Devolution Review
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 the previous novel. 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 (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 shortcomings 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 Mostar's 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 Kate 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 - the 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
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