A review by wordsofclover
Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks

dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 In the same vein as Max Brooks’ World War Z, Devolution tells us the story from another near apocalypse and close monster encounter from a first-hand perspective. We follow the journal of Katie, who has recently moved to a sustainable eco-community called Greenloop near Mt Rainier. The rather cult like feel of her new community actually soothes Katie but soon things get crazy when Mt Rainier erupts, the small group are cut off from the normal world and they end up preyed upon by man-like beasts from the nearby forest. 
 
I didn’t know what to expect from a ‘Bigfoot’ horror novel but I ended up really enjoying this and flying through it. This was very fast paced and engaging - and each new journal entry of Katie’s brought another rather terrifying Sasquatch encounter into reality. 
 
I did find it slightly fast-paced at times in terms of it didn’t take a long time at all between Mr Rainier’s eruption and the Sasquatch horror to rein down on Greenloop though I understand that this also was due to incorporating the reality of real help finding Greenloop, as well as experimenting with the amount of time it can take to really change a person’s psyche from hunted to hunter. 
 
I also agree with some other reviews I’ve seen that I would have liked more character exploration or deep dive into Tony and Yvette as it felt like they were going to have a bigger part to play as antagonists when things went south as I was a bit disappointed that they just went a bit mad in the end instead. I loved Mostar and how her background was revealed as well as her encouragement of Katie and Dan - and how Dan’s mojo came back as he suddenly had a purpose again and seemed to find out who he really was as did Katie. 
 
So I really enjoyed this - it was fast paced and punchy with just another gore and violence to make your stomach flip but unable to take your eyes away from the page! 
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