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dargan18's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-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? Yes
3.75
A fun , quick and creative concept for a book - a zombie apocalypse from the point of view of a crow. Parts of it get pretty gruesome - there is a lot of blood, dismembered body parts, descriptions of disturbing scenes. Also didn’t love some of the quirks of the writing style. Parts of it felt like it was trying a little too hard to be clever and/or heartfelt. But enjoyed reading this overall!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
traciereads's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Self harm, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcohol
cassroberts89's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was… an experience. I went into Hollow Kingdom expecting a strange, unique take on a zombie apocalypse. It was sort of like that, but it was really more of a character study of our dear friend, Shit Turd.
Crows are pretty intelligent creatures, so it was interesting to get a bird’s eye view (harhar) of the very bizarre downfall of humankind. Good ol’ S.T. starts out a die-hard fan of humans. His whole journey even starts off as a quest to find a cure for his beloved human, Big Jim. But as he ventures out into the world gone to shit, he embraces his crow-ness more and more. I never thought I’d be so interested in the character development of a crow, but here we are.
Where Buxton sort of lost me was with the meandering plot. It was at times more of an exploration of the natural world, how it can function and thrive without the interference of humans, and a love letter to the earth. I can read that and enjoy it, but then we’d be thrown back into the action and plot. You know how sometimes characters are just there to help the plot move along? In Hollow Kingdom, it was almost like the plot was only there to help the character development and overall message move along. I’m probably making about as much sense as this storyline did 🤷🏻♀️
Anyway, kudos to the author for endearing a crow to me, along with a thick but heroic bloodhound, a bald eagle (used to raise chickens in WA, not usually a fan of these particular raptors), and other critters. I particularly enjoyed the couple of chapters on Genghis Cat.
Thanks to one of my sweet kiddos in our library’s tween book club who requested books from an animal POV, which inspired my own choice to read this—on my own. Not for kids. Definitely not for kids.
Quotes:
“This bird-with her buttercup-yellow eyes and perfectly alabaster head plumage, her voluptuous shuttlecock tail, and the rich chocolate of her body-rendered me a statue. She was flawless in feather, strong and savvy. She looked at me-right fucking at me!-with that iconic regal ex-pression, daffodil-yellow eye absorbing and adjudicating with a sharpness rivaled only by her talons. Bald eagles are majestic as fuck.”
“The tiny sparrow darted through a sky of birds and was suddenly hurtling alongside the eagle and me.
‘Don't worry,’ he said in a jittery whisper. ‘I believe in you.’ They were tiny words from a tiny bird, but perhaps sometimes all you need is a speck of encouragement, an acorn of belief.”
Crows are pretty intelligent creatures, so it was interesting to get a bird’s eye view (harhar) of the very bizarre downfall of humankind. Good ol’ S.T. starts out a die-hard fan of humans. His whole journey even starts off as a quest to find a cure for his beloved human, Big Jim. But as he ventures out into the world gone to shit, he embraces his crow-ness more and more. I never thought I’d be so interested in the character development of a crow, but here we are.
Where Buxton sort of lost me was with the meandering plot. It was at times more of an exploration of the natural world, how it can function and thrive without the interference of humans, and a love letter to the earth. I can read that and enjoy it, but then we’d be thrown back into the action and plot. You know how sometimes characters are just there to help the plot move along? In Hollow Kingdom, it was almost like the plot was only there to help the character development and overall message move along. I’m probably making about as much sense as this storyline did 🤷🏻♀️
Anyway, kudos to the author for endearing a crow to me, along with a thick but heroic bloodhound, a bald eagle (used to raise chickens in WA, not usually a fan of these particular raptors), and other critters. I particularly enjoyed the couple of chapters on Genghis Cat.
Thanks to one of my sweet kiddos in our library’s tween book club who requested books from an animal POV, which inspired my own choice to read this—on my own. Not for kids. Definitely not for kids.
Quotes:
“This bird-with her buttercup-yellow eyes and perfectly alabaster head plumage, her voluptuous shuttlecock tail, and the rich chocolate of her body-rendered me a statue. She was flawless in feather, strong and savvy. She looked at me-right fucking at me!-with that iconic regal ex-pression, daffodil-yellow eye absorbing and adjudicating with a sharpness rivaled only by her talons. Bald eagles are majestic as fuck.”
“The tiny sparrow darted through a sky of birds and was suddenly hurtling alongside the eagle and me.
‘Don't worry,’ he said in a jittery whisper. ‘I believe in you.’ They were tiny words from a tiny bird, but perhaps sometimes all you need is a speck of encouragement, an acorn of belief.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Alcohol
corriejn's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit, and Alcohol
brynnak's review against another edition
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Death, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
isacro's review against another edition
It wasn’t well written. The plot was slow and laborious without any reward. But the last straw for me was the gratuitous animal deaths.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Cannibalism, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
dijigoo53's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, and Gore
hdunscombe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
kriyon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Gore
jesssalexander's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This story is utterly ridiculous.
A sweetly naïve and hopeful, foul-mouthed crow (fowl-mouthed?) seeks to save fellow pets from a zombie apocalypse. I do not recommend that any one read this, it is bizarre and maybe the most gory thing I’ve ever read— really and truly, if you do read this, don’t do so while eating anything.
In a crude and VERY macabre way it is funny. Not hilarious but I did chuckle at S.T.’s (the crow) colorful and creative descriptions. The thing that kept me from stopping was how weirdly poignant the narrative was. Lots of lines like this:
“Those who burst from the shell know the gladiators fight for survival. A bird recognizes that every life that surpasses a first breath is a miracle.”
And Buxton can really write characters. There are all these little vignettes stuck between the chapters of the main narrative about different domesticated animals experiences with the apocalypse. My favorites were Genghis Cat and Winnie the Poodle. Though some of the little side stories felt more like an interruption to get through rather than any substantial addition to the storyline.
What’s really clever about the story is the underlying commentary. No, not the obvious warning that human kind succumbed to a zombie virus transferred through phone addiction. (The science behind which was as far-fetched as the image of a limp-winged crow flying on the back of a bald eagle on the heels of a mob of evolving raptor-human zombies. Which is also a part of the plot. Really got to just ride the crazy train with this book). But no. What’s clever is how S.T. earnestly and endearingly loved humans and mourns their passing when he was raised by a less than exemplary member of our species: Big Jim. Big Jim, who scoffed at tofu and penguins, whose most significant life event seemed to have been being dumped by Tiffany S. from Tinder, who refers to everyone as a MoFo and named his own pet Sh*t turd- S.T. for short. Even the most mediocre of us are pretty amazing, we are all God’s creatures (my take, not necessarily Buxton’s) and each day of life is a gift.
A sweetly naïve and hopeful, foul-mouthed crow (fowl-mouthed?) seeks to save fellow pets from a zombie apocalypse. I do not recommend that any one read this, it is bizarre and maybe the most gory thing I’ve ever read— really and truly, if you do read this, don’t do so while eating anything.
In a crude and VERY macabre way it is funny. Not hilarious but I did chuckle at S.T.’s (the crow) colorful and creative descriptions. The thing that kept me from stopping was how weirdly poignant the narrative was. Lots of lines like this:
“Those who burst from the shell know the gladiators fight for survival. A bird recognizes that every life that surpasses a first breath is a miracle.”
And Buxton can really write characters. There are all these little vignettes stuck between the chapters of the main narrative about different domesticated animals experiences with the apocalypse. My favorites were Genghis Cat and Winnie the Poodle. Though some of the little side stories felt more like an interruption to get through rather than any substantial addition to the storyline.
What’s really clever about the story is the underlying commentary. No, not the obvious warning that human kind succumbed to a zombie virus transferred through phone addiction. (The science behind which was as far-fetched as the image of a limp-winged crow flying on the back of a bald eagle on the heels of a mob of evolving raptor-human zombies. Which is also a part of the plot. Really got to just ride the crazy train with this book). But no. What’s clever is how S.T. earnestly and endearingly loved humans and mourns their passing when he was raised by a less than exemplary member of our species: Big Jim. Big Jim, who scoffed at tofu and penguins, whose most significant life event seemed to have been being dumped by Tiffany S. from Tinder, who refers to everyone as a MoFo and named his own pet Sh*t turd- S.T. for short. Even the most mediocre of us are pretty amazing, we are all God’s creatures (my take, not necessarily Buxton’s) and each day of life is a gift.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic