Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton is a science fiction, post apocalyptic fantasy that has a new twist with the surviving characters. Instead of the story being told from the point of view of the last remaining humans in the world we get a narrative from S.T., a domesticated crow.

S.T.’s owner, Big Jim, had gotten really sick until the point one day Big Jim’s eyeball falls right out. Well, what is one domesticated crow to do without an owner taking care of him? S.T. manages to team up with Big Jim’s dumb dog, Dennis, and take off out on their own to find out what was happening to their world.

Now, I’m sort of a hit or miss type of person when it comes to the entire dystopian or post apocalyptic type of books. Some of these pull me right in and I become completely engrossed in the what if we had this happen to us type of world. Others on the flip side tend to bore me with the lack of characters or engaging plot. Hollow Kingdom starts off s a cute new twist following this wise cracking crow but eventually it all fell flat for me. I’m sure some will love this one, I however just got a  bit bored with only the animals.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I’m sure that in amongst all the gruesome animal deaths and 12-year-old boy humor, this book had a point. 

In fact, it is very clearly trying to stress—constantly—that it does. Why it needed several hundred pages of circular plot and grossness for the sake of grossness to get there is another question entirely.

Buxton writes snappily and the basic plot is both ambitious and unique. Occasionally, she even manages to be funny in a way that is neither based on grotesque shock value or seemingly aimed at adolescent boys. It’s unfortunate that most of the “humor” is of the latter type. 

I probably could have accepted some of the gross-out components of the book had the plot been tighter and had there not been so many more failed jokes and faux-horror ick moments than could possibly be necessary. Or if other components had been funnier. Or the message was clearer and more successfully delivered. Or, or, or...you get the idea. 

Top all that off with many, MANY dogs and other animals dead or dying in horrific ways, and...yeah. This was a disappointment.

Hollow Kingdom was not what I expected. At all. It is a story about a zombie apocalypse told from the point of view of a crow named Shit Turd, or S.T. for short. Ha, wish I was kidding. If this name isn’t hilarious enough, then the dialogue will be for sure. It is witty, innocent, imaginative, and straight up hilarious. Of course, the subject matter is rather serious - after all, humanity has turned into zombies and animals are left to survive on their own, but the story itself is engaging and filled with hilarious anecdotes from all animal species. Definitely not aimed for younger audience because of language and some violence and gore. Highly recommend this book (I even bought the audio version of this book, and it was even more hilarious!). Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for thiseARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

It's been 2 months since I read Hollow Kingdom, and it's still a book I think about often.  Especially when I see a crow!

I had received a free ARC from netgalley several months before but I was really on the fence about a zombie apocalypse story as told by a crow. A good zombie story is hard to find, and a well done animal pov is hard to find, so what are the chances these two could be combined into a decent story? Apparently pretty good! I loved this story. So much. Often hilarious, at times heart-wrenching, Hollow Kingdom is the tale of an unlikely hero who faces incredible odds to save what's left of the world.  

The only moment I have any trouble with is the very ending, I just felt it was a little bit of a stretch and while it adds an additional positive note, I don't know that the story absolutely needed it. However this tiny negative feeling in my part is but enough to keep me from rating 5+.

I can't say I've encountered a novel quite like this before. It's reminiscent of my all time favorite,  [book:Watership Down|76620]. It's a bit darker, but the main difference is this one is narrated by animals who are knowledgable about the world of humans. Our main narrator is a crow, and we get points of view from other birds, cats, dogs, polar bears, even an octopus. This was obviously written by someone with not only knowledge of different animal species and how they interact, but also an appreciation for their distinct traits and personalities. 

This is not a story for the faint of heart or easily grossed out reader. It's not for soft hearted animal lovers who can't handle reading about animals being harmed and doing/saying horrible things. I'm certain part of my love for this book comes from working with animals for decades, for loving them and also knowing they can be disgusting a-holes. 

The writing is magical, the story is complex and weird. The animal characters are well constructed, and the world they live in is brought to life with vivid imagery. Our crow narrator is hilarious. The story in general had me laughing in parts and near tears in others. It's ultimately story of survival, but also an exploration of love, belonging, and acceptance. 

Highly recommend.

Hollow kingdom is not your standard post-apocalyptic tale. This novel centers around a domesticated crow named S. T. and his dog companion Dennis as they navigate a world where humanity is collapsing and the animal kingdom must learn to live in a world without humans. I really wanted to love this book. The description alone sold me that this is a must read for me. I am giving it 4 stars instead of 5 stars for two reasons: ***minor spoiler alert*** there are some animal deaths in the book that were difficult for me to read; also the book was a thinly-veiled attempt at reminding humanity that this world belongs to nature and nature will take it back. I fully agree with this statement, but I felt the book was sometimes a little too preachy. I wanted to delve deep into this fictional story, but I was held back every so often by the message it was delivering.

Overall, this was a wonderfully original story. I loved the animal characters and their quest. I would recommend it as a great book club book, but the strong language may be off-putting for some readers.

Published by Grand Central Publishing on August 6, 2019

Hollow Kingdom is a funny, engaging look at animals, from the sarcastic (a crow) to the sweet (a bloodhound), who decide to help each other out after a zombie apocalypse. Humans aren’t necessarily zombies in the traditional sense, but they are drooling blood and behaving even more irrationally than usual. The behavior seems to be a side effect of living in the digital age, but since the story isn’t meant to be taken seriously, the absence of a credible explanation is unimportant. This is a story about compassionate animals, not stupid humans.

The main character, a crow named Shit Turd (S.T. for short), lives with Big Jim and a bloodhound named Dennis in Seattle. S.T. is concerned when Big Jim’s eyeball falls out and is even more concerned when Big Jim stops eating and starts walking endless laps in the basement, tracing his bloody finger against the wall. S.T. takes it upon himself to grab Dennis’ leash in his beak and lead the dog to safety — if safety can be found in an unsafe world — as he begins his search for Onida, a mollusk who has all the answers.

Collateral characters include a toy poodle named Winnie (the Poodle). She has been spoiled by her wealthy owner (the Walker) and, although Winnie is not a good dog and has often yearned to escape, she feels guilty when the Walker leaves the house and fails to return. After that, she just feels hungry. Back in Seattle, Genghis Cat has noticed the absence of cars and cheese while his Mediocre Servants spend all their time, yes, poking their bloody fingers against the walls. Genghis Cat has an attitude. Of course he does, he’s a cat. Other animals large and small play cameo roles.

I love the descriptive language that the animals use to describe other animals. To a bird, bear cubs are “fuzzy death potatoes.” To any predator, sparrows are “airborne pizza rolls.” From a Scottish cow’s perspective, a donkey is a “scabby wee fart lozenge.” Penguins are “shit-beaked Spam-gremlins,” although S.T. comes to appreciate them.

S.T. is saddened by the apparent end of the world, particularly by the thought that there will be no more Cheetos (his favorite food) or hot dog eating contests on ESPN. Civilization at its finest, all lost! Yet he embarks on a mission to free all the domestic pets who are locked inside their homes with no sane human to feed them. This turns out to be a difficult mission, in part because birds cannot open doors, in part because all the zoo animals have been set free and are making life difficult for everyone. The story gives S.T. a chance to learn the true nature of other animals and, more importantly, to discover some truths about himself.

The story is whacky and fun, but not all of it works. S.T.’s search for mystical entities distracts from the plot rather than contributing to it. Still, the clever prose and the amusing message — that animals are better than humans, if only because they stick together and realize the importance of not ruining the world — makes me give Hollow Kingdom a wildly grinning emoji. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Dennis turns out to be the kind of endearing hero that dog lovers can’t help but appreciate.

RECOMMENDED

What an incredibly creative and bizarre take on the zombie apocalypse! I'm not going to beat around the bush -- I love this book! 

S.T. (short for shit turd) is a happy domesticated crow. The world has his human, Big Jim, all the cheetos he can eat, and a great dog named Dennis for him to annoy. His life is perfect. Until.....

Big Jim's eyeball falls out. And he starts acting strange. Then ALL the people start acting strange. Even a quick fly to CVS for things to help isn't enough to fix the problem at home.....so good ol' S.T. hits the road with his pal, Dennis, to find out what's going on. What's left for a crow who really liked being a pet and for his hound dog sidekick once human beings are gone? What comes after? And....are there still cheetos?

All right -- before I get much further -- this book has cussing. Be aware and pass it by if this bothers you. This is not a book for kids....it's for adults who want a fun romp through the zombified end of humanity and the aftermath. If you are ok with humans being referred to as MoFos, a crow named Shit Turd, and some F-bombs and other various colorful metaphors....then pick up this book and enjoy zombies from a bird's eye view. 

My favorite character in the entire book (despite only being in a couple pages) is Genghis Cat. I laughed so hard I snorted. :) 

So funny, creative and totally entertaining. Any book that makes me snort....and laugh....and read passages to my husband....gets full stars from me. I will definitely read more by this author! :) 

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

This was one of my most anticipated for the year and I was ultimately given an ARC by Grand Central Publishing, though not until after publication (and I already had the first available copy from the library), hence my well after publication review. I wish I could've shared this seethingly fun and gruesome novel earlier to help get others hyped up.

I mean, narrated by a crow, who lives in Seattle? Anyone who knows me just a bit more than a little knows it's as if those elements were bespoke written for me. And those elements of Hollow Kingdom exceeded all my expectations. The crow, S.T., is just exactly how I often imagine the inner psychological and emotional life of a crow - cutting, hilarious, dark, intelligent... agh, so well done here. He and his best friend Dennis, a bloodhound, make up a paltry murder (in the sense of a group of crows, not in the other sense) struggling to survive in... a post-apocalyptic Seattle teeming with human zombies. 

So, yeah, the post-apocalyptic zombies probably weren't my first choice as a background. Both of these elements aren't high on my list of reading preferences but I was sustained through all that by the highlights of a tour through Seattle, the majority of places familiar to me, and thus incredibly entertaining to imagine destroyed and teeming with the zombies. The reasons for humans becoming zombies was also the best possible reason I, as a mostly zombie-averse reader, could appreciate, which helped alot. 

And, really, what other setting would best host a story about a crow and a bloodhound, teamed up to survive? A regular not-post-apocalyptic would quickly dispense of entertainment for these characters. So, leaving behind all that, suffice it to say that <i>everything else</i> was enough to carry me through the zombie stuff.

Everything else was S.T., and Dennis, and S.T.'s stories about Big Jim, his people before Big Jim became a zombie that S.T. couldn't save, and the <i>Aura</i> (essentially the avian world's internet but exceedingly much more beautiful and practical), and all of the other birds and dogs and animals freed from the zoo without human caretakers/imprisoners, The One Who Opens Doors, and the squirrels, oh the squirrels. We never get a first-person POV of a squirrel because squirrels are  "five star sexual deviants".
<spoiler>

<i>Here was the answer to freeing the domestics, the secrets to touching through the glass. Here was The One Who Opens Doors, an orangutan, a powerful ally who could turn the knobs to a future.

When the grass fights the concrete, She shall usher in a new era. It was known. 

Here was how we would win the War of Land. 

We pondered the implications in utter silence, except for the rhythmic masturbation of a nearby squirrel.</i>
</spoiler>

We have a lot of squirrels in our neighborhood, many of which are constantly pissed off at my goldendoodle, and some of which intentionally try to antagonize her (and she's easily baited). My partner, who hasn't read Hollow Kingdom and yet is deeply amused by the squirrel descriptions I've read to him from it, has joined me in referencing our neighborhood squirrels as five-star sexual deviants who are out there flashing their junk.     
   
I enjoyed this so damn much. It's absolutely one of my top reads of the year; highly anticipated and lived up to those expectations. Will be eagerly awaiting Buxton's next offering!

I received a review copy courtesy of Net Galley and Grand Central Publishing. Buxton has had her work appear in The New York Times and some other impressive places, and I was drawn by the buzz. To be honest, this book didn’t work for me, but I also have to admit that I am probably outside the target audience. 

The setting drew me first; it’s hard to resist work set in my own hometown of Seattle. The premise has to do with a smart crow and a dumb dog setting out to save what’s left of their world. It’s billed as a romp, and I make a point of punctuating my other reading with humor so it doesn’t get too dark out there. So there were reasons to think I would enjoy this book. 

But I was expecting a story arc and a plot. And I noted at the ten percent mark that I had seen enough product placements for the rest of the story and a boxed set to go with it. I quit about halfway through and skimmed till I reached the 80 percent mark, and then read the ending; no joy. 

If a friend has read this book and says they think that you will like it, that friend might be right. But I can only share what I have seen and give you my honest opinion, which is that this is only something to be obtained only if it’s free or cheap unless your pockets are deep.

What a fun and unique take on the end of humanity. I quickly grew to love S.T., Dennis, and all the friends they made on this adventure. This story telling crow has me laughing out loud more than once. Definitely a must read. Just as caution, S.T. has a very colorful vocabulary. 

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book, which I voluntarily chose to review.

This book is really interesting. The premise is original and it was a well-paced and well-developed, but I just didn’t love the experience.

It turns out that horror/fantasy isn’t my preferred genre. I read Hollow Kingdom to stretch my reading and to see if it would make a good addition to our horror collection. I thought the plot was intriguing and the characters were interesting, but I had a hard time suspending reality to follow the crow throughout the book and the term “mofo” wasn’t appealing to me and I had a hard time moving past it. 

Hollow Kingdom will become the favorite book of many people. I think that its originality will have many critics excited. 

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I had a hard time with this book.  It was an interesting and unique concept, and I thought it started out well.  It was entertaining and I enjoyed the fact the animals have to learn to survive on their own.  Unfortunately, it felt like it dragged on in places and eventually I found myself having to put it down for a while before picking it up again.  I’m sure there are people out there who will love it but for me, it was a struggle to get through it.  I liked enough aspects of it though to be willing to reading something else by this author in the future.

**A copy was provided via NetGalley to voluntarily review**

Love, love, love this wacky story about a very intelligent crow raised by a human (MoFo) Big Jim. When Big Jim turns zombie, S.T. (the crow), sets out to right the world. I had a blast reading about all the animals personalities and the trees indigenous to Seattle. I think you have to like a little non-sense with your reading appetite so I absolutely loved this hilarious book. I wish Kira Jane Buxton was my best friend dog gone it! I took my time reading this book so I could savor it.
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Posted at Goodreads.com

Hollow Kingdom is a post-zombie-'pocalypse debut novel from Kira Jane Buxton. Released 6th Aug 2019 by Hatchette on their Grand Central Publishing imprint, it's 320 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.

The narrative follows S.T. the domesticated crow and his intellectually challenged bloodhound sidekick Dennis on their epic quest to find any lingering humanity and to save as many of the domesticated animals as possible. The prose is moving and lyrical, despite the horrific descriptions (there are formerly human zombies). There is panoramic and profound violence and despite the descriptive power of the author, and her ability to horrify, it was a joy to read. The actual dichotomy between the perfect writing and *what* was being described often lifted the whole to a new level. This book was really genuinely funny in a lot of places.

It's mostly set in Seattle, and the sense of place and description of well known landmarks in that area gave the book verisimilitude. There are chapters set in other places with other narrators and those are well delineated in the chapter headings. The author did a superlative job of altering the narrative voice of the narrators so it wasn't difficult to follow at all. The technical writing is to an impressively high standard

I generally actively dislike horror and zombies. This one combines both with actively gross bodily functions (farts, diarrhea, vomiting, dismemberment, other body horror). Despite this, it was one of my year's best reads. This is a cautionary tale which manages to do so without being preachy or strident. It's an epic quest fantasy, and it's a good one.

As a debut novel, Ms. Buxton knocked it out of the ball park. Kudos to her agent and editor for recognizing her skills with novel length fiction. I would recommend this to any fiction readers (with the violence and language warnings taken into consideration). Because it's impossible to categorize, I hope it gets a much wider readership than just horror or speculative lit. I was drawn in from the first paragraph and read it in one sitting. (I just wrote "devoured" and couldn't bear to leave it there).

Five stars.

Buxton is a skilled writer and it shows in this wild ride of a novel.  There is plenty of snort-out-loud humor and outright insanity in the tale.  Initially, I experienced some generational culture shock at the casual profanity by the main character —a crow— whose very name is profane.  But, upon reflection, I decided that ST the crow is just being true to himself.  However, this might be a warning for potential readers to consider..  Other parts of the book include lyrical passages that are hauntingly beautiful.  The juxtaposition of ST's crude observations with poetic songs from other creatures makes a delectable sweet'n'sour combo.  Four stars from this reviewer.

HOLLOW KINGDOM is simply sublime!

S.T. is a domesticated crow living with his mofo, Big Jim. (S.T. calls all humans mofos, because that's what Jim calls them.) He spends his days learning tricks, caching objects and avoiding Dennis, Big Jim's bloodhound. Then, Jim's eyeball falls out. What happens next? You'll have to read this to find out!

I read the reviews of a few of my friends and decided to give this one a go. I'm so glad I did. There is really no way to describe this book, or to even shelve it at Goodreads because it doesn't fit into any neat category, genre or sub-genre. This is mostly because HOLLOW KINGDOM is from the crow's point of view. And a cat's. And a whale's. It's beautifully written, with prose so carefully crafted-it's both inspiring and heartfelt. For example, (keep in mind this is from the crow's point of view):

“I cannot recommend this to you enough: find something that you believe in, right down deep in the depths of your silvery plumage, and then throw your heart at it, blood and valves and veins and all. Because I did this, the world, though brambled and frothing at the mouth, looked more vibrant; blues were bluer, and even the fetid puddles that collected under rusting cars tasted as sweet as summer wine.” 

The other reason I liked this book so much is the humor; it's hilarious! I won't tell you what S.T. is short for, or his pet names for certain mofo items. I found myself laughing aloud on the second page and that continued throughout. S.T.'s hopefulness and his love of humanity kept me going through this past week or so, despite the seemingly endless violence we hear about all the time.

“Watching the sunrise.....what an act of beauty, of unwavering faith, something to look forward to each and every day.” 

I am very much simplifying for this review, but be aware, this is a bit more than your average zombie apocalypse. The cause of it was sobering when I thought more deeply about it. Also, I don't see how anyone could not take away a love for our environment, our animals, and our very earth. We need to care for her, because she takes care of us.

HOLLOW KINGDOM is a unique, hilarious, thought-provoking, and beautifully written novel and I'm giving it my highest recommendation. 

ALL THE STARS!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*

**Also, if you could hook me up with every book by this author in the future, that'd be great.**

This post apocalyptic story about a talking crow and his bloodhound friend is 100% outside of my comfort zone. But I'm finding more and more that I'd rather spend my reading time on something completely original than another mediocre thriller.⁣
⁣
HOLLOW KINGDOM is original as it comes. Something bad is going on with the human race and the animals have noticed. S.T. the crow and Dennis the dog love their human and leave their home to try and find a cure. The dialogue switches from serious to silly to funny and back again. The story was clear and compelling and I loved exploring Seattle with these two. I love books where non human characters make observations about the human race (think Matt Haig's The Humans) and the animals' interpretation was spot on. You can tell the author is very passionate about the nature and conservation. All in all, I recommend this. You get used to the sophomore humor and this genre bending story is definitely one you won't forget. 4.5🌟

Oh my goodness! What a book! The best speculative fiction I have possible read…ever.
It’s the apocalypse, told from the POV of a domesticated crow named ST. You read that right, our protagonist is a crow who gets his knowledge and understanding of the world from cable TV. You can imagine how colorful ST is! I have read someone describe this book as The Secret Life of Pets meets The Walking Dead, and I couldn’t agree more.
After deciding that his human is completely un-savable he heads out with the bloodhound Dennis to try and figurer out what the heck happened. On there adventures, they meet up with all kinds of different animals, communicating through the Aura, think the animal kingdom equivalent of texting. As they make their way around Seattle.
This books was so unique and absolutely unforgettable. There is a period of adjusting as you begin to suspend your disbelief. ST is so human like that in the beginning I was thrown out of the story any time it mentions that he is a crow. Once I got used to it, it was definitely easy to follow along, and I was once again immersed.
I highly recommend this book. A stellar and unique foray into the apocalypse from a perspective we have never had before. 5 Stars!
**Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are entirely my own.**

ST is a domesticated crow living with Dennis the dog and Big Jim, his human. It's a good and simple life, but that changes when Big Jim's eyeball falls out of his head and he no longer is able to take care of himself. The other humans in their Seattle suburb neighborhood are also acting oddly, including devouring each other or their beloved pets. There are rumors among the animals of new predators in Seattle, and that the humans are no longer in charge.

I am normally freaked out by zombie apocalypse-themed novels or movies, but to have a book told from the point of view of animals really changed my perspective on it. ST is a wonderfully foul-mouthed and observant crow, with an education borne of TV shows and Big Jim's questionable internet searches and online dating habits. He has such a fully realized voice that it was fun to see his usual routine and his relationships with Dennis, his friends in the neighborhood and the college crows that often look down on household pets. The changes wrought by a zombie apocalypse are realized slowly and subtly at first, then we're slammed with it full-blown when ST tries to go to Walgreens to get remedies for Big Jim. Coupled with the hilarity of his choices of remedies is the horror of the zombies listlessly moving around and then reacting like fast zombies at the sound of technology.

In this novel, technology is part of the zombie vector. The irony of reading this book on my kindle is not lost on me at all and is a brilliant bit of social commentary. ST initially doesn't have much purpose but to survive with Dennis, but soon develops the purpose of keeping the human culture and domesticated pets alive. This is a worthy endeavor and leads to all sorts of adventures that are endearing and heartbreaking at once. It's a post-apocalyptic kind of journey with various species of animals, told from their point of view. It's primarily ST, but we get glimpses of other animals and even trees. There are opportunities for great heroism and comedy as well as heartbreak, and lots of endearing characters to get to know.