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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
morganaq22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Animal death and Blood
Minor: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
3martini's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Blood, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Drug abuse, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
missbreathing's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
slow-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
4.0
If it wasn’t obvious from the blurb, this hook is hilarious. I’m rating it 4/5⭐️. Some thoughts:
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
First off, this book gets extra points for creativity. I mean, what a premise! And it’s easily the funniest book I’ve ever read. I laughed out loud more times than I can count (although I do know this is the kind of comedy people either love or hate). The prose can be smart and witty, too. This perfectly balances humor with insightful commentary on the power and beauty of the natural world.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
S. T. is a well-rounded protagonist, and you can’t help but root for him. He’s a foul-mouthed, spunky, optimistic little crow. He really grows as the story progresses, although I did feel his arc stalled a bit in the first half of the book.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This isn’t exactly a long book, at only 300ish pages, but it does drag. The pacing is a little off, and I think the prose can be so embellished at times that it slows the story down. I think my only real issue with the book is how the plot dragged. It doesn’t really nail the whole quest plot structure.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
But it was a darkly funny, unique read with really interesting details and descriptions. It also has a lovely, hopeful ending. I’d recommend this if you’re looking for a good laugh or for something unique. I also have a feeling this would be amazing as an audiobook.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
First off, this book gets extra points for creativity. I mean, what a premise! And it’s easily the funniest book I’ve ever read. I laughed out loud more times than I can count (although I do know this is the kind of comedy people either love or hate). The prose can be smart and witty, too. This perfectly balances humor with insightful commentary on the power and beauty of the natural world.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
S. T. is a well-rounded protagonist, and you can’t help but root for him. He’s a foul-mouthed, spunky, optimistic little crow. He really grows as the story progresses, although I did feel his arc stalled a bit in the first half of the book.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
This isn’t exactly a long book, at only 300ish pages, but it does drag. The pacing is a little off, and I think the prose can be so embellished at times that it slows the story down. I think my only real issue with the book is how the plot dragged. It doesn’t really nail the whole quest plot structure.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
But it was a darkly funny, unique read with really interesting details and descriptions. It also has a lovely, hopeful ending. I’d recommend this if you’re looking for a good laugh or for something unique. I also have a feeling this would be amazing as an audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol