Review of Zona: The Forbidden Land

[winfred bundi 1]

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

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4 out of 5 stars

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The adventure of Zona: The Forbidden Land starts with the disappearance of a group of explorers sent to research and investigate what lies in the unexplored lands north of Siberia with only one security guard returning to tell tale of the attack by mountain lions and wolves.

Grant, the nephew whose uncle was presumed dead in the expedition finds hidden journals,files,money and guns placed by his uncle before the expendition purposely for him to find in case he did not make it back from Zona which leads him on a path to uncover what exactly happened to the explorers. What did the government know? What did the private investors know that they did not reveal to the public? Why was his uncle's lawyer seem dodgy about most details? Why is it that the only guy who was willing to talk to him and tell him what really happened gets killed? Why is it that the girl who he just met seems interested in his findings and every time she comes to his room evidence he has collected is compromised?

These unanswered questions lead him to joining a recovery expedition that is sent to Zona the second time ; his sole purpose to find out what happened to his uncle since his body was not found, could he still be alive? The journey to Zona is full of danger and thrills at the same time. Its a combination of a loss of more lives but discovery of new, magical plants and animals.

Fred G. Baker captured my attention through his balance between maintaining suspense throughout the literature but at the same time creating dramatic and beautiful imagination of where the fictional story happens . He keenly is able to tell two stories at the same time while keenly bringing them to one single ending that is satisfactory to the reader.

I found this book really captivating as it explores the possibility of humans being gripped by fear but at the same time demonstrating their greatest strength especially when the explores get to the forbidden land and find a way to fight the wild beasts and wolves; their strength is maintaining discipline outside civilization.

I was unsatisfied by the shift of the story from being more of a murder investigation as it seemed at first to purely an adventure and that smaller details such as the money and the guns in Randall's house did not remain very relevant clues in the end but apart from that i was greatly satisfied by how the story unfolded.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 because of its ability to create beautiful imagination in the reader's mind by it making it captivating and ensuring at one is at the edge as the suspense of the unknown builds from page to page; I did not rate it higher as the story builds mainly on the journey to Zona rather than Zona itself and the writer led me to think there was more to Randall's clues which don't seem to be relevant by the end of the story.

I recommend this books to adults who enjoy outdoor events, international travel, history, hitch hiking, mountain climbing and camping as it covers all the sought after adrenaline that comes with discovery of the
unknown and a good adventure. Couldn't recommend it to teenagers because of some sexual content that is described, though vaguely, but still borders near being explicit enough that guardians or parents could want to control.

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Zona: The Forbidden Land
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