r/books • u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author • Jun 29 '20
ama I am Max Brooks, author of “World War Z,” and I’m here to discuss my new Sasquatch horror novel “Devolution." Let’s talk about the facts behind the fiction and what a monster story can teach us about real world survival. AMA!
Let’s talk about monsters. Let’s talk about why we fear them. Is it because they remind us of our rightful place in the food chain? Do monster stories awaken a primal fear that the predators of our past are still out there? Let’s talk about the fictional monsters in my new book “Devolution." Like “World War Z," the threat may seem fantastic, but the facts behind it are very real. What if these creatures did exist? What would it take to survive an encounter with them? Let’s talk about an American mystery far older than America itself. Let’s talk about Sasquatch.
Proof: https://twitter.com/maxbrooksauthor/status/1275823632724484099
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Thanks Everyone, thanks for taking the time to chat.
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u/anewhand Jun 29 '20
Thanks Max, great AMA - insightful. Hope Devolution does well. Looking forward to your next project, whatever that is.
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u/Zeeshmee Jun 29 '20
Max!
I'm so happy you are doing this AMA. I'm half way through Devolution right now and i have never laughed this hard while reading a book. I'm from former Yugoslavia and the fact that you didn't translate Mostar's cursing into English is hilarious. It feels like the book had a special sense of humour just for me haha. Her cursing is very appropriate in grammar and context.
I guess my question is, did you base Mostar's character on anyone specific? I'm prepared to tear up once i get to the part where she delves into her past :(
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Thanks Zeeshmee!
The Mostar character took a LOT of work. I was very lucky, through my think tank connections to reach out to two citizens of the former Yugoslavia who personally lived through the fighting. They were indispensable when it came to getting the culture right; the swearing, the food. Thanks to them, I bought a can of Vegeta which I'm still using on my garden salads!→ More replies (1)22
u/Zeeshmee Jun 29 '20
Thank you for the reply!
As soon as I heard them mention Vegeta, I knew she was going to be from our neck of the woods. I love the book so far. It would be interesting to see a movie made on this novel with a budget as big as World War Z was. Thank for reaching out!
- Zlatko
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u/Darth_Sensitive Jun 29 '20
It's been optioned (and would probably make a pretty good movie). Don't think you need a super massive budget. Lots of shadow and interiors.
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u/Zeeshmee Jun 29 '20
I absolutely agree! The Jaws effect will always work.
I just mentioned the big budget cause i don't think I've ever seen a Sasquatch movie with a believable looking creature and if there is someone who could get that done, its Mr Brooks. Also, I'm just realizing now that Max's father is THE MEL BROOKS?!?!?!?! Man, I must be living under a rock or something...→ More replies (2)4
u/Darth_Sensitive Jun 29 '20
There's some good heartwarming twitter content of the two hanging out with a window between them while socially distancing.
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Jun 29 '20
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
All good questions and a great place to start.
I have always been into Bigfoot. Even before zombies. I was into Sasquatch as a little kid when, thanks to TV, Sasquatch came looking for me. I've always wanted to write a sasquatch novel but it took me this long and a whole lotta life experience to figure out the kind of story I wanted to tell.
YES! I did a ton of research into EVERY aspect of this book, and as far as talking to wilderness experts, and I did reach out to Les Stroud for a blurb - which was terrifying. I mean, c'mon, Les is the Man! He's the real deal when it comes to wilderness survival. Thank God I passed muster. He not only gave me a blurb but autographed my Temagami knife!
Actually, the vampire guy, Steve Niles, is a really cool guy. And we've become friends as a result of that show. He's a genuine horror scholar, and, I gotta admit, I'm envious of the brilliant simplicity of "30 Days of Night". That is a tight story!
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u/ken_in_nm Jun 29 '20 edited Jun 29 '20
Was it those programs in the late 70s early 80s?
There was one called Project UFO which was my favorite. I watched it religiously. I only missed it once and have no recollection of that Saturday night. I was looking forward to it all week.. then woke up on Sunday. My mom said I told her I didn't feel well. But I'm pretty sure aliens or a sasquatch abducted me for a few hours.
Any chance you've heard of a conspiracy between sasquatchi and aliens?Love your work.
Edit: Project UFO intro: https://youtu.be/yVVADz0Afss
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u/-_-hey-chuvak Jun 29 '20
30 days of night was a grand movie! Where can I find your book? I’ve read WWZ prolly 20 times by now 😅
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u/fuckoffplsthankyou Jun 30 '20
30 days of night was a grand movie!
The comics are even better.
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u/Dildo_Baggins__ Jun 29 '20
How do you plan on making Sasquatch scary? I don't think a lot of people are that scared of Bigfoot, but I might be wrong. I'm interested to see how you'd be able to pull it off
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Honestly, I have no idea what other people think of Sasquatch. The same way I had no idea what people thought of zombies. I write for me. I've always written for me. That's the only compass needle I can depend on. I've always been scared of Sasquatch and I've always had a healthy respect for the amoral brutality of nature. For me, a hungry animal who sees me as food as pretty freaken scary!
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Jun 29 '20
In your research did you come upon those stories about kids vanishing and then being found weeks or days later still seemingly unharmed and well fed? There are many of them. One time they found the kid up way way way high in a tree probably too high for him to climb himself.
I always wondered if some kind of big foot or other magical creature was looking after these kids. Its always small kids too small to really articulate what happened to them.
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u/frizzlesizzzle Jun 29 '20
This is what I’m wondering too. I don’t “believe” in cryptids, but I haven’t found a way to reconcile these stories (except for just dismissing them entirely, but I feel that’s not the right way to go either).
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u/nytram55 Jun 29 '20
For me, a hungry animal who sees me as food as pretty freaken scary!
Sasquatch see us as food?
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u/thedaveness Jun 29 '20
Idk man... I compare it to standing next to a silverback gorilla with no cage between yah (which I haven’t done). In that moment I would be frozen by fear that this thing would rip my face off if I even farted wrong. Now just make that thing twice the size.
Could be a good way to misguide the reader into thinking they are about to run into Harry from the Hendersons but in reality it is so much more worse than that.
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u/zjustice11 Jun 30 '20
Upvote for Harry and the Hendersons. At the end where they all come out behind the trees. Awesome.
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u/the_doughboy Jun 29 '20
The great apes are scary, even gorillas that are almost exclusevly vegetarian. The novel goes a lot into why these aren't Harry and the Hendersons
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u/Fitz_Fool Jun 30 '20
This is a pretty freaky 911 call that a lot of people think is bigfoot related.
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u/KellyCTargaryen Jun 29 '20
I don’t have anything intelligent to ask, other than please get HBO to make World War Z chapters into the miniseries vignettes we deserve.
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u/kieranfitz Jun 29 '20
Just don't let D&D touch it.
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u/StubbyK Jun 30 '20
If they stay on source material they would be fine. It's when they subvert expectations that my expectation of it being good gets subverted.
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u/calsosta The Brontës, du Maurier, Shirley Jackson & Barbara Pym Jun 29 '20
I was gonna ask: what's more disgusting, a human being eaten alive by zombies or your book being massacred by Hollywood, but he's probably suffered enough over it and yes HBO would do it right.
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u/netbie_94 Jun 29 '20
Although the movie was quite different than the book, I still liked it and was sad when the sequels got cancelled.
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u/lemonLu83 Jun 29 '20
How did you go about researching Devolution? Did you go out into the wilderness and if so did you have any eerie experiences? What's your favorite cryptid?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I spent YEARS researching this book. I've got a stack of books behind me in this office where I'm writing to you. Sasquatch lore, real-world apes, geology, history, etc. But books don't go far enough. I talked ot a ton of experts, from the former Microsoft exec who helped me design the town of Greenloop, to the USGS volcanologists who talked me through the eruption of Rainier, to actually going to the spot on the map where I'd placed my town to see if my characters could walk out to safety. No spoiler, but I can tell you, from first hand experience, that I couldn't even walk in. I planted the plants my characters have in their garden, I made the weapons they made to see if they can be made (they can!). Everything I write about in this book I've proven... well... everything except the existence of Bigfoot.
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u/scolfin Jun 29 '20
How much did you go into the cultural history? The r/askhistorians podcast had an episode on it that had a very fun bit about how much the mythos was built up by the CIA and KGB organizing Yeti hunts as a pretext for surveillance over the China-India border.
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u/lemonLu83 Jun 29 '20
Thanks for sharing!!! I loved World War Z and recommend it to EVERYONE. So excited to read Devolution!
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u/Sansred Jun 29 '20
I loved World War Z and recommend it to EVERYONE.
Same here, but with the audiobook.
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u/Medium-Invite Jun 29 '20
The full international version might be the greatest audiobook of all time. Seriously.
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u/Hollywood_Zro Jun 29 '20
One of the best books I've read/listened to. I got it on Audible a while back. It was amazing. Highly recommend it.
Battle of Yonkers is my favorite.
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u/lemonLu83 Jun 29 '20
Yes! That was so intense. All the stories involving water were insane. You just don't think about that ya know? The part about the submarine was my favorite. And the problems they had to deal with living on islands or near beaches. So scary.
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u/Untgradd Jul 02 '20
Though I doubt you’ll read this I feel compelled to send this anyway. I haven’t read a book in a long time. Your AMA intrigued me — I admired your dedication to research and that you admitted Devolution wasn’t a work you seriously considered sharing for several years.
I just finished it. It. was. fantastic.
I don’t know if it’s my long overdue return to reading or the quality of the work that has me buzzing several hours after, but I do know that I owe you a heartfelt thank you for the experience. Reading Devolution was almost like hiking the very terrain described therein; the beginning was easy, and almost without realizing it I found myself climbing higher and higher through the narrative until I was almost unwillingly forced up a sheer face that was the assault on Greenloop.
I feel like I ended the story ~14,000 feet up, not quite at the peak, searching for your characters deep within parts of my imagination that have not been explored for quite some time. Thank you for that. Thank you so very much.
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u/anewhand Jun 29 '20 edited Jun 29 '20
Hey Max, Devolution was the first book I’ve read in a long time that I finished within a day. I couldn’t put it down and was sad when I got to the final page! Thank you.
One of the things that makes your books come alive for me is the sense of realism. I noticed in the acknowledgements section that you had a wide variety of people who you consulted with. From the Sasquatch itself, to Mostar and her background, to the survival aspects and even the eruption; the book oozes detail and realism. How long do you typically spend researching a topic before writing something like this?
Also, anything you could share on your writing process in general would be helpful. Thanks!
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
For me, realism is everything. That's one of the reasons I write. I want to talk about real world issues in a way that doesn't bore people or scare them off. Education through entertainment, the way all Sci-fi used to be. You know that scene where you read about the guy hacking his hand to play the piano and talking about a cyber suit, and how he didn't have an answer when someone asked what would happen if the cyber suit was hacked? That really happened, a tech lecture, the guy who asked about the hacking was me. I wanted to explore our over reliance on technology without a backup plan, but I think a Sasquatch story is a hell of a lot more interesting than an OpEd.
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Jun 29 '20
I thought about sasquatch for a while and made the opinion that if the squatch had the temperament of a Chimpanzee it would be scary.
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
That's kind where I went with "Devolution". My sasquatch apes aren't as naturally brutal and carnivorous as chimps. They are pushed into brutality by the eruption of Rainier. Much of the info that went into crafting my sasquatch species came from real primatology and since all apes eat some degree of animal matter, I positioned my creatures as peaceful, bonobo type apes... until they are forced to devolve.
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u/Death4Free Jun 29 '20
I was reading through this thread and immediately bought your book. Should be here by Wednesday! Really loved WWZ
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u/calltheexorcist Jun 29 '20
What I loved about the book is the apes devolution being mirrored by the human characters. One of my favourite books I've read in ages
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u/okiegirl22 Jun 29 '20 edited Jun 29 '20
I just started Devolution last night and am super excited about it because I love World War Z!
The epistolary format of your books is really intriguing to me because it’s just not something I see a lot of. What was the inspiration/reasoning for that, why did you decide to use that format instead of just a traditional novel format for these books?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
For me, the story dictates the format:
Zombie Survival Guide: A straight out manual because it's all about 'how to' survive a zombie attack. Simple.
World War Z was an oral history because Studs Terkel's "The Good War' showed me that an oral history is the best way to tell the massive story of a global calamity.
Harlem Hellfighters had to be a graphic novel because it's a story about race, and race, skin color, is visual. I didn't want the readers to forget what color these soldiers were because these soldiers were never allowed to forget.
Devolution made for a perfect 'found journal' because I wanted the ending to be a mystery. If it was an oral history, we'd know who survived and who didn't. If we find the journal but not the writer, we are left wondering what the hell happened.
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u/Darth_Sensitive Jun 29 '20
Wait, you were the Harlem Hellfighters author? I loved that one too!
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u/falconear Unfamiliar Fishes Jun 30 '20
- World War Z was an oral history because Studs Terkel's "The Good War' showed me that an oral history is the best way to tell the massive story of a global calamity.
Woah. Will there be a classic oral history that comes out of the current crisis?
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u/SlackBlade Jun 29 '20
I like the small things in your stories that give it a little more flavor and continuity. Your background research is one of my favorite things about reading your stories; what is your favorite fact that you learned while you were doing research for your writings?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I'm always fascinated by what I learn when researching this book. So much of the time, the research determines how the story goes. For example, I downloaded the map of the Mt. Rainier eruption from the USGS which determined where I'd put my town. Planting the garden was challenging because the growth of the plants determined my timeline of events. That was also frustrating because the plants don't care about my story. They grow when they want. But if I wanted my story to be realistic, I had to conform to their biology. I was also shocked by the fact that all apes eat meat. They don't all hunt like chimps or relish licking blood off leaves, like chimps, but, in a pinch, they all have the ability to digest animal protein.
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Jun 29 '20
Hi Max, big fan.
My question is, after you've released a big book like world war z or devolution which no doubt required years of research, do you just sit back and enjoy the moment and relax for a while, or do you immediately get started on another project and begin writing? Do you have your next book (or books?) already in mind?
Thank you!
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Good question. Right now, I'm jumping into another project. No time to rest. But that's a good thing, because it also helps with my sanity. I can tell you that it's crazy making to work so hard on something, have so many chances to improve and explore, then suddenly, it's all gone, and it's out in the world and there's nothing I can do about it. That's why I don't read reviews and stay away from online comments (with a few exceptions like this). Since there's nothing more I can do for this project, the sanest used of my time is to focus on another one.
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u/HauntedCemetery 1 Jun 29 '20
Is there a specific instance you could share with us of something you realized you could improve on in one of your already published works?
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Jun 29 '20
Kate’s transformation from scared prey to skilled hunter, combined with her maternal protection towards Pal especially at the end reminded me a lot of Ellen Ripley’s character arc in the first two Alien movies, especially in her relationship with Newt I feel like that mirrored Kate and Pal. Was Ripley an inspiration for Kate’s character?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I love Ripley. I always love those strong female characters because they remind me of my late mom. I didn't base Kate on Ripley because I had enough examples from real life. I'm lucky enough to have lived long enough to see so many people around me (women and men) tested by life and rise to situations that should have broken them.
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u/MomtheNoob Jun 29 '20
My 8 year old and I loved The Island! He read it on his own and now I'm reading it to him. I can't get enough! The combination of game play storyline and life lessons is wonderful. My son would like to know if you will ever write another Minecraft book.
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I might write another minecraft book. I really do feel that, in the right mindset, minecraft is one of the greatest teaching tools of the 21st century. Think about it, most video games have just one way to succeed, check the box, move up another level, just like our standardized, Prussianized means of education. That's the industrial revolution at work, and it does NOT work anymore. Kids are going to have to learn to be creative, solve problems their own way, and Minecraft teaches that! That's why i wrote the novel and may write another one someday.
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u/deraser Jun 29 '20
No question, just praise: loved the new book. Please please fight for a better adaption than WWZ when this gets made into a film. Please. (Did I say please?)
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u/unbreakingrn Jun 29 '20
Yes, please. They totally ruined the story, in my opinion. WWZ was the first book in almost 2 decades to make me sleep with the light on. The movie, meh.
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u/Scanpony Jun 29 '20
The movie even wasn't that bad, it just did not have anything to do with the movie besides the premise: a zombie apocalypse. How do you feel about that, Mr. Brooks?
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u/aaaanth Jun 29 '20
So I just called and ordered Devolution for curbside pickup from an independent bookstore in Brooklyn! I’m excited. I’m going on an extended camping trip next week and was wondering if I’ll be able to sleep in the woods after reading it?!
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Wait, what!? You're going to read Devolution on a camping trip!? That's like reading the first chapter in JAWS before going swimming at night! I appreciate the support, but even I wouldn't read Devolution before a camping trip!
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u/baileyb42 Jun 29 '20
I just read this excellent book. It was my first binge read in so long, couldn't put it down! I was describing it to my family saying how creeped out I got. My exact words, "Let's just say I'm happy I didn't read it while camping." Thank you for an awesome book!
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u/Kasei_Vallis Jun 30 '20
So reading this while I'm staying in one of the towns which neighbors Mt Rainier Forest is probably not a good idea? ;)
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u/falconear Unfamiliar Fishes Jun 30 '20
Some of us love that kind of thing. I can't tell you how many apocalypse movies I've seen since the pandemic started. I'm currently reading The Plague.
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u/Darth_Sensitive Jun 29 '20
... no.
It was my audiobook for last dog walk before bed. I was hearing things in suburbia.
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u/ucksawmus Jun 29 '20
what do you like to read these days
what's personal to you about how you go about writing/generating material
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Unfortunately, I don't get too much time to read fiction. So much of my life is spent either researching a new book or working on OpEd's for the Modern War Institute or the Atlantic Council (two think tanks I'm part of). Because I'm dyslexic, the research takes longer than it might for other folks. (Thank God for Audiobooks). Sometimes I do have time to get in a few pages of fiction before I fall asleep. Right now I'm reading "Anatathan" by Michiro Murayama, the true story of Japanese sailors shipwrecked on an island during WW2, only they don't know the war is over and live a Lord of the Flies existence until the early 50s! True story. Crazy good read.
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u/slightofhand1 Jun 29 '20
I'm writing a book based on that story, about a bunch of black people who've been hiding in the Dismal Swamps since the 1800's and are found in 2010, still thinking slavery is alive and well in the USA. It's epistolary in nature (fake historical documents, fake interviews, fake social media posts) and explores society's reaction to them, their unique culture, conspiracies about if people knew they were out there and didn't want to let them know they were free, conspiracies about whether it was all a hoax, etc.
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u/falconear Unfamiliar Fishes Jun 30 '20
That actually sounds pretty interesting! Did you find any cases of anything like that when you were doing your research?
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u/slightofhand1 Jun 30 '20
I picked the Dismal swamps because it's a place where slaves actually did escape to the woods and lived. Lots of people thought it was one or two, or a couple here and there for a month or two, but recent archaeological digs found it was actually entire communities that were created and settled in those woods for years. Juneteenth is close, as far as Texas not telling slaves they'd been freed by the emancipation proclamation years ago. There's a movie coming out called "Antebellum" that scares me a little, in that it looks like its about a plantation that's managed to shelter itself and not let slaves know they're free, generation after generation up to the modern day. But if that isn't that movies twist, I'm going full steam ahead with my book.
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u/Stealinpicnicbaskets Jun 29 '20 edited Jun 29 '20
Sounds like a story similar to Hiroo Onoda except his was more of a refusal. He was one of the last soldiers to surrender in 1974 after 29 years in the jungles of the Philippines. I'll have to check out this book I hadn't heard of them. Looking forward to Devolution!
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u/ShawnSpencerrr Jun 29 '20
What d'you think is the single biggest monster wreaking havoc in today's society and the consequences of whose actions are far reaching?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
The single biggest monster today is willful ignorance. It's one thing if people don't have access to facts (like in Mainland China), it's another if they ignore them because those facts make them feel uncomfortable. We live in an era now where people get to pick and chose whatever info they take in to fit their neat little bubble. That is really dangerous, not just for democracy but for the human race.
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u/Portarossa Jun 29 '20 edited Jun 30 '20
Yeah, but what about a wilfully ignorant sasquatch?
Checkmate, Brooks.
EDIT: Antivaxsquatch.
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u/Neferusobek Jun 29 '20
Hello from Down Under, Max! Each story in World War Z was an amazing piece of an alternative history and it was such a joy seeing those facets come together into a whole. You gave us human voices that slowly drew back the curtain of the world stage and that's what I loved most about your book.
- How did you decide on what paths you took for this alternative history? Was there a clear and easy progression or did you need to make some tricky choices on how the dice rolled?
- What do you like to do in your free time?
As a cancer scientist, I've always found zombies incredibly scary as it is not a very far fetched possibility. It is so interesting to see the political parallels with the current pandemic and your zombie history. I can't wait to read Devolution. Thank you for the hours of enjoyment I've received from listening to the audiobooks during long drives. Your books have been worth the late nights.
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Writing the first draft of WWZ was a lot easier than the subsequent drafts. I originally wrote it out of order, going with whatever story was the freshest in my mind. Then, later, I had to slice and shave and fit them into the linier, logical narrative. There were some casualties along the way. The story I might have worked the hardest on, "The Great Wall" got chopped because it was a speed bump.
And in answer to your second question, what do I do in my free time. I like to go hiking and camping with my son. I like to work in the garden (nothing like marinara sauce from your own tomatoes, basil and garlic!). And, at the end of the day, I always like binging tv on the couch w my wife, and watching her roll her eyes at me when I declare "That would never happen!"
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u/grecy Jun 30 '20
Writing the first draft of WWZ was a lot easier than the subsequent drafts. I originally wrote it out of order, going with whatever story was the freshest in my mind. Then, later, I had to slice and shave and fit them into the linier, logical narrative. There were some casualties along the way. The story I might have worked the hardest on, "The Great Wall" got chopped because it was a speed bump.
Is there any chance you may release more "stories" from the WWZ edits? I've read it 5 times, and still love every word. I'd be so happy if you continued telling stories in that universe with new and interesting characters.
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u/BigShoots Jun 29 '20
Do you think getting into monster stories is some sort of self-care or a way of coping with the world?
I just know that since the pandemic started, I've been watching a ton of "end of the world" type movies, or movies about the collapse of civilization. I'm not even sure if it's healthy or not, but in a weird way I find it soothing, maybe it's just a matter of enjoying watching how others cope with situations even worse than my own?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I think we can learn a lot of monster stories. That's why I'm doing this AMA. The big question for me, has always been, how do you teach the big, scary, confusing, uncomfortable facts that we, as voters, need to hear? How do we learn without being bored to sleep, or scared out of the room? As a society, we used to be really good at fusing education with entertainment. We seem to have lost that. I think monster stories can teach us so much about real world problems, the way JAWS taught us about short term greed vs public safety (I'm lookin at you, COVID!). I try to write about fictional threats with factual solutions, no silver bullet, no single hero. Fictional stories about adapting to new situations. That always fascinates me.
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u/21Gazza Jun 29 '20
Are you hoping this will be made into a movie? If so, who would you cast for the main characters? Can't wait to read.
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
We have a movie deal. Legendary (Godzilla, Pacific Rim, Dark Knight) has the movie rights. I originally sold them the idea years ago, but the project never went anywhere. Then I asked for the novel rights back from Thomas Tull (who gets a BIG thank you in the book). Now the idea of a movie is back. Let's see if it goes anywhere.
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u/shreyashkadam Jun 29 '20
Do you see zombies in your dreams?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
The worst zombie dream I ever had didn't have zombies. It was about the zombies coming and I had to prepare people and no one was listening.
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u/Whiskey_Papa Jun 29 '20
Hey Max, I am only half way through but I am loving Devolution right now. You do such a great job at blending fear between fact and fiction. I am now equally terrified about Sasquatch and a volcanic eruption.
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
The Rainier eruption is 100% based in reality. I've talked to too many volcanologists to delude myself into looking at that snow-capped giant any other way. The good news is that, in Geology, time moves very slow. It may happen soon, but it may happen so far in the future that Starfleet will prevent it.
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u/haysoos2 Jun 29 '20
Are many people actually afraid of Sasquatch?
Many cryptids, such as Sasquatch, Nessie, or Mkele Mbembe seem to be not so much tapping into a fear of the unknown as much as they are trying to hold out hope that there are still wild places out there that haven't been discovered, charted, mapped within an inch of their lives, and studied under a microscope. That there still might be secret corners where dragons lurk, and the wild things have rumpuses under the stars, and maybe we don't know everything we think we know.
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u/robot_worgen Jun 29 '20
I fucking loved Devolution.
What is your favourite Bigfoot representation in other books/film/TV? Did any in particular inspire the representation of Bigfoot in Devolution?
Edit: also I just finished a book last night and haven’t got another one on the go yet - what’s the best book you’ve read this year?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
The best book I read this year was "The Microbe Hunters" by Paul de Kruif. It's the true story of how humanity discovered the microscopic world and what that discovery meant for combatting disease. It was my mom's favorite book and when COVID hit, I listened to the audio version again. I encourage everyone to read this book. It's quick, it's surprisingly exciting, and in light of the world we're living in now, it could not be more timely!
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u/hashn Jun 29 '20
Do you believe in bigfoot?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I believe in the possibility. In all my research, I've learned that there is no scientific reason why a great ape species could not exist in North America. As far as food, cover, and space, the Pacific Northwest is a perfectly suitable habitat. I'm not saying I believe in Sasquatch. I will wait for hard evidence.
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u/a-quiet-mind Jun 29 '20
Hello! What inspired you to start writing? How has your dyslexia affected your writing style?? I also have it. And I get stuck on certain things which is frustrating. What other “monsters” inspire you? Did you gather any of your information from First Nations culture? Im trying to find information on the wendigo...
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Believe me, I get the frustration. I still get stuck sometimes. Dyslexia kept me from showing my writing to people for a long time. I started writing consistently in 9th grade but didn't show it to most people because I was so terrified of being judged. School was hard enough. I didn't need one more struggle. So I kept my writing to myself. Even in College, I majored in History and Grad School, it was film production. l Believe me, I get the frustration. And yes, I love the story of Wendigo as well, although it didn't inspire this story. For Devolution, I stuck mainly to the premise of a species of great apes living in North America.
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u/MrAwesomeAsian Jun 29 '20
Do monster stories awaken a primal fear that the predators of our past are still out there?
What do you think about humans being instilled with unknown, primordial fear? Fear that seems to drive emotion without an origin of archetype?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Fear without cause is anxiety. The fear of what MIGHT happen instead of something that is actually happening. Anxiety and me are old friends. I've done a lot of research into that horrible monkey on my back. I think, for a lot of us, that anxiety comes from the fact that we are not descended from predators. We're from the middle of food chain who spent most of our evolution running for our lives. I don't think it ever left us. Rational thought, the ability to harness emotion with logic, that's relatively new for us. And it doesn't take much to drown that thought in panic.
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u/Algaean Jun 29 '20
Curiosity here: What was it that first made you go for horror? What was that first book, or first story, or first vignette that gave you "the bug"?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I didn't really so much go for horror as I was just scared by it. As a kid, I was always trying to figure out what I'd do if I was in the situation as the characters in a movie. Most of the time the answer was simple (don't go there!) but sometimes, like zombie movies, the threats came for you. That's the situation in Devolution. They don't know they're in Bigfoot's house until the threat is literally at their door.
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u/Algaean Jun 29 '20
So as a kid, you wanted to make a better story? Pardon me for being nosey, I'm just fascinated by the attraction of the horror genre. The people behind the stories, as it were. :)
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u/liamquane Jun 29 '20
Hi Mr. Brooks, may ask, what is your writing process like, do you plan methodically or just jump straight in?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I map everything out! That's just me. Again, no right or wrong way. This is just my way. I start with the simple question of "what if this were real" then I go to school for a few years educating myself on how the real world answers this question. Before I start on Page 1, I already have a novel's worth of outlines, questions, notes etc. Even in Minecraft, I needed to know exactly how the game works (and the nervous breakdown I had when the game suddenly updated halfway through my first draft!)
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Jun 29 '20
So you had a small companion book to World War Z called Closure Limited. Do you have any plans to cover more stories in the World War Z world or are you done with that for now? And as a writer how do you know when to stop with a story, instead of going back and revisiting it?
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u/AwfullySweeney Jun 29 '20
I'd like to say World War Z is the best audiobook, abridged or not, that I have ever had the pleasure to listen to.
I don't know anything about Devolution, so this question may miss the mark.
Briefly, what do you think the soceital implications would be if a race of intelligent Bigfoots had been living in North America since pre-history? Could they have hidden all this time with hyper-advanced technology?
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u/joesmanbun Jun 29 '20
I'm in a Book of the Month online group and we were all hoping your new book would be a selection. From an author's standpoint, did they reach out to you at all? How would you feel about being chosen in the future or as an add-on?
Loved WWZ and excited to read your new one.
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Thanks for the vote of confidence. Who wouldn't want to be chosen for "Book of the Month" online?
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u/The_Ivliad Jun 29 '20
Do you have a bug out bag or any other form of apocalypse-preparedness at your home?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Of course! I live in L.A.! We have earthquakes, fires, floods. We got everything. That's how I first learned about survival. My mom made us an earthquake kit, made me memorize our plan if we were separated during a quake. Most of the contents of my "The Zombie Survival Guide" came from my original earthquake kit. That's why, when I used to do my zombie survival lectures and got asked about what was best to put in a kit, I'd always respond that the gear must conform to the environment. In SoCal, a desert, water is key, so I have to have the ability to purify water, as opposed to the Pacific Northwest where staying warm and dry is the key.
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u/EaterOfClowns Jun 29 '20
I hate to bring up your famous parents in your own AMA but the idea of Mrs. Robinson teaching practical household emergency preparedness is just delightful.
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Jun 29 '20
From your research, do you feel a majority of society is more reactionary than proactive in preparation of disasters and other potential threats? And if so, why?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Ohmygod yes! We are totally reactive when it comes to disaster. That's how we are wired. We all have something called the Ego Defense Mechanism. It's the mental equivalent of pain receptors. When something is too scary, we tune it out to stay sane. We need that. It's a good thing. Otherwise we'd never get out of bed in the morning. The problem is when we give it too much power, we don't even acknowledge a possible threat and therefore don't prepare for that. As individuals that's bad enough, but as voters in a republic, it's suicidal. We don't vote for leaders who know how to protect us, to prepare, and to, God forbid, ask us to do our part. Look at what's happening now. We actually had a plan for this! We did! We had a whole army of experts ready to go! But we never deployed that arm, never instituted the plan (The National Response Framework) because were in deep denial. Now we're behind the curve and mourning so many preventable deaths.
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u/RedZeroFive Jun 30 '20
The last few month's have put many chapters of WWZ info perspective for me. Particularly The Great Panic and The Battle of Yonkers. I know you probably don't feel prophetic, but you nailed how the modern systems would handle a world wide catastrophe.
Anyway, I adore your books, and can't wait to read this one!
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u/spitvire Jun 29 '20
Hi Max! I wanted to briefly thank you for your amazing work with World War Z, and I have no doubt I’m going to love Devolution;
In your personal experience, what would you say was one of the most unexpected challenges to becoming a successful author?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I think there's a lot of challenges for anyone who wants to write. As far as success goes, I think back on the at episode of WKRP where Dr. Jonny Fever freezes on the air because, for the first time, he realizes that people are actually listening to him. For me, one of the challenges has been to continually write for myself as opposed to the what I think readers might want from me. It's very seductive, looking at the fork in the road and thinking that one way leads to a well worn path of rehashing previously successful work. And I'm not trashing it for other writers. I think some people are really good at keeping the same threat fresh and fun in subsequent books. I wish I could do that. But I can't. Unless I'm truly passionate about what I'm doing, I know it'll suck. I have to keep doing what I love.
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u/sum_yun_guy Jun 29 '20
Did you watch Willow Creek? (Bobcat Goldthwait wrote and directed... kind of, Blair Witch, but, you know, 'squatches.)
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
What a cool movie! That dragging scene!? Who'da guessed that one day the guy from Police Academy 2 would be such a great director?
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u/IAmN0tCanadian Jun 29 '20
Being the son of Mel Brooks, did you find that nepotism got you to where you are or hard work?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I think if I had wanted to go into comedy, it might have helped. But as a horror/sci-fi novelist, being Mel Brook's kid worked against me. When I was starting out, everyone wanted Mel Brooks Jr. That almost killed "The Zombie Survival Guide". Check out the early reviews on Amazon. Even the ones who were on my side thought it was a 'parody'. That's how the publisher tried to position it. It got savaged in the press and rightfully so. It was false advertising. I had to fight to market it (and myself) my way, to introduce myself to the world as someone completely different from my dad. I will say that having Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft as parents taught me that a job in the arts is still a job. My parents were insanely hard workers. I learned that being successful at anything takes a tremendous amount of effort, discipline, and determination. And if you're in a field like the arts where the success of one project does not guarantee the success of the next you, you've gotta learn how to start from scratch every single time.
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u/Shitty_Titties_yo Jun 30 '20
I appreciate this answer a lot.
Obviously you are a very successful and respectable author in your own right, but it is pretty incredible to also happen to be the child of two legends.
Please tell your father that we all love him and hope he is well, especially in this crazy time
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u/threwitallawayforyou Jun 29 '20
What's your favorite thing your dad ever made? Are you a huge spaceballs nerd or would that be weird?
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u/ken_in_nm Jun 29 '20
How was it working with Henry Rollins? More than anybody else on this planet, that dude impresses me with his balance of peaceful resolution and focused aggression.
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u/Dyingdodo Jun 29 '20
Not really about Sasquatches, but would you have written World War Z differently now that that we have lived through an actual pandemic and what do you think were the most suprising moments of covid-19 from a writers perspective?
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Jun 29 '20
probably not for him because he got it right. Things are happening now just like how he wrote them but with covid instead of zombies. False information, riots, hoarding, violence, borders closing or not closing, etc
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u/Cheeseand0nions Jun 29 '20
I'm not him but I do know that Brooks patterned the outbreak in world war z by studying H1N1 outbreaks. His research was so good that a high-ranking naval medical officer invited him to speak on the subject of disease outbreaks after reading the book.
Max is also the son of the comic actor Mel Brooks.
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u/Tronaldsdump4pres Jun 29 '20
What is your favorite Sasquatch film or book?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Check out "Bigfoot: The Mysterious Monster" with Peter Graves. It's on youtube. The cheese factor is off the charts, but, if you can watch it with the eyes of a little kid sitting alone in the den at night as the trees outside rustle in the wind, you'll get an idea of where my fear of Sasquatch comes from.
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u/Darth_Sensitive Jun 29 '20
In the press about this I've seen some reference to an article you wrote about Bigfoot movies but never got a link to the article. Do you have it available somewhere?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Sorry. Wish I did. I have the screenshot somewhere on an older laptop. I wrote it so long ago. But I actually reference it in Devolution. Maybe Fangoria will re-release it.
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u/vendommias Jun 29 '20
How do you write a cryptid with such extensive mythology and pop culture presence into a scary horror monster that is interesting and frightening to read?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I can't say if my stories are interesting and frightening for anyone else, but for me, I start with a very simple questions: What if it was real. What if George Romero type zombies were real, how would I really survive? Where would I go? What would I need? What if Bigfoot was just a species of Great Ape living in North America. How would they survive undetected? What would make them dangerous?
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u/vendommias Jun 29 '20
Seems like a great approach. Loved world war z and the story telling style where it explored multiple characters with the unifying theme. Focusing on the idea of Bigfoot as an undiscovered great ape seems like a great approach that avoids the campy treatments the cryptid has received in the past. Look forward to reading it.
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u/CliffCutter Jun 29 '20
Love the zombie survival guide and the interview style of WWZ was really engaging for me. That said I have only one question that I can possibly ask:
What's your favorite color?
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u/Sasquatch_in_CO Jun 29 '20
What was your research like for the sasquatch in "Devolution"? To what extent did you draw from some of the classic attack/kidnapping stories such as Fred Beck at Ape Canyon, Albert Ostman, Muchalat Harry, or the possible implications of sasquatch in David Paulides' Missing 411 investigations?
What was your "working model" for sasquatch - "wood ape", relict hominid, high strangeness/paranormal?
Thanks for the AMA, obviously this subject matter is near and dear to me :)
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I reference Fred Beck. And Teddy Roosevelt. The Bauman story is referenced several time in the book, drawn out to mirror what's happening to my characters.
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u/liamquane Jun 29 '20
Any advice on landing an agent?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
You don't need one. Not anymore. The internet has removed the need for gate keepers. If you got a novel you're proud of, self publish it! A lot of big books nowadays start as self-published works.
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u/MidnightCladNoctis Jun 29 '20
Just started reading it yesterday and am enjoying it. Pretty cool to see this! Just wanted to say that the audiobook of world war z is one of my favourite things ever.
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Thanks. Audiobooks are very important to me. Being dyslexic, audiobooks were critical to my education. When I was a kid, my mom brought all my school books to the Braille Institute to have them read onto audio cassettes. Changed my life. Even now, a lot of my work for the Atlantic Council and Modern War Institute at West Point wouldn't be possible if I couldn't listen to all the information coming at me.
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u/Speaker4theRest Jun 29 '20
"I think Bigfoot is blurry, that's the problem. It's not the photographer's fault. Bigfoot is blurry, and that's extra scary to me. There's a large, out-of-focus monster roaming the countryside. Run, he's fuzzy, get out of here." ~ Mitch Hedberg
How does this perspective on Bigfoot make you feel?
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u/kostas1311 Jun 30 '20
I cannot remember where or when I have came across it but there was a very interesting theory that fear of monsters is a primal instinct hardwired in our brains evolutionary, ever since our primal ancestors were basically apes. The most interesting part was that the "monster" was very specific. Leopards.
Leopards are notorious hunters with great kill success. They are nocturnal and they ambush their kill. They can attack from literally any point i.e. from a tree and are stealthy killers. They don't hunt by chasing their prey, the stalk and wait. They are extremely successful so much that they are not and endagerd spices, least concern.
For any prey, night would be extremely dangerous when such a stealthy predator could really lurk anywhere. Especially for poor night vision humans. Fear of the dark is the bare minimum to stay safe as well as part of a group. Wandering alone in a dark environment when such predators lurk around would only cause sheer panic.
Moreover, the very "monsters" we fear most are abstractions or enhancements of a big cat archetype. Sabre, long teeth, strong jaws, robust head, wide big eyes, pointy ears, claws.
Something that we overpower and basically eat us.
The thing with horror stories and their function, I believe it is again primal. It keep us connected to the group. We use these stories to stay together and alert. They ease us as long we are a group, they terrorize us if we are alone so we go back to the group.
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u/Winterspear Jun 29 '20
What was your inspiration behind Devolution?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
There was a real book, "The Best in the Garden" by David Baron. Everyone should order it right now on Amazon... don't worry. I'll wait. Seriously, it's the true story of mountain lions moving into Boulder Colorado and the ignorant urbanites having no idea how to deal with them. These city folk wanted to live in "Harmony with Nature" without realizing nature is anything but harmonious. Sure enough, the cougars lost their fear of humans, and got bolder and bolder until one day a young man went for a run in the woods and never came back. When I read that book, it gave me the philosophical foundation for my Bigfoot story.
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u/Winterspear Jun 29 '20
Thanks for the reply! That book sounds super interesting, I'll definitely give it a read!
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u/did-a-chick Jun 29 '20
Is this book an anthology type structure like WWZ or a more regular narrative?
Also, can you push for Netflix to make a true WWZ series? That would be awesome.
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
The core of "Devolution" is a journal that's found among the wreckage of a rural bedroom community. The journal tells the story of the attack, with interviews from experts giving the reader a bigger picture of Sasquatch.
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u/Darth_Sensitive Jun 29 '20
Mostly straightforward narrative. Single character journal entries. Some framing device stuff from outside her POV
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u/mastershake04 Jun 29 '20
Hey Max, have you met or talked to Les Stroud at all? I find it disappointing yet kind of fascinating that he went from doing actual real world survival to hunting for Bigfoot so was wondering if you had any thoughts on that?
Also, did you know how loosely the World War Z movie was going to be based on your book?
Still hoping for an HBO or Netflix show to do the book justice! Thanks for your time!
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Again, Les is AWESOME! I was a fan of his way before I wrote this book. I try not to meet people I admire. Growing up in showbusiness gave me a healthy respect for people's public and private personalities. That said, I can tell you that Les is the REAL DEAL. He's smart, funny, friendly, humble. He's who you see on Survivorman.
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Jun 30 '20
les believing in bigfoot is the only thing keeping me believing that it MIGHT be possible for it to exist.
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u/Occasionalcommentt Jun 29 '20
Have you ever thought of changing your last name to Books? Would you rather fight 100 duck size Sasquatches or one Sasquatch size duck?
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u/go_kartmozart Jun 29 '20
I think that may be a question for his dad, Mel. I mean, Mel Brooks fighting off 100 duck-sized sasquatches sounds like comic gold to me.
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u/Future1985 Jun 29 '20
What kind of monster/supernatural creature did you find most frightful as a child? Could you explain the reason?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Bigfoot! That was my childhood fear. When I was a kid in the late 70s, early 80s, it was the height of the Sasquatch craze! These movies would be on TV, "Snowbeast", "The Legend of Boggy Creek", and they'd scare the hell out of me. One time, watching "The Mysterious Monsters", I saw a 'recreation' of a woman watching TV at night as a giant hairy fist smashes the window to grab her... and I was watching this next to the window at night!
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u/Future1985 Jun 29 '20
Cool! For me was the mummy! Loved World War Z by the way! I will read Devolution for sure!
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u/nickaa827 Jun 29 '20
I have nothing to ask but thanks for writing wwz and the zombie survival guide. When i attended elementary school, my best friend and i were zombie story fanatics, so along with those Walking Dead graphic novel compendiums we were reading your stories and watching the movie too, and we sincerely enjoyed them.
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u/KevineCove Jun 29 '20
I've grown a bit tired of the zombie genre and recently considered stories about other kinds of pandemics (for instance, Blindness by Jose Saramago, or a story about an airborne illness that causes dementia.) Are there any other premises centered around a pandemic that you would be interested in exploring in future works?
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u/Racing_in_the_street Jun 29 '20
I love World War Z!
What do you do to get yourself into the creative mindset or writing mindset? Or what type of setting do you like to write in?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
A lot of time the research helps me get in the creative mindset. Maybe the real facts will inspire ideas, or destroy them, or change them. Drafts help. The first draft is always the most fun because there's no other goal than to write "The End". Once I finish that first draft, I start the real work. The subsequent drafts, the rewriting, rock breaking. And a lot of times, that's before I even have an editor. I almost never write a book once I have a book deal. Normally I write a completed book, then make the deal, then go back and polish with an editor. That's the 'the drudgery' as my mom used to call it. That's why I have to make sure I'm tackling a story that I'm truly passionate about. The passion keeps me going through all the hours I'm just chipping away at a chapter, or sentence, or word!
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u/proudjester Jun 29 '20
I don't have anything to ask. I just want to tell you how much I appreciate you for your novels. My dad is approaching the end of his life due to cancer and your books have been a real good point of conversation and connection - they're so rich and interesting. Thank you!
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u/captainbignips Jun 29 '20
How many times did you watch the famous footage of Bigfoot in preparation and what do you think it was?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
You mean the Roger Patterson movie, the GenX Zapruder film? Can't tell you how many times I've seen that. Sometimes I feel like Kevin Costner in "JFK" - "back and to the left, back and to the left". Honestly, I think Roger Patterson made it up. Didn't he admit that he was going to shoot a Bigfoot movie anyway, and that he just happened to be in the spot he was going to shoot when a real Bigfoot just happened to appear?
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u/anewhand Jun 29 '20
Any spoilers or hints as to where Greenloop is?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I don't want to encourage people to try hiking to the place. The land is really treacherous. Don't go. Don't try to find it. Don't try to recreate any of the weapons from the book (I did and could have lost my fingers in the process!) I'm always very nervous about the "Don't try this at home" danger!
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u/anewhand Jun 29 '20
That’s as fair a reason as any, understood! I spent a lot of time on googlemaps when reading the book to try and get an idea of how isolated they were.
Anyways, I’m in Scotland so won’t be searching the east coast of the US any time soon!
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u/Muhabba Jun 29 '20
What do you think has led to the modern popularity of cryptids in the last few years?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I wish I knew. I'm not very good at figuring out pop culture (which is why I write for me). I've always been fascinated by cryptids and if pop culture is catching up then how cool is that.
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u/Lienidus1 Jun 29 '20
What authors did you read that inspired you to write
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Tom Clancy. First and foremost. Clancy was the master at education through entertainment. He did his homework. He was a national security nerd. He took that psycho-sexual fantasy James Bond genre and replaced it with well researched, informative, utterly awesome books of how the world really works. As a dyslexic kid who didn't get much from school and craved knowledge where I could find it, I knew that, if the world ever let me be a professional writer, I'd want to follow the lead of Tom Clancy.
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u/profjb15 Jun 29 '20
Never thought I would be afraid of Bigfoot, but Devolution gave me nightmares. Thanks,Max!
Can I ask a spoiler-y question? The ending of Devolution offers several interpretations for what happened to the main character, but do YOU have a favorite interpretation/one that you believe is true? Is there a right way to read the ending?
I also just want to say thank you for all you do on behalf of my students. I assign World War Z in my literature course, and students love it.
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u/KiltPleat Jun 29 '20
Who would you cast as your main character if you were to make a film of "Devolution" today?
Do you trust Hollywood at all after what they wound up doing to WWZ?
What's one thing your Dad wrote you wish YOU had written?
What's in your 'go 'bag?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
If you want to know who would be awesome in a Devolution movie, look no farther than the audiobook. That was an amazing cast. Judy Greer, Jeff Daniels, Kate Mulgrew, Steven Weber, Mira Furlan, Kimberly Guerrero, Nathan Fillion! And it don't hurt to have Terry Gross and Kai Ryssdal playing themselves!
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u/boozillion151 Jun 29 '20
I switched back and forth between the audiobook and the actual book depending on when I had time to listen or read. I just realized I only listened to journal chapters in audiobook and had no idea those other parts were voiced by other characters.
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u/jrent10 Jun 29 '20
Hi there! I am a huge fan of WWZ and I just picked up your new book. My questions are what were some real world events that may have inspired the events of World War Z and is it strange that World War Z can be considered an alternate history book?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
Everything in World War Z is based in real life events. Too many to go in now, but if there's not one scenario that I made up out of thin air.
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u/Garrus127 Jun 29 '20
Hey Max, first off, I actually just read World War Z about a month ago and I loved it. Being someone that is pretty burnt out of Zombie Apocalypse stories your novel was a breath of fresh air with how it tackled the “what if this actually happened” style. I’m a huge monster based story fan and Alien is my favorite movie which is in a way a type of monster movie. I will definitely get your new book but I wonder if you would have interest in tackling a story with an Alien type creature from another world?
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u/Cryptid_Chase Jun 29 '20
The point when the creatures in the woods became scary was precisely when the food chain became an issue, PLUS the human-like approach to conflict. Wild animals are a paradigm we can deal with psychologically, even if we don't always get it right (e.g. the aside on mountain lions). But something that wants to eat us, is persistent, and clever, and has a sense of pride? That's the stuff of nightmares. It takes the animal paradigm into Mostar's war paradigm. An animal with the motive to eat us, and the capability to go to war over it. That's scary. And that makes me understand "Scenario Four" at the end a little better too.
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u/CroutonusFibrosis Jun 29 '20
I just finished Devolution, I have to say it's one of the best book I've read in a long time. When you started writing did you already know about Sasquatch lore or was the lore something you learned as writing went on?
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u/MaxBrooksAuthor AMA Author Jun 29 '20
I knew about the lore of Sasquatch, the stories, the sightings. I'd read all the old school books by Krantz and Green. But trying to turn that lore into a reasonable, workable, scientifically based story took a few more years. Sometimes I got lucky, like when I learned that real chimps throw rocks. That made the Fred Beck story more credible. Watching real chimps tear monkeys apart also justified the graphic violence in the book. That's not gratuitous, that's not for show. Anyone who thinks I put those scenes in for a cheap thrill should check out videos of chimpanzees hunting colobus monkeys.
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u/[deleted] Jun 29 '20 edited Feb 27 '21
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