The Daily Think

After putting down the book <a href="http://<a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/Devolution-Firsthand-Account-Sasquatch-Massacre/dp/1984826786?&_encoding=UTF8&tag=thinknewsnow-20&linkCode=ur2&linkId=3ea977ba7e7230255c8a1917e9922ef5&camp=1789&creative=9325">DEVOLUTIONDEVOLUTION by Max Brooks, I was thrilled. The ending gave me optimism, the journey gave me chills, and the setup gave me hope that we had another author who could take cutting edge modern tech and spoil it with fascinating horror! Max Brooks of World War Z, and the Zombie Survival Guide explores the human fascination with the “Bigfoot” myth and turns it into a fantastic ride of survival and storytelling in his usual multiple person flare with accounts from a park ranger, family member, and a therapeutic journal chronicling the first-person eyewitness account of the day-to-day activities within “the Loop.”

SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD

SETTING THE DEVOLUTION TABLE
Let’s set the table for DEVOLUTION’s version of the “technology gone wrong” trope which in this case evolves into a different kind of “gone wrong” trope as you will read/see. We are introduced to the Greenloop lifestyle that in the brochure gives us the creature comforts of a smart home while being in the thick of the wilderness near Mt. Rainier in the Pacific Northwest. We’re talking drone deliveries from your favorite online retailers, an efficient waste recycling system, solar panels, high speed internet and fertile gardens outside your iPad-controlled homes and you are living in a modern community while isolated in nature’s backyard many miles from civilization. The residents of the Greenloop enjoy hikes before jumping on ZOOM meetings and answering emails to people in that highly crowded highly stressful urbanized world. But our characters get to eat the freshest herbs and garden grown vegetables from their own backyard and have the benefit of procuring needed ingredients from those Prime Air drones (the MK30.) What could possibly go wrong being this close to nature and isolated with modernity?

BUT FIRST WHO’S ON THE ROSTER
As with any story you have character’s with their foibles, strengths, and weaknesses, and the smallest details that make them as realistic as possible. Max Brooks has truly developed into fleshing out his characters that seem more real than an AI generated girlfriend (well way realer.) We have a survivalist from Europe, intellectual professorial types, career minded professionals, and former model turned Yoga guru to populate the Greenloop. The development that Max gives his characters is fantastic! The main character you will find is relatable and you may find yourself saying “I know someone like her” or “I am her.” The interaction and growth of the characters throughout will make them seem more alive and real to you than Sam Neil and Jeff Goldblum from Jurassic Park. No additional information will be given, except just use your emotional intelligence to pick up on the character arcs; how sweet Max Brooks pulls it off!

OK, READ THE FINE FOOTPRINT
We here at thinknewsnow have done our job of laying out the basic setting and characters without going into detail, where’s the conflict, the drama, the scary ass shit that will turn this story into a nightmare. Well, let’s just say mass migration due to the inhabitability of the areas around Mt. Rainier introduce us to the fearsome Bigfoot that will terrorize us in the last 60% of the book. A note about Mt. Rainier, it has not been active in 500 years, but it is one of the most dangerous volcanos in the Cascade Mountain region (How dangerous is Mount Rainier? | U.S. Geological Survey (usgs.gov))

Due to that volcanic activity and resulting mudslides, you guessed it, but our Greenloop community is headed for a scary scenario. And let’s just say that the Sasquatch, Yeti, Bigfoot whatever you want to call it, are described, and given the proper scientific treatment they deserve by Max as he provides a terrifying look at these creatures. Gone are the Harry and the Henderson’s bigfoot who enjoys sitcoms. Gone are the gentle beasts who eat plants and look like cartoon bears who get stoned from second hand hippy camper smoke. They are replaced by the opposite, an evolutionary offshoot of Gorilla, Bear, and possible Cro-Magnon with dangerous strength, speed and human killing power! Come on, think about it, a Bigfoot would have to be the most dominant species and an apex predator in the wild in order to grow to the proportions of their footprints.

WHAT DO YOU GET FOR YOUR INVESTMENT IN READING THIS BOOK
Again, we at thinknewsnow do not promote plot spoiling, but do provide the smallest number of details to whet the appetite and drive the readers to purchasing actions! We want you to pick up this book, be surprised and be ready for the journey you will take. You will get equal parts technological treatise on what is possible, character development from the modern safe world to being in a fight for survival, and fascinating antagonist action from the cryptid world with such a realistic bend that I am even more curious about the world of Sasquatch and want to believe in him more than Loch Ness. If this doesn’t drive you to find this book on your kindle or at Barnes and Nobles, then you may be missing out on this generations Michael Crichton in Max Brooks. I apologize for that last sentence since comparisons are weak and an easy cop out to critical analysis, but as a big fan of Crichton, I want someone to take up the mantle and pickup that torch for us and tell us great stories like Jurassic Park, Westworld, Congo, Timeline, Terminal Man, and on and on. But Max Brooks is bringing his own typewriter and is blazing his own uniquely Big Footprint in the horror genre!