Devolution
By Max Brooks
(286 pages, science fiction, 2020)
In this speculative fiction novel from the author of World War Z, a small isolated community tries to survive after being cut off from the world by a volcanic eruption, only to find that there is something else lurking in the forest. The book takes the form of investigative journalism, as a reporter uncovers and collects articles, interviews, and most importantly, diary entries from the mysterious events of 13 months ago.
Kate Holland is still a missing person over a year after the massacre at Greenloop, a tiny, nature-focused retreat consisting of six ecologically friendly ‘Smart Homes’ filled with eccentric upper-crust neighbors. The community is dependent on automated solar-powered cabins and regular deliveries of supplies. Kate’s diary is the meat of the book, as she describes moving to the community with her husband and the building tension between villagers. Each of them has gone off-grid for a different reason, but they must work together in order to survive after Mt. Rainier explodes, leaving them with no way to get back to civilization.
As if dwindling rations and lack of communication weren’t bad enough, they discover they are not alone in the woods. Like themselves, violent creatures of local legend turn out to be real and have become trapped due to the eruption, competing with Greenloop for survival. The villagers come to terms with reality while Kate documents the ordeal before going missing. A year later, investigators are piecing together what happened to the disappearing villagers and the events that transpired at Greenloop.
Devolution is for fans of nonfiction survival stories and speculative fiction. It introduces a supernatural and horrifying twist to the story of a natural disaster.
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Lindsey Neilson
