The Loop

Written by Jeremy Robert Johnson

Narrated by Inés del Castillo

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 Bentley, 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

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Sep 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9781797111889

Jeremy Robert Johnson

Jeremy Robert Johnson is the author of the critically acclaimed collection Entropy in Bloom as well as the breakthrough cult novel Skullcrack City. His fiction has been praised by The Washington Post and Publishers Weekly, authors such as David Wong, Chuck Palahniuk, and Jack Ketchum, and has appeared internationally in numerous anthologies and magazines. In 2008, he worked with The Mars Volta to tell the story behind their Grammy Award–winning album, The Bedlam in Goliath. In 2010 he spoke about weirdness and metaphor as a survival tool at the Fractal 10 conference in Medellin, Colombia. In 2017, his short story “When Susurrus Stirs” was adapted for film and won numerous awards including the Final Frame Grand Prize and Best Short Film at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival. Jeremy is intermittently social over at Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @JRL_Is_Probable.

Reviews for The Loop

[Adrienne Deal · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a great ride! I had low expectations based on the description but decided to give it a chance. I was pleasantly surprised by the non-stop action and the well developed characters. I also really loved the narrator, she was perfect for this book. .

[Tamara Hayes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a really good book! Written with a realistic vibe and a depth of misfits that truly show the variety of brokenness in our society but keeps your full attention to the end. If you don't mind some cussing, and can handle the real raw nature of people trying to survive in an unlikely situation, you will without a doubt enjoy this book

[KC Doig · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Full of suspense. Lots of gore. Awesome metaphors for the human experience.

[Seana Hill · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Well written but quickly devolves into yet another "I'm the special one even though I'm average and poor" trope. It's probably a great read for a teen girl full of angst but as an adult woman it felt cringy and eye rolling a lot of the time. I'm not sure why this was recommended for my age group when searching for horror/ thriller novels but it was interesting enough to see through to the end.

[Chelsea Duchscher · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Extremely violent, disturbing, and original. Great read, a story that will stay with you.

[andrew · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Five stars says it all. This gruesome apocalypse horror kept me hooked all the way. It’s more than a pulp fiction though. The characters are relatable and hilarious. Maybe most importantly the ending was both satisfying and believable. Give it a go if you got a stomach for blood and a twisted sense of humor.

[Nina Quartuccio · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you can put a side 2 kids keep it together long enough to figure out how to save the world premiss (not like we haven't heard that done before) this was very well done. The vividness in the writing put you in the scene and the narrator, who was also very good at capturing the emotion of the moment, made you feel like you were there. Add another star if the kid thing doesn't bother you. Well done otherwise.

[Lisa Greghi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really liked the book. It was a bit sci-fi style with an apocalyptic narrative. The plot reflected on adoption and the complexity of being and adopted child and an adoptive parent. It scared me a lot in the beginning when people went into a cave to party ? I can't. It also reflected on the dangers of technology and the importance of thinking with our own mind, outside of the clatter. Because to the government we are just pawns. Absolutely recommended.

[Sarah Dunham · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well written and well read juvenile fiction. Different from the usual dystopian novels, this one is like what happens before dystopia.

[Diane Wagoner · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Combines the worst of YA and scifi schock while trying to make the reader feel miserable for the sake of making them miserable in what might generously be described as a pale and misguided imitation of Cormac McCarthy. Didn't care for it.

[Chauncey Mabe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Nicely suspenseful sci-fi/horror, with an evil tech company conducting secret experiments on the high school kids in remote Oregon town. Things go spectacularly wrong, and a small group of outsider kids are left to save the universe from a horrendous and unending fate. This may sound distressingly familiar, but the author enlivens the proceedings with credible characters, consistent suspense and an ending that is both brave and disturbing

[Mary Powell · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The story is interesting. My problems were first all the profanity. This is a book that I had to use ear pods because it was so much. Second: The ending. Why? When you write a book, the ending is as necessary as the beginning. I do think the author was spot-on with the teens and their thoughts and behaviors. The narrator was good.

All-in-all 2.5 but i'm not rounding up as it could not be played on a speaker.

[Jessica Kopchik · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sci-fy married Lovecraft and they had a baby named The Loop, lol. It was excellent!

[Melanie Beaulieu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book. Even if it was written from the perspective of teens / young adults, there was nothing child like or cheesy about it. It was actually pretty brutal but satisfying in its real ness, despite it being sci-fi. Unlike some à I-books which are very dry, this book took emotions into account. The pace was very good and the listener doesn’t have time to get bored off the story. The character development and dialog is also quite good. Definitely would recommend.