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

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as 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 ...

. 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 purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims o ...

. The book was optioned by Legendary Entertainment to become a film, around the same time the book began to be sold to the public in June 2020.

Plot

Thirteen months after the devastating eruption of

Mt. Rainier Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a sum ...

, 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 agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

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 Ecocentrism (; from Greek: οἶκος ''oikos'', "house" and κέντρον ''kentron'', "center") is a term used by environmental philosophers and ecologists to denote a nature-centered, as opposed to human-centered (i.e. anthropocentric), syste ...

community that is the brainchild of technology mogul Tony Durant. Powered by

solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...

s and

biofuel Biofuel is a fuel that is produced over a short time span from biomass, rather than by the very slow natural processes involved in the formation of fossil fuels, such as oil. According to the United States Energy Information Administration (E ...

generators, Greenloop is designed to be the perfect community for the Green Revolution; it is removed from crowded cities yet still connected to modern conveniences. The community is ninety minutes from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, with only one access road, completely out of cellular tower range. The residents depend completely on

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

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 Mt. 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 that a person may use in order to sustain life in any type of natural environment or built environment. These techniques are meant to provide basic necessities for human life which include water, food, and shelte ...

. 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 Mt. 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 its ...

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 that cryptozoologists believe may exist somewhere in the wild, but are not believed to exist by mainstream science. Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience, which primarily looks at anecdotal stories, and other claims rejected by ...

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 called survivor syndrome or survivor's syndrome and survivor disorder or survivor's disorder) is a mental condition that occurs when a person believes they have done something wrong by surviving a traumati ...

, 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 ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

. With Kate now leading, the remaining residents prepare for a last stand. 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'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' 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 B ...

'' 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'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' 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'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

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

Plot

Reactions

References

Further reading