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A review by theaurochs
Gigantic by Ashley Stokes
4.0
A funny and deeply tragic novel. A story of how a vulnerable person gets taken advantage of, and how the human brain is capable of rationalising anything.
Kevin Stubbs is a sad sort of man; lives by themself, few friends, somewhat estranged wife and child. But, they know the TRUTH of things, the FACTS of the situation, what’s really going on. And what’s really going on is that there is a gigantopithicus (bigfoot/yeti equivalent) running rampant in the woods of Sutton, south London. It’s just that there’s a big conspiracy to keep it quiet, right? All the scientists and media trying to hide these simple truths. But Kevin has seen it with their own eyes and will not be dissuaded. The story follows Kevin and a small team of investigators as they follow up on a particularly noteworthy sighting of the beast. The mystical and supernatural elements are well presented and often have a well-suffused humour to them; that Marenghian tint of being from a slightly schlocky horror writer. It’s very well done; there are some truly funny moments throughout. But Gigantic grounds its humour in a deeply believable world; even if that is seen from Kevin’s somewhat oblivious vantage point. Kevin is a deeply sympathetic character, someone who wants so desperately to belong to something and to connect that they become vulnerable to the abuse of bad actors. While the bigfoot idea is fantastical, it feels like an insight into the kind of mind that could fall into any number of modern conspiracy theories; flat-earth, climate-change denial, new world order type stuff. At no point is Kevin ever malicious, just misled.
There is a really touching story here about a man unable to connect with his wife; fully consumed by an insane obsession. The stories of the other members of the Gigantopithicus Investigation Team (or GITs) similarly have well-drawn personalities and arcs throughout the book, and the writing is clever enough to show these despite Kevin’s utter obliviousness.
A heartfelt and sad character study wrapped in an amusing monster-hunt. Great reading!
Kevin Stubbs is a sad sort of man; lives by themself, few friends, somewhat estranged wife and child. But, they know the TRUTH of things, the FACTS of the situation, what’s really going on. And what’s really going on is that there is a gigantopithicus (bigfoot/yeti equivalent) running rampant in the woods of Sutton, south London. It’s just that there’s a big conspiracy to keep it quiet, right? All the scientists and media trying to hide these simple truths. But Kevin has seen it with their own eyes and will not be dissuaded. The story follows Kevin and a small team of investigators as they follow up on a particularly noteworthy sighting of the beast. The mystical and supernatural elements are well presented and often have a well-suffused humour to them; that Marenghian tint of being from a slightly schlocky horror writer. It’s very well done; there are some truly funny moments throughout. But Gigantic grounds its humour in a deeply believable world; even if that is seen from Kevin’s somewhat oblivious vantage point. Kevin is a deeply sympathetic character, someone who wants so desperately to belong to something and to connect that they become vulnerable to the abuse of bad actors. While the bigfoot idea is fantastical, it feels like an insight into the kind of mind that could fall into any number of modern conspiracy theories; flat-earth, climate-change denial, new world order type stuff. At no point is Kevin ever malicious, just misled.
There is a really touching story here about a man unable to connect with his wife; fully consumed by an insane obsession. The stories of the other members of the Gigantopithicus Investigation Team (or GITs) similarly have well-drawn personalities and arcs throughout the book, and the writing is clever enough to show these despite Kevin’s utter obliviousness.
A heartfelt and sad character study wrapped in an amusing monster-hunt. Great reading!