Devolution

From the bestselling author of World War Z

By: Max Brooks

Narrated by: Jeff Daniels, Judy Greer, Kai Ryssdal, Kate Mulgrew, Kimberly Guerrero, Max Brooks, Mira Furlan, Nathan Fillion, Steven Weber, Terry Gross

Brought to you by Penguin.

FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WORLD WAR Z
______________________________________
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 beasts behind it, once thought legendary but now known to be terrifyingly real.

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.

The cast:
Judy Greer as Kate Holland
Nathan Fillion as Frank McCray
Kimberly Guerrero as Josephine Schell
With:
Jeff Daniels as Steve Morgan
Mira Furlan as Mostar
Kate Mulgrew as Hannah Reinhardt-Roth
Steven Weber as Tony Durant
and
Terry Gross and Kai Ryssdal as themselves
and
Max Brooks as the researcher

'Devolution is 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, author of Dark Matter and Recursion

'Devolution is spell binding. It is a horror story about how anyone, especially those who think they are above it, can slowly devolve into primal, instinctual behaviour. I was gripped from the first page to the last!' Les Stroud, creator of Survivorman

'Brooks 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' devoted fans and speculative fiction readers who enjoy tales of monsters.' Publishers Weekly

'Devolution is by Max Brooks, who wrote the stone cold classic that is World War Z, so I will follow him pretty much anywhere. Few things are pleasanter to read when cosy in bed than utterly dreadful dystopian things happening to somebody else.' Jenny Colgan

© Max Brooks 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Critic reviews

A masterful blend of laugh-out-loud social satire and stuff-your-fist-in-your-mouth horror. One elevates the other, making the book, and its message, all the more relevant.

Max Brooks has written the next great epistolary novel. Devolution is phenomenal

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

Another triumph from Max Brooks! . . . I can’t wait until he turns every monster from childhood into an intelligent, entertaining page-turner

A bloody good read (Andrew Hunter Murray, bestselling author of The Last Day)

Unputdownable

Thrilling and terrifyingly prescient. I love Max Brooks!

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 behaviour. I was gripped from the first page to the last!

For any fan of Bigfoot or cryptozoology, it's a referential treat.

From the feverish imagination behind World War Z comes a chilling narrative like no other, as the freshly discovered journals of a massacre survivor posit the horrifying suggestion of supernatural forces at work. Dark, gripping and visceral, Devolution is a unique journey into terror.

AMAZING

I loved this.

It was intimate, horrifying, well researched, well thought out...Max Brooks needs to more stuff...

A brilliant experience. The narrators were on point.
I only have good things to say!

Weak presentation of an interesting premise

The initial premise of a journalist investigating what happened to the small community during a modern day American calamity (featuring big foot) was interesting. One would expect an abundance of different sources and stories, a mystery being uncovered piece by piece with speculations about who did what. Alas, the narration quickly falls to what can only be described as a C-rated found-footage horror film in text form.

90% of the book is just one singular source, the journal of the main character whose not the journalist. The accuracy, lengthiness, and overall focus on describing the external world in sequential order and in an emotionally affective style, instead of relying on short reporting and deeper introspection. It's clear the author got lazy with the premise and just wrote a regular horror story with a first person narrator, instead of staying consistent in emulating the investigative medium throughout.

Performances by the visiting actors were good and natural, and Judy "You're not my supervisor!" Greer as the main character is also ok. Unfortunately there's so much bad material she has to work with that it ends up spoiling her voice too.

I would imagine that this story would've worked great as a fictional true-crime style podcast multimedia experience. Unfortunately missed opportunity.