While I was skeptical about the premise, Brooks delivers a taut and harrowing horror story. Yes, it's about Bigfoot. It is also a frightening page turner and indictment of contemporary society, as all good horror should be. I highly recommend this book for horror fans who hold old-school King and Koontz in high esteem.

Devolution
By Max Brooks

Devolution is a fantastic story told through the eyes of Kate Holland's journals and the Greenloop massacre. Strange occurrences are happening after Mount Rainier's eruption. The writing by Max Brooks was incredible! The character development and the way the story was told in this part horror, scifi, thriller and mystery in one that I could not get enough of. This is such an addictive read that you will not be able to put down or turn the pages fast enough! I adored this book and highly recommend. Fantastic read not to be missed.

Kate Holland and her husband, Dan, moved to the eco-community, Greenloop seeking a different life. Kate's therapist suggested that she keep a journal documenting their experiences at Greenloop to help her adjust. It was Kate's journal that allowed the authorities to piece together the events that took place at the secluded community. They were cut off from the rest of the world after the Mt. Rainier eruption, but they were not alone. The little community had to band together in order to protect themselves for what lurked in the forest. It is because of Kate's journal that they know what happened. And it is something out of a horror movie, but is it possible that Kate survived?

I think that Devolution goes on the top of the "favorites" list this year. The book is told mostly as the reading of Kate's journal. In between journal entries, there are interviews and excerpts from things written by Jane Goodall and Charles Darwin. You know how I love a good "end of the world" story and there is an element of that with Greenloop being cut off from civilization and forced to fend for themselves. Kate is a great main character because she is not the kind of person you would expect to step up and take control. Her early journal entries make her seem a little scattered and flighty. By the end of the journal, I envision her a warrior. The end of the book left me with some unanswered questions, but it makes me wonder if the author is setting up a sequel. -CLICK HERE FOR SPOILERS

Bottom Line - Devolution read like the script of a blockbuster movie. I suspect it won't be long before the movie rights are sold and the cast is revealed. And I can't wait.

Details:
Devolution by Max Brooks
On Twitter
Pages:304
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: 6/16/2020
Buy it Here!
Thank you to NetGalley for the book in exchange for a review.

Thoroughly enjoyed this title. Quickly ordered a copy for my library when it was published. Interesting and original premise.

First, I am totally burned out on horror books right now. It seems like all the books right now have this gore element and I'm just not into it. I also know this should have deterred me from attempting this one given that thought, but I also felt like this was the perfect addition to my October reads. Everyone is raving about this one as an audiobook so maybe I should have tried that route instead.

Like World War Z, this book is written a little differently. I'm going to give it a solid three stars because while I liked the idea behind the story I found myself wanting the story to get on with it. At first, I was concered there was something within this book that I wasn't understanding... So I reached out to a few fellow book reviews that I knew who also requested it and read it. They said the same thing. After discussing the plot with them I have come to the conclusion that most of the book was an after thought, even the parts that were supposed to be rather larger plot points. That being said, I'm still going to give it that third star because of the writing style and language - it's well written from a lit point of view, there was just something else missing that caused the book to fall short.

HOLY HELL!! I can’t believe this book hasn’t been all over instagram!! I can’t speak for the 👀 reading experience, but this audiobook was fantastic! Let me set the stage👇🏻

Mt. Rainier erupts and a small town called Greenloop is isolated and has virtually no contact with the outside world. They start settling in for the long haul by creating a garden and helping each other stay alive before help comes. THEN BIG FOOT 😳

The book is a compilation of journal entries by a woman named Kate Holland (narrated by the fabulous JUDY GREER) and other Sasquatch...professionals? Fans? It reads like an NPR interview. Apparently, the reviews are a bit negative towards Devolution because “how could a woman find the time to write down pages and pages of their encounter with Big Foot?” And other reviews led me to believe maybe reading the book is a snore, so definitely do the audiobook!

I personally found this audiobook riveting. I could not stop listening. The narration was incredibly done and the story was gripping! There is a bit of gritty gore but honesty, it just added to the experience and I didn’t mind it.

DEVOLUTION is out TODAY! Thank you @penguinrandomhouse and @librofm

I liked the how main character, Kate, relates her current experiences back to what she experienced during the earthquake in California. Like seeing the evacuation traffic stuck on the highways, comparing the Earthquakes happening at night, the differences in the shaking, general lifestyles, etc. Being from California, she calls I-5 “the 5” which apparently is a California thing; in the Seattle area we do NOT call it “the 5.” I found it clever whenever she addressed something ridiculous they needed to do to Siri to point out how reliant on technology they’d become.

I liked Dan’s character-change from when he first arrives to when another kicked him into action, the foreshadowing in the brother’s/park ranger’s notes: the first “find” of the animal remains, etc.

The use of bigfoot lore added to the “realism” of the story: the smells, knocking/banging/howls, rock-throwing, mention of Grover Krantz a couple of times, etc. As did the use of PNW details: blackberry bushes (are EVERYWHERE in the PNW), there really is a Whole Foods on Denny Way, Puyallup “Did I spell that right?” Heck, not even locals can spell or pronounce it right!

During the final batter, I liked the use of broken glass and their cars. The exploding houses were gratuitous but I liked it.

I had to Google what “Devolution” means:

Definition, from Google: noun - the transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government to local or regional administration. This seems appropriate, as this is a story of the transfer of power from, eventually, the Bigfoots to the group.
Similar: Decentralization, delegation, dispersal, distribution, transfer, surrender, relinquishment. - All appropriate for this book.
FORMAL: descent or degeneration to a lower or worse state. Definitely the characters of Tony and Yvette.
LAW: the legal transfer of property from one owner to another. Applies to Kate’s house? Wasn’t it her brother's?
Some things I wasn’t crazy about:

It’s written as a “journal” or “found footage” - I’m not a fan of that style of writing. The book had footnotes. Which were only necessary because of the “journal” trope. They should have been worked into the narrative somehow. But since it’s supposed to be a “real” book about these events, I guess it fits. I was confused about the parts that aren’t Kate’s journals. Who’s writing them? Her brother? The “author” of the book? Multiple people?

I didn’t relate to any of the characters, so I didn’t really care about any of them. They were all caricatures or stereotypes. There was so much talk/info in the beginning of the book about the Mount St. Helen eruption that I forgot about the current setting, the modernity of Greenloop, that I thought the book was taking place around the time of that eruption. I didn’t remember the current-day setting until we got back to Greenloop. I was 42% in, and there was still no horror. Not even much suspense. Just the vague sense of foreboding that’s telegraphed from the parts that aren’t Kate’s journals… and the book jacket. Mostly just “this thing happened. Then this thing happened.” At about 60% in we finally get some action/thriller-type stuff.

I’m not a fan of graphic descriptions of gore. There was a lot in the final battle. Yeah, it’s sold as a horror novel so I expected it at some point, still don’t like it.

A couple of other items:

For someone writing a journal or letters to her brother or whatever, that wasn’t fond of the idea in the first place, Kate sure is good at writing and noting every little detail.

The end. While I kinda liked the author/brother/whoever is writing trying to come up with logical things that could have happened to Kate and Pal based on evidence, I didn’t like not knowing. It felt kind of like the ending the Clue movie: “but here’s what REALLY happened!” Give us a scene with a helicopter landing and seeing them cowering in a doorway, give us a scene of them walking out of the mountain into a SAR bivouac, give a reunion scene with Kate and her brother. Actually end Kate’s story.

Note, I was given a copy of this book by the publisher to participate in the Emerald City Comic Con Horror Book Club, which was canceled along with the Con due to the COVID-19 virus plaguing the Seattle area (and many other places).

My husband and I both enjoyed Max Brooks's World War Z several years back, so when I saw his new release about a Big Foot invasion I was intrigued and knew I had to check it out. What unfolds is the story of a utopic, high tech community called Greenloop that finds itself under attack following the volcanic explosion at Mount Ranier. The main character, Kate, and her husband have recently move to the community and their worth is truly tested immediately following the explosion and in the days that follow.

I love a great natural disaster story, and there are so many great things Max Brooks does in the story. Written as a nonfiction "true account," Brooks manages to keep the pacing alive, interspersing Kate's journal entries with interviews with her family members and National Parks workers who were involved in the recovery effort. The story is truly compelling - I didn't want to put this book down until the final page.

Not only do the pages just fly by with thriller speed, but Brooks really forces the reader to think about the human race's present day relationship to nature, where many people have anthropomorphized dangerous animals to sometimes fatal consequences (for example, all those people that get charged by elk in Yellowstone every year.) He also forces the reader to contend with the romantic notion of "convening" with nature as the residents of Greenloop attempted to do with their exclusive little community, when nature at times can be brutally violent. The characters in Devolution are dynamic and interesting, revealing how crisis can bring out the very best or the very worst of us.

Overall, I loved this book and recommend it for fans of survival stories, natural disaster stories, and fiction told from a documentarian perspective.

This book starts off with a mystery and a truly diverse and often contentions cast of characters. The story and writing style are quirky and not perfect but have definite appeal. Good for suspense and/or horror fans who want something a bit off the beaten track.

While the book started slower than I would have liked I really enjoyed this book by the end and recommend it for all horror readers.

I attempted to read this multiple times, but was defeated by boredom each time. This lacks the charm (for lack of a better word) of World War Z, and to be honest, I think zombies are more fun than Bigfoot. However, that's a personal opinion, and I'm sure most readers will enjoy this.

This was a great book! I devoured it. I was unsure how much I would like it since I really enjoyed World War Z and I don't think it lived quite up to that one but it was really engaging and creative. Definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.

I loved World War Z and this book’s subtitle is “A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre” sounds awesome to me, but unfortunately it really fell flat. It was mostly just super boring and nonsensical. The premise is that Kate and her husband Dan have just moved to an exclusive, eco-friendly community in the middle of nowhere when Mount Rainier erupts, leaving them all stranded far from civilization when a group of Bigfoot-like apes start to terrorize them. So much of the story doesn’t make sense, and it’s not the Sasquatch part. Kate’s account of what happens is supposed to be diary entries written to her therapist, but it doesn't read at all like that, with complete dialogue and extremely detailed descriptions of everything. Also Kate alludes to issues that she and her husband have but never really states what they are. Kate seems dumb and not relatable at all - she instantly starts to go along with everything another community member suggests, even butchering a rabbit when they’ve only been stuck in their community for one day. Seems a little early to freak out. There is no action until the last quarter of the book and then I feel like the author just adds in random cursing and offensive scenes for no reason. He also throws in backstories for a few of the other community members, but they didn’t add or explain anything. The book is described as horror and while there is gore, it is not scary or suspenseful at all.

Creepy. Gross. Scary. Probably not the best read to "escape" during a global pandemic, but it certainly kept me on the edge of my seat. Hand to readers looking for scary and suspense!

This is an odd book to read when you're in quarantine and feeling vulnerable and are acutely aware of your own mortality, but here we are.

I requested this book because it was out of my comfort zone and because my husband praised Max Brooks' writing, but truthfully, the genre is not one I read frequently. It is perhaps because of this and because of the tangled web of exposition at the beginning of the novel that it took me so long to get into it--I had several false starts before this one. Once the colony is established and the threat is sighted, however, the story flows much better. In particular, Brooks excels when he creates moments of sheer terror and gore; while his sense of character development seemed superfluous at times (e.g., he includes the backstory of certain characters before they die, even though it didn't change how invested I was in them at the time of their death), but the way the main character, Katie, transforms from a neurotic mess into an intense, almost predatory figure is excellent.

Devolution is told in journal format (unsure how this would have worked for me in print). It follows a group of ecological non-conformists as a volcano erupts, taking their hippie commune off the grid. The eruption has unexpected results. Now trapped in the wilderness, these unlikely neighbors have to fight for their lives as Sasquatches invade.⁣
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This was fun, easy, exciting, and just an all around good time. Groundbreaking? No. Totally worth the listen for entertainment value? Yes! It also offers a lot of discussion around ecology, technology, and sustainability.⁣
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I don’t think it was phenomenally written, but it was pleasant. And told the story the way it needed to. Consumable, and thrilling. I’d never read an eco-thriller before, and I’d love for this genre to become more of a thing? Is it already? I don’t know.

*I have read half of the book as an e-arc, and I have listened to the other half on audio.

First off, let me say, the audiobook was fantastic! It’s a full on celebrity cast and everyone did a spectacular job. I wish I had listened to the audiobook from the beginning. It’s a great one!

Devolution to me felt like a cross between X-Files, Anomaly Files, The Martian and the Wendigo episode of Supernatural. I loved the format of the book - the journal style of the narration as well as the chapters made up from news accounts, epistolary and interviews. It all felt very scientific and made the story seam that much more real and engrossing!

The story follows the residents of Greenloop and as they attempt to survive a full-on Sasquatch massacre in the fallout of Mount Rainier volcano explosion. Greenloop is a small community in the middle of the woods - an ultra modern and ultra eco little establishment for people tired of city living and pollution, who want to be pioneers in the wild, all the while still enjoying the security of community and convenient weekly food drops.

Residents of Greenloop enjoy their little luxurious hide-out in the middle of nowhere, but it seems they aren't actually well equipped to survive in the wild. So when they end up stranded, completely isolated and with no more food deliveries arriving in the foreseeable future, the panic begins to set in and the frantic planning starts. Wild animals fleeing the volcano eruption trek through their little village, and in their footsteps something way more sinister and dangerous follows. The Sasquatch creatures. Hungry, displaced and extremely violent and strong. How do you survive when all of a sudden you find yourself at the bottom of the food chain?

Devolution is by far one of my 3 top favorite books of the year. It was phenomenal, brilliant, intelligent and bloody entertaining. I am a huge fan of the non-fiction as fiction framework and I appreciated Brooks ability to slowly but firmly built the suspense and crank up the tension all throughout the book. By the end of the story, I was frantically turning pages, inhaling the events unraveling in front of my eyes. The cast of the book was great - everyone felt real, fleshed-out and human, with authentic back stories and believable reactions, complete with that couple of jerks who always end up messing up your plans.

I posted a Can’t Wait Wednesday about Devolution back when I first heard about it- and that excitement never waned. When I attempted to read over the past few months, this was the book I picked up.

It starts a little slow- an introduction to the world and the characters, their relationships with each other. It took me until about the 25% mark to get into the unputdownable parts. Is it a little over the top? Yeah. Did I care? Nope.

The sasquatch (es? what is the plural of sasquatch?!) in this book reminded me a lot of the creatures encountered in Michael Crichton’s Congo, and I ate up every second of it. There was tree knocking and howls, rock throwing and glowing eyes in the dark. It was exactly what I hoped for.

It was both similar and different to Max’s previous success, World War Z. It’s similar in style – where WWZ was an oral retelling, this is told mostly in journal entries. It’s different because it is told primarily from one POV – Kate’s. I found this style much better suited to my tastes, because with the journal entries felt like one cohesive, connected story, not bits and pieces of a much larger story. There’s no knowing how or if Kate survived, only that her journal did.

There were parts that made me cringe away in horror and parts that had me holding my breath. The atmosphere and tone were perfect. I only deducted a star for the slow beginning.

If you liked WWZ, if you’ve ever wondered about the existence of sasquatch, I’d definitely recommend this! It’s a fun summer read with a creepy tone. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley who provided a free copy in exchange for a review. Devolution can be found on GoodReads and Amazon.

If you read Devolution and I missed your review – please link to it below! I’d love to know what you thought.

I read this on my Kindle as I was falling asleep at night. This was a bad idea -- not because it gave me nightmares, but because I didn't want to put it down!

As with World War Z, this is not a traditional narrative. The story unfolds largely through Kate Holland's journal of the events following the eruption of Mount Rainier, with interruptions in the form of interviews with experts and Kate's brother. The novel is part horror, part social criticism, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I look forward to whatever Brooks comes up with next!