My rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads rating: 4.03 with 592 ratings (as of 6/18/2020)

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. …Synopsis from Goodreads

200 Word Review

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

If you read World War Z, you know Max Brooks does an exceptional job at writing the fictional documentary format, making it feel like non-fiction. He does it again in Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre.

Devolution’s release is accidently well-timed. The catalyst is the eruption of Mt Ranier. Roads are closed and destroyed by lahars, boiling mudslides. The government is working to help those affected. Outside the eruption zone is Greenloop, a small environmental utopia which consists of smart, completely “green” houses but still contains all of the modern amenities, Since their intention is to go completely green and reduce their carbon footprint, their food deliveries are for a week at a time. What happens when they are cut off and do not have the necessary food or supplies to get through the crisis? The discussion about consumers not stocking up and supermarkets offering farm-fresh items hit home during the Covid-19 crisis.

Oh, and there is also sasquatch they need to deal with. The premise might sound far fetched, but Brooks does a fabulous job of making it seem not only possible but probable. The people seem so real; I cheered out loud at one point.

This review was published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 6/18/20. When available, the review will be published on Scribd.com and, using Overdrive, will be rated in 9 libraries.

Genre: Thriller, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Print Length: 304 pages
ISBN: 9781984826787
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine
Publication Date: June 16, 2020

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