Customer Reviews

The Rune of Zachary Zimbalist (Connedim) (Connedim)

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"The Scatterers love chaos and pain, and they'll do anything they can to distort history. They leave their Rune behind as a sign of their success." When Zachary's cat begins talking to a Mexican ghost, Zachary knows he's in big trouble. But as soon as he tries to show them the tattoo forced on him by a pair of school bullies, Zachary realizes it's far worse than he thought. For, although the Rune Tattoo on his arm has seemingly disappeared, the power of the Rune is already working to bring him under the Scatterers' control. So begins twelve-year-old Zachary's adventures in the land of The Connedim - the Connecting Dimension between the past and the future. Zachary's Tucson cat is really an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh in disguise, and the leader of the Interhistorical Alliance. Zachary's Mentor is the ghost of a Mexican girl who died over a century ago, and his new roommate comes from South Africa, a hundred and fifty years in the future! Each member of the Alliance protects history from the Scatterers by using their ability to communicate with animals and machines, to fly by talking to the air, and to travel through history by understanding time. Pamela Keyes adds a multi-cultural twist to the concept of a school for magical powers, first introduced in LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy, and delightfully popularized by Harry Potter. The Connedim brings alive animal characters ranging from Zachary's cat and a pair of obnoxious flying falcon brothers, to a ponderous and eerie giant tortoise. The humans in the Alliance span thousands of years of history, and they all have the help of a "mandiball" - a combination cuddly pet, soccer ball, and fierce protector. And the Scatterers themselves, whose interference has resulted in events as dire as Hitler's Holocaust, are led by a trio of evil souls attempting to penetrate the Alliance and destroy its very foundation. As he fights against the Scatterers' increasingly bold attempts to turn him into one of them, Zachary finally learns why the Scatterers have marked him with their Rune. The lives of his friends, the fate of the Alliance, and even the very nature of history, have all come to depend on Zachary, alone. With plenty of action, nonstop suspense, unexpected plot twists, and even a touch of psychology (Zachary finally understands that he doesn't have to let one terrible mistake take over his life) this book grabs you in the first chapter and doesn't let you go until you turn the last page.

The Rune of Zachary Zimbalist was awesome. I loved the mandiballs. Probably my favorite part was when Zachary's mandiball bit Denny in the rear end and it had its temper tantrum. It was also funny when Zachary pretended to throw the ball at Denny and Denny flinched. I thought it was really creative about the group of animals with Eddy Abby. On the cover of the book it says book one so I cant wait to read book two. I am not really a lover of reading but if I find a book that is good, then I read it! I read this book in two days.

Other activities normally take priority over reading for my active 11 year-old; yet he loved Harry Potter, and so I purchased this book at a book signing. He loved it, and went on to buy the second book. I read it and enjoyed it as well--it has suspense, compelling characters, and terrific imagination. A gem!

The Rune of Zachary Zimbalist is about a boy who gets to do a bunch of things that I'd like to be able to do, like fly, and time-travel, and have lots of friends from different countries. Mandiballs are so cute and I want to have one! This book is a fantasy but with no princesses. You can really use your imagination.

The main message of the book is that you should never give up. And you should always believe in yourself.

When I was reading the book I never wanted to put it down. I would beg my mom to read one more chapter before bedtime. My mom liked the book so much that sometimes she would stay up late and read it with me.

I would recommend this for anyone ages 8 and up.

Erin L.
Age 10

I might as well compare it to Harry Potter, because the author is obviously a Rowling fan. I'm not complaining, though. I've been looking for more great fantasy ever since I started reading Rowling, especially since her latest books are for older kids. The Rune of Zachary Zimbalist is all about twelve-year-old Zachary travelling through time to save history from the evil Scatterers. I loved the twists and turns at the end, and I just bought the second book. I can't wait to read it!

I have never seen my 10-year old daughter so excited about a book before. She hasn't historically been much of a reader so I was just thrilled when she couldn't put down The Rune of Zachary Zimbalist. The Connedim: Book One. We read it out loud together, taking turns reading. I have to say I may have enjoyed it as much as her. The story is fun and exciting, the vocabulary was, at times, challenging for my daughter, which gave us opportunities to discuss new words. The fundamental lessons of doing the right thing, not letting one mistake lead to another, working hard, embracing diversity, all come across loud and clear without appearing preachy.

The twists and turns of the plot kept us both guessing, and had my daughter using critical thinking to try to figure things out. I found it particularly gratifying to see her take that magical leap from reading the words, to enjoying the story, while she read this book. I look forward to starting Book 2, probably later today if my daughter has anything to say about it, and reading more of Pamela Keyes work.

After finishing the book I immediately ordered the next one in the series "The Legend of Zamiel Zimbalist", in order to find out what happens next. Pam Keyes has accurately recreated the world view of a young adult that is neither sugar coated nor frightening. I think she has also created characters, particularly in the main character Zachary, which young adults can relate to. The book captures a lot of the inner thoughts of the main character and inculcates readers that there are rewards from controlling ones behavior. Zachary definitely matures in front of his reading audience in the book. Another important lesson is that we can transcend our mistakes and learn from them.

One of the most compelling ideas of the book is that human history is fluid and those with "parlance" can exist both in their own time and other historical time periods.

More chronologically advanced readers will appreciate the characters from history including a nod to a relatively modern Southwestern author, activist, (and perhaps...anarchist :-)in the guise of a (very wise) cat.

Like young Harry Potter, Zachary Zimbalist lives uneasily amongst everyday people -- although in Zachary's case the problem isn't cardboard-thin nasty step parents, but very believable schoolyard bullies. And like young Harry Potter, Zachary has special abilities lurking under the surface, abilities just waiting to be developed. Not magic, but "parlance", a whimsical and beautiful ability to converse with his surroundings, including wind and lightning and animals. (Although it doesn't matter to me personally, for some people the absence of wizards and magic will make this book more acceptable for their children.)

This book chronicles Zachary's first steps in using his parlance with help from Maria, a friendly Mexican ghost; Edy Aby, his cat/pharaoh and various historical figures who live in Connedim, a place that connects all the dimensions of time. For example, his flight instructor is none other than Wilbur Wright; his combat instructor is Alexander the Great.

Zachary needs all their help, because the evil scatterers are after him, trying to recruit his strong parlance to their cause of spreading chaos and pain throughout history. All in all, this is an exciting and excellent first novel that has great, multicultural characters, a zesty Southwestern setting, and some delightful, highly original twists on a theme that is a favorite with young people. Highly recommended.