Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Things aren't going too well for wolf biologist Helen Ross. At 29, she's unemployed (recently retired dishwasher), single (boyfriend of two years left her for Africa), and has just learned that her father is marrying someone younger, richer, and prettier than herself (completely accurate). Back in her lonely log cabin in Cape Cod, frantically chain-smoking, she receives a message from her former lover Dan Prior. Prior, also a biologist, works for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service wolf-recovery program. In return for helping him track the lupine posse, Prior will provide her with a cabin, truck, and a snowmobile for good measure in a rustic little town called Hope, just outside of Helena, Montana. Apparently, Ross has never heard the proverb "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is," and happily skips off to Big Sky Country.
Within moments of her arrival, she finds out what she's up against: a small town with a long history of wolf fear and loathing, no resources (big surprise), and a powerful rancher who will do whatever it takes to eliminate the wolves. The rancher, testosterone-saturated Buck Calder, has got the community riled up after a wolf stalked his daughter's home and killed the family dog. He won't stop until every last endangered wolf is dead, which proves problematic for Ross when she decides to romance his 18-year-old son, Luke. Cynics be warned: their love affair spawns a trove of gooey pillow talk and syrupy prose. Even so, Evans has made impressive strides as a writer since his debut novel, The Horse Whisperer, and his storytelling has reached a noticeably new level of sophistication: the plot is tight, the characterization is realistic, and the dialogue is crisp. --Rebekah Warren
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Amazon.com Audio Review
In this unabridged audio version of The Loop by Nicholas Evans (The Horse Whisperer), actor-narrator John Bedford Lloyd (Philadelphia) delivers a calm, almost casual read. It's a wise choice, not just because of the version's 14-plus hour length, but for the subtle way he allows the deeply textured story to unfold on its own, revealing a complex weave of compelling plot lines that form a circle of love, hate, trust, and suspicion.
Using the controversial reintroduction of wolves into the American West as its catalyst, Evans pits a powerful Montana rancher against a struggling wolf pack, the wildlife agents mandated to protect the animals and, ultimately, recalcitrant members of his own family. "Luke could taste blood starting, salty and metallic, inside his mouth. He stared at his father, who stood glaring at him, his massive chest heaving and his neck flushed with anger."
Evans has loaded his characters with deep secrets and hidden agendas, creating a potent mix that teeters perilously close to the edge of believability. But his technique is solid enough to keep the story grounded. Lloyd's understated delivery, which stands alone with no music cues or sound effects, lets the action move forward without slipping into the realm of melodrama. (Running time: 14.5 hours, 10 cassettes) --George Laney
--This text refers to the
Audio Cassette
edition.
The Loop
The Loop,Nicholas Evans,Dell,0440224624,Fiction,Fiction - General,Literary,Fiction / Literary
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