very Strange Little Boy" by the name of Max Quick. But our attention is diverted from Max before we even meet him because the first line of the novel tells us that "On April 8th at exactly 3:38 in the afternoon the world STOPPED." Virtually everybody and everything on the planet is now frozen in silence. But, of course, there are some exceptions to the rule, one of whom is Max Quick, the aforementioned strange little boy.

The first part of "The Pocket and the Pendant" is rather reminiscent of an episode of "The Twilight Zone" (a couple of them actually, if you count all of the versions of the series), where the world is frozen but you can run around and do anything you want, crossed with "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," the archetype of stories where kids get to do anything they want. Well, not everything, because there are some limitations, as well as some pressing practical concerns, given the situation. Max explores this new state of the world and finds that he is not the only one who is still capable of moving about. But the simple idea that this stoppage in time, the "pocket" of the title, is related to the solar eclipse quickly gives way to a more interesting explanation that puts Max Quick and his friends at the center of a mystery involving the "pendant."

"The Pocket and the Pendant" is a story where telling you the hook is necessary and sufficient information for you to determine if you are interested in reading the book, so there is no need to expand further. Max is twelve years old, but Jeffrey's book reads quite a bit older than the pre-teen age group. Of course, comparisons of Max Quick to Harry Potter are inevitable, but they are valid only in the limited sense that "Charmed" and "Stargate SG-1" are comparable. There is much more imagination involved here and it is the unusualness of the situation and the speed with which things more (think Saturday morning serials) more than anything else that hampers the development of the characters. Also, do not be surprised if you go running to the Internet between chapters to find out more about Gilgamesh and other interesting tidbits that Jeffrey drops into the mix (not that I did that, because I have taught "The Epic of Gilgamesh," but even if you have heard of the first epic hero of Western Civilization does not mean you remember anything specific about him, unless, of course, you caught the "Darmok" episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation")

That last digression and its various relations in this review should give you an indication of the creative scope of this novel. My only complaint, idiosyncratic and minor as it might be, is that I wish "The Pocket and the Pendant" had been printed as a paperback. Given the size of the type font relative to the size of the pages we end up with a whole lot more one-line paragraphs than we would otherwise. It gives reading this book a different feel than I think it should have. If the next book is printed in this same size I would really like to see a bigger font used.

I read the first two chapters of this book on the author's website, really enjoyed them and decided to purchase it. I love books about time travel and reading yourself into books and stuff like that so I figured this would be right up my alley. I was initially wary because it was self published, I learned the hard way from Shadowmancer that an editor really does make a difference and that is very true in this case. This book is definitely flawed: characters are not very developed and a little unrealistic, sometimes the writing is rather distracting from the story, and someone needs to take the author's italics key away from him by force because its out of control, but it is a testament to the story that Jeffrey wants to tell that, despite all of that, I still read the entire book, enjoyed it and would actually recommend it to others. I think if I were a young adult, presumably the target audience, I would be rather offended at being called at little kid at 13 (especially if I am a reader who is younger than that), but there is something appealing about the story and it is the strength of the story that makes this book worth reading even though the telling is not all that great. It has a lot of interesting parts and it reads like the first draft of something which, with a little skilled editing, could be cleaned up into a real classic!

I have known Mr. Jeffrey since about 1995 and have known him to be an incredibly inventive, creative and dynamic businessman. I had no idea such vast resources of creativity in the form of a book were within him as well! Of course, it shouldn't have come as surprise.

I'll use the same adjectives to describe "The Pocket and The Pendant." It is a most wonderful, inventive, creative and deliciously fun read! The storyline is written with tempting hooks leading you into the next chapter and even more eager to get to chapters further along. The only dilemma is whether to read fast, so you can read what happens next, or to slow down and enjoy the ride.

I loved all the Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and other mythology references and the "science" behind it all was genius.

As a fan of the thinking of wrinkles-in-time and other quantum physics films, books and schools of thought, I relished the concepts in the book that made the premise and subsequent events possible.

The characters and their experiences were written in such detail that I felt as if I was there with them, experiencing the same sensations. The places and locations "we" went to in the book were described with such a richness that I felt as if I was whoosing away and unsticking things to use them!

All I can say, in the end is, "more! more! more!" and "when is the movie coming out?!"

What would you do if all of a sudden, with no warning at all, the entire world around you froze? Not just the people, but even the wind, the ocean, the sky... food, vehicles...everything. Would you try to learn why? Now, what if you were only 12 years old? And if the search became dangerous? And required thinking in ways you'd never even imagined before.

From the moment I started reading Mark Jeffrey's words I wanted to read more. I thoroughly enjoyed joining Max Quick and the other non-frozen companions he meets along the way, in his quest to figure out the freeze and return life to normal. Of course, the unfreezing of time is no simple matter. It takes great forces to freeze time and things are often not as they appear to be. Every chapter brought a new twist or turn, testing how I thought.

There is so much to this story and it's exceptionally well written. This is one of those rare books that you want to keep on reading but at the same time don't - because you don't want it to end.

The Pocket and the Pendant is a total freakin' mind trip. You start out thinking you're in for a casual read a-la those top-notch books that gracefully toe the line between Young Adult and Mainstream fiction. Yet it doesn't take long before the characters drag you hurtling into an inextricable web of metaphyics, time-travel, paranormal powers and Sumerian mythos. The plot is riveting, and holds you tight while these crazy concepts fly at your face -- it's like Albert Einstein pounding data into your skull, and you like it so much you say "thank you sir, may I have another!" The Pocket is NOT what you expect, no matter WHAT you expect. Buy it. Read it. It's just that simple.

The author is very creative, and a couple of the ideas are somewhat fresh (as has already been stated, some ideas are a blatant ripoff of other writers). The main problem is that the writing and editing are abysmal. High school creative writing classes have better writing . . . A good book review would provide examples, but I just can't bear going through it again. My primary message is, no matter what the book, ignore the sycophants who give 5 stars; these are almost always written by people who have only read one book ever.

I found out about the audiobook version of the Pocket and the Pendant by complete fluke. My friend Kelsey, who recommended it to me found it by a complete fluke. The reason I'm saying these wild, crazy and zany things is that the two stories of discovery are very synchronistic which is one of the themes that the book explores. "Ahhhhh, that's brilliant" I most surely hear you saying.

The book focuses around a young teen named Max Quick. The book starts off with Jack McNulty denying Max Quick a seat on the bus. Time then freezes, leaving only a few conscious beings to roam around the face of the earth. Max finds Casey, a girl also unaffected by the time stop, or the pocket as they begin to call it. Together, they travel eastward towards the suspected source of all this madness. The book is about finding out about what the hell is happening, finding out who the characters really are in their innermost selves, Max especially among the others.

One of the reasons that I love this book so much, and that it's different than most that I've gone through is that I listened to it in audiobook form. This book gave me faith in the world of audiobooks, showing that I can enjoy and concentrate on one. The Pocket and the Pendant in itself was done with a lot of spirit; it was free, the music that went along with it was superb (a soundtrack ran throughout the entire thing) and was all in all very enjoyable to listen to. The way I preferred to listen to it was with wrapping a bedsheet around my head to let my mind flow with the heaping amount of superb imagery.

Imagery is created from great ideas, which this book was formulated from. One of the most memorable chapters was the one focusing on the lovely Mr. E. It was basically a conversation between Max's group and the philosophical, god type person. It stressed how much of a dream we live in, with a memorable line being "Life is a dream and you are the dreamer". The book is formulated with ideas that are very down to earth and creative. Mark Jeffery has a really interesting theory on how the world was created, with us humans originally being slaves. The reason it's so interesting is that he's formulating ideas for things that we think we know, and also bringing to the surface things he's really been interested in throughout his life and presenting them in a real interesting way.

One of the feelings I left with from just having finished the book and listening to the question and answer period was "Wow, this guy is flippin' great, he has a life, and he's doing what he loves!" I was just so happy and proud of him that he has a life, when so many people having lost theirs. He's thinking below the surface, theorizing and being receptive to all sorts of great things. I really loved the question and answer period and I'll definitely tell you why. First of all, he reads the questions out and then answers them in long and winding answers, going to the depths of his mind to retrieve thoughtful answers. He openly shares his interests and presents them in a way which we can understand. A piece that piqued my interest in the q&a period was on the subject of time. He says that time is a system that was created because humans cannot understand eternity, it's these sort of things that play the role of the base guitar in the book. I'm just real happy that Mark Jeffery hasn't been seduced by $$$, has a life and is openly willing to share it in a very creative way.

So overall, I'd definitely recommend this book to you, with it being very deep, the author being a great person and the story being very entertaining. (get it on itunes as a podcast to listen to).

- Joel Christopher Penner

(This is for the audio version of the book)
I found 'The Pocket And The Pendant' interesting, the science and setting did not overpower the characters, which in my opinion is a sign of a good story.

There is conflict, 'scary' moments, some violence, and tension, but there is nothing there that I would not want my 12 or 14 year old from hearing or reading. The over all setting is not dark nor depressing.

Though Mark Jeffrey might not get a job as a voice actor for Disney or Pixar anytime soon[ :) ], his choice for music in the audio program is dead on and does not distract, but enhances the setting and mood.

Some have written that there are editing issues with the print version, but I was not exposed to them listening to the book.

Some took issue with the science and backstory, but I had no issues with them. Everything that is needed to be understand is explained clearly (as they are being explained to kids in the book). I have read Zecharia Sitchin (The Twelfth Planet) and Neal Stephenson (Snow Crash), so some of the concepts were a little familiar to me.

I suggest you try listening to the first two chapters, and if you like it, continue listening or puchase the book.

"The Pocket and the Pendant" by Mark Jeffrey is a book of contrasts. There are things about it that clearly show that this author is new to the writing business, despite his numerous accomplishments in other mediums. If this were one of the online fiction workshopping environments I'm a long-time veteran of, I could give this an extensive critiquing of the poor editing that rears its head in far too many places. And yet when you get right down to it, this book is simply great.

There is a vast overuse of italics in the book, as if the author doesn't trust the reader to get the importance of what is being said, or he wishes nearly every word to be thought of as being greatly significant. The omniscient, narrative, third person voice often ruins the suspense of upcoming scenes by skipping ahead to describe what's about to occur. This is most painfully clear to me when Max Quick, the main character, is approaching the city of New York. The description by the narrator is brilliant, but it renders the actual entrance into the city by the protagonists, which occurs moments later, anticlimactic and devoid of the wonder that this scene should have contained. The children often wax too adult, and the adults (especially the bad guys, Jadeth and Cyranus) often come off more comical than scary. And as we near the end of the book, the number of missing prepositions and such seems to increase, further giving the book a "rushed into publication" feel.

Any yet, despite all these flaws, the story just plain captivates.

The setting is wonderfully described, and despite a few quirks such as the ones mentioned above, the characterization and plot are well realized. There are points where this book, which I believe is meant to appeal to all ages, gets too deep into the heart of quantum theory for even many adults to comprehend, and at other imes the blend of science, fantasy, and Sumerian legend simply doesn't mesh as well as it should, or could have. But overall, this story works.

It's not often that you can read a book that has as many problems as this one and still come away not only loving it, but even anxiously awaiting the sequel. But in this case, I wholeheartedly did, which is a strong testament to the author's inherent talent. It also explains why this book was just named a finalist for ForeWord Magazine's 2004 Book of the Year Award.

I just hope the author builds on this first effort and tightens up the writing for the sequels. If he can pull this off, young Mr. Quick may give a certain spectacled boy with a lightning scar on his forehead a run for his money.

- Gregory Bernard Banks, author of "Phoenix Tales: Stories of Death & Life"