My thanks to Gallery Saga Press, Netgalley, and especially the author Jeremy Robert Johnson.
I loved this book! I had heard that this was going to be made into a series on some Netflix, Hulu or whatever! I'm not one who usually cares about a t.v. thing. However, I loved the book enough to know that if it's on Netflix or Hulu, I'll definitely watch this! 
Amazon, Apple, H.B.O.,and whatever? Nope. 
This is a story that not only has character building, but "for me" I felt all the hurts. I loved some 4 to 6 people in this story. Which only made the last 60% horendous. 
I do love an author who has the wherewithal to make us feel....Then, send a flaming bowling 🎳 ball at the end. This author is now on my Amazon wish list. Unless his books go on sale though, the wish list is where it will stay. Bummer dude!
I loved this book, a would definitely recommend it!
Good shit, Maynard!

Billed as a combination of Stranger Things and World War Z, The Loop shares some similarities, but is actually so much more. The first part of the book sets up the characters of vulnerable, yet ultimately badass Lucy and her diverse fellow misfits which allows you to connect with them when all hell breaks loose. What follows is bloody, gruesome, carnage over mainly the course of one night. It’s an unputdownable read which I easily finished in just over two hours. Some of the scenes are horrifyingly graphic and because of this I wouldn’t recommend The Loop to anyone under the age of sixteen. Otherwise, I believe fans of Stephen King’s The Cell, and movies like the Alien franchise, will absolutely love this. This is the first book I’ve read by Jeremy Robert Johnson, but it definitely won’t be my last!

A fast paced thriller that rolls into a mass murder with outbreaks, violence, and corporate executives kids from a biotech firm in the hot seat.
They are getting ill and turning against one another but this Oracle device is quite interesting.
Why?
Well, it mutates, spreads, and keeps within these individuals manifesting over and over internally.
So, this was a quick and fast ride that was pure JOY!
I've not read anything by this author prior so this is also a new voyage and one in which I can't wait to see what's down the pike.
The writing was excellent, easy to follow, with several characters that each played a significant role in character development and plot action.
I'd highly recommend this reading for thriller fans everywhere.
Thank you to Jeremy, the pub, NetGalley, and Kindle for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I had high hopes of receiving this book early before it even had a posted cover on Netgalley, all due to the magical blurb "Stranger Things meets World War Z." But to say that this only met my expectations would almost be selling this book, and its author Jeremy Robert Johnson, short. 

Yes, it definitely had some 'small town vs. evil corporation' vibes, and yes, this is a story of a contagion of sorts that alters humans and inexplicably turns them into monsters. But that is where the correlation ends for me. 

I found this to be so surprisingly original, and it is now the first book of 2020 that I have essentially read in one sitting. All 320 pages, not skimmed, but devoured at a rate that surprised even me. There were so many emotional rollercoasters that this book took me on, not to mention the best most gruesome horror I have read in ages! I absolutely could not put this one down. And that ending! I was absolutely blown away! I will be recommending this to all of my friends who appreciate a solid and original horror/thriller story.

4.875/5 Stars for me!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Gallery Books for the early access to this title in exchange for my honest review.

Jeremy Robert Johnson has really outdone himself. Weird, gross, and action packed. Plus, the ending is killer.

If you are looking for an escape from the pandemic reality of life, The Loop may be a good way to go. This sci-fi/horror novel takes you in the sleep town of Turner Falls, a small town in Western Oregon, where people head to for a vacation from the pressures of city life. This is where we meet Lucy, Bucket, Brewer and a cast of snobby popular kids. Nearing the end of the school year, a tragedy strikes one of their classmates when he completely loses his mind and attacks their teacher. This act of violence is enough to shake the kids up, but it is just the beginning of an epidemic which turns the young people of Turner Falls into homicidal maniacs. There is a lot more at work here than a virus hitting this town, but you will have to read the novel to find out more, as there isn't much more I can give you without a spoiler! 

Jeremy Robert Johnson does a great job of creating believable characters in the three protagonists mentioned above. You can't help but like them all with all their quirks and the difficulties they have faced growing up. I found myself rooting for them to come out on top and for the bullies to be crushed. Do they come out on top... well, I cannot tell you that either, so read the book.

If you are a fan of Stephen King, John Saul or Anne Rice, you will enjoy this novel. However, this book is not for the faint of heart as there is violence and gore, so don't say I did not warn you!

Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review!

I absolutely loved this book.  I always aim to read a variety of fiction from high brow lit fic classics to horror, sci-fi, nonfiction, greek tragedies, etc.  This book stands up to everything.  

Initially, the premise sounded like some kind of pulpy YA Resident Evil rip-off, but that was quickly done away with as I began reading.  There’s so much depth to every aspect of this book.  So much precision and clarity of intent, of storytelling, of characterization, of creating a world that is both surreal and utterly realistic, that parallels much of what’s going on today.  

This is a superior conspiracy-body horror-sci fi novel, with muscley prose that could oust many literary fiction authors.  

Although this book is utterly binge-worthy, it took me a few days to read it, since there were so many passages that I kept reading over and over again: so much mastery, beauty, and utter terror.  The way he plays with language shows an incredibly dexterous and boundless mind.

The characters are deeply realistic, each with a clear and distinct voice that he utterly nails, such as the compassionate and authentic stripper, the shattered scientist, the scathing podcast host who’s episodes are injected a couple times to provide a counterpoint to the central narration.  And there’s also one of the most badass and complex protagonists ever. 

A lot of books of all stripes often start out with a bang, but end up fizzling out at some point in the plot, as if the author just got sick of clacking away on their keyboard.  The Loop never did for a single sentence.  It’s the same riveting, high quality on every page.

I’m not sure what kind of pact with the Devil JRJ made to get these kinds of chops, but it’s really something to behold.  It has the beautifully dark and enthralling prose of In The River, with the multi-layered conspiracy and fever pace of Skullcrack City (even more fevered, actually), injecting just enough of that characteristic JRJ humor into it to keep it from getting too heavy, all the while taking everything to the next level.  

There’s a brief mention of a name from Skullcrack City, slipped in ever so discreetly, along with a growling over a character’s left shoulder, both which pushed my conspiracy wheels even harder and made me wonder if this exists within a larger creative world.  

To be fair, I did have some very minor irks.  There are more typos than average for a trad pub.  A few awkward sentences.  A few odd word choices, like the repeated use of white-knuckling (while it’s cool how he uses it as a verb/adj., as he does in his other books, it has diminishing returns when used four times in the same book).  A few corny lines (which may have been intentional).  And I'm not totally sure if you can rip off someone's face with duct tape.  Like I said, minor stuff.  Really not a big deal.  More the kind of thing I’d put on the editors.    

Another thing: I loved the ending.  Incredibly satisfying, even more so than his other novels.  That's all I'm going to say.  

Overall, maybe JRJ’s best.  I mean, it’s a fucking revelation.  I didn’t think it could get any better than Skullcrack City, but The Loop takes such incredible strides through new and familiar terrain with such mastery and passion, I can’t stop thinking about it afterwards.  

On a side note, I had been going through a really tough time while I was reading a good bit of this book.  There were times when I’d retreat into this story, and it somehow made my concerns feel shared yet petty.  So it was like medicine for me personally.  I have to appreciate that.  

This is a book to be cherished.  It’s a masterpiece by one of horror’s greatest writers.

Wow, I loved this book so much. 

Usually, I give a few brief sentences about the rationale behind choosing the title I'm reviewing, but after finishing The Loop, announcing my adoration felt much more appropriate. Pitched as Stranger Things and World War Z, I had high hopes for an immersive apocalyptic read that did NOT revolve around a virus, and boy, did I get it. 

Lucy is dealing with the stress from witnessing a horrific attack in her classroom. With her friends Bucket and Brewer, she decides to go to the caves on the outskirts of town for a party, unwind and forget the tragedy for a bit, but what they get is far more than they expected. Something seems to be infecting the affluent kids who live in The Exchange, causing violent outbursts and unabashed glee. Lucy and her friends need to escape from the caves, save their families, and find a way to survive the night--but what awaits them as they head into town is a bloody trail of carnage and life-changing destruction.

This book. 

Where do I even start? Lucy is a superb MC. Tough, conflicted, compassionate, and real, she's got everything you want in a burgeoning apocalyptic heroine. I particularly loved her internal reflection on the horrible things she's forced to do, acknowledging that some part inside her had always yearned for the violence. She's frightened by this realization but doesn't shy away from it, instead embracing the survivalist in her and relishing the control it gives her in an impossible situation. Even before this, we see her trying to make sense of who she is, what it means to be an adopted orphan from Peru, what she wants for herself, how she wants others to view her, how to amend the memories of her past with her current family life--all while navigating being one of only two brown kids in the town and the Otherness she feels--this is a powerful examination of identity that should not be shirked or dismissed because of the overarching subject matter of a scientific experiment-gone-wrong; and where Lucy succeeds as a character--I'm hesitant to say Final Girl because she's so much more than that moniker implies--is when she finds a way to unite her separate ideas of herself in one superb moment (that I will not discuss because spoilers, but wow). 

Additionally, JRJ writes with gusto, breathing life into this horror with the apparent ease of riding a bike. A simple thought or a brutal description, there is no short supply of imagery here, and the cinematic world-building is a masterclass in sci-fi horror. It's hard to bring a unique take to the genre--zombies, alien, apocalypse--but The Loop combined all my favorite elements from past takes into one visceral, never-ending roller coaster ride through the deadliest night Turner Falls has ever seen.

Fast-paced, brutal, and beautifully terrifying, The Loop is an 11/10 must-read for 2020. I could've read this book all day and will definitely be reading it again. 

Big thanks to Gallery/Saga and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for honest review consideration.

The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson is a YA sci-fi thriller that I enjoyed but I had a hard time connecting with the characters and parts of the plot. The main character and narrator, Lucy, a picked-on minority in Turner Falls with a tragic past is now living with her adopted family and suffering through high school with the rich kids who call her things like ‘loogie’ and her best friend Bucket, Sandy, because of his ethnicity. The plot, while interesting seemed just a bit farfetched and hard to swallow with only the kids paying attention to the weirdness going on. It was entertaining and moved pretty fast. All in all, an enjoyable read. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Press for providing me with a DRC of The Loop in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 8.5/10

Thanks to the publisher and author for an advance reading copy of The Loop for review consideration. This did not influence my thoughts or opinions on the novel.

The Loop is a white-knuckle, face-bashing thrill-ride from the mind behind Skullcrack City and Entropy in Bloom. This is weird conspiracy thriller fiction to the max, and I’m all in. This was an absolute blast from beginning to end.

I’ve been kicking myself for a while now because I’ve had Skullcrack City on my to-do list but just haven’t overcome the towering bookstack to crack it open. When I saw JRJ had a new novel coming out this year, I made it a priority to refresh both NetGalley and Edelweiss on the daily until I saw The Loop come across. When I received an approval notification within a day or so of requesting, I decided to jump right in and see what all the fuss was about.

Needless to say, Johnson has the chops to write a story that is as engaging at the end as it is as at the beginning. Even with work, COVID anxieties, etc., I plowed through this book rather quickly, mostly due to the fact that I had an insanely tight grip on my Kindle throughout.

What begins as a podcast conspiracy rolls into a bloody massacre that leaves not a soul in Turner Falls to the wayside. Lucy is the focal point of the story, so everything is seen through her eyes, but we are introduced to an array of characters throughout the seemingly short timeline from beginning to end. Each of these additional characters plays a small but important role in helping Lucy crack the code, so to speak. She is a very likeable character who has had a rough go of it in her short life, but she shows off a heck of a lot more grit as the story progresses than you would figure in the early onset.

I feel like Stranger Things is becoming the new Game of Thrones comparison when drawing in the crowd, but I can definitely see a resemblance with the young cast, the overarching conspiracy, and the small town feel.

While the plot itself gave me some vibes of Stephen King’s Cell, Dean Koontz’s Demon Seed, and George A. Romero’s The Crazies, Johnson has written a wholly original, albeit bat**** crazy, novel that I think will appeal to fans of the former mentioned and those who enjoy a good zombie/body snatcher romp.

All in all, if you haven’t read any JRJ and like a bit of weird thriller fiction in your life, this is a pretty awesome starting point. If you are already a fan of JRJ, pick this up with 0 hesitation.