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Devolution
Devolution
Dec 24, 2025 8:25 AM

Author:Max Brooks,Judy Greer,Max Brooks,Jeff Daniels,Nathan Fillion,Mira Furlan,Terry Gross,Kimberly Guerrero,Kate Mulgrew,Kai Ryssdal,Steven Weber

Devolution

Brought to you by Penguin.

FROM THE #1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF WORLD WAR Z

______________________________________

As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier's eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined . . . until now.

But the journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town's bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing - and too earth-shattering in its implications - to be forgotten.

In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate's extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations into the massacre and the beasts behind it, once thought legendary but now known to be terrifyingly real.

Kate's is a tale of unexpected strength and resilience, of humanity's defiance in the face of a terrible predator's gaze, and inevitably, of savagery and death.

Yet it is also far more than that.

Because if what Kate Holland saw in those days is real, then we must accept the impossible. We must accept that the creature known as Bigfoot walks among us - and that it is a beast of terrible strength and ferocity.

Part survival narrative, part bloody horror tale, part scientific journey into the boundaries between truth and fiction, this is a Bigfoot story as only Max Brooks could chronicle it - and like none you've ever read before.

The cast:

Judy Greer as Kate Holland

Nathan Fillion as Frank McCray

Kimberly Guerrero as Josephine Schell

With:

Jeff Daniels as Steve Morgan

Mira Furlan as Mostar

Kate Mulgrew as Hannah Reinhardt-Roth

Steven Weber as Tony Durant

and

Terry Gross and Kai Ryssdal as themselves

and

Max Brooks as the researcher

'Devolution isone of the greatest horror novels I've ever read. The characters soar, the ideas sing, and it's all going to scare the living daylights out of you.' Blake Crouch, author of Dark Matter and Recursion

'Devolution is spell binding. It is a horror story about how anyone, especially those who think they are above it, can slowly devolve into primal, instinctual behaviour. I was gripped from the first page to the last!'Les Stroud, creator of Survivorman

'Brooks packs his plot with action, information, and atmosphere, and captures both the foibles and the heroism of his characters. This slow-burning page-turner will appeal to Brooks' devoted fans and speculative fiction readers who enjoy tales of monsters.' Publishers Weekly

'Devolution is by Max Brooks, who wrote the stone cold classic that is World War Z, so I will follow him pretty much anywhere. Few things are pleasanter to read when cosy in bed than utterly dreadful dystopian things happening to somebody else.' Jenny Colgan

© Max Brooks 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Reviews

A masterful blend of laugh-out-loud social satire and stuff-your-fist-in-your-mouth horror. One elevates the other, making the book, and its message, all the more relevant.

—— David Sedaris, New York Times bestselling author of Calypso

Max Brooks has written the next great epistolary novel. Devolution is phenomenal

—— Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box

One of the greatest horror novels I've ever read. The characters soar, the ideas sing, and it's all going to scare the living daylights out of you

—— Blake Crouch, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter

Another triumph from Max Brooks! . . . I can’t wait until he turns every monster from childhood into an intelligent, entertaining page-turner

—— Stephen Chbosky, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Imaginary Friend and The Perks of Being a Wallflower

A bloody good read

—— Andrew Hunter Murray, bestselling author of The Last Day

Unputdownable

—— John Marrs, bestselling author of The One

Thrilling and terrifyingly prescient. I love Max Brooks!

—— Jenny Colgan, bestselling novelist and journalist

Devolution is spellbinding. It is a horror story about how anyone, especially those who think they are above it, can slowly devolve into primal, instinctual behaviour. I was gripped from the first page to the last!



—— Les Stroud, creator of Survivorman, filmmaker, and author

For any fan of Bigfoot or cryptozoology, it's a referential treat.

—— Guardian

From the feverish imagination behind World War Z comes a chilling narrative like no other, as the freshly discovered journals of a massacre survivor posit the horrifying suggestion of supernatural forces at work. Dark, gripping and visceral, Devolution is a unique journey into terror.

—— Waterstones

Delightful . . . A tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy

—— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Brooks packs his plot with action, information, and atmosphere, and captures both the foibles and the heroism of his characters. This slow-burning page-turner will appeal to Brooks' devoted fans and speculative fiction readers who enjoy tales of monsters.

—— Publishers Weekly

Drawing you in with likeable characters in a real-world situation, then smashing your trust to pieces like a giant ape crushing a skull with his bare hands. Devolution will make you think twice about booking that remote weekend getaway in the woods.

—— Sci-Fi Now, 5* review

Grisly page-turner . . . Brooks' eye for rich characterisation, pointed social commentary and nail-chomping suspense is as sharp as ever

—— Total Film

Timely, terrifying, and utterly terrific.

—— SFX Magazine *****

Part survival narrative, part bloody horror tale, part scientific journey into the boundaries between truth and fiction, this is a Bigfoot story as only Max Brooks could chronicle it - and like none you've ever read before.

—— Live For Film

This survival-horror from bestselling World War Z author [...] is a scary and unnerving epistolary novel that explores the boundaries between truth and fiction.

—— CultureFly

'Tense and exciting [...] You'll enjoy believing

—— Evening Standard

Oh-so relatable

—— Kate Wills , Sun

With her trademark wit, wisdom and warmth, Pandora seems to leave no stone of modern life unturned in this thought-provoking read.

—— Good Housekeeping

Sykes has channelled her wisdom into a book of essays which explore everything from email culture to fast fashion and the cult of 'authenticity'.

—— HerFamily.ie

[A]bsurdly well-researched, prescient and pin-sharp [...] so definitely pick it up'

—— Sirin Kale

[I]t's thrillingly, DELICIOUSLY fascinating about How We Live Now. She's a MINE of information- philosophy, science, literature, stats, all pulled together in her coolly elegant prose. I could not put it down!

—— Marian Keyes

These 242 pages are an (exhaustive, though not depressing) middle-finger to the word 'should'. A word which justifies women feeling the need to constantly scrutinise every decision; in the name of self-improvement, in order to have the Best Life Possible, at a hundred miles an hour.

—— Buro247

Energetic and compelling.

—— Olivia Sudjic

Sykes stays true to "High Low" form by using a high-low mix of vocabulary ... We have all had moments of asking ourselves if we are doing "this" - gestures vaguely - right, which makes the book all the more likeable. This is a form of learning how to succeed by failing - as it admits to being human.

—— Best non-fiction books about failure , Independent

Pandora is my personal guru on all things relating to the zeitgeist. How lucky you are that she can now be yours too.

—— Dolly Alderton

This will spark a thousand conversations and encourage us to find our own path to contentment.

—— Best nonfiction books of 2020 , Topshop

Hailed as a manifesto for modern women ... packed with her trademark wit, wisdom and philosophical references (if you know her, you know), this book is the opposite of doom and gloom. Instead, her judgement free observations are reassuring, comforting and wholeheartedly uplifting.

—— Marie Claire

Rushdie is a master storyteller who weaves his fictions and characters into such agreeable tapestries.

—— Sarah Hayes , Tablet

The novel's dazzling virtuosity and cascade of cultural references culminate in a final moving moment of hope

—— Jane Shilling , Daily Mail
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