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A review by erikbergstrom
The Loop by Jeremy Robert Johnson
3.0
Overall, this was a refreshing read. Johnson's short story collection "Entropy In Bloom" was also one of my favorites across a wide range of horror collections, so I was hoping he'd bring "it" with this book. For the most part, he did! The Nightwatchman stuff comes right off the page, especially. It's almost scary how well he writes this character... I think Johnson would be a great conspiracy podcaster.
I almost never say this, but I think the book was a little too.... abbreviated? You've got a Terminator-level conspiracy here with major, global implications and a remorseful engineer character, however most of the running time is spent on chase sequences between kids that go a little too long, for my tastes. I understand this is a horror book and not a Jack Ryan thriller, but the world Johnson opened up here could really have been served well by letting readers soak in it a little more, I think. A book I've read relatively recently is Benjamin Percy's Red Moon, and I think its length allows for both a personal tale and a much larger one to flourish. As a sort of late-blooming science nerd, I would've loved to have spent more time with the octopus-generated microchips of IMTECH.
Overall, Johnson's writing style was a breath of fresh air. It's to-the-point, no nonsense, a little fun here and there without being Stephen King-levels of jarring. Basically, it's a confident style, moving along nicely. I guess maybe that's why I'd be interested in seeing how he'd stretch himself over a novel twice the length of this one. At least give us a sequel... one that could be T2 levels of awesome!
I almost never say this, but I think the book was a little too.... abbreviated? You've got a Terminator-level conspiracy here with major, global implications and a remorseful engineer character, however most of the running time is spent on chase sequences between kids that go a little too long, for my tastes. I understand this is a horror book and not a Jack Ryan thriller, but the world Johnson opened up here could really have been served well by letting readers soak in it a little more, I think. A book I've read relatively recently is Benjamin Percy's Red Moon, and I think its length allows for both a personal tale and a much larger one to flourish. As a sort of late-blooming science nerd, I would've loved to have spent more time with the octopus-generated microchips of IMTECH.
Overall, Johnson's writing style was a breath of fresh air. It's to-the-point, no nonsense, a little fun here and there without being Stephen King-levels of jarring. Basically, it's a confident style, moving along nicely. I guess maybe that's why I'd be interested in seeing how he'd stretch himself over a novel twice the length of this one. At least give us a sequel... one that could be T2 levels of awesome!