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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
I just realized anything to do with big foot is almost comical to me and I just couldn’t get into it.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I can’t believe I just read a whole book about a Sasquatch massacre and I’ve come out of it learning a bunch of random facts about primates too. It was awesome.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
I want to start off by saying that this book received a 5-star review solely because I enjoyed it so much and didn't want to put it down. If I was to take into account believability, lack of plot holes, and likeable characters, this would be closer to a 4-4.5 rating. That being said, when I put the rating in, I always try to go with my gut-feeling after immediately finishing the book, which was to give it a 5-star rating.
Devolution was my first deep dive into Max Brooks. I tried to read his break through novel, World War Z, via audiobook when it first came out, but never finished it. So, I'm looking at Devolution as my first real introduction to Brooks. I have to note that I went into this book wanting to read something fun and maybe even campy about Bigfeet (Bigfoots?) and not caring too much about the level of depth a Sasquatch-inspired novel could carry. I was therefore happily surprised by how much depth a Sasquatch-inspired novel tried to carry.
What's interesting about Devolution is that it is far more than just a survival story of some campers in the woods getting attacked by a Seattle Yeti. For starters, our "campers" are not regular campers, they're Smart Home owners who have decided to move out of civilization but not off the grid. Everything they have in their little settlement is technologically advanced and state-of-the-art. There is no "roughin' it" for our protagonists, which turns their survival tale into something far more relatable to the average reader. I don't know how to start a fire from scratch or how to make weapons or grow gardens, and neither do most of these characters. Once they realize they've been truly cut off from civilization for a while, they do flounder about in a highly realistic way, albeit for some odd reason their iPads still work, so while they've been forced off the grid they can still somehow listen to Soundgarden.
Questionable music tastes aside, Devolution is told through a series of journal entries, interviews, and academic articles about the history of the primate. While I definitely feel that this was the best way to portray a "found footage" style book, I have to say I hated the construction of the main character's diary. Katie's entries are directed towards her therapist, who suggested she create the diary for their sessions. She's having marital issues and moved out Greenloop to try to rectify them, though her out-of-work husband doesn't seem to realize or know that. Katie is extremely judgmental and self-conscious, she seems to be portrayed as a very cliché Type A person who moved to California for her career, and she uses her diary for the first quarter of the novel to pretty much hate on her husband, who, at first, doesn't seem like that bad of a guy (and by the end of the novel is absolutely not a bad guy at all, just suffering from depression).
As with her husband, Katie's journal characterizations of her companions invoke the classic unreliable narrator trope, as we're only seeing things through her judgmental eyes. Once all the action starts taking place, you clearly learn that the old crazy lady is actually a bad ass, her husband doesn't suck (as noted earlier), and that the two heads of this commune that she adores so much are merely facades. This was an interesting tactic for Brooks to delve into, but I don't think it was necessarily needed for this story. First off, Katie's accounts of what happens in Greenloop are far too detailed, far more so than the average person would actually remember. I understand that this is done to drive development in the novel, but it still feels far too detailed for someone to be able to remember and write down words in another language she has never even heard before. Second, it allows for plot holes. The biggest surround Yvette and her husband. We know they had a major decline once civilization got cut off and the Bigfoot attacks began, but we have no insight as to why or what exactly happened with them. The story kind of benefits from us not knowing, which also makes this feel a little weak and thrown in.
Anyways, I digress, as the journal entries were really the only thing to truly grind my gears in this novel. Apart from that, it is all smooth, fun Bigfoot sailing. And I can't emphasize enough how much I enjoyed reading about all of these crazy Bigfoot encounters. I found Brooks' explanations of the Bigfoot attacks and communications so captivating. He creates a world completely inspired by the evolution of the modern monkey and ape and translates it into a semi-intelligent cryptid in a much more believable way than our main character's marriage problems. There's a great build up of suspense with these creatures, and we also get a glimpse as to why they are attacking this camp beyond the traditional "stumbled upon it" trope. Two things really struck me about the Bigfoot encounters. One was how Katie chose to name each Bigfoot, making each Sasquatch feel like an actual personified villain whose actions and character arc the reader could follow. And second was the hints that we saw from Mostar's dissection of the Bigfoot attacks that made it seem like she had lived through something similar to this before. This really elevated the mystery and intrigue of her character, but also strengthened the trust in her, too.
All in all, Devolution is a very fun ride to go on. I don't recommend reading this if you're camping in the woods while doing so, and I don't recommend reading this if you have any plans on visiting an active volcano in the future. However, if you love cryptozoology and are looking for a cool spin on the stranded survival story, this book is for you. Go Team Bigfoot!
Devolution was my first deep dive into Max Brooks. I tried to read his break through novel, World War Z, via audiobook when it first came out, but never finished it. So, I'm looking at Devolution as my first real introduction to Brooks. I have to note that I went into this book wanting to read something fun and maybe even campy about Bigfeet (Bigfoots?) and not caring too much about the level of depth a Sasquatch-inspired novel could carry. I was therefore happily surprised by how much depth a Sasquatch-inspired novel tried to carry.
What's interesting about Devolution is that it is far more than just a survival story of some campers in the woods getting attacked by a Seattle Yeti. For starters, our "campers" are not regular campers, they're Smart Home owners who have decided to move out of civilization but not off the grid. Everything they have in their little settlement is technologically advanced and state-of-the-art. There is no "roughin' it" for our protagonists, which turns their survival tale into something far more relatable to the average reader. I don't know how to start a fire from scratch or how to make weapons or grow gardens, and neither do most of these characters. Once they realize they've been truly cut off from civilization for a while, they do flounder about in a highly realistic way, albeit for some odd reason their iPads still work, so while they've been forced off the grid they can still somehow listen to Soundgarden.
Questionable music tastes aside, Devolution is told through a series of journal entries, interviews, and academic articles about the history of the primate. While I definitely feel that this was the best way to portray a "found footage" style book, I have to say I hated the construction of the main character's diary. Katie's entries are directed towards her therapist, who suggested she create the diary for their sessions. She's having marital issues and moved out Greenloop to try to rectify them, though her out-of-work husband doesn't seem to realize or know that. Katie is extremely judgmental and self-conscious, she seems to be portrayed as a very cliché Type A person who moved to California for her career, and she uses her diary for the first quarter of the novel to pretty much hate on her husband, who, at first, doesn't seem like that bad of a guy (and by the end of the novel is absolutely not a bad guy at all, just suffering from depression).
As with her husband, Katie's journal characterizations of her companions invoke the classic unreliable narrator trope, as we're only seeing things through her judgmental eyes. Once all the action starts taking place, you clearly learn that the old crazy lady is actually a bad ass, her husband doesn't suck (as noted earlier), and that the two heads of this commune that she adores so much are merely facades. This was an interesting tactic for Brooks to delve into, but I don't think it was necessarily needed for this story. First off, Katie's accounts of what happens in Greenloop are far too detailed, far more so than the average person would actually remember. I understand that this is done to drive development in the novel, but it still feels far too detailed for someone to be able to remember and write down words in another language she has never even heard before. Second, it allows for plot holes. The biggest surround Yvette and her husband. We know they had a major decline once civilization got cut off and the Bigfoot attacks began, but we have no insight as to why or what exactly happened with them. The story kind of benefits from us not knowing, which also makes this feel a little weak and thrown in.
Anyways, I digress, as the journal entries were really the only thing to truly grind my gears in this novel. Apart from that, it is all smooth, fun Bigfoot sailing. And I can't emphasize enough how much I enjoyed reading about all of these crazy Bigfoot encounters. I found Brooks' explanations of the Bigfoot attacks and communications so captivating. He creates a world completely inspired by the evolution of the modern monkey and ape and translates it into a semi-intelligent cryptid in a much more believable way than our main character's marriage problems. There's a great build up of suspense with these creatures, and we also get a glimpse as to why they are attacking this camp beyond the traditional "stumbled upon it" trope. Two things really struck me about the Bigfoot encounters. One was how Katie chose to name each Bigfoot, making each Sasquatch feel like an actual personified villain whose actions and character arc the reader could follow. And second was the hints that we saw from Mostar's dissection of the Bigfoot attacks that made it seem like she had lived through something similar to this before. This really elevated the mystery and intrigue of her character, but also strengthened the trust in her, too.
All in all, Devolution is a very fun ride to go on. I don't recommend reading this if you're camping in the woods while doing so, and I don't recommend reading this if you have any plans on visiting an active volcano in the future. However, if you love cryptozoology and are looking for a cool spin on the stranded survival story, this book is for you. Go Team Bigfoot!