The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson is a horror novel set in a small town overrun by a bio-mechanical hive mind that drives its teenage victims to commit acts of cruelty and horrific violence. The story follows a 16-year-old girl suffering from PTSD as she navigates the chaos caused by biomechanical parasites infecting the town's residents, with the narrative unfolding over a breathless 48 hours.
The book delves into themes of collective mind control through biotech, exploring the consequences of a sinister corporation's ethically questionable biocybernetic research that spirals out of control. The plot is fast-paced, filled with gore and suffering, as a pair of misfit teenagers must fight to stop the infection from spreading and save their town from becoming overrun by murderous zombies with an Internet-connected hivemind.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The Loop includes high content warnings for graphic violence, body horror, trauma, and strong depictions of gore.
From The Publisher:
The year's most brutal, cinematic thrill ride is also one of its most critically acclaimed novels. Dazed and Confused meets 28 Days Later in this "wickedly entertaining," (Kirkus Reviews) "volcano of a book" (Nathan Ballingrud, author of Wounds) as a lonely young woman teams up with a group of fellow outcasts to survive the night in a town overcome by a science experiment gone wrong.
A Best Book of the Month for Den of Geek, Omnivoracious, Mystery & Suspense, and Tor.
A Goodreads' 2020 Readers Choice Nominee for Best Horror, and one of the Best Books of 2020 for The Lineup, Booked, and Unsettling Reads.
Turner Falls is a small tourist town nestled in the hills of central Oregon. When a terrifying outbreak rapidly develops, this idyllic town becomes the epicenter of an epidemic of violence.
The Loop is a "wild and wonderfully scary novel" (Richard Chizmar, author of Gwendy's Magic Feather ) that offers a "hilarious and horrifying" (Brian Keene, author of The Rising ) look at what one team of misfits can accomplish as they fight to live through the night.
"[A] harrowing thrill ride of the first order and an uncompromising page-turner, easily securing its spot as one of the best novels of 2020." - Rue Morgue (featured "Dante's Pick" Review)
"Like the best of Crichton or Benchley, it is a great beach read, but it is infused with the neon blood of a brave new writer... [A] kind of literary roller coaster. It will take you to thrilling highs and terrifying lows..." - Los Angeles Review of Books
" The Loop is the gore-soaked, anxiety-inducing, diabolically funny Richard Linklater/David Cronenberg mashup you never knew you wanted but can't - or at least shouldn't - live without." - The Big Thrill
"Unputdownable...Fans of The Twilight Zone , The X-Files , and Stranger Things will be especially thrilled." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A satisfyingly dark satire of, well, everything...[a] heart-pounding and deeply unsettling tale." - Booklist
" The Loop is a remarkably propulsive novel, cinematic in the best way, with perfectly tuned tension and excellent character choices...a headlong, straightforward pleasure." - Locus
" The Loop is the Cronenberg film we never got." - Nathan Ballingrud, author of North American Lake Monsters and Wounds
Ratings (5)
Loved It (2) | |
It Was OK (2) | |
Did Not Like (1) |
Reader Stats (16):
Read It (8) | |
Want To Read (8) |
1 comment(s)
2.5 stars. Not really my cup of tea, didn't get invested in the story or the characters but perhaps I would like it better if I read it instead of listening to it. Might reread it if I get an opportunity to do that in the future. For now I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't get emersed and hooked in the story.
What can you read after
The Loop?
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