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Summary: Stop Analyzing and Just Enjoy!
Review: Hi there. As a college student taking advanced literature, I have to say, sometimes we just need to drop the deeper thinking and enjoy the story line. I've read both of Evans' novels and enjoyed them immensely! They have great story lines, lots of interesting facts, naughty interludes, and they provoke incredible emotions in the reader. Now sure, if you want to break it down the book isn't that glamorous. The characterization is weak, the story is somewhat predictable, but for an Englishman trying his first time at writing American fiction, I think he did a hell of a job, even if his research isn't perfect! This book is not for the analytical type unless you're like me and enjoy getting away from that sort of thing once in a while. However, if you're the average reader looking for a good story, I HIGHLY recommend The Loop as well as The Horse Whisperer! A++ on bringing the reader to the emotional level of the characters!
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Summary: The absolute WORST
Review: The Horse Whisperer was tolerable. This book, however, was boorish, dull, pointless, and just downright rotten. Nicholas Evans seems to relish in writing horrific scenes, as was evidenced by his gruesome account of the horse accident in The Horse Whisperer. Unfortunately, he takes that relish WAY too far in The Loop, describing (for no reason in some cases) gruesome animal murders. Evans' cast of characters are largely undeveloped and weak...there is no clear cut hero to root for, no clear cut villan to despise. In fact, the characters list becomes so scattered it is oftentimes difficult to follow who is doing what. The most clearly defined character throughout is Buzz, and he's a simple house pet. There is the character of JJ Lovelace, who apparently was supposed to be a dastardly villan...instead he slinks off to die...perhaps the editor forgot to cut those chapters out during the editing process. I would go on, but it's not worth the time. Don't feel bad about passing on this one.
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Summary: beautiful!
Review: I loved this book. It was well written and highly detailed. Evans is very good at giving all the details, when you read his books you step into his world. I cannot Wait for the next one!
Rating: 
Summary: The Loop
Review: Although this book was enjoyable I found it took a bit of getting into and on the whole it was not well written. How ever towards the end I was absolutle glued and found it very hard to put it down. I think The Loop is a holiday read. Read it when you have a lot of time to get into it and you don't want too much brain exercise!
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Summary: Predictable, one-sided story, black and white characters
Review: "The Loop" takes place mainly in Montana ranch country and focuses on the tension between ranchers and naturalists over the right of wolves to roam free on land that is owned by or leased to ranchers, who resent losing expensive cattle to the wolves. It also tells the story of a woman, Helen, who has had bad luck with men, and Luke, the awkward teenage son of the town's most prominent rancher who doesn't share his father's political views. Helen comes to town to help study the wolves and the stage is set for a relationship that reflects the political conflict. Although I enjoyed learning a little bit about the life of the wolves, I'm afraid I found this book predictable and unsophisticated. It was a major flaw that not a single sympathetic character was on the side of the ranchers, who I believe have equally as legitimate a claim as the naturalists. Instead, the father, Buck Calder, is presented as the voice of the ranchers, and he's made out to be a phony, narcissitic, insecure, philandering man who intimidates his sensitive son and props up his ego by hitting on attractive women. Even when he makes reasonable arguments for the ranchers, you dislike him so much that you take them to be motivated by his need to seem important. Evans even goes so far as to create a thinly drawn character who has dedicated his life to killing wolves and yet, in the end, decides that what he's done is wrong for reasons that, if they were ever going to have an impact, should have convinced him years before we met him. It seems to me that if you're going to write a book about this subject, you should make an effort to present both sides of the complex issue fairly. (As much as I believe in protecting wildlife, it seems to me most of us would resent it if the government told us that we couldn't defend ourselves against something that directly threatened our hard-earned livelihood even when we're on our own property. The issue is not as simple as Big Bad Greedy People vs Good-Hearted Altruistic People.) Although I liked Helen and Luke, I wasn't completely convinced by Evans' portrayal of Helen as she gets over her failed relationship. There were some other somewhat interesting characters, though they weren't as multidimensional as I'd have liked. In general, people underwent what are in real life difficult transformations simply by waking up one day and suddenly realizing the right thing to do. On the whole, the book was an easy read, a nice break from some of the more demanding books I've been reading, but not one I'd recommend.
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Summary: Fantastic Novel
Review: The Loop is the first book I've read by Nicholas Evans and it won't be the last. His description of Hope (the characters and the setting itself) made the reader feel totally engrossed in the story. Each character was extremely well developed and had a necessary place in the story (which is something I often criticize other authors for not doing). The momentum of the storyline is a little slow through the middle but once the novel picks up memomentum, it doesn't disappoint! Very interesting subject matter (you can understand how both sides of the coin could feel very strongly about the wolves and their place in the community) but also light and entertaining (I loved Helen's relationship with her family and her own descriptions of herself. She very was humble from the first person narrative even though other narratives described her as very attractive and well respected by her colleagues). VERY SATISFYING READ!
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Summary: The Loop
Review: Do the words "The Horse Whisperer" remind you of Nicholas Evans? Ah yes, I see you nodding your head. Did you read the book or maybe see the movie? Both were excellent and his newest book "The Loop" is no exception. Once more Evans has masterfully portrayed the savageness and beauty of the human spirit at the same time making us treasure the magnificence of nature that surrounds us. The small western town of Hope, Montana thrives on the cattle ranchers that inhabit the area. When wolf biologist, Helen Ross comes to town due to claims of wolves attacking children and cattle, she almost gets more than she bargained for. Buck Calder proves to be a worthwhile adversary as she struggles to prove the innocence of the wolves and keep the town from shooting them all. With a population of about 519 wolf haters, it's not an easy task convincing these people the motives behind the actions of these animals. This is an excellent book and a seamless read. The slow beginning is a clever disguise for a fast-paced riveting novel that you won't be able to put down until you finish it. This is definitely a book that will make you laugh and cry alternately every moment until the very end.
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Summary: Yawn
Review: It is obvious Mr. Evans did most of the research for The Loop from his home in England. Cliche after cliche Mr. Evans leads us through a "Spaghetti Western" of a novel. None of his characters are allowed to grow or fully develop. The drama is as predictable as a "Made for TV Movie." Spend your money on something much more fulfilling, like an ice cream cone.
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Summary: A superb modern western and morality tale
Review: Young woman, and an even younger man, strive to save 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.
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Summary: my review
Review: A wolf wonders into a remote town in Montana and attacks a dog. This creates havoc into the community and brings different groups into friction. The characters are well defined and their interactions are very well presented. You define your animosity or your affiliation to each character very easily. The author has a special gift for writing about people's feelings and emotions, as well as their pain in the same romantic way, making this book seem to flow like in a cloudy haze. The story flows well and you never really feel bored at any moment. The end, although it is predictable, does come in a surprised way! Good read.
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