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ebonysbookshelf 's review for:
Devolution
by Max Brooks
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book had all the right ingredients but, in my opinion, the wrong execution. I’m so bummed that I didn’t love it as I had been looking forward to this one for a long time.
It took me the last week or two to get through and at only 280 pages that’s how I knew something was off for me. The pacing was what really solidified my rating for Devolution, as not only are we reading the first person journal entries of our main character, we also have journalistic interviews and “research” chapters throughout which often times felt unnecessary and dry. This format made the progression of the plot painfully slow.
Following the isolation of a group of people in the Washington wilderness after Mt Rainier erupts and leaves them stranded without connection to civilisation or rescue and, as they prepare to figure out a way to survive the winter, the legend of Bigfoot comes to life in a slow-burn massacre… This sounded right up my alley and it’s a real shame that I came SO close to DNFing so many times. It also put me to sleep even during the high-stakes final 40 pages… something a horror/thriller just shouldn’t do 🫠.
The characters were unlikeable and naive, very two dimensional, and the “development” of our main protagonist was outlandish and frankly comical. I didn’t connect with any of the group and found the most unbelievable aspect that amongst a whole onslaught from a group of predators that you’d journal with such detail. It could’ve have been in a third person survival type of telling and would’ve been far more enthralling. I wasn’t frightened once or on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t even clearly imagine the beasts from the descriptions, not helped by the weird individual names the main character gave to them all.
Love the legend of Bigfoot, so I’m sorry to say I wouldn’t recommend this one. However, I can definitely see that Brooks is a talented author and hope that World War Z is a more enjoyable ride.
It took me the last week or two to get through and at only 280 pages that’s how I knew something was off for me. The pacing was what really solidified my rating for Devolution, as not only are we reading the first person journal entries of our main character, we also have journalistic interviews and “research” chapters throughout which often times felt unnecessary and dry. This format made the progression of the plot painfully slow.
Following the isolation of a group of people in the Washington wilderness after Mt Rainier erupts and leaves them stranded without connection to civilisation or rescue and, as they prepare to figure out a way to survive the winter, the legend of Bigfoot comes to life in a slow-burn massacre… This sounded right up my alley and it’s a real shame that I came SO close to DNFing so many times. It also put me to sleep even during the high-stakes final 40 pages… something a horror/thriller just shouldn’t do 🫠.
The characters were unlikeable and naive, very two dimensional, and the “development” of our main protagonist was outlandish and frankly comical. I didn’t connect with any of the group and found the most unbelievable aspect that amongst a whole onslaught from a group of predators that you’d journal with such detail. It could’ve have been in a third person survival type of telling and would’ve been far more enthralling. I wasn’t frightened once or on the edge of my seat. I couldn’t even clearly imagine the beasts from the descriptions, not helped by the weird individual names the main character gave to them all.
Love the legend of Bigfoot, so I’m sorry to say I wouldn’t recommend this one. However, I can definitely see that Brooks is a talented author and hope that World War Z is a more enjoyable ride.