Review of Zona: The Forbidden Land
Posted: 17 Sep 2021, 00:11
[Following is a volunteer review of "Zona: The Forbidden Land" by Fred G. Baker.]
After his uncle Randall fails to return from his most recent expedition, Dr. Grant Taylor travels to Russia to settle his estate. There he discovers that his uncle disappeared while traveling across a region of Siberia known as Zona, which doesn’t officially exist. The only person to return from the previous expedition wants to return to Zona to recoup their losses and search for any survivors and Grant finds himself caught up in this journey.
Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker follows Grant as he travels with a team of scientists and security personnel to the mysterious Zona in search of his uncle. Along the way, they encounter extremely large and vicious animals, mysterious plants, and unnatural terrain. The weather doesn’t make sense for the region, and there’s something in the air that’s wreaking havoc on everyone’s hormones.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story began in present-day Russia, but as the characters traveled to Zona, they encountered creatures and phenomena that do not exist in the real world. The story is told from Grant’s point of view, and having insight into his thoughts helped take the reader on the journey from reality to fantasy as he transitioned from questioning what was going on around him, to having to just accept events as they come while he and the other characters fight to stay alive.
The writing was descriptive and made me feel like I was traveling along with the characters. I could see the landscape they lumbered across and found my heart racing when they were under attack by the fabled Direwolves. There were so many people on the trek to Zona that I was worried it would be difficult to keep track of who was who. The author found a clever way around this by having Grant write down each character’s name and occupation in a list that could be easily found through the book’s table of contents. This was useful until each character’s unique personality had a chance to shine through.
The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that at times the pace of the story slowed down to the point where I found myself wanting to skip ahead. That being said, the author created a feeling of suspense that was maintained throughout the story. There were sections of Randall’s journal from his expedition to Zona that Grant read along the way. This helped build anticipation by hinting at what Grant and his team may encounter.
The adventurous story, descriptive writing, and blend of mystery, fantasy, and science fiction created such an enjoyable read that I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The book was exceptionally well edited. I did not find any grammatical errors or typos.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good adventure story. However, I think it is worth mentioning that there is quite a bit of sex and violence throughout the story. The sex scenes are not explicit, but are prevalent throughout the book and involve both opposite and same-sex couples, as well as scenes with multiple partners.
******
Zona: The Forbidden Land
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
After his uncle Randall fails to return from his most recent expedition, Dr. Grant Taylor travels to Russia to settle his estate. There he discovers that his uncle disappeared while traveling across a region of Siberia known as Zona, which doesn’t officially exist. The only person to return from the previous expedition wants to return to Zona to recoup their losses and search for any survivors and Grant finds himself caught up in this journey.
Zona: The Forbidden Land by Fred G. Baker follows Grant as he travels with a team of scientists and security personnel to the mysterious Zona in search of his uncle. Along the way, they encounter extremely large and vicious animals, mysterious plants, and unnatural terrain. The weather doesn’t make sense for the region, and there’s something in the air that’s wreaking havoc on everyone’s hormones.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The story began in present-day Russia, but as the characters traveled to Zona, they encountered creatures and phenomena that do not exist in the real world. The story is told from Grant’s point of view, and having insight into his thoughts helped take the reader on the journey from reality to fantasy as he transitioned from questioning what was going on around him, to having to just accept events as they come while he and the other characters fight to stay alive.
The writing was descriptive and made me feel like I was traveling along with the characters. I could see the landscape they lumbered across and found my heart racing when they were under attack by the fabled Direwolves. There were so many people on the trek to Zona that I was worried it would be difficult to keep track of who was who. The author found a clever way around this by having Grant write down each character’s name and occupation in a list that could be easily found through the book’s table of contents. This was useful until each character’s unique personality had a chance to shine through.
The only negative thing I have to say about this book is that at times the pace of the story slowed down to the point where I found myself wanting to skip ahead. That being said, the author created a feeling of suspense that was maintained throughout the story. There were sections of Randall’s journal from his expedition to Zona that Grant read along the way. This helped build anticipation by hinting at what Grant and his team may encounter.
The adventurous story, descriptive writing, and blend of mystery, fantasy, and science fiction created such an enjoyable read that I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. The book was exceptionally well edited. I did not find any grammatical errors or typos.
I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good adventure story. However, I think it is worth mentioning that there is quite a bit of sex and violence throughout the story. The sex scenes are not explicit, but are prevalent throughout the book and involve both opposite and same-sex couples, as well as scenes with multiple partners.
******
Zona: The Forbidden Land
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon