Review of Zona: The Forbidden Land
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Review of Zona: The Forbidden Land
[Following is a volunteer review of "Zona: The Forbidden Land" by Fred G. Baker.]
Mystery, adventure, and heartache: three staples of Fred G. Baker's ZONA: The Forbidden Land that crafted a story so beautiful and intriguing, I couldn't help but devour the book. Within the story, we traveled with Grant, a young paleo geographer from Elmhurst, Illinois, to Russia upon receiving the news of his adventurous uncle's death. Once there, Grant set about taking care of the estate left to him, along the way finding several concerning clues that lead Grant to believe that Randall's death may not have been a mere accident. In the apartment, Grant found several journals describing Randall's recent adventures, leading him towards a government-protected land in northern Siberia: Zona. Throughout handling the estate, Grant concluded that it was his duty to join the upcoming expedition, led by Randall's attorney, to find his missing uncle. The expedition itself was fraught with hardships, each resulting in its mini side adventure. As the new party marched north, Baker wrote of fantastic beasts akin to those that predated the ice age, as well as some beasts that were closer to modern beasts, but much larger. Baker did well to play on the curiosities of man, as he described in detail the landscapes, the animals, and the emotional turmoil many of the members experienced along the trip.
I cannot sing the praises of this story enough. Baker is a fantastic writer - his descriptions are in-depth, almost to the point of being tangible. The nuanced information is delectable, from the general show of research into the cultures he wrote about down to the littlest nuanced detail of the formal intentions behind Grant's expedition. Throughout the expedition into Zona, Baker showed that he did his research into how each member of the expedition should behave, from Russian military tactics to the biochemist's duties of isolating compounds in certain flowers for perfumes. By the end, I found myself wanting to read more of Grant's travels into Zona.
Whoever edited this story was wonderful, ensuring that I found only a single spelling error. However, I wish someone had expressed to Baker that it would be a wonderful idea to add more to the story concerning the subterfuge. It felt as if he had started that little plot line, forgot about it, and hastily wrapped it up towards the end of the book. For a large portion of the book, I had nearly forgotten about the suspicious circumstances that had enticed Grant into making the expedition in the first place.
I rate ZONA: The Forbidden Land four out of four stars. Despite the little issue I took up concerning the subterfuge, the story was still an amazing read. Like I stated earlier, I devoured this book, finding it quite hard to put down at any given time. It captivated me, and I can't wait to read more of this story, should Baker continue to write it.
I highly recommend this book to college-aged readers and older, especially if they enjoy wilderness adventure stories. The book does have a more mature theme to it, so discretion is advised.
******
Zona: The Forbidden Land
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Mystery, adventure, and heartache: three staples of Fred G. Baker's ZONA: The Forbidden Land that crafted a story so beautiful and intriguing, I couldn't help but devour the book. Within the story, we traveled with Grant, a young paleo geographer from Elmhurst, Illinois, to Russia upon receiving the news of his adventurous uncle's death. Once there, Grant set about taking care of the estate left to him, along the way finding several concerning clues that lead Grant to believe that Randall's death may not have been a mere accident. In the apartment, Grant found several journals describing Randall's recent adventures, leading him towards a government-protected land in northern Siberia: Zona. Throughout handling the estate, Grant concluded that it was his duty to join the upcoming expedition, led by Randall's attorney, to find his missing uncle. The expedition itself was fraught with hardships, each resulting in its mini side adventure. As the new party marched north, Baker wrote of fantastic beasts akin to those that predated the ice age, as well as some beasts that were closer to modern beasts, but much larger. Baker did well to play on the curiosities of man, as he described in detail the landscapes, the animals, and the emotional turmoil many of the members experienced along the trip.
I cannot sing the praises of this story enough. Baker is a fantastic writer - his descriptions are in-depth, almost to the point of being tangible. The nuanced information is delectable, from the general show of research into the cultures he wrote about down to the littlest nuanced detail of the formal intentions behind Grant's expedition. Throughout the expedition into Zona, Baker showed that he did his research into how each member of the expedition should behave, from Russian military tactics to the biochemist's duties of isolating compounds in certain flowers for perfumes. By the end, I found myself wanting to read more of Grant's travels into Zona.
Whoever edited this story was wonderful, ensuring that I found only a single spelling error. However, I wish someone had expressed to Baker that it would be a wonderful idea to add more to the story concerning the subterfuge. It felt as if he had started that little plot line, forgot about it, and hastily wrapped it up towards the end of the book. For a large portion of the book, I had nearly forgotten about the suspicious circumstances that had enticed Grant into making the expedition in the first place.
I rate ZONA: The Forbidden Land four out of four stars. Despite the little issue I took up concerning the subterfuge, the story was still an amazing read. Like I stated earlier, I devoured this book, finding it quite hard to put down at any given time. It captivated me, and I can't wait to read more of this story, should Baker continue to write it.
I highly recommend this book to college-aged readers and older, especially if they enjoy wilderness adventure stories. The book does have a more mature theme to it, so discretion is advised.
******
Zona: The Forbidden Land
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Kiran by Ellen Steller
