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Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre Hardcover – June 16, 2020
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FINALIST FOR THE LOCUS AWARD
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 before.
Praise for Devolution
“Delightful . . . [A] tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“The story is told in such a compelling manner that horror fans will want to believe and, perhaps, take the warning to heart.”—Booklist (starred review)
- Print length304 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherDel Rey
- Publication dateJune 16, 2020
- Dimensions6.34 x 1.07 x 9.52 inches
- ISBN-101984826786
- ISBN-13978-1984826787
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A chilling tale of a Bigfoot massacre, told through recovered journals, blurring the lines between truth and fiction.Popular highlight
It’s great to live free of the other sheep until you hear the wolves howl.1,365 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
Denial is an irrational dismissal of danger. Phobia is an irrational fear of one.836 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
The whole country rests on a system that sacrifices resilience for comfort.820 Kindle readers highlighted this
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Editorial Reviews
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Review
“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.”—David Sedaris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Calypso
“Another triumph from Max Brooks! First zombies. Now Bigfoot. I can’t wait until he turns every monster from childhood into an intelligent, entertaining page-turner.”—Stephen Chbosky, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Imaginary Friend and The Perks of Being a Wallflower
“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 behavior. I was gripped from the first page to the last!"—Les Stroud, creator of Survivorman, filmmaker, and author
“I wish we could elevate the national dialogue on public safety to a level of tone and focus that Max Brooks has demonstrated for all of us.”—Tom Ridge, former governor of Pennsylvania and first secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
“Both a bloody good read and a bloody, good read. You’ll never look at a bamboo stake the same way again.”—Andrew Hunter Murray, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Last Day
“Unputdownable . . . will have you gripped to the last thrilling page.”—John Marrs, bestselling author of The One
“It’s terrifying. Brooks is not only dealing with the end of humanity; he’s also showing us our further course toward a new, ineluctable, absolute brutality.”—BookPage (starred review)
“With stellar worldbuilding, a claustrophobic atmosphere, an inclusive and fascinating cast of characters, and plenty of bloody action, this inventive story will keep readers’ heart rates high.”—Library Journal (starred review)
“Brooks creates vivid landscapes and has a gift for shifting focus in an instant, turning lovely nature scenes suddenly menacing. Brooks packs his plot with action, information, and atmosphere, and captures both the foibles and the heroism of his characters.”—Publishers Weekly
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Bigfoot Destroys Town. That was the title of an article I received not long after the Mount Rainier eruption. I thought it was spam, the inevitable result of so much online research. At the time I was just finishing up what seemed like my hundredth op-ed on Rainier, analyzing every facet of what should have been a predictable, and preventable, calamity. Like the rest of the country, I needed facts, not sensationalism. Staying grounded had been the focus of so many op-eds, because of all Rainier’s human failures—political, economic, logistical—it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people. And here it was again, right on my laptop screen: Bigfoot Destroys Town.
Just forget it, I told myself, the world’s not going to change overnight. Just breathe, delete, and move on.
And I almost did. Except for that one word.
“Bigfoot.”
The article, posted on an obscure, cryptozoological website, claimed that while the rest of the country was focused on Rainier’s wrath, a smaller but no less bloody disaster was occurring a few miles away in the isolated, high-end, high-tech eco-community of Greenloop. The article’s author, Frank McCray, described how the eruption not only cut Greenloop off from rescue, but also left it vulnerable to a troop of hungry, apelike creatures that were themselves fleeing the same catastrophe.
The details of the siege were recorded in the journal of Greenloop resident Kate Holland, the sister of Frank McCray.
“They never found her body,” McCray wrote to me in a follow-up email, “but if you can get her journal published, maybe someone will read it who might have seen her.”
When I asked why me, he responded, “Because I’ve been following your op-eds on Rainier. You don’t write anything you haven’t thoroughly researched first.” When I asked why he thought I’d have any interest in Bigfoot, he answered, “I read your Fangoria article.”
Clearly I wasn’t the only one who knew how to research a subject. Somehow, McCray had tracked down a decades-old list of my “Top Five Classic Bigfoot Movies” for the iconic horror magazine. In that piece, I’d talked about growing up “at the height of the Bigfoot frenzy,” challenging readers to watch these old movies “with the eyes of a six-year-old child, eyes that flick constantly from the terror on the screen to the dark, rustling trees outside the window.”
Reading that piece must have convinced McCray that some part of me wasn’t quite ready to leave my childhood obsession in the past. He must have also known that my adult skepticism would force me to thoroughly vet his story. Which I did. Before contacting McCray again, I discovered that there had been a highly publicized community known as Greenloop. There was an ample amount of press regarding its founding—and its founder, Tony Durant. Tony’s wife, Yvette, had also hosted several online yoga and meditation classes from the town’s Common House right up to the day of the eruption. But on that day, everything stopped.
That was not unusual for towns that lay in the path of Rainier’s boiling mudslides, but a quick check of the official FEMA map showed Greenloop had never been touched. And while devastated areas such as Orting and Puyallup had eventually reconnected their digital footprints, Greenloop remained a black hole. There were no press reports, no amateur recordings. Nothing. Even Google Earth, which has been so diligent in updating its satellite imagery of the area, still posts the original, pre-eruption photo of Greenloop and the surrounding area. As peculiar as all these red flags might be, what finally drove me back to McCray was the fact that the only mention of Greenloop after the disaster that I could find was in a local police report that said the official investigation was still “ongoing.”
“What do you know?” I asked him after several days of radio silence. That was when he sent me the link to an AirDrop link of a photo album taken by Senior Ranger Josephine Schell. Schell, who I would later interview for this project, had led the first search and rescue team into the charred wreckage of what had once been Greenloop. Amid the corpses and debris, she had discovered the journal of Kate Holland (née McCray) and had photographed each page before the original copy was removed.
At first, I still suspected a hoax. I’m old enough to remember the notorious “Hitler Diaries.” However, as I finished the last page, I couldn’t help but believe her story. I still do. Perhaps it’s the simplicity of her writing, the frustratingly credible ignorance of all things Sasquatch. Or perhaps it’s just my own irrational desire to exonerate the scared little boy I used to be. That’s why I’ve published Kate’s story, along with several news items and background interviews that I hope will provide some context for readers not familiar with Sasquatch lore. In the process of compiling that research, I struggled greatly with how much to include. There are literally dozens of scholars, hundreds of hunters, and thousands of recorded encounters. To wade through them all might have taken years, if not decades, and this story simply does not have that kind of time. That is why I have chosen to limit my interviews to the two people with direct, personal involvement in the case, and my literary references to Steve Morgan’s The Sasquatch Companion. Fellow Bigfoot enthusiasts will no doubt recognize Morgan’s Companion as the most comprehensive, up-to-date guidebook on the subject, combining historical accounts, recent eyewitness sightings, and scientific analysis from experts like Dr. Jeff Meldrum, Ian Redmond, Robert Morgan (no relation), and the late Dr. Grover Krantz.
Some readers may also question my decision to omit certain geographical details regarding the exact location of Greenloop. This was done to discourage tourists and looters from contaminating what is still an active crime scene. With the exception of these details, and the necessary spelling and grammatical corrections, the journal of Kate Holland remains intact. My only regret is not being able to interview Kate’s psychotherapist (who encouraged her to begin writing this diary) on the grounds of patient confidentiality. And yet this psychotherapist’s silence seems, at least to me, like an admission of hope. After all, why would a doctor worry about the confidentiality of her patient if she didn’t believe that patient was still alive?
At the time of this writing, Kate has been missing for thirteen months. If nothing changes, this book’s publication date may see her disappearance lasting several years.
At present, I have no physical evidence to validate the story you are about to read. Maybe I’ve been duped by Frank McCray, or maybe we’ve both been duped by Josephine Schell. I will let you, the reader, judge for yourself if the following pages seem reasonably plausible, and like me, if they reawaken a terror long buried under the bed of youth.
Product details
- Publisher : Del Rey; First Edition (June 16, 2020)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 304 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1984826786
- ISBN-13 : 978-1984826787
- Item Weight : 1 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.34 x 1.07 x 9.52 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #40,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,661 in Science Fiction Adventures
- #2,130 in Horror Literature & Fiction
- #4,723 in Suspense Thrillers
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Max Brooks is the author of World War Z, the Zombie Survival Guide, Minecraft: The Island, and Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre. His graphic novels include GI Joe: Hearts and Minds, The Extinction Parade, Germ Warfare: A Graphic History, and The Harlem Hellfighters.
Brooks holds dual fellowships at the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security and the Modern War Institute at West Point.
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Second, these people will change a bit. Some for the better and one or two for the worse. The changes may be a little swift for the short time during which the book takes place, but roll with it.
I wish there had been more from the officer who investigated and found the journal and from the brother who owned the house. Most of the books focuses on the diary of the one woman, and while it is interesting and she changes, I would have enjoyed more character development related to the search and maybe even some more info on what happened in Tacoma, as it is related to the idea of modern, "civilized," tech-dependent people on their own in a crisis.
It is interesting that the author brings in quotations from Goodall and other professionals to prepare us for the habits of the Bigfoots we will later get to know so well. Too bad an ape or Bigfoot expert could not have been a character but the Bigfoot does not come in till half way through the book, so there is no point for them early on.
The real drama at the second half is the interactions of the isolated people with the Bigfoot group that comes across the community. So if you are starting to read and wishing there was more action, hold on. You will get plenty of action in the second half and it is built up nicely as the Bigfoots get more aggressive.
I like this style of writing where the main story is sort of interrupted with other short reports and news stories and letters and character interviews. These all help flesh out the ideas.
This book raises some really direct and harsh issues about human civilization and Romanticism about nature. The older woman who is a glass artist and has chosen to try to make something "beautiful from fire" is very interesting and it is ironic that her work helps save them all in a way they could not have expected. Does that ending negate her idea of creating the beautiful? Does she teach us something about survival and appreciating what we have? Hmmmm. You will have to check it out.
So get the book and realize some readers stopped early because the characters are not likable but they should have read on.,
Top reviews from other countries
At times, it reads like a corny 80's horror movie, with me subconsciously yelling at the characters to do this.. do that.. I struggled with the realism of the main character who was essentially a dud, rising to the occasion and becoming a rambo. (Going rogue at the end. Bs) In the real word hard work and life experience make people rise to the occasion and this character just seemed like a stand alone shut in. Then again... the book is about Bigfoot! so what am I talking about. Lol. It's a great fictional book.
Reviewed in Mexico on July 24, 2021
A very hearty recommendation for this book. Fabulous read.