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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
skylar2's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Violence
kellylynnthomas's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-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? Yes
3.75
A charming and ultimately touching novel about the end of humanity and how a few of the animals who loved humans strive to save what's left of them.
ST, the crow who tells the story, was raised by a human and has trouble letting go of his old life when all the humans become zombies. Rather than hungering for brains, these zombies hunger for the internet. The book's social commentary is unsubtle, but not han-handed, and fits the overall irreverent tone of the story. My biggest critique would be that sometimes the book tries to walk the line between horror and humor, and isn't always fully successful, sometimes leaning too far one way or the other.
If you are sensitive to animal suffering or death, please read the trigger warnings before deciding whether or not to read!
ST, the crow who tells the story, was raised by a human and has trouble letting go of his old life when all the humans become zombies. Rather than hungering for brains, these zombies hunger for the internet. The book's social commentary is unsubtle, but not han-handed, and fits the overall irreverent tone of the story. My biggest critique would be that sometimes the book tries to walk the line between horror and humor, and isn't always fully successful, sometimes leaning too far one way or the other.
If you are sensitive to animal suffering or death, please read the trigger warnings before deciding whether or not to read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Gore
Moderate: Body horror and Death
Spoilers for the question "does the dog die?":bennettanneb's review against another edition
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and Gore
reiowashere's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Probably not the best idea to read this after recently losing a pet or loathing animal violence in any form…I took a lot of breaks and bawled my eyes out at a certain chapter…but overall a fabulous book! The characters’ voices were both touching and hilarious, the story was interesting, and the love shown to Seattle and all its creatures was heartwarming to see. I can’t wait to read the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Gore
jvbook_reader's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, and Gore
Minor: Sexual content and Excrement
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
namaenani's review against another edition
dark
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
The dog diesthe_goose_caboose's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, and Gore
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexism
apersonfromflorida'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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Gore
Minor: Sexual violence