The Pocket and the Pendant

By Mark Jeffrey

Book Overview

Max Quick is a pickpocket, a vagabond, an orphan, and a thief. Even so, nothing about him seems particularly special . . . until one day when time mysteriously stops. Suddenly, nearly everyone in the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1411613236
• ISBN13: 9781411613232
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Harry Potter gets metaphysical

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.

Just remember: The tyranny of the page is absolute

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 d

A Thrilling Page-Turner!

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?!"

A Strange, Compelling, Little Read Indeed!

Being a connoisseur of SciFi, loving the romantic works of SC Lewis, Bradbury, Stephenson and the likes, Mr. Jeffrey hits all of those intriguing, intense, and fantastic touch-points. His words, wit, and wisdom wrap your eyes in an undulating grip as you are compelled to keep ingesting till fully nourished. A powerful thrilling read that brings you back and forth through scientific theory, childhood, and the meaning of the universe. A truly satisfying work for adults, though suitable for teens, that you'll buy and read all in one day and hunger for Mr. Jeffrey's next works.

I'm telling all my friends to read this book

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.