Kindle Price: $12.99

Save $9.00 (41%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Will Elliott
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Pilgrims: A Novel (The Pendulum Trilogy Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Will Elliott (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 43 ratings
See all formats and editions

The Pilgrims is no ordinary alternate-world fantasy; with this first volume in The Pendulum Trilogy, Will Elliott's brilliantly subversive imagination twists the conventions of the alternate-world fantasy genre, providing an unforgettable visionary experience.

Eric Albright is a twenty-six-year-old journalist living in London. That is to say he would be a journalist if he got off his backside. But this luckless slacker isn't all bad—he has a soft spot for his sometimes friend Stuart Casey, the homeless old drunk who mostly lives under the railway bridge near his flat. Eric is willing to let his life just drift by…until the day a small red door appears on the graffiti-covered wall of the bridge, and a gang of strange-looking people—Eric's pretty sure one of them is a giant—dash out of the door and rob the nearby newsagent. From that day on Eric and Case haunt the arch, waiting for the door to reappear.

When it does, both Eric and Case choose to go through…to the land of Levaal. A place where a mountain-sized dragon with the powers of a god lies sleeping beneath a great white castle. In the castle the sinister Lord Vous rules with an iron fist, and the Project, designed to effect his transformation into an immortal spirit, nears completion. But Vous's growing madness is close to consuming him, together with his fear of an imaginary being named Shadow. And soon Eric may lend substance to that fear. An impossibly vast wall divides Levall, and no one has ever seen what lies beyond. Eric and Casey are called Pilgrims, and may have powers that no one in either world yet understands, and soon the wall may be broken. What will enter from the other side?

The Pendulum Trilogy
#1 The Pilgrims
#2 Shadow
#3 World's End

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    449 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Tor Books
  5. Publication date
    March 18, 2014
  6. File size
    2678 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The author's not only a superb craftsman and character-builder, but a consummate storyteller, so that each good-against-evil clash appears fresh and engrossing.” ―Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

WILL ELLIOTT's debut novel, The Pilo Family Circus, co-won the Aurealis Award for best horror, won the Golden Aurealis for best novel, and the Australian Shadows Award. The Pilgrims is the first title in Elliott's visionary fantasy, The Pendulum Trilogy. Elliott was born in Brisbane, Australia

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00FCQQE20
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Tor Books (March 18, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 18, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 2678 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 449 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 43 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Will Elliott

Will Elliott

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
43 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

85skunkape
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 8, 2018
Verified Purchase
Love Elliot’s books
Helpful
 Report
Jeffrey T. Munson
4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Beginning To A New Series
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2014
Verified Purchase
Will Elliott has written a great tale about alternate worlds.

Eric Albright is a journalist living in London. His sometimes-friend is a homeless drunk named Stuart Casey, who lives under a bridge. One day, a door appears under the bridge and three strange-looking people burst out. Intrigued, Eric and Case decide to wait for the door to appear again. When the door does appear, Eric and Case go through and find themselves in a different world. But this is no ordinary world, for a huge dragon is about. But the dragon is only the beginning, for a great white castle houses a mad lord, Vous, who rules with an iron fist and strives forward with his Project; to make himself into a god.

But Vous has a great fear of the one called Shadow; one that could destroy him and all he's worked for. Further, Eric and Case, called "pilgrims" by the inhabitants of Levaal, possess powers that are unknown to them, but could prove to be fatal to Vous.

As the story goes on, Eric and Case meet up with Anfen; a former castle army captain, Siel; a beautiful female mage, Loup; a folk magician, and Sharfy; another member of Anfen's band. Together, the group will venture to wall at World's End. What is on the other side?

I enjoyed this book. I've read other alternate world series, such as Taylor Anderson's "Destroyermen" and Terry Brooks' "Landover" series, and this book is on par with those. The story is interesting, and the character development is good throughout. The story builds throughout and leaves the reader eagerly anticipating the next volume in the series.

I recommend "The Pilgrims" to readers of fantasy and alternate world fiction. The story is loaded with action, and the characters are well-developed. Don't miss this very good entry into the alternate world genre.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Canadian eReader
3.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but not my personal cup of tea
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2014
Verified Purchase
I received a copy of The Pilgrims by Will Elliott from Tor McMillan free to review - thank you, guys! It tells the story of journalist Eric Albright and Stuart Casey, a homeless drunk, who stumble across a hidden door which leads them to the fantastical world of Levaal. Naturally, there is an evil overlord they have to defeat. As can be inferred from the ages of the protagonists, this is more adult contemporary fantasy than young adult. The language and attitudes of the two main characters is more mature than that of your average Twilight or Mortal Instruments. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing.

First off, I need to be totally honest and say I was unable to finish this book. I started it at least a couple of times, and even bought it on Kindle as I find hardback books bulky and awkward to read now after several years of Kindling. Yet, I was unable to get beyond the first third of the story. Now, I don’t believe this is a reflection on the story or the author; just that I, personally, was unable to relate to the characters enough to become involved in their adventure. it may even be that I was simply not in the mood for the tale that was being woven. There was a lot I enjoyed about the book, but not quite enough to keep me reading, unfortunately. It could be I’ll return to it later.

What i liked

The worldbuilding. Elliott has crafted a vivid and fascinating world in Levaal. From what I read I felt there were some interesting seeds sown for future developments. I believe this is the first book in a planned trilogy.

Language as skill. I was intrigued by the fact that Eric’s and Case’s key strength (in this first third at least) was that, as Otherworlders, they have the ability to understand each language spoken in Levaal as if it were their native language. This applies even to magically encrypted speech. The local resistance is quick to see what an advantage that could give them and I enjoyed what I read of their adventures in spying.

Genre-savvy protagonist. It always makes me smile when the protagonist is aware of fantasy tropes and expects his/her adventure to follow similar lines. I loved that Eric was all “oh yeah, I know how this works: someone from my world falls into a fantastical realm, so that person must be the prophesied Saviour. Point me in the direction of the evil overlord.” I didn’t read far enough to learn whether or not Elliott will turn this on its head, but it could be fun to find out.

What I didn’t like

The main characters. For me, personally, I could not engage with either Eric or Case. I found nothing about them that struck a chord with me. However, that’s not to say they’re not interesting characters. They just didn’t pull me into their story.

Despite the fact that I was unable to finish the book, I feel that was very much a personal thing. I certainly wouldn’t discourage anyone else from reading it; just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean you mightn’t think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I gave The Pilgrims three stars out of five.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
John Daly
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2014
Verified Purchase
Excellent writing and plot keeps you captured till last page
Helpful
 Report
Mtnuglet
4.0 out of 5 stars Good start
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2014
Interesting book. Can't really say I loved it, but it has potential. Being the first book of a trilogy, it was a little slow moving but towards the end it started grabbing my attention more. Definitely an intriguing world Elliott has built, and the characters were becoming more attractive towards the end. Worth trying out and the second book will hopefully deliver.
Helpful
 Report
B. Thomas-Moore
2.0 out of 5 stars What's the point of a portal fantasy without a sense of wonder?
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2017
Kind of disappointing; I picked this up because a portal fantasy sounded like a fun thing to read, but it just didn't work for me. Standard fantasy world with an evil overlord, a grubby resistance, scattered monsters and demi-humans, casual sexism, and a 'hero' with a 'destiny.' Most damningly, there was no sense of wonder -- despite the occasional interesting idea or evocative scene, I never felt impressed or awed by the world... and what's the point of a portal fantasy that can't even do that?
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Johupie
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2016
Verified Purchase
Great book!
Helpful
 Report
radiatorre
3.0 out of 5 stars Acceptable.
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2015
Verified Purchase
writing style OK. plot is not very creative, though the world is pretty creative and some of the creatures are creative. It's a decent enough book, if you're looking for something to pass the time.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Annabel
5.0 out of 5 stars Not my type of reading material sorry
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2019
Verified Purchase
Unable to comment as this was downloaded in error.
Report
Bela Lugosi's Dad
2.0 out of 5 stars The Spirit's Will-ing, The Book Is Weak
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 15, 2012
Verified Purchase
As a big fan of Pilo Family Circus, I was looking forward to Will Elliott's follow-up but not without some sense of trepidation. 'A subversive and genre-bending fantasy epic'? Really? Wow, that's never been attempted before has it? Well, maybe only a couple of thousand times...
My worst fears were realised at about page thirty or so when our two everyman-type heroes are sucked into an alternative universe peopled by barbarians, wizards, mages, all the usual suspects. Honestly, you might as well wait for the next Terry Pratchett novel. The only subversive element I could detect was the odd bit of Anglo Saxon swearing.
This is the first of three volumes apparently, and I won't be returning for a second bite. Hugely disappointing, sad to say.
3 people found this helpful
 Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report