Devolution
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. 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 befo
Themes & atmosphere
What you might want to know about Devolution
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
After Mount Rainier erupts, a tiny eco-utopia community in the Washington forests is cut off from the world and finds itself between a starving Sasquatch troop and a mountain that does not care which side wins.
Yes, in style. Both novels use a documentary-style approach with interviews, journals, and assembled records to depict an unfolding catastrophe. Devolution focuses on a Bigfoot attack on a remote eco-community after a Mount Rainier eruption.
Devolution is more horror-leaning than World War Z, with sustained dread once the attacks begin. Max Brooks researched Sasquatch lore and primate behavior extensively, which gives the novel a grounded creature-feature realism.
Devolution was written by Max Brooks, published in 2020 by Ebury Publishing.
Devolution is 304 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Devolution takes most readers 5 to 7 hours to finish.
Devolution is a standalone novel by Max Brooks, not part of a series.
Devolution is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.