Devolution – Max Brooks

100-Word (or Less) Synopsis: After Mount Rainier erupts and causes mass chaos along the Northwest, a group of tech-dependent urbanites populating a planned community, Greenloop, deep in the woods assume that help will reach them soon. But as dispatches from civilization become more dire, and the carcasses of prey animals start littering the trails around them, it becomes clear that to survive they’ll need more than food – they’ll also need weapons.

Expectation: A tongue-in-cheek take on the Sasquatch legend.

Reality: A gory allegory about our reliance on technology and ecological dominance.

Recommended For: Fans of Max Brooks’ “World War Z” or horror rooted in real-world scenarios.

Why I Read It: “World War Z” was one of my favorites reads of the aughts, but I had my doubts as to whether the same format – a serious take on a supernatural situation – would still interest me.  

My Take:

Max Brooks why did I ever doubt you?

I loved “World War Z.” It surprised me in the best ways as the perfect balance of the macabre mixed with social commentary about the American war machine and the general public’s reaction to disaster. Even after finishing it 13-years ago, I still think about it from time-to-time.

So, why I did I hesitate to request “Devolution” from the library? Because the rest of the title “A firsthand account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre,” sounded plain dumb.

For one, Sasquatch/Big Foot/Yeti/Swamp Ape stories never did it for me. And two, I started to second guess as to whether 25-year-old me actually had good taste since I wore ironic graphic tees and a faux-hawk much longer than was acceptable.

However, even in all my Sasquatch indifference “Devolution” was highly enjoyable.

If you’re expecting “World War Z,” but with a Sasquatch, you’ll be disappointed. Instead of an oral history, we’re presented with a first-person account from a diary found among the destruction, which makes this a more contained story, but also allows us to see the devolution unfold in multiple ways.  

Through Kate’s words we experience the confusion and fear that many of us would also feel, being wholly unprepared not only for a natural disaster but also to face other creatures fleeing the volcanic destruction.

While this structure is more emotional, it was also more difficult to care for many of the characters, and they became typical horror causalities with increasingly gory frequency.

Slow-to-start, the last 80 pages make up for it with a nail-biting showdown, but the real reason to read it is for Brooks’ spot-on commentary about tech moguls, influencer culture and general first-world problems that help make “Devolution” seem like a fully plausible situation.

This isn’t a novel for everyone, but if you like horror that will make you think and are willing to suspend reality for a few hours, you could do so much worse.

Side note: The audiobook is read by a full cast that is fantastic. Judy Greer embodies Kate perfectly, and there were a few audio cameos that were organic and unexpected.

Rating (story): 4/5 stars

Rating (narration): 5/5 stars

Format: Audiobook (library loan)

Dates read: June 19 – June 22, 2020

Multi-tasking: Good to go, but you may miss the social commentary mixed in with the gore.