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The Zondon
Ernie Magawan has been bothered by bazaar recurring dreams of outer space and a green crystal. He's tempted to agree with his twin that he might be off in the head - until, during an archaeology dig, he finds the very crystal and realises he's on an mission that started before he was born. The stability of the universe depends on their success. He has to find and wake up six others like himself...
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First published February 21, 2010
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About the author
Robby Charters
54 books19 followersHello. That photo you see there is of me and my son. It's actually a few years old. My son was about nine when I took that selfie but now, he's twenty, and is in Uni in Scotland, becoming smarter than me. I still like that photo, and I'll keep it until he tells me to take it down. And I probably look a bit older than that as well. Anyway, my wife and I live in N. Ireland. I write stories, draw pictures, design books, and work at a day job. In some of my books, there's a character named Boz, probably with the surname of O'Brian. If you happen to come across him, that's me making a cameo appearance. From Boz, you'll know that my roots are in Thailand, where I was born of an Irish dad and American mum. Though American, my mum was also born in Thailand. We're all missionaries. You'll read about that bit of history in The Eurasian. In Pepe, you'll find that I worked for a year in a homeless children's shelter similar to the one you'll read about there. I still think fondly of that place. The Zondon will tell you about the school I attended for two years that I think define my childhood in Bangkok, with other missionary kids. If you like how my covers look, and the interior design of my books, I can do yours as well - if you're a self published author. To find me, just Google "Robby Charters", or go to my website: www.RobbyCharters.co.uk.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 14, 2013
A good, well-researched sci fi.
The story opens with Ernie, an undermotivated guy whose twin outshines him. Growing up, Ernie experienced vivid dreams of space, a tomb in Egypt, and a multi-faceted glowing crystal. Now, when he and his brother get the opportunity to resume the exploration of a tomb their parents were forced to abandon before they were born, they jump on it, but Ernie begins to suspect he's been there before.
I found this to be an interesting book, with a good mix of real and fictional science, just enough to be plausible if not probable. As for the story, it's well-fleshed out and planned, and I didn't notice any plot holes. The origins of the aliens, both good and bad, and the tie in with the creation story,the dinosaurs, and the current events in the story are interesting and entertaining. The characters are from extremely different backgrounds, but their personalities, mannerisms and belief systems ring true, probably due to the author's research. This and the travel in the book makes this story appealing from a contemporary standpoint.
Unlike many sci fi books, this one includes research references and a list of definitions (including source and real vs. imaginary). I really liked that, because I don't tend to want to have to research stuff I find in a book designed for entertainment in order to understand it. However, it might have been better if the terms were linked to their explanations the first time they were introduced in the story, perhaps with footnotes. As it stands, I didn't discover them until I had finished reading. Then again, maybe that would have distracted from the storyline. I can see it going both ways.
On the down side, some of the details came too much at once in places. Already complex theoretical physics becomes even more challenging when fictional particles are added to the mix. Also, when about halfway through, the number of characters began to grow almost exponentially. I began to find it hard to keep up with them. Then near the end, they started using nicknames for some of the characters instead of the names they were introduced with. That was very confusing especially for Ed, Eddie, and Edward. Three names refering to two people. With some context and a little flipping back, I was able to figure it out, but it made that part of the book a bit slower to get through.
Besides the occassional information overload and confusing naming, I found the book to be peppered with word choice errors and verb errors, mostly the kind that would not be caught by spell check and that would sound right if read aloud. The story did seem to be edited, don't get me wrong, but it needs a little bit more to polish off a few rough edges.
Overall, The Zondon is a good story that fans of contemporary science fiction will likely enjoy. There are some grammatical issues, but the interesting storyline and well-researched science (and well-developed fictional science) make it worth picking up all the same.
I found this book for free on Amazon and made a goal to read it as part of an A-Z book reading challenge I'm participating in this year.
The story opens with Ernie, an undermotivated guy whose twin outshines him. Growing up, Ernie experienced vivid dreams of space, a tomb in Egypt, and a multi-faceted glowing crystal. Now, when he and his brother get the opportunity to resume the exploration of a tomb their parents were forced to abandon before they were born, they jump on it, but Ernie begins to suspect he's been there before.
I found this to be an interesting book, with a good mix of real and fictional science, just enough to be plausible if not probable. As for the story, it's well-fleshed out and planned, and I didn't notice any plot holes. The origins of the aliens, both good and bad, and the tie in with the creation story,the dinosaurs, and the current events in the story are interesting and entertaining. The characters are from extremely different backgrounds, but their personalities, mannerisms and belief systems ring true, probably due to the author's research. This and the travel in the book makes this story appealing from a contemporary standpoint.
Unlike many sci fi books, this one includes research references and a list of definitions (including source and real vs. imaginary). I really liked that, because I don't tend to want to have to research stuff I find in a book designed for entertainment in order to understand it. However, it might have been better if the terms were linked to their explanations the first time they were introduced in the story, perhaps with footnotes. As it stands, I didn't discover them until I had finished reading. Then again, maybe that would have distracted from the storyline. I can see it going both ways.
On the down side, some of the details came too much at once in places. Already complex theoretical physics becomes even more challenging when fictional particles are added to the mix. Also, when about halfway through, the number of characters began to grow almost exponentially. I began to find it hard to keep up with them. Then near the end, they started using nicknames for some of the characters instead of the names they were introduced with. That was very confusing especially for Ed, Eddie, and Edward. Three names refering to two people. With some context and a little flipping back, I was able to figure it out, but it made that part of the book a bit slower to get through.
Besides the occassional information overload and confusing naming, I found the book to be peppered with word choice errors and verb errors, mostly the kind that would not be caught by spell check and that would sound right if read aloud. The story did seem to be edited, don't get me wrong, but it needs a little bit more to polish off a few rough edges.
Overall, The Zondon is a good story that fans of contemporary science fiction will likely enjoy. There are some grammatical issues, but the interesting storyline and well-researched science (and well-developed fictional science) make it worth picking up all the same.
I found this book for free on Amazon and made a goal to read it as part of an A-Z book reading challenge I'm participating in this year.
May 17, 2019
The Zondon by Robby Charters
This was an interesting read unfortunately I can see that it might easily be one that is quite easily discarded before being finished. Overall I think it was well plotted out storyline with interesting features. I read it all the way through but I swear that it took me a very long time to digest the first two pages of chapter one and I'm not sure exactly why other than that the style of writing and sometimes oddly structured sentences were distracting not to mention the notion of twins right away that called for names that were closely related Eddie and Ernie. I had some difficulty being assured that we were always in Ernies head. After that bit it became easier to read.
A word of caution this has spelling errors-wrong words- missing words and very odd sentence structure on occasion that number beyond a dozen and for me reaches the severe warning level. Such things as the word father instead of Farther; Though instead of thought; 'that I do what have now done.'(missing an I maybe.) 'there did came a time'. There were instances where the grammar and word choices were correct but the sentence was a bear to digest and that often comes from passive sentence structure.
Robby Charters has a lot of background in religious study so there is a lot of theology in here. It is quite diverse and probably because his background is with interdenominational church. I did not find it preachy or anything of that sort and it was pretty integral to the plot of the story. What I did find interesting was the exclusion of many religions considered by mainstream Christianity as cults. The main reason for the aspect of exclusion to be of note is because this story reads like at least one of those religions. If I had not checked his bio I'd have thought Robby was one of that ilk. There is at least one time where the dive into theology becomes so steep that it could be construed as preaching (except it wouldn't be preaching anything from any of those interdenominational churches).
This story takes place in many geographical locations but it centers often on Ireland and Thailand, which I gathered from the bio were the two places the author calls home so he's well acquainted with these areas.
Also most of the characters often end up with odd speech patterns somehow related to geographic origin which is okay but when that serves as the only device to give the characters depth it falls short for me and even with that aspect they all manage to sound the same as many people complain when an author fails to use this device. Unfortunately it began to feel for me as though someone decided everyone sounded the same so lets change up the speech patterns. That's always a good trick to start with if you really feel you need to do that. In this case I think most of the time it worked alright, but on occasion I got confused about who was from where and had to keep looking back to make sure that that speech affectation worked for that person. Sometimes for me this use for differentiating characters by speech affectation becomes a distraction when overused.
There are a lot of pop references. Almost too many of those. And there were even some where the reference became a bit obtuse for some reason.
Also it became evident at some point that the quest in this book was patterned like some of the MMORPG's online. Each quest done in a specific order and often portioned out one at a time or at least in that order.
I'd recommend this to lovers of SFF that are not too finicky about the Science part and don't mind a lot if theological discourse. Also Young Adult, but not anyone who hasn't yet grounded themselves in their personal beliefs about religion. This could just get confusing.
There was even a place I started thinking Thetans. (And that's not even the religion this reminds me of.)
Overall I enjoyed the book it contained a lot of interesting information pertaining to mainstream religion and some unusual notions.
There was one very interesting passage that felt like a recurring dream I've had and it was really pretty creepy having someone crawling through ever tightening passages until they get stuck.
J.L. Dobias
This was an interesting read unfortunately I can see that it might easily be one that is quite easily discarded before being finished. Overall I think it was well plotted out storyline with interesting features. I read it all the way through but I swear that it took me a very long time to digest the first two pages of chapter one and I'm not sure exactly why other than that the style of writing and sometimes oddly structured sentences were distracting not to mention the notion of twins right away that called for names that were closely related Eddie and Ernie. I had some difficulty being assured that we were always in Ernies head. After that bit it became easier to read.
A word of caution this has spelling errors-wrong words- missing words and very odd sentence structure on occasion that number beyond a dozen and for me reaches the severe warning level. Such things as the word father instead of Farther; Though instead of thought; 'that I do what have now done.'(missing an I maybe.) 'there did came a time'. There were instances where the grammar and word choices were correct but the sentence was a bear to digest and that often comes from passive sentence structure.
Robby Charters has a lot of background in religious study so there is a lot of theology in here. It is quite diverse and probably because his background is with interdenominational church. I did not find it preachy or anything of that sort and it was pretty integral to the plot of the story. What I did find interesting was the exclusion of many religions considered by mainstream Christianity as cults. The main reason for the aspect of exclusion to be of note is because this story reads like at least one of those religions. If I had not checked his bio I'd have thought Robby was one of that ilk. There is at least one time where the dive into theology becomes so steep that it could be construed as preaching (except it wouldn't be preaching anything from any of those interdenominational churches).
This story takes place in many geographical locations but it centers often on Ireland and Thailand, which I gathered from the bio were the two places the author calls home so he's well acquainted with these areas.
Also most of the characters often end up with odd speech patterns somehow related to geographic origin which is okay but when that serves as the only device to give the characters depth it falls short for me and even with that aspect they all manage to sound the same as many people complain when an author fails to use this device. Unfortunately it began to feel for me as though someone decided everyone sounded the same so lets change up the speech patterns. That's always a good trick to start with if you really feel you need to do that. In this case I think most of the time it worked alright, but on occasion I got confused about who was from where and had to keep looking back to make sure that that speech affectation worked for that person. Sometimes for me this use for differentiating characters by speech affectation becomes a distraction when overused.
There are a lot of pop references. Almost too many of those. And there were even some where the reference became a bit obtuse for some reason.
Also it became evident at some point that the quest in this book was patterned like some of the MMORPG's online. Each quest done in a specific order and often portioned out one at a time or at least in that order.
I'd recommend this to lovers of SFF that are not too finicky about the Science part and don't mind a lot if theological discourse. Also Young Adult, but not anyone who hasn't yet grounded themselves in their personal beliefs about religion. This could just get confusing.
There was even a place I started thinking Thetans. (And that's not even the religion this reminds me of.)
Overall I enjoyed the book it contained a lot of interesting information pertaining to mainstream religion and some unusual notions.
There was one very interesting passage that felt like a recurring dream I've had and it was really pretty creepy having someone crawling through ever tightening passages until they get stuck.
J.L. Dobias
March 4, 2017
I have to confess from the outset that sci-fi is not a genre that I would read by choice. I received a copy of this book on the understanding that it fell into the genre of Mystery Thrillers. It doesn’t … and that obviously makes it difficult for me to review the book and judge it honestly. My prejudices are bound to obtrude.
However, I will do my best to be objective and try to deal with specific writing issues … the author’s ability to plot a story, to hold the reader’s interest, to write well, to develop well-rounded characters and, in the case of sci-fi, to make the science credible and convincing.
Robby Charters knows how to tell a story. He has a vivid imagination and appears to know a lot about science. At any rate, he convinced me. The Zondon is a story about seven alien creatures who were forced to flee to earth in a form that allowed them to infiltrate the wombs of earth women and be born as earthlings. The first half of the book is devoted to telling the back-stories of these humans (who did not know they were Zondons until each was introduced to a green crystal)) and recounting how the seven finally found each other so that, as a powerful group of seven, they could try to save the universe.
Initially absorbing, the individual stories begin to assume an identical pattern. It seems to me that perhaps the details of three or four lives, and a somewhat truncated version of the rest, would have been editorially more effective than the repetitious delving into the lives of all seven. All of these lives are different and their cultures doubtless required considerable and thorough research, but the reader can succumb to information overload and that is not good for the story. In addition, the plethora of characters that begin to emerge as the seven back-stories are told becomes so huge that it is difficult for the reader to remember who is who. And further complications emerge from the author’s propensity to pursue irrelevant theological and political digressions, or lengthy observations on different cultures, clever and worthy though they may be. These tend to stop the story dead in its tracks and, to be honest, their complex nature will undoubtedly test the attention span of even the most avid YA reader. A good editor would have been ruthless with these.
The writing is generally fast and pacy, though patchy in parts, as if the writer settled for a first draft without revision. There are several formatting and editorial flaws, as well as the occasional mis-spells, all of which tend to grate somewhat, e.g. ‘bazarr’ instead of ‘bizarre’. The story, however, is well plotted and, despite my prejudices, it did succeed in holding my interest. The characters are well rounded, with human flaws that sit oddly but credibly against their Zondon spirits. And there is a scary villain in the immensely wealthy, terrifyingly powerful, darkly sinister Russian, Doctor Stanovitch, a villain as impressive as any that might be found in the James Bond movies.
The writer tends to opt for minimal description in places, leaving the reader with a blank impression of a scene and having to work hard to fill in the blanks. For example, Ibrahain ‘ … thought that New York was amazing and the people even more amazing.’ What does that mean exactly? On the other hand, it may well be that the author wants the reader to rush after the story and chooses not to waste time on minor issues, a quirk that contrasts oddly with the distracting digressions mentioned earlier.
All of that said, however, my overall impression is that this is a very good story that sci-fi fans would probably love. It has all the ingredients that such a story would need … creative alien worlds, tension, chases, suspense, relationships, wonder, characters with mysterious gifts and skills, loads of baffling but convincing scientific explanations … and, of course, the entire world under threat. Yes! It’s all there.
However, I will do my best to be objective and try to deal with specific writing issues … the author’s ability to plot a story, to hold the reader’s interest, to write well, to develop well-rounded characters and, in the case of sci-fi, to make the science credible and convincing.
Robby Charters knows how to tell a story. He has a vivid imagination and appears to know a lot about science. At any rate, he convinced me. The Zondon is a story about seven alien creatures who were forced to flee to earth in a form that allowed them to infiltrate the wombs of earth women and be born as earthlings. The first half of the book is devoted to telling the back-stories of these humans (who did not know they were Zondons until each was introduced to a green crystal)) and recounting how the seven finally found each other so that, as a powerful group of seven, they could try to save the universe.
Initially absorbing, the individual stories begin to assume an identical pattern. It seems to me that perhaps the details of three or four lives, and a somewhat truncated version of the rest, would have been editorially more effective than the repetitious delving into the lives of all seven. All of these lives are different and their cultures doubtless required considerable and thorough research, but the reader can succumb to information overload and that is not good for the story. In addition, the plethora of characters that begin to emerge as the seven back-stories are told becomes so huge that it is difficult for the reader to remember who is who. And further complications emerge from the author’s propensity to pursue irrelevant theological and political digressions, or lengthy observations on different cultures, clever and worthy though they may be. These tend to stop the story dead in its tracks and, to be honest, their complex nature will undoubtedly test the attention span of even the most avid YA reader. A good editor would have been ruthless with these.
The writing is generally fast and pacy, though patchy in parts, as if the writer settled for a first draft without revision. There are several formatting and editorial flaws, as well as the occasional mis-spells, all of which tend to grate somewhat, e.g. ‘bazarr’ instead of ‘bizarre’. The story, however, is well plotted and, despite my prejudices, it did succeed in holding my interest. The characters are well rounded, with human flaws that sit oddly but credibly against their Zondon spirits. And there is a scary villain in the immensely wealthy, terrifyingly powerful, darkly sinister Russian, Doctor Stanovitch, a villain as impressive as any that might be found in the James Bond movies.
The writer tends to opt for minimal description in places, leaving the reader with a blank impression of a scene and having to work hard to fill in the blanks. For example, Ibrahain ‘ … thought that New York was amazing and the people even more amazing.’ What does that mean exactly? On the other hand, it may well be that the author wants the reader to rush after the story and chooses not to waste time on minor issues, a quirk that contrasts oddly with the distracting digressions mentioned earlier.
All of that said, however, my overall impression is that this is a very good story that sci-fi fans would probably love. It has all the ingredients that such a story would need … creative alien worlds, tension, chases, suspense, relationships, wonder, characters with mysterious gifts and skills, loads of baffling but convincing scientific explanations … and, of course, the entire world under threat. Yes! It’s all there.
March 8, 2017
THE ZOUDON by Robby Charters is an ambitiously offbeat novel I must have been in the right mood for, because while billed as sci fi or thriller, it is part fantasy, part exploration of the universe, daubs of man's essential nature, and a tour of theocracy rich with potential insights that will leave you pondering.
It's fun. It's quirky. The locales are numerous and vivid. It has a terrifically rendered villain.
The story concerns aliens born of earth mothers who have twins off-world, and a vital destiny to fulfill. Without tipping too much, it's a quest novel at heart, delving into sub themes and some original takes on people, politics and the divine.
It's fun. It's quirky. The locales are numerous and vivid. It has a terrifically rendered villain.
The story concerns aliens born of earth mothers who have twins off-world, and a vital destiny to fulfill. Without tipping too much, it's a quest novel at heart, delving into sub themes and some original takes on people, politics and the divine.
March 13, 2010
This is the most remarkable story I have ever read. It is refreshing and completely new in concept and legend. It is full of details that will capture your imagination to the very end. The details of the worlds created in this story are unique and beautiful. More so the great plot and eloquent way that it was portrayed.
It has so much background on each of the main characters that it could be a story of their own. I also loved the way that the author knew so much about the places the characters visit. The language, the customs, the food and even the names of streets are so much a part of the places the characters encounter.
The story is about seven sets of twins in which one person of each set has a job to do to keep earth free of the darkness covering the rest of the galaxy. They are extraterrestrials that need to be born on earth to be able to use the elements from this planet. Earth is the key planet to keep the balance of the universe and thus they were commission for that task.
Each extraterrestrial needs to learn to be a human before they are ready to wake up to their lives before earth. It happens at different times in their lives. The one thing they have in common with each other is that they all have dreams about stars and planets many times during their growing years and have been teased by their twins and families for that.
A great talent is needed to be able to get away with this many characters and have such a complete and unique background for each one of them. However, the way the information is presented can make a whole difference if the book is good or boring. In this book the background for a given character was given all at once, and thus feels a bit overwhelming at times. Smaller doses of information at a time would have been easier to follow and much more entertaining. Even so I think this is a masterpiece of history mixed with Sci-Fi.
The amount of research used for this book was intense and is very precise in the historical parts of the tale. The author’s knowledge of places, languages, customs, and everyday events seems extensive and thorough. I wondered many times if he was a Middle Eastern man and had grown up in their culture. It’s that good, it will surprise you.
I recommend it to teens and adults alike.
It has so much background on each of the main characters that it could be a story of their own. I also loved the way that the author knew so much about the places the characters visit. The language, the customs, the food and even the names of streets are so much a part of the places the characters encounter.
The story is about seven sets of twins in which one person of each set has a job to do to keep earth free of the darkness covering the rest of the galaxy. They are extraterrestrials that need to be born on earth to be able to use the elements from this planet. Earth is the key planet to keep the balance of the universe and thus they were commission for that task.
Each extraterrestrial needs to learn to be a human before they are ready to wake up to their lives before earth. It happens at different times in their lives. The one thing they have in common with each other is that they all have dreams about stars and planets many times during their growing years and have been teased by their twins and families for that.
A great talent is needed to be able to get away with this many characters and have such a complete and unique background for each one of them. However, the way the information is presented can make a whole difference if the book is good or boring. In this book the background for a given character was given all at once, and thus feels a bit overwhelming at times. Smaller doses of information at a time would have been easier to follow and much more entertaining. Even so I think this is a masterpiece of history mixed with Sci-Fi.
The amount of research used for this book was intense and is very precise in the historical parts of the tale. The author’s knowledge of places, languages, customs, and everyday events seems extensive and thorough. I wondered many times if he was a Middle Eastern man and had grown up in their culture. It’s that good, it will surprise you.
I recommend it to teens and adults alike.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews