Book Review
Title: The Block by Ben Oliver (The Loop Book 2)
Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 4.75 Stars
The opening to The Block was interesting as it almost seems like Luka and the others won the war against Happy but this is quickly revealed to be yet another simulation from Happy to extract the location of the others from Luka. However, Luka hasn’t been idle during this time and has been gaining the trust of one of the guards in order to escape and for a moment it is working. He is able to learn that Kina, Wren, Woods and Malachai are all in the Block with him and they are the only ones since everyone else died but Luka doesn’t know why. He is also coming to learn more and more about Happy’s plan but right now he only wants to escape. Obviously, Happy stops this before it even begins but there are seeds planted in Luka for the next attempt it is just a question of whether he and the others can stay sane long enough to put a plan into action or for the others to rescue them but it has been over a month. Luka knows the others aren’t dead since Happy is still asking for their locations but he is losing hope that they will rescue him.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, Luka continues the endless cycle he has been put in but he is comforted in the fact he has the Sane Zone. However, after months of trying Happy is getting nowhere with the information and decides to take the Sane Zone and use it as another form of torment to get the information out of Luka. He almost gives in a few times but managed to resist but it is taking its toll on Luka’s sanity. Eventually Pander and the others do come to rescue them but Luka is slipping into insanity and it’s Kina who keeps him sane. After escaping along with Wren who had suffered more than them since she doesn’t have their enhancements they head underground. Woods and Malachai aren’t rescued because they were moved from the block a few days before and they don’t know where they were taken yet. However, in the old subway tunnels they realise that Wren had removed her hat covering the panoptic camera implanted in her forehead meaning Happy knows where they are and the group narrowly avoid getting hit by a train controlled by Happy because of her. As cruel as it sounds they should have left Wren behind, she isn’t stable and throughout the course of the novel she does more harm than good for the group even if she doesn’t mean it.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, they end making it back to the library that the group have turned into their bunker. The design of the building allows them to keep an eye out for Happy’s drone since Pod and Igby built a scrambler and they have built a panic room below the library in case they are found. However, Luka, Kina and Wren are knocked out and operated on by Doctor Ortega, when Luka comes around he knows that the cuffs inside his wrists and his panoptic camera have been removed but he can’t shake the feeling that he knows the crazy doctor from somewhere he just can’t place her. Now it is safe for them to talk Igby explains how they found them in the block and how they got them out and what he needs in order to find Malachai and Woods. He is also introduced to a new member to the group, Samira or Sam who is heavily pregnant. The processor Igby needs to find Malachai and Woods isn’t going to be easy to find since Happy is flooding the city with its army so they draw lots. Sam, Luka and Akimi are chosen and they head out, Akimi is going to look for supplies while Sam and Luka go in search of the processor. This is a difficult mission for them since the second they enter a burnt out home, Sam is attacked by a smiler before Happy’s drones and soldiers arrive and they barely make it out alive, hiding out in an old bar waiting for the soldiers to move on before returning to the library. Luka is also wrapped up in thoughts of his sister since he knows she made it to the financial district but currently there is no way for him to get to her and even know if she is still alive at this point but Luka is reckless and he won’t put the lives of the others at risk just to find out if Molly is ok.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Sam and Luka end up costing together for a while getting to know each other but Luka ends up getting drink which isn’t good when they have a chance to flee. Sam ends up killing a few soldiers and they take their uniforms as a disguise and get back to the library through sheer luck thanks to Sam’s quick thinking. There Igby lots the processor to good use and learns that Malachai and Woods are still alive but they are in the ARC which means they are essentially dead since Happy is uploading itself into them today. Luka volunteers to go and rescue them since he is in possession of a tier two uniform meaning he can get access to the ARC and the others see him off believing that they won’t see him again. Luka with the help of Apple Moth gets into the ARC and slips away but he had minutes to find where his friends are before happy uploads. He is also asking my Doctor Ortega to destroy something while he is there and he agrees. I remember what happens next very clearly and I’m less emotionally prepared for this as I was for the ending of the first book.
As we cross into the second half of the novel, Luka gets inside with the help of Apple Moth but by the time he Linares his friends he is too late for Woods. He reaches his friends seconds before Happy’s upload is going to finish allowing how friend enough time to kill himself. Luka now has to focus on Malachai and the third person is Tyco who Luka thought was dead. He manages to get Malachai out of the arc but he needs to stop Happy’s upload by removing his mechanical eyes. However, the soldiers aren’t far behind and they are cornered until Molly and the missing come to their aid. Molly explains that she has been in a place called Purgatory and she is taking Luka and Malachai there. Once there Luka learns that the stories about Safe-Death were real and Molly is literally going to kill them in order to avoid detection. She warns Luka before killing him that something isn’t right inside Purgatory and to get out as soon as he can but it’s easier said than done. The whole setup of Purgatory is designed to disorient and confused those inside so they never want to leave and Luka is quickly falling into this trap.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Purgatory is a trippy experience and very quickly Malachai and Luka forget why they had to leave in the first place. Luka seems to get snippets of memory but those quickly disappear thanks to Doctor Price. As days pass in Purgatory, Luka has no way of marking the passage of time but the feeling that something is wrong with the place goes stronger and stronger the longer he is there and eventually he wants to leave. Malachai and Luka decide to leave but are unable to for some reason and it isn’t until Malachai literally kicks the doctor across the room that they are able to escape. Back in their bodies they realise that they were being drugged to be happy in Purgatory and that nothing there was real. Doctor Price follows them out since he doesn’t want them destroying what he has built and he ends up shooting Luka but Molly puts a stop to this before he can do anymore damage. Despite being out when they are alerted to Happy’s drones they know they have to go back and Pod quickly disables the drugging mechanism so they all enter Purgatory once more.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, we learn the truth behind what Happy is planning for humanity and why even hiding in Purgatory isn’t a good idea. Luka goes to summon the others from the library when he realises what Happy is planning to do with all the drone he saw in the arc. Luka and the other rush back to the library to learn that Sam is in labour and they are currently surrounded. In order to save his friends from the panic room that is quickly flooding Luka makes a deal with Tyco and Happy. He will go willing with Happy and be a battery in return for the safety of his friends but Tyco has a condition since he can’t kill Luka, he wants one of the others to die since Happy knows someone needs to say behind to hold the door open. Luka relays the plan and initially it is Igby staying behind but he is knocked and replaced by Pod. By the time he comes around Pod is locked in a room filling with water and the confession between the pair was heart-breaking to witness. Luka leads the others out of the library before heading back to meet with Tyco but not before he makes sure no one is going to follow him. Back in the arc they want him to retract his statement but Luka only further the rebellion before they kill him. Luka’s death wasn’t something I was expecting during my first reading but I think it carried a lot of weight this time when you realise what Luka is dying for but I can’t wait to get into The Arc and learn what becomes of everyone else after Luka’s death and how they coped with it.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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