mokey81's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
jsanders05's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
New take on the zombie apocalypse. It’s clever and witty, but it’s slow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
awormlivesinbook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
rosiecheeks's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
so conflicted on how to rate this. the pacing seemed to be somewhat all over the place in the beginning, before grinding to a halt around the 40% mark. it dragged for so long that I ended up just skimming nearly half of this book... and that's such a shame, because I *do* think this had such a strong premise.
I don't think I'll be picking up the rest of the series...
I don't think I'll be picking up the rest of the series...
wanderaven's review against another edition
4.0
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 everything else 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 Aura (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".
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.
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 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 everything else 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 Aura (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
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.
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!
mariandiepb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated