The Block

Loop, Book 2

By: Ben Oliver

Narrated by: Julian Elfer

In the second book of The Loop trilogy, Luka is trapped in a fate worse than death. But now that he knows the truth about what he and his fellow inmates are being used for, it's more important than ever that he not only escapes but that he builds an army.

Luka is a prisoner once again. But this time, it's a fate worse than death. In the Block, he must toggle between enduring an Energy Harvest for 12 hours of the day and surviving complete immobilization. The only semblance of relief is the Sane Zone, created to keep prisoners from going completely mad. In this virtual reality, the prisoners live out their fantasies of life outside. But for Luka, it's different.

Happy is determined to find out the location of his friends, who disappeared after the Battle of Midway Park. But can Luka battle the descent into madness long enough to stop Happy's manipulation tactics and keep his friends' location safe?

Another prison break is the only chance to protect the Missing. And as reality becomes increasingly scrambled on the outside, it'll take an army to stop Galen from carrying out his plans.

©2021 Ben Oliver (P)2021 Recorded Books Inc.

Loved it!

The writing was extremely good, although the narrarariom was done in a way that translated baldy to higher speeds.

A Good Story; Looking Forward to Book Three

I hesitated to purchase this book initially because the audiiobook only received 3 stars but the book edition on Amazon and Goodreads were over 4 stars. It is the middle book of a trilogy so it is pretty bleak, especially at the end, but I really want to see how the author intends to turn that around in the final book of the trilogy.

There was plenty of action especially during the first 1/2 of the story. It slowed down a little during the "Purgatory" scenes, but it ramped up again at the end. Luka does drive me crazy with his constant self-sacrificing, but isn't that true of many of the heroes and heroines in dystopian fiction? The author definitely has a social agenda but the same can be said of most authors of dystopian fiction.

Overall the book gave me seven good hours of solid entertainment and it makes me eager to read the final book when it comes out. I definitely think the story and performance deserve at least 4 stars.

Excellent dystopian

Oh, Ben Oliver. You have wrapped me up in a crazy whirlwind dystopian that I never want to leave. I am so saddened that there's only one more book in this trilogy because it is some of the BEST dystopian sci fi I've read in quite a long time, reminiscent of the frantic nature of Uglies by Scott Westerfeld but with a beautiful new voice.

How does a terrifying dystopian where death comes for everyone.... also bring me such laughter and sweet moments? It's because emotions are heightened when you are on the verge of death. Everything feels so much MORE. Also, Apple Moth doesn't hurt (no idea if it's one word or two as I did audio.) That little drone was by far my favorite addition to this volume!

I am SO excited to see where this trilogy leads with the final book. And at the same time, I am so SAD to know it's almost over. I will 1000% be following Ben Oliver's future books because this author can WRITE.

Disappointing story line

The Loop was interesting, well paced and written. The Block was repetitive, lacking character development and flawed story line. It is obvious what will happen next and in all honesty, not looking forward to wasting my money on the Arc.
Julian Elfer saves the day though. His reading is impeccable.