Holes in the plot re: sinister aspects

Use this forum to discuss the July 2020 Book of the month, "Zona: The Forbidden Land" by Fred G. Baker.
Michelle Menezes
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Re: Holes in the plot re: sinister aspects

Post by Michelle Menezes »

AlexisLib wrote: 19 Jul 2020, 20:03 I didn't notice this while reading, I think because I was swept up in the expedition in the second half, so while thinking back on it now I realize that there were a lot of things in the first part that were never answered.

I kept thinking that there was something more sinister about the expedition behind it on the part of Boris. He was acting mysteriously all along, as were Irina and Yuri. Fake hotel maids going into Grant's room, the thief in his uncle's apartment, having to kill Godunov (if it was just for the journal, they could have just stolen it). Even Randall's journal didn't really give that many clues (the only one I could think of was the wolves coming back for their dead).

Yet this was just dropped in the second part. I get that it was maybe to make it unclear whether Irina was good or bad, but there needed to be some kind of resolution of whatever the author intended with all this. At one point I thought it was to make money from all the plants etc. and kill all the people who knew about it (all the people on the expedition) but we never find out what was supposed to come from all that. It seems like a pretty big flaw.

What do you think?
I just finished reading this book and had the exact same thought. It felt like I didn't get any proper answers to all the mystery in the first part of the book. It has left me a little dissatisfied.
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Post by t_mann23 »

I didn't really think about that until you mentioned it, but I do agree. It seemed like there was such a complex web of secrets at the beginning of the novel that just fell away once the expedition began. The focus seemed to shift on the strange effects of Zona and the fight for survival. Again, when most of the crew decided to stay in Zona at the end, it seemed like all their commitments back in the "real" world were insignificant and forgettable, despite any people they may have left behind. One of the big rules about writing is to create tension as much as possible, but only when it makes sense. It seemed like this book created tension at the beginning just to draw readers in, and then left it all without resolution.
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Post by Michelle Menezes »

t_mann23 wrote: 24 Jun 2021, 13:46 I didn't really think about that until you mentioned it, but I do agree. It seemed like there was such a complex web of secrets at the beginning of the novel that just fell away once the expedition began. The focus seemed to shift on the strange effects of Zona and the fight for survival. Again, when most of the crew decided to stay in Zona at the end, it seemed like all their commitments back in the "real" world were insignificant and forgettable, despite any people they may have left behind. One of the big rules about writing is to create tension as much as possible, but only when it makes sense. It seemed like this book created tension at the beginning just to draw readers in, and then left it all without resolution.
Exactly! It felt like the 1st part of the book had nothing to do with the 3rd one. There were so many unanswered questions like Boris's involvement. I know he wanted Randall's journal, but to kill someone to do it feels a bit extreme if all he was worried about was Grant finding out about the expedition. There was so much of mystery in the beginning and everyone was a suspect, but in the end the author just dismissed it off like it was nothing.
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Post by Akshobhya B »

Yes, I agree with this assessment. There are a few loose ends in the first part. I thought that it'd be revealed that Irina was a femme fatale all along, but the author wrote a happy ending instead. The first part and the third part feel out of sync. Therefore, the climax felt underwhelming.
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Post by Ohna Martin »

I definitely agree with this, as I mentioned in my review as well, there are a lot of unanswered questions about scenarios that were started at the beginning of the book but we weren't offered the conclusion to that. With so many unanswered questions and the end of the book, I should think that the author left space for a sequel?
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Post by Donald Trust »

I agree with you on that. There were a lot of unanswered questions in the first part. Maybe it was the author's intention in other to get the minds of readers.
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Post by kensgarment odogwu »

Honestly, I totally agree with this. Till now i am still in wonder why i did get much of what the first part started. I feel the story is very much Incomplete. I expected so much after reading the first part. Focusing the story on just trying to get and study some plant and animal specie wasn't really enough for me.
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Post by Ohna Martin »

AlexisLib wrote: 19 Jul 2020, 20:03 I didn't notice this while reading, I think because I was swept up in the expedition in the second half, so while thinking back on it now I realize that there were a lot of things in the first part that were never answered.

I kept thinking that there was something more sinister about the expedition behind it on the part of Boris. He was acting mysteriously all along, as were Irina and Yuri. Fake hotel maids going into Grant's room, the thief in his uncle's apartment, having to kill Godunov (if it was just for the journal, they could have just stolen it). Even Randall's journal didn't really give that many clues (the only one I could think of was the wolves coming back for their dead).

Yet this was just dropped in the second part. I get that it was maybe to make it unclear whether Irina was good or bad, but there needed to be some kind of resolution of whatever the author intended with all this. At one point I thought it was to make money from all the plants etc. and kill all the people who knew about it (all the people on the expedition) but we never find out what was supposed to come from all that. It seems like a pretty big flaw.

What do you think?
I do agree totally with this we never find out exactly what role Boris played in all this. We are left only with Grant's suspicion on the murder of Godunov. I do believe and I hope I am right that this leaves space for a second novel?
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Post by Andrada Madalina »

I agree with all the mentioned holes in the plot. I would have liked to discover the hidden reason for the first expedition, and I doubted each character while reading the book. I didn't understand why Oleg's death was necessary and why Grant didn't investigate it. Also, I didn't understand why Grant didn't read all of his uncle's diary sooner to get more information about his suicide mission.
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Post by Andrada Madalina »

I appreciated Zack's fidelity toward his wife and was impressed by their love which grew despite the distance between them. Also, I loved the letters he addressed to her while he was on deck.
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Post by E Daves »

Andrada Madalina wrote: 17 Nov 2022, 16:52 I agree with all the mentioned holes in the plot. I would have liked to discover the hidden reason for the first expedition, and I doubted each character while reading the book. I didn't understand why Oleg's death was necessary and why Grant didn't investigate it. Also, I didn't understand why Grant didn't read all of his uncle's diary sooner to get more information about his suicide mission.
In my opinion, Grant should have read everything in the diary so as to know what he is up against. In a real world scenario, it would have been a very foolish endeavor on his part not to read everything first. I guess it is part of the suspense building technique of the author.
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Post by Sophia Damilola Ajayi »

I think the author's intention was to keep us on our toes from the very beginning
One thing that really bothered me was the thief that came to steal only God knows what from Randall's apartment. I kept wondering who sent him
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Post by Odindi Omo »

I noticed it while I was reading. Then I think the author was trying to end with with Yuri's obsession with Irina.
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Post by Nicky Rita »

I agree that there was a lot of mystery at the start that hasn't been resolved. I'd like to learn more about Boris and his role in the story, as well as what that key in the back of Randall's journal was for.
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Post by Unique Mary Iloakasia »

Having a sequel does not make sense to me, so I don't understand why the author didn't clarify all these in this book.
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