'' Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Rainier Sasquatch Massacre'' is a fiction book by American author

Max Brooks Maximilian Michael Brooks (born May 22, 1972) is an American actor and author. He is the son of comedian Mel Brooks and actress Anne Bancroft. Much of Brooks's writing focuses on Zombie (fictional), zombie stories. He was a senior fellow at the ...

set in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

. It chronicles the story of a small, isolated community of technologically-dependent city dwellers who suddenly are cut off from the rest of the world after a volcanic eruption. In addition to lacking outdoor survival skills and resources, they find themselves under siege by a clan of

Bigfoot Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...

. The book was optioned by

Legendary Entertainment Legendary Entertainment, LLC (also known as Legendary Pictures or simply Legendary) is an American mass media and film production company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull. The company has often collaborated with the major stu ...

to become a film, around the same time the book began to be sold to the public in June 2020. It was also nominated for Locus Award's Best Horror Novel in 2021.

Plot

Thirteen months after the devastating eruption of

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier ( ), also known as Tahoma, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. The mountain is located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With an off ...

, a reporter receives an email from a man named Frank McCray who claims that a group of Bigfoot wiped out a nearby town named Greenloop. Frank's sister Kate Holland, one of the residents of Greenloop, has been missing since the eruption, leaving behind only a journal describing the events of the massacre. The narrative follows Kate's journal entries and interviews with Frank and

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

ranger Josephine Schell, interspersed with research on Bigfoot and news reports prior to and after the Mt. Rainier eruption. The journal entries begin as Kate and her husband Dan arrive in Greenloop, a small ecocentric community that is the brainchild of technology mogul Tony Durant. Powered by

solar panel A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

s and

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from Biomass (energy), biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels such as oil. Biofuel can be produced from plants or from agricu ...

generators, Greenloop is designed to be the perfect community for the

Green Revolution The Green Revolution, or the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period during which technology transfer initiatives resulted in a significant increase in crop yields. These changes in agriculture initially emerged in Developed country , devel ...

; it is removed from crowded cities yet still connected to modern conveniences. The community is ninety minutes from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, with only one access road, completely out of cellular tower range. The residents depend completely on drone deliveries for food and supplies, and the only means of receiving wi-fi or a cellular signal is a single fiber-optic cable. Kate's journal is initially a record kept to help manage her anxiety and OCD, addressed to her therapist. As Kate settles into the community, she describes her troubled relationship with Dan and the other residents of Greenloop; the retired Vincent and Bobbi Boothe, author and professor Alex Reinhardt, psychologists Carmen and Effie Perkins-Foster, their daughter Palomino, and artist Mostar. Tony Durant and his wife, former model Yvette, also live in the town. The community lives in an uneasy peace, which is seemingly made worse by the blunt attitude of Mostar. Upon the eruption of Mount Rainier, Tony decides that the residents should shelter in place and wait for rescuers to arrive, relying on the capabilities of their homes to see them through the crisis. Mostar argues for the community to begin rationing supplies and other steps to increase their chances of survival, but the other residents dismiss her concerns. Mostar pressures Kate and Dan into helping her prepare, displaying an unusually high degree of

survival skills Survival skills are techniques used to sustain life in any type of natural environment or built environment. These techniques are meant to provide basic necessities for human life, including water, food, and shelter. Survival skills also sup ...

. Kate and Dan's relationship slowly improves as Mostar encourages them to learn new skills. Still unable to contact anyone outside the town, the residents grow increasingly worried as the crisis worsens. The population centers closest to Mount Rainier are hit hard by the eruption, and civil unrest begins to overwhelm Seattle. As the

Washington National Guard The Washington National Guard is one of the four elements of the State of Washington's Washington Military Department and a component of the National Guard of the United States. It is headquartered at Camp Murray, Washington and is defined by ...

and local officials try to regain control of the crisis, tensions in Greenloop grow worse as the town's food supplies dwindle. As the other residents begin to panic and turn on each other, Kate begins to find signs of an unknown animal in the area. While out for a hike, Kate is chased into town by an unknown creature. Over the next few days, more signs of the mysterious creatures appear, culminating in Kate seeing an ape-like creature she described as the

cryptid Cryptids are animals or other beings whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated by science. Cryptozoology, the study of cryptids, is a pseudoscience claiming that such beings may exist somewhere in the wild; it has been widely cri ...

Bigfoot. Initially, the other residents refuse to believe her, claiming the creature is a bear. However, one night all the residents are awoken by several massive, ape-like creatures tearing open the town's compost bins and agree that they are dealing with a group of Bigfoots. Believing the creatures to merely be curious animals, Vincent attempts to communicate with them, but this only prompts them to attack the town by throwing rocks. The following day, Vincent decides to try and hike out to obtain help despite Mostar's warnings. That night, the residents hear Vincent screaming in pain in the forest, which Mostar recognizes as a trap set by the Bigfoot clan to draw them out. Overcome by

survivor's guilt Survivor guilt or survivor's guilt (also survivor syndrome, survivor's syndrome, survivor disorder and survivor's disorder) happens when individuals feel guilty after they survive a tragic, near death, or traumatic event when others perished. It ...

, Kate and Dan go to investigate and discover the Bigfoot camp, where they find that Vincent has been eaten. They are ambushed by the Bigfoot clan, but Mostar saves them by threatening the creatures with fire. Mostar rallies the town to prepare defenses and weapons, but before they are finished, the Bigfoot clan attacks the town. Reinhardt, Tony, and Yvette are killed in the initial assault, and Kate is pursued by the leader of the clan, whom she calls Alpha. Alpha corners Kate in her house, but Kate manages to burn Alpha badly. Mostar kills one of the clan, but dies in the process. Kate learns that Mostar's survival skills are a result of her involvement in the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

. With Kate now leading, the remaining residents prepare for a

last stand A last stand, or final stand, is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are d ...

. The Bigfoot clan attacks, and though the residents kill most of the creatures, including Alpha, all the residents except Kate and Palomino are killed. One week later, a team of rangers led by Schell arrive at the town. Kate and Palomino are gone, but the searchers discover the Bigfoot corpses. Thirteen months later, Frank is still searching the area around Greenloop, but Kate and Palomino's fate is unknown. Frank believes that the massacre triggered a primal desire in Kate to hunt the remaining Bigfoot.

Reactions

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' was positive, calling the book "a tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem". ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' and ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

'' also had positive reviews, saying Brooks "packs his plot with action, information, and atmosphere, and captures both the foibles and the heroism of his characters", and that it was a "creative and well-executed conceit" that would also appeal to "those who appreciate nonfiction survival stories". ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' was negative, with the review titled "A great Bigfoot novel may be lurking out there. Max Brooks's 'Devolution' isn't it." ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' gave it a mixed review, saying it was "ambitious mishmash of individually interesting pieces. Not quite sharp enough for compelling satire, a little too sneering for effective horror, it will find plenty of readers among devotees of Brooks, but will be a miss for most general readers." American gun enthusiast and self-defense instructor

Massad Ayoob Massad F. Ayoob (born July 20, 1948) is an American firearms, self-defense instructor and security advisor. He has taught police techniques and civilian self-defense to both law enforcement officers and private citizens since 1974. He was the ...

reviewed the book, concluding that it presented a good case for firearms ownership.

Audiobook

An audiobook version of Devolution was produced by Penguin Random House Audio. Like the audiobook version of his previous novel, ''World War Z'', Brooks voices the main interviewer while other characters are voiced by a full cast.

Cast

as the researcher *

Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress who has appeared in Judy Greer filmography, a wide variety of films. She rose to prominence for ...

as Kate Holland *

Nathan Fillion Nathan Christopher Fillion (born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian and American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on ''Firefly'' and its film continuation '' Serenity'', and Richard Castle on ''Castle''. , he sta ...

as Frank McCray * Kimberly Guerrero as Josephine Schell *

Jeff Daniels Jeffrey Warren Daniels (born February 19, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for his work on stage and screen playing diverse characters switching between comedy and drama. He is the recipient of several accolades, including two Primetime ...

as Steve Morgan * Mira Furlan as Mostar *

Kate Mulgrew Katherine Kiernan Maria Mulgrew (born April 29, 1955) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Captain Kathryn Janeway in '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and Red in ''Orange Is the New Black''. She first came to attention ...

as Hannah Reinhardt-Roth *

Steven Weber Steven Robert Weber (born March 4, 1961) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Brian Hackett on the television series '' Wings'', and as Dr. Dean Archer on NBC’s Chicago Med. He also voiced Charlie B. Barkin in '' ...

as Tony Durant *

Terry Gross Terry Gross (born February 14, 1951) is an American journalist who is the host and co-executive producer of '' Fresh Air'', an interview-based radio show produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and distributed nationally by NPR. Since joining NP ...

as herself *

Kai Ryssdal Kai Ryssdal (; born October 8, 1963) is an American radio journalist and the host of ''Marketplace'', a business program that airs weekdays on U.S. public radio stations. He also co-hosts the spinoff podcast ''Make Me Smart'' with Kimberly Adams. ...

as himself

Plot

Reactions

Audiobook

Cast

References

Further reading