Name: The Loop
ISBN: 9781912626618

Ben Oliver

Luka Kane has been inside hi-tech prison the Loop for over two years. A death sentence is hanging over his head but his day-to-day routine is mind-numbingly repetitive, broken only by the books brought to him by the sympathetic warden, Wren. Then everything starts to change: rumours of war are whispered in the courtyard and the government-issued rain stops falling. On Luka's last, desperate day, Wren issues him a terrifying warning: breaking out of the Loop might be Luka's only chance to save himself - and the world ... Book 1 in a dark, original, twisty and totally unputdownable new series.

The Loop

Benjamin Oliver

Life inside The Loop-the futuristic death row for teens under eighteen-is one long repetitive purgatory. But when news of the encroaching chaos in the outside world reaches the inmates and disorder begins to strike, the prison becomes the least of their worries. Perfect for fans of The Fifth Wave and The Darkest Minds. It's Luka Kane's sixteenth birthday and he's been inside The Loop for over two years. Every inmate is serving a death sentence with the option to push back their execution date by six months if they opt into "Delays", scientific and medical experiments for the benefit of the elite in the outside world. But rumors of a war on the outside are spreading amongst the inmates, and before they know it, their tortuous routine becomes disrupted. The government issued rain stops falling. Strange things are happening to the guards. And it's not long until the inmates are left alone inside the prison. Were the chains that shackled Luka to his cell the only instruments left to keep him safe? In a thrilling shift, he must overcome fellow prisoners hell-bent on killing him, the warden losing her mind, the rabid rats in the train tunnels, and a population turned into murderous monsters to try and break out of The Loop, save his family, and discover who is responsible for the chaos that has been inflicted upon the world.

Absolute Horror Geschichte, das könnte so ein gruseliger Film sein. Erinnert mich sogar an diesen einen "Smile" oder so.

Hauptcharakter ist bisschen sehr krass unterwegs, ich wäre safe nach 3 Minuten in seinem Leben schon tot. Aber was ein scheiß Ende, wenn er doch weiß, dass es eine Simulation ist, wieso wiesooooo ist das jetzt so ein Ende?!?!?! Bisschen schade fand ich, dass es teilweise so ein offensichtlicher Appell an den Leser war, hätte ruhig subtiler sein können :) 

Leon

Absolute Horror Geschichte, das könnte so ein gruseliger Film sein. Erinnert mich sogar an diesen einen "Smile" oder so.

Hauptcharakter ist bisschen sehr krass unterwegs, ich wäre safe nach 3 Minuten in seinem Leben schon tot. Aber was ein scheiß Ende, wenn er doch weiß, dass es eine Simulation ist, wieso wiesooooo ist das jetzt so ein Ende?!?!?! Bisschen schade fand ich, dass es teilweise so ein offensichtlicher Appell an den Leser war, hätte ruhig subtiler sein können :) 

Aber wirklich gruselig 

The book was sosoooo good. I loved it. It was really violent but still able to handle. The story was great and it was really good to read.

Gwenifer

Kelsey Lynn

Closer to a 3.5 but for some reason GoodReads still doesn't have half star ratings.

 This was one of the two books I purchased for my birthday reads this year. I've been in a tad bit of a reading slump, so I figured some YA always gets me going again. Quick, easy, palette cleanser. So I tried really hard to find some SciFi not on my radar and not following the usual YA sci-fi tropes. Because, honestly, I haven't found many good YA sci-fi.

 So the premise intrigued me, The Loop is a prison in the future (unclear how far in the future, but enough for the world to be under one government and for AI to be very prevalent). The prison is juvie for lifers and is primarily run by the AI that kind of is integrated into everything, HAPPY. Inmates can put off their sentence (which is death) every 6 months by volunteering to undergo experiments to benefit the outside world. Sometimes it's new medicine or techniques, sometimes it's new tech that the rich elite outside will use in their bodies to improve themselves. Outside, the rich are called Alts, as they have augmented their bodies, better hearts, lungs, looks, starting in the womb and continuing as new discoveries are made. The author establishes life in the prison through the eyes of our main character Luka. He's already 700+ days into his imprisonment, for a crime he didn't commit. He wakes up, stares at the ceiling, reads, goes into the "yard" where he can talk through the wall to other inmates if he wanted. But instead, he runs. The reason he runs is to expel as much energy as possible before the evening draining session, where the prison drains the inmates to power the prison. Then he watches the nightly scheduled rain every night before falling asleep and repeating. However. things begin... glitching. The rain is late, then it doesn't come at all. Sometimes HAPPY doesn't respond quickly, but when asked responds "All is as it should be". Rumors begin that all is not well outside, that despite one-world government, a war is brewing. Routine is everything in the Loop, so these little things start wearing at the inmate's nerves. Then their whole routine is overthrown. Every single inmate receives a delayed opportunity, regardless of how much time they have on their current delay. Facing death if they reject, they accept, each knowing that delays can sometimes be fatal. This is a group delay however, they are divided into groups A and B, and no one, not even the kind Alt warden, knows why. 

 That's all I can really say without spoilers. The premise was solid, and the format worked for me. It was an almost pseudo diary, and this allowed the author to really establish the routine and monotony of it all without exhausting the reader. The world is well developed, I could picture it, the tech, the all too believable charismatic overseer. I liked Luka and was rooting for him and wanted to know his story. 
 The problem I had was beyond Luka, I really didn't care about the other characters. There were a number of them, and the author tried to establish them, but the reality is, with that many characters and it is from the perspective of one character, in a prison, it's hard to develop any of them to the needed level. Unfortunately, the majority of the actions and plot of this book required me to like and believe in these characters. But, unfortunately, they all just came off the same. Sure a few other inmates were falsely there, or there due to technicalities or problems with the justice system, but they couldn't ALL be that nice, and the exact style of nice. Often I had to reread who was talking because they all felt the same, their dialogue and actions were all interchangeable. Also, certain decisions were reliant on believing in their friendship. But that requires more than a few sentences telling us they are friends, rather than showing us. So often decisions felt weird and forced for the sake of progressing the plot.

 The BIGGEST problem this book suffered from was pacing and limitations. This should have been two books. While I'm glad the author didn't follow the standard trilogy format (so far) they just tried to accomplish TOO much in this book. With more planning, this book could easily be two books. This would give more time to establish the characters and world in a more satisfying way. A lot happens, all of which is interesting, but all read like bullet points rather than fleshed-out concepts. 

 However, I will give this a lot of points for an interesting concept, the interesting main character, and as my SO calls it, a truly "Kelsey (me)" ending. The ending was a good twist, and a nice change of pace from other YA fare, and honestly most adult fare. I will be very happy if there is no sequel, let me have my "Kelsey" ending. This book utilizes a lot of tropes well but really excels in avoiding tropes. I love that there was no romance, and the character even says "with more time and different circumstances, I probably would grow to love her". Too many books force a romance where it doesn't fit, and this doesn't have it. The book has a nice level of suspense and intrigue and makes me want to know more (even if I lose my ending). But, the pacing was off, certain things had a way to much page time, while more important things didn't get the number of pages they needed to matter. Unfortunately, the characters were the biggest casualty in this, and without caring about the characters, it's hard to care about what happens to them. 

 Worth the read, and it was quick, but didn't scratch the sci-fi itch I was looking for. I wish somehow the author could expand this story, while preserving an ending made for me (that most of you will hate haha). But, alas, that's impossible, so I will continue on my hunt.

Barbara Rosas

Layla Gabica

keekz

Lauren Robinson

Hannah DCamp

Morgen Clarke

"A terrifying futurescape at the heart-stopping intersection of The Matrix and The Maze Runner, kicking off a trilogy sure to prove dystopian sci-fi still has more to offer." -- Booklist Life inside The Loop--the futuristic death row for teens under eighteen--is one long repetitive purgatory. But when news of the encroaching chaos in the outside world reaches the inmates and disorder begins to strike, the prison becomes the least of their worries. Perfect for fans of The Fifth Wave and The Maze Runner. It's Luka Kane's sixteenth birthday and he's been inside The Loop for over two years. Every inmate is serving a death sentence with the option to push back their execution date by six months if they opt into "Delays", scientific and medical experiments for the benefit of the elite in the outside world. But rumors of a war on the outside are spreading amongst the inmates, and before they know it, their tortuous routine becomes disrupted. The government issued rain stops falling. Strange things are happening to the guards. And it's not long until the inmates are left alone inside the prison. Were the chains that shackled Luka to his cell the only instruments left to keep him safe? In a thrilling shift, he must overcome fellow prisoners hell-bent on killing him, the warden losing her mind, the rabid rats in the train tunnels, and a population turned into murderous monsters to try and break out of The Loop, save his family, and discover who is responsible for the chaos that has been inflicted upon the world.