Book Review: Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre

Max Brook's Devolution follows the citizens of the small community of Greenloop - primarily told through the diary of Kate Holland, with occasional interviews from people outside of the community - as they deal first with a volcanic eruption, then the invasion of their community by a large tribe of sasquatch seeking food.

Brooks makes quite a change in narrative style in this novel, compared to his previous two: The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z.  Rather than it being a collection of recollections like the latter, this is a straightforward story, albeit one that has interviews interspersed that harkens back to it.  The structure suits him, and the story is engrossing and remarkably well-researched.

The main conceit of the novel is making this small community believably cut off from the rest of the world, and Brooks sets about explaining that quickly and efficiently:  Greenloop is a new type of village, intentionally set away from large cities and built to be as eco-friendly as possible.  Food is delivered by self-driving vehicles or by drones, the buildings are powered with solar panels and from recycled waste - any detail the reader could think of for this small group of people (all told, the town has 11 people) has an explanation ready and - more importantly - delivered naturally through the novel.

Because of this 'low carbon footprint,' the city lacks many necessities the one would normally have present, and once the volcano erupts and starts the main action of the story, they realize the folly of this type of idealized living.

Not that they are completely helpless.  While the main organizers of the community, Tony and Yvette, become rather unhelpful, one of the more fascinating members - Mostar - takes charge.  While much of her story is a mystery - aside from one interview (pre-Greenloop) towards the end of the novel, Kate never brings herself to delve too much into Mostar's past, enough is hinted at that both Kate and the reader get a good idea of what she has survived and how she will use her history to help the community.  And that's before the titular sasquatch make their appearance.

If there is one shortcoming to the novel - and this is minor at best - it is that we don't get much of the other residents due to the story told entirely through Kate's diary.  Aside from Kate and Mostar, the only other developed character is Kate's husband.  Some of the characters are enough of 'personalities' that the reader can do the heavy lifting of characterization, but most of them fade into the background.

Which is fine - this novel is Kate's story and her growth throughout is a wonder to read.  Brooks manages to do this subtly despite it being Kate's own recollection of what happened.  When discussing her with friends, it became a game to guess who would play her in the inevitable movie (this is lean enough that it could be a film fairly easily, rather than a miniseries).

While some might complain that the novel takes too long to get to the actual beasts of the title, I think Brooks does a good job of setting the scene and building to their appearance.  After all, there aren't that many people in Greenloop, and if a massacre is going to happen (and indeed, it does), one cannot jump into the action too quickly.  I think Brooks manages this tightrope fairly well - having interactions with the creatures that are both thrilling and scary without having too much occur that the reader cannot keep up.  He paces himself, and reader is rewarded with several different encounters - no repetition here - that increase the stakes for the characters.

I cannot praise this novel enough, and would recommend it to anyone that likes strange creatures and horror.

4.5 out of 5

Author Link:
https://www.maxbrooks.com/

Book Review: The Body in the Woods

The Body in the Woods, by Joshua Burleson, follows William and Diana after the married couple hits a man while driving home one night.  Rather than call the police, they opt to bury the body in the woods.  What follows is how the couple deals with the aftermath, grappling with guilt while also struggling to act as if everything is normal.

The book is split into two parts, one focusing on William and the other focusing on Diana - both told from that character's perspective.  Without hesitation, I will say that William's half is much stronger.  William, as the one driving, feels the bulk of the guilt for what has happened, and Burleson does a great job of writing the character's growing guilt.  There's some structural issues that hurt the Diana half, but William's half is solid from beginning to end.

Diana's half, while interesting, suffers a bit from Burleson needing to expand the story outside of Diana's perspective.  So, rather than the entire half being told from her point of view, the reader is forced to essentially step outside of her story to see what is happening with the investigation into the dead man's disappearance.

I think the novel might have been stronger with a triptych structure, rather than just a split: Keep Diana's section completely focused on her reactions, then have a third part focusing on the detective's.  This would not only give the two of them fuller characterizations - having to jump back and forth between the two shortchanges both of them - but it would also allow Burleson to approach scenes where the characters interact from multiple angles, which would further enrich the story.

The detective character, Charon, is the only part of the novel not told in the first person - another reason I think three divisions would work better than just 2 - and these parts feel almost awkward compared to the others.  The character isn't a bad one, but losing that inner perspective while also having him drive the bulk of the action in the final parts of the book doesn't quite work, structurally.

Another reason I would push for Charon to have his own section is that several breadcrumbs for a future sequel feel forced in rather than a natural part of the story, and the dynamic he has with his partner feels underdeveloped, especially with some of the leaps the story takes in the last third.

Even with those criticisms, this is a solid debut from Burleson.  I'm willing to read whatever novel he self-publishes next.  I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to support independent (and local!) authors.

3 out of 5