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Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2020
304 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
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.
"Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes...Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene. A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Brooks creates vivid landscapes and...packs his plot with action, information, and atmosphere, and captures both the foibles and the heroism of his characters. This slow-burning page-turner will appeal to Brooks's devoted fans and speculative fiction readers who enjoy tales of monsters." - Publishers Weekly
"The transformation of Greenloop and its members—especially Kate and her slacker husband, Dan—from self-doubting basket cases into formidable warriors transcends the notion of 'evolution.' It's terrifying. Brooks is not only dealing with the end of humanity; he's also showing us our further course toward a new, ineluctable, absolute brutality." - BookPage
"Devolution is the Bigfoot thriller you didn't know you needed in your life, and one of the greatest horror novels I've ever read. The characters soar, the ideas sing, and it's all going to scare the living daylights out of you." - Blake Crouch, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter and Recursion
"Devolution is spellbinding. It is a horror story about how anyone, especially those who think they are above it, can slowly devolve into primal, instinctual behavior. I was gripped from the first page to the last!" - Les Stroud, creator of Survivorman, filmmaker, and author
"Another triumph from Max Brooks! First zombies. Now Bigfoot. I can't wait until he turns every monster from childhood into an intelligent, entertaining page-turner." - Stephen Chbosky, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Imaginary Friend and The Perks of Being a Wallflower
This information about Devolution was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Max Brooks is the author of World War Z, the Zombie Survival Guide, Minecraft: The Island, and Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre. His graphic novels include GI Joe: Hearts and Minds, The Extinction Parade, Germ Warfare: A Graphic History, and The Harlem Hellfighters. Brooks holds dual fellowships at the Atlantic Council's Brent Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and the Modern War Institute at West Point.
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