Rating: 
Summary: I Loved It
Review: The Loop was a Gripping and Intringuing, one of the best I have read. Nicholas Evens couldn't have wrote this any better. The characters seemed real and life like. The book takes place in Hope, Montana in the middle of the Rocky Mountians. Helen Ross is a fish and wild life officer who is a wolf bioligist. She tries to protect the wolfs from a city that dislikes the wolfs. She is went to Hope to study the wolves and is found to fall in love with Buck Calder Son. While this is going on she must try to move the wolves back into the rockies while a rancher tries to kill them from years of hatred by using a method called "the loop." I enjoyed the book very much because it had a difference of love and action. I recomend this book its a amazing story of the wolf and it tells what happened to them many years ago and how they survive today.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable read
Review: I enjoyed reading THE LOOP. It was interesting to find out about the behavior and family structure of wolves, which I consider beautiful creatures. The portrayal of animals in general and the adventures that occur in daily forest life were very descriptive and vivid -- almost to the point of being disturbing -- illustrating what lengths animals must go to in order to survive. However, the characters were one-dimensional and predictable stereotypes. And I wish that writers did not feel that they always have to include romance in a story order to make it more interesting. It was kind of silly, and I think the two lovers would have been more realistically portrayed as friends or co-workers. The writer obviously favored the environmentalists, and presented the ranchers as ignorant and aggressive lunatics. The ending was disappointing as well. Again, it was not realistic. I won't give it away, but I would have ended it differently. But -- overall, I would recommend this book. It was an interesting and enjoyable read.
Rating: 
Summary: His best book yet
Review: I read the Horse Whisperer and was greatly impressed. An aunt let my dad borrow this one, and I read it before he could. It's the classic battle of environmentalists versus cattle ranchers portrayed very well through all eyes. At the center of the battle is Luke, with blood ties to the ranching industry, but with his heart to the wolves. One of Evans' strongest points (in all his novels)is that he gives you this history of the characters so that you know what makes them tick. With Luke, you can feel the pressure he's under to be what he's supposed to be versus being what he wants to be. Evans does a remarkable job making all the characters human and portraying the reality behind the desire to reintroduce wolves and the ranchers' need to survive.
Rating: 
Summary: Wait for the paperback .... then borrow it.
Review: I found an "advance reading copy" in a used bookstore in San Francisco, and thought, "Lucky Me! I get to read it before everyone else!", so bought it. Well ... you can't win 'em all. I'm not sure what happened. I can only guess that upon the phenomenal success of his first book (which I loved) and the movie (which did a fair job ... I was surprised that Redford felt the need to change the ending so drastically) that Evans was pushed into coming out with another novel - pronto. The result is a work which should have gone back to the drawing board. The characters are good ... the story is good ... (I won't divulge plot here ... that's what reading's all about, right??) but that is never enough for a book to not only hold your interest, but make you forget that you're reading at all, to "fall through the page" as Stephen King puts it. A book must have style. You must be able to trust the author, and reading "Horse Whisperer", I was able to do that. With "The Loop" I was not. At times the writing was downright painful. I will be curious to check this site in the coming weeks and see what others think of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Read
Review: This is a entertaining read from a good author. This book will be especially delightfull for individuals that have a love of nature and wolves. I am a true wolf admirer and will devour almost anything concerning these beautifull and misunderstood animals. I enjoyed how this book portrayed wolves as the intelligent animals that they are. The story was very well written and moved along at a nice pace, enabling you to stay focused and read on. Althought the players in the book are at the forefront of the book, in my opinion, the wolves overshadow them in this book. This is a noble work by a good author.
Rating: 
Summary: Would rather have a serving of fruit loops.
Review: Well, well, well, what do we have here? We have THE LOOP, a novel so immersed in cliche and animal rights propaganda that the reader must sift through the wheat and the chaff to glean Nicholas Evans' story. And it is a story that has been told countless--yawn--infinite times: greedy, selfish, ignorant ranchers pitted against noble, valiant federal conservationists--true public servants who only wish to protect and preserve a dwindling wolf population in the rugged wilds of Montana. Evans really pushes the "good vs. evil" dichotomy through his characters; "Buck" (gotta love such a redneck name) Calder is an angry, egotistical, self-aggrandizing, womanizing, verbally and physically abusive rancher to ever wear spurs since Wild Bill Hickock: conservationist/lovelorn Helen Ross only needs a hanky-dabbing break to re-establish her fragile self-esteem. Disregard the fact that federal and state conservationist laws have recently led to a proliferation of natural predatory species (i.e., wolves) that have been detrimental to the ranching industry--at an untold cost to law-abiding landowners: Evans only presents one side of the issue, simply because the character that embodies the interests of farmers and ranchers is so reprehensible. Alas, I've been on a nasty diabribe; I will give kudos to Evans' writing ability, which is marvelous, fluid, and easy on the eye. I also envied young Luke Calder--the shy, stuttering, insecure 18-year-old son of villain Buck--who turns out to be a tree-hugger himself and becomes romantically involved with the much-older, more experienced Helen. A remote cabin under the stars, a glowing fireplace, a side of beef jerky to share with a dazzling woman who looks good wearing flannel. You lucky pup!
--D. Mikels
Rating:
Summary: a GREAT book!
Review: this was a great book. what seemed to go a little slow at first, quickly picked up. once i hit the middle of the book, i had a very hard time putting it down. as a college student who doesn't have all that much time to sit down and read books (other than text books!), i read the entire second half of the book in 2 days. if you like books about romance, nature, or the west (or if you are jsut looking for a great read!)...this is the book for you!
Rating:
Summary: Awesome!
Review: This is a fantastic piece of fiction. Brilliant plot, sub-plot. Romantic themes are strong without being overbearing and corny. Very well written by a masterful writer who knows how to hold a reader's imagination. If you are a fan of or are interested in the American West and it's history, geography and folklore/way of life, please do not miss this one. EXCELLENT!!!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic!
Review: The vivid, detailed descriptions draw the reader right into the story. Evans' quirky but believable characters are compelling and fascinating. I had trouble putting this book down.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Story
Review: This was my second book by Mr. Evans. The first was the Horse Whisperer. I'm definately a new fan. I was very impressed by both books. I find his characters likeable & there is excellent character development. It's always fun to read a story about a topic you don't know much about, and that's part of the reason I enjoyed this book too. The descriptions of some of the horrific things people did to wolves were chilling. I read this book in 4 days, basically any free time I had, I was reading it. It was also very easy to get into the story line. I hate it when the first 50 pages are slow or boring. Not in this book. I really recommend reading it.
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