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Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure Through Time and Space

novel series by D. J. MacHale

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 16, 2026
Entity authorityQ644852 ↗
Source-derived summary

Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure Through Time and Space, abbreviated The Pendragon Adventure or simply Pendragon, is a series of ten young-adult science fiction and fantasy novels by American author D. J. MacHale, published from 2002 to 2009. The series chronicles the adventures of Bobby Pendragon, an American teenager who discovers that he must travel through time and space to prevent the destruction of the ten "territories": critical times and locations throughout the universe. The series has sold over a million copies.

Each book deals with the battle over a particular territory, fought by Bobby's side against the forces of Saint Dane, a shapeshifting demon, who exploits a decisive turning point for the local people of each territory. At this turning point, Saint Dane steps in to guide the territory towards utter chaos, while Bobby and his allies attempt to stop these efforts.

The novels use a first-person perspective through Bobby's handwritten journal entries, in which he recounts the events of his adventures to his loyal friends back home, Courtney Chetwynde and Mark Dimond, as well as a third-person narrative to tell the stories of characters other than Bobby—often, Courtney and Mark themselves. Each book of the series repeatedly alternates between these two narrative perspectives.

Publication history

The first five books in the series, The Merchant of Death (2001), The Lost City of Faar (2001), The Never War (2002), The Reality Bug (2002), and Black Water (2003) were originally published in paperback by Aladdin Paperbacks. In 2004, Black Water made The New York Times' weekly nationwide top-ten list in the category "Children's Paperback Books," and a month later, for the first time, the series as a whole ranked in the category of "Children's Best Sellers: Series." The remaining five books, The Rivers of Zadaa (2005), The Quillan Games (2006), The Pilgrims of Rayne (2007), Raven Rise (2008), and The Soldiers of Halla (2009) were all originally published in hardback by Simon & Schuster. As of 2011, all books have been released in both formats.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure Through Time and Space” as novel series by D. J. MacHale. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful identification and reception guide that helps separate the work itself from editions, performances, ownership and later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2002, 2009, 2001, 2003—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Pendragon, Journal and Adventure can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as novel series by D. J. MacHale. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q644852. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2002, 2009, 2001 and 2003.

Critical limits

Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure Through Time and Space”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure Through Time and Space primary sources, Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure Through Time and Space archive and Pendragon research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure Through Time and Space”?
  2. Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
  3. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure Through Time and Space” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.