Review by Irey41 -- Zona: The Forbidden Land

[Irey41]

[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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When a man is declared dead after going missing on an expedition in Siberia, it is up to his nephew to deal with his remaining affairs. While going through what Uncle Randall left behind, Grant Taylor stumbles upon clues that there may be more to the expedition than first meets the eye. Trying to decide who to trust and searching desperately for information on the expedition that the Russian government is trying to bury, the story follows Grant as he is thrown into both a mystery and an adventure that he could have never imagined. Author Fred G. Baker has expertly put together a beautifully written novel with a gripping plot and surprises around every turn with Zona: The Forbidden Land.

While the first portion of the book primarily focuses on unveiling the mystery, in which Grant endeavors to uncover the truth about his uncle’s expedition, serious action is introduced a little later into the book and continues right up until the end. Even with the book’s most gripping action being delayed, the complex storyline and dynamic characters helps the book start out strong and continuously develop, making it hard to put down from the beginning.

Baker does an excellent job of releasing the right amount of information regarding the plot’s mystery to the reader to keep them thoroughly interested, while also carefully holding back enough information for the readers to desperately want to continue reading. Nearly impossible to guess what could come up next, the book keeps the reader excited and on edge, making it a thrilling read. This is also shown through the thoughtfulness he put into the plot, making it so when the reader thinks they have solved a part of the mystery, there are another two aspects they don't understand yet.

Zona: The Forbidden Land is an excellent read for people who love adventure, mystery, and action alike. Great for both teens and adults, there are limited vulgar or profane words used, mostly consisting of “damn” and “sh*t,” with a few instances of more intense language as well. There are also some erotic scenes to take note of with sensitive audiences, mainly just in discussion and inference, with a few descriptions of kissing and touching (rating eroticism on a scene of 0-5, this book probably falls between a 1 and a 2). It should also be noted that later on in the book many characters are described as often “horny” due to chemicals they have been exposed to and is followed by general descriptions of many different sexual encounters between characters; This is not necessarily a focal point of the book, but instead additional detail to enhance the reader’s understanding of characters and group dynamics.

I rate Zona: The Forbidden Land 4 out of 4 stars as it was excellently written and a truly a great experience to read. The book is made up of beautiful writing, with no typos or spelling/grammatical errors that I could find, that makes the plot interesting and deep, yet it remains clear and easy to understand. Overall I think Baker did a phenomenal job writing this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.

There are a few questions regarding characters and plot I had while reflecting back on small points in the story that I would have enjoyed to hear more about or to receive certain clarification on. However, I do feel as though I had all of the information necessary to truly understand the book and be quite satisfied by its ending, and for this reason I still give it a perfect 4 out of 4 stars (though I would love to pick the author’s brain for any additional information he thought of should I ever get the chance!).

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Zona: The Forbidden Land
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[Pearl Akpan]

Well informed review. Thanks for setting and informing and background knowledge of what to expect. I look forward to being just as engaged as this book is said to be.

[Bigwig1973]

You present a very nice summary of the book!