Review by haeleej2 -- Zona: The Forbidden Land

[haeleej2]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Zona: The Forbidden Land" by Fred G. Baker.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker
This book was an incredible and thrilling adventure! Dr. Grant Taylor, a Paleo-geographer, and Professor at the University of Chicago, begins his journey arriving at his late Uncle Randall’s apartment in Saint Petersburg, Russia. After being presumed dead a year after disappearing on a dangerous expedition to an unexplored area of Siberia, called Zona, Uncle Randall left Grant the challenge of unveiling the mysteries of his disappearance.

Grant immediately feels a strong connection with Irina. With natural red hair, long legs and green eyes, Irina was absolutely beautiful and smart as she was also a Chemist, and the niece of Boris Ustinov; Uncle Randall’s attorney. Grant and Irina enjoy several dates and passionate encounters together, but, despite their intimate relationship, he felt hesitant to trust her with all the secrets Uncle Randall had left for him. Secrets that were getting people killed.

With new information, Boris Ustinov calls for a meeting revealing the dangerous nature of the unusually large animals in Zona, and the plan for a new expedition. After the party Boris asks Irina if she will replace a biochemist that suddenly fell ill, Irina could not refuse, and Grant took Boris’ place as leader of Randall’s search party. The expedition was to begin in less than a week, forcing Grant to drop everything he knew from home and setting off into the unknown icy tundra.

From this point on the book is impossible to put down, every page was full of suspense and exciting details of a mystical, yet seemingly factual journey. Every chapter surprises you with something new, and the ending will definitely catch you off guard. Extremely well written and edited, I would recommend this book to anyone who loves science fiction, mystery, and romance novels, though I would not recommend this book to children as there was profanity and descriptive language used. I will rate this book a solid 4 out of 4 stars.

If I told you anymore of the details of Zona, I would be afraid to spoil all the mystery. You can really tell how much research and time went into writing it. I am officially a huge fan of Fred G. Baker, and I intend to read more of his books! With the way everything ended, I am hopeful for a Zona: The Forbidden Land series! It would even be a fantastic movie!

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Zona: The Forbidden Land
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[Bigwig1973]

I too think this would make a really cool movie. Most movies I have seen with Russians always present them as very, very serious people and the characters in the novel seem way too friendly to fit the Russian stereotype.