B-Zone : a Novel of the Gun

Not only was this a great first novel for anyone, it was a great book period. As an avid shooter, I believe all of the technical details of the firearms and related competition to be technically correct. The cover photograph featured a Model 1911 variant in competition trim resting in what appeared to be a Kydex holster. Some IPSC targets lay beneath the handgun, appropriately perforated with multiple head-shots. B-Zone: A Novel of the Gun is Mr. Voth's first attempt at a fictional novel. Reading through the first pages, you soon come to realize that this is not your average work of fiction by a person outside the shooting community; someone who uses firearms as props to further their plot, but has little actual interest in or knowledge of them. Thankfully for the reader, Al Voth knows firearms very well. He is both a competitor and a hunter, is a former member of an Emergency Response Team, and is currently working in a forensics lab. It's always refreshing to see an author put a level of detail into his work that indicates a true love of the gun, and I'm happy to say that Al Voth does just that. Much to my amazement, I even laughed out loud when he correctly used the term "magazine" instead of the time-honored BONEHEAD mistake so many well-known and respected authors make: "clip." Obviously, Al is a shooter first and author second. You will find no glaring errors of firearms nomenclature here!It all rings true in both the competitive and instructional aspect. Few authors put this level of familiarity into their work. With respect to firearms competition, and law enforcement training, everyhting rings true. The plot itself is quite interesting, simple, and yet well paced. It takes several turns that keep you reading right through the evening and into the night. If you appreciate action novels dealing with criminals, Emergency Response Teams, and firearms training, you will certainly enjoy this work. It is fast paced, accurate, and manages to put you right into the characters' minds with comfortable ease. B-Zone: a Novel of the Gun is, in my opinion, an excellent first novel. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the culture of firearms ownership that we, as readers, inhabit. It feels real, tastes real, and leaves you wanting more. If you have attended advanced handgun training or competed in any of the defensive pistol sports, you will feel like you are attending a homecoming as you read these pages. There is much room for future plots and I, for one, cannot wait to see them develop. My impression is that Al Voth has launched himself on a new career, and in the future you will be seeing his work growing into a series specific to the main character of this book, Nathan Burdett. Like many other action adventures, Voth keeps the pace well. The defining difference here is that Voth actually gets the details he chooses to include RIGHT. Well done!

Writing teachers always say "Write about what you know", and there is no question that Mr. Voth knows his subject matter.Considering that this is the author`s first book, I`d say he has the makings of an excellent writer. The detail, and the developementof both the main character and the developement of the culture he is a part of, come togather to make an interesting story that ishard to put down.The basic plot is that a government agency decides to take a competitive shooter (the skills of some of these guys in real life aretruely amazing) and make him into a law enforcement specialist. Think old west gunfighter. The type you see in the movies, not thereal life ones from history.The trouble begins when they discover that like most competitive shooters he is too much of an independent thinker to be a goodlittle government drone. They want a robot that always follows orders, they get a real person with extraordinary skills who willnot give up either independent thought or his basic humanity and morality. This makes for more than a little friction betweenthe main character and the higher ups in the project, which adds a good, if not terribly original, plot twist.It`s a fun read and I recommend it.

Great read! Hits a bit close to home with the main character Nathan Burdett which made it even more interesting for me.

I greatly enjoyed this novel. There are so many little touches in it that show the author really knows the world of serious gun people. For instance, when the protagonist, Nathan Burdett is complimented on his performance at a major match, his reply is, "I got lucky." As if! But anyone who's part of the competitive handgun scene knows that's the traditional answer, and really the only socially acceptable one, after trouncing your opponents. To say anything else would be considered arrogant. Al Voth knows that, because he's a part of that world.There are little things like this, moments that ring true to the serious gunman or woman, strewn throughout the book. But where this stuff brings a smile of recognition to the lips of those who are also a part of our curious subculture, it's low-key enough that those who aren't won't find it intruding into their enjoyment of the narrative at all.Al Voth knows how to pace a story for exciting slam-bang action - and there's a lot of that in B-ZONE - but he also knows how to characterize, how to play the quiet scenes. He excels at making his main character a likeable hero you can feel good rooting for. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves adventure fiction, or just anyone looking for a good read.

My main complaints about this book are that the characters, via their dialogue, were rather two dimensional. There just wasn't much about the person that ever came through to bring me into the story. I couldn't empathize with the characters because I couldn't get into their heads. Just too wooden.The technical stuff about guns, the training and to some degree the action sequences were good, but they just couldn't save this book from being anything other than mediocre.A far better, though longer and more involved, book to recommend and compare with would be Unintended Consequences. Far better character development, I think.