Rating: 
Summary: ENTERTAINING
Review: Mrs. Evans' second novel, "The Loop" was not in the same class as "The Horse Whisperer", but I still found the book entertaining. It certainly was not a waste of money. I recommend the book, but I believe that anyone who read "The Horse Whisperer" will have the same reaction as I did.
Rating: 
Summary: don't step into the loop
Review: Reading The Loop on our holiday, we (two girl friends) came very quickly to the conclusion that The Loop isn't wat we were expecting of it. It's a love story like 1000 before, no surprising plot, no character building. As the Horse Whisperer disappointed us, this book was even worse.
Rating:
Summary: Dreary schlock
Review: I bought this for my daughter. She hated it. I read it (or most of it) afterwards. I am glad to see that my daughter has good taste. This book is awful, silly and sentimental and badly written. It goes to show what Robert Redford can do for a 'writer's' career - ie everything. Maybe he should move into publishing...
Rating: 
Summary: Engrossing tale of wolves, family conflict, love and loyalty
Review: I'm stunned by my fellow "advance copy" reader's opinion. I found THE LOOP far superior to the enjoyable but far too sacharine HORSE WHISPERER. Apart from simply being a light though thoroughly entertaining and engrossing story, I was fascinated by Evans' descriptions of wolves - their parenting and family life, their "pecking order" and hunting instincts. One scene describing the pack's hunt of a deer buck was simply palpable. I was also heartened to discover that though there is a "love interest" sub-plot to keep the story slightly saucy, Evans has managed to reduce the "schmaltz factor" which many (especially men) found difficult to handle in THE HORSE WHISPERER. THE LOOP is bound to be the lead holiday read and "word-of-mouth" book for the end of year publishing season here in Australia and in the U.S.
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Summary: THE LOOP by Nicholas Evans
Review: A pack of wolves makes a sudden savage return to the Rocky Mountain ranching town of Hope, Montana, where a century earlier they were slaughtered by the thousands. Now shielded by law as an endangered species, they reawaken an ancient hatred that will tear a family, and ultimately the town, apart.At the center of the storm is Helen Ross, a twenty-nine-year old wolf biologist sent alone into this remote and hostile place to protect the wolves from those who seek to destroy them. The Loop charts her struggle, and her dangerous love affair with the son of her most powerful opponent, the brutal and charismatic rancher Buck Calder. A haunting exploration of man's conflict with nature and the wild within himself, and epic story of deadly passions and redemptive love set against the grandeur of the American West, The Loop is destined to capture the hearts and imaginations of readers everywhere.
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Summary: Entertaining Morality Tale
Review: Young woman, and an even younger man, strive to save a pack of wolves from angry ranchers while trying to overcome their own personal doubts and shortcomings. When they turn to each other for love, it threathens their mission. In "The Horse Whisperer," author Nicholas Evans showed how wounded people and animals can help each other. Now he's done it again in "The Loop." In both works, he proves to be a master in foreshadowing events, thereby creating masterful page-turners. But, while tension builds with each page in "The Loop," at its heart this work is a study of our humanity. Though the wolf can be a dangerous creature, when does man become the greater monster? As for the title, does it refer to the "circle" of life described by Black Elk in the front of the book? Or does it only represent the device of a cruel, haunted character named J.J.Lovelace, who kills entire families of wolves when the price is right? Part of the satisfaction is deciding for yourself. If you want forbidden love, betrayals, human conflicts, tragic loss, and a tale that makes you question your own level of humanity, then this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: The Loop
Review: . In this story a young girl of 29 falls in love it lasts only for about half a year before he starts acting strange and goes to Africa. Soon after he leaves he writes and tells her that he is getting married to a woman there in 6 weeks. This makes Helen very heartbroken and lonely. Just a short time later another letter is sent to her this one from her last lover asking her for help on a project in Montana. He tells her to call him and he will schedule a flight there. She figures a job is better then mopping around here so she goes. When she gets there she finds herself in a one room cottage with an outside in the open shower with no hot water, a beat up truck that needs a lot of work, and a snowmobile. She also finds that the project deals with wolves and the task before is not an easy road.
Wolves have moved in to an area where the whole town, Hope, raises different kinds of cattle. When the wolves attack a child and kill a house dog the press arrive and the whole mess begins. You see the child they attacked was the grandchild of one of the meanest snot nosed people in Hope, Buck Calder. He tries to get the Fish and Wildlife service to track and kill the wolves. That's where Helen comes in. Her job is to track and collar the wolves so they can be protected. She finds this hard to do because of Bucks youngest son Luke. Unlike his older brother Luke likes the wolves and thinks he protecting them when he goes out behind Helen and destroys all her traps. She catches him one day and explains to him that she does not want to hurt the wolves either. He starts to go with her to set traps but soon finds himself starting to fall in love Helen and Helen with him. All in all there job proves difficult when Buck hires a poacher to kill the pack. By the end you find out why the books called the loop and find out what happens to the pack and all the love ties of this book.
Rating:
Summary: Warning---Anti-climactic ending ruins book
Review: This was an entertaining book that I just loved while I was reading it (when I was a Sophomore in high school). I'd just read The Horse Whisperer which I also liked but I got into this one more, I think. I thought the main character was gutsy and cool but now looking back, she was kind of cliche. So was her rival Buck. I think one of the best characters was Buck's son and Helen's lover Luke (eighteen and eleven years younger than Helen...wow, just made it). He has a stuttering problem and is incredibly shy which makes his father ashamed of him. This is where the typical father-son tension comes in. I was all for that, having just seen The Quick and the Dead and having loved it. And Helen was kind of like Sharon Stone, tough. And I'll stop with the comparisons there though I was full of them at the time because I just loved that movie so much and I still think it's a great one.
Back to The Loop though, it's an entertaining read, not that great but passable writing. An ok character study. Nothing really unique, just average. The climax is the most powerful scene in the book, and then the epilogue thing (it might just be the last chapter, not an actual epilogue)totally ruins the entire book, insulting the audience, treating them as if they were little children who couldn't handle a real ending. I think what happened was Nicholas Evans was given such a hard time with the ending of The Horse Whisperer that he gave in to pressure and made this ending more easier to bear. But that's only worse. You should never compromise a book to make it more digestible to the audience. In this case it made it even harder to swallow. I was convinced at first it was a dream, it made that little sense. And maybe it really was a dream. If it was then great, but it still doesn't work. Anyway, average writing and horrible ending earn this two and a half stars to three stars.
Rating:
Summary: a warm tale of human-human and human-animal relationship
Review: When I picked up this novel at the library and saw its picture of wolves against a silhoutte on the cover, I knew I have found the right book. I love the mood of stories where animals are involved, and this one is no different. I soon found myself speeding through the book and finished it in five days despite the fat that I was busy with many other things. I especially find the love part well-written. Unlike other books like Heather Graham's Haunted and Runaway, when the lovers simply have an affair for no reason at all except lust, the two lovers in this book actually have a story behind their great intimacy. You actually feel for their love and it is indeed romantic.
No stories are without flaws and The Loop is of course a distance from perfect. One of the greatest drawbacks is its slowness. The majority of the story is talking and discussing, and actions and excitement only makes up a single branch if the whole story were a tree. If it were not for my deep interests in reading about animals, I would have been snoozing and this book would take fifty days instead of five.
Still, I am happy I have chosen this book. Thanks to the story, I now have a greater interest in wildlife conservation. I recommend reading Fire Bringer by David Clement-Davies along with this book. Both tales are heart-warming and teach us about animals and life.
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.
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