October -- 31 Days Of Horror: DEVOLUTION by Max Brooks

DEVOLUTION: A FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT OF THE RAINIER SASQUATCH MASSACRE by Max Brooks (Del Rey Books, June 2020) Hardcover, 286 pages. ISBN # 1984826786 / 9781984826787 Literary Awards: Locus Award Nominee for Best Horror Novel, Goodreads Choice Award Nominee For Horror  

Summary on the Goodreads website . . . . .

 

 As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier’s eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined . . . until now.

But the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town’s bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing—and too earth-shattering in its implications—to be forgotten.

In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate’s extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations into the massacre and the legendary beasts behind it.

Kate’s is a tale of unexpected strength and resilience, of humanity’s defiance in the face of a terrible predator’s gaze, and inevitably, of savagery and death.

Yet it is also far more than that.

Because if what Kate Holland saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us—and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.

Part survival narrative, part bloody horror tale, part scientific journey into the boundaries between truth and fiction, this is a Bigfoot story as only Max Brooks could chronicle it—and like none you’ve ever read before.

My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

     The first part of this novel was a little slow, taking it’s time to establish the setting, introduce the many characters, let us peek inside their heads and learn their peculiarities as well as their values and concerns, and then introduce the conflict/threat. 

     That helped to enhance the suspense and sense of dread in the middle section, because by that point I was invested in many of these characters and cared deeply about what might happen to them. 

     The last 100 pages are very intense, and I felt invested in this commune under siege as much as the characters did and experienced some of their fear. 

     Considering that the author is conveying all of this through first person narration in journal entries by Greenloop resident Katie Holland makes it even more personal. I know this is a work of fiction but it felt real. The rest of the story is told through interviews, quotations from actual books (including Theodore Roosevelt), news reports, etc that only serves to flavor the documentary feel of the whole thing. 

     I know this is a similar method to what Brooks employed with WORLD WAR Z, although I did not read that. (It's on my shelf, but watching the movie first spoiled my motivation to get to it sooner rather than later). It may be even more effective here, as theses events occur in an isolated community rather than on a global scale. 

     

    DEVOLUTION exceeded my expectations. I'm glad to have read it.