Penelope's Pendant

by Douglas Arthur Hill

Eleven-year-old Penny finds a slightly damaged pendant on the beach and discovers that it gives her the power to move herself and other objects through space

112 pages, Hardcover

First published February 15, 1991

About the author

Douglas Arthur Hill (6 April 1935 – 21 June 2007) was a Canadian science fiction author, editor and reviewer. He was born in Brandon, Manitoba, the son of a railroad engineer, and was raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. An avid science fiction reader from an early age, he studied English at the University of Saskatchewan (where he earned an Honours B.A. in 1957) and at the University of Toronto. He married fellow writer and U. of S. alumna Gail Robinson in 1958; they moved to Britain in 1959, where he worked as a freelance writer and editor for Aldus Books. In 1967–1968 he served as Assistant Editor of the controversial New Worlds science fiction magazine under Michael Moorcock.

A lifetime leftist, he served from 1971 to 1984 as the Literary Editor of the socialist weekly Tribune (a position once held by George Orwell), where he regularly reviewed science fiction despite the continued refusal of the literary world to take it seriously. Before starting to write fiction in 1978, he wrote many books on history, science and folklore. Using the pseudonym Martin Hillman, he also worked as an editor of several anthologies, among them Window on the Future (1966), The Shape of Sex to Come (1978), Out of Time (1984), and Hidden Turnings (1988). He is probably best known for The Last Legionary quartet of novels, supposedly produced as the result of a challenge by a publisher to Hill's complaints about the lack of good science fiction for younger readers.

Hill and his wife had one child, a son. They were divorced in 1978. He lived in Wood Green, London, and died in London after being struck by a bus at a zebra crossing. His death occurred one day after he completed his last trilogy, Demon Stalkers.

Reviews

[Capn · Rating 3 out of 5]

After all the peculiar things that happen at school - and at home - Penny is ready to believe that her pendant has special powers. And when a cassette tape suddenly appears by her bed, she's absolutely sure!
But having a magic pendant to move things around isn't always exciting. Especially when it brings a strange, shadowy being prowling around at night . . .

Cover Illustration by Mark Robertson

Reviewing this several months after reading it, but - it ended rather abruptly, and I thought there might have been an intended sequel. I don't think there was. Almost guaranteed to give you nightmares and vertigo if you're young enough. The shadowy lurker in the bedroom at night turned out to not be as dreadful as it might be, but I'd tread carefully, unless you like being woken in the small hours by distressed children. That's conjecture, not a tested hypothesis in this case. Also, I didn't feel like having to explain what a cassette tape was.

This story presented interesting concepts and ethical dilemmas in re: imperfect magic and acceptable personal risk. And I liked Glumdole by the end of it. Does Penny do the right thing in the end? Refreshingly, . . . well, I'll let you read it.

[Derelict Space Sheep · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tale of malfunctioning magic and unexpected consequences, given real narrative impetus by the escalating threat of violence. Hill comes obliquely at the underlying moral (consider possible outcomes) while doling out some much-needed, cathartic comeuppance to Penelope’s tormentors. A short, exciting read.

[Kimmie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember getting this book and reading it with my mom.

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites since childhood. Read it to my kids, they thoroughly enjoyed it as well. It has magic, mystery and some action. Nothing too scary, a good bedtime story.

[Lady Jane Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kind of obscure book that I was given in fourth grade by a girl I read to in first grade. There was a program in the school where the older kids would read to younger kids and help them read. Took me a little while to actually read it, but when I did, WOW!