The Loon

By: Michaelbrent Collings

Narrated by: John Bell

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

The isolated, maximum security prison for the criminally insane that houses some of the nation’s deadliest, most frightening psychopaths. But when a freak storm cuts off all communications and causes a massive power outage, the prisoners get loose...and find there is nowhere to go. The blizzard rages outside.

The inmates are now in charge and the staff must band together to survive.

And then they all discover that the inmates aren't the most dangerous thing about The Loon. Because below the prison is a secret place. A dark place. A place where a creature of monstrous appetites has been born. And it's very, very hungry....

The Loon is a #1 Amazon best seller written by novelist Michaelbrent Collings, whose other best sellers include Darkbound, Apparition, The Haunted, Rising Fears and Billy: Messenger of Powers.

©2011 Michaelbrent Collings (P)2013 Michaelbrent Collings

Great book

Any additional comments?

Michaelbrent Collings writes fantastic books and The Loon is one of the best. If you like heart pounding thrill rides, this one is for you. And the characters are well written to the point that you really care about them and bite your nails down to the knuckles worrying about them. Once it grabs you, it never let's go. Recommended as are all of his books.

Disturbing Tale Well Told

Where does The Loon rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The Loon is a tense, violent tale with characters who work well in this type of action based story.

What other book might you compare The Loon to and why?

The Loon has a some unique twists, but essentially follows the familiar and scary horror trope of a varied group of people trapped in an isolated location with a monster. The Loon of the title is a psychiatric facility. The author did an excellent job creating an atmosphere of impending crisis and isolation.

Which scene was your favorite?

The escaped serial killer was well drawn and there were several tense scenes involving him. The sense of inescapable horror infused the entire book.

Any additional comments?

I'd recommend this for readers who enjoy monster based horror.

Just didn't feel it

Tried way to hard to be scary. Felt like high school written. Felt like a low budget production. sorry. Didn't feel it.

Started off ok

The beginning of the book was good but it seemed to get progressively more weird and out there.

Like a movie in my mind?

This is the second Michaelbrent Collings book I have finished and he truly is a remarkable author. His story read just like a movie and create real suspense. I highly recommend this book. (The first book of his I read was Strangers, just FYI)

A solid 4 stars

Even though some of the reviewers didn't care for this, I found it entertaining. Were there a few way out there moment of course but what would a sci fi book be without them. It kept me listening just to see where the author was going and it wasn't disappointing.

Deep and Horrifying

What made the experience of listening to The Loon the most enjoyable?

I enjoyed the narration and thought the performance was well done. Engrossing story.

What other book might you compare The Loon to and why?

I've read Collings' "Darkbound" and first three installments of "The Colony" series. While there was still a speculative element in "The Loon," the horror in this particular story was more real-world than fantastic. I'm not sure I've read/listened to anything else quite like this before.

Which character – as performed by John Bell – was your favorite?

The Monster passages had cool effects and were my favorite to listen to. Paul, Rachel, and Becky were the characters whose points of view I craved most to return to. Steiger was also extremely creepy and well done. There were a variety of accents that came through in various minor characters that I thought were well done. Narrator did a good job making the unlikable characters unlikable, and the likable characters sympathetic with tone of voice, accents, and other effects.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I found this book very intense and enjoyed it much better when I digested it in small doses, listening a few hours at a time. Yet, it was extremely engrossing.

A Fast-Moving, Engaging Thriller

Okay, I'll admit that I'm a sucker for a creepy setting, and an isolated, snow-bound madhouse offers plenty of that. The setting is very much a part of the story, and its effective use by the author, along with a collection of characters we can identify with (or at least recognize) and care about, contributed greatly to my enjoyment of the book.

Not all of the characters are likable, by any means, but I enjoyed them all, and often, I was a little suprised wihen some of them (no spoilers) were killed, even though I'd been expecting it.

"The Loon" is a fun, unashamedly B-movie of a read, with equal parts mad-science horror and psycological terror. This was a quick, satisfying listen.

Good story, good drama

If you could sum up The Loon in three words, what would they be?

Filled with drama

Have you listened to any of John Bell’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I will.

Who was the most memorable character of The Loon and why?

Stiger, because of the way his mental illness was portrayed. How he thought and how his story ended fit together perfectly.

Any additional comments?

It was a good book, action filled and packed with drama.

different

This book was definitely horror and suspense which kept me wanting to continue to turn the pages well into the wee hours of the morning.