The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
rachaelwho's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Good, earnest, interesting, sweet. "Mofo" started out grating and contrived and went right on through being super, super annoying. Major plot elements were very obvious but do you really need a book like this to be unpredictable? I didn't. I would've taken it, but I was fine without it. I'll read her next, too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Gore, Grief, Animal death, and Body horror
starrysteph's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
We’ve all read zombie apocalypse stories focused on the survivors - the hardy group of humans fighting for a better new world.
But what if nobody made it out?
What if every human was infected?Â
What if the only survivors - were other animals?
That’s what goes down in the opening scenes of Hollow Kingdom, and we’re left to follow human-adoring crow S.T. and his bloodhound sidekick Dennis as they navigate the wake of tragedy, try to figure out what happened, and rescue other domestic animals.
This book had the curious ability to make me laugh out lou and roll my eyes at the raunchy absurdity, but also weep in a ball on the couch.Â
We do mostly follow S.T., but we also get beautifully-crafted chapters between his narratives from all sorts of different animals. Though sometimes a little cheesy and -and often romanticizing animal interactions - these interludes were some of my favorite parts of the novel.
At times the plot became too repetitive without seeming to move forward. It felt like large sections of the novel could have been chopped without a loss, and that made my reading experience a little antsy. The humor also occasionally rubbed me the wrong way. I also didn’t love the measly background we got around the cause of the zombie infection. It’s a trope that bothers me.
Overall though, I enjoyed this journey. Be prepared for some heartbreak, folks. Especially if you are an animal lover like me.
CW: animal death, human death (all ages), gore, body horror, violence, animal cruelty, cannibalism, confinement, vomit, drug use, suicide, ableism, sexism, fatphobia, war, Harry Potter references
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Gore, Fatphobia, Drug use, Child death, Confinement, Vomit, Suicide, Ableism, Sexism, War, Cannibalism, Death, and Body horror
briarsreviews's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
This one hurts to write... I did not enjoy Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton.
It's not the writing itself. Kira Jane Buxton is such a talented writer and brought these animals to life with such incredible skill. It's the content of the book that made it so hard. I wanted to DNF so bad, but I also wanted to know how it ended...I really should have DNF-ed, because the ending needed MANY trigger warnings.
Animal deaths, and brutal ones at that, of sweet and beautiful animals... It's hard on my soul. I know it exists and it's out there, but man... I can't handle it in writing. I needed ALL the trigger warnings.
I will say, the general idea of the book is wicked cool. What happens when us humans have used technology so much that we basically destroy our existence and become a bunch of zombies? The animals will take over the world again! I'm so curious to read Kira's thoughts on what would happen, but I'm going to have to stop at this book before another animal death sends me into a panic spin.
So my overall thoughts: Skillfully written book that is really good, but not made for me as a reader.
One out of five stars.
It's not the writing itself. Kira Jane Buxton is such a talented writer and brought these animals to life with such incredible skill. It's the content of the book that made it so hard. I wanted to DNF so bad, but I also wanted to know how it ended...I really should have DNF-ed, because the ending needed MANY trigger warnings.
Animal deaths, and brutal ones at that, of sweet and beautiful animals... It's hard on my soul. I know it exists and it's out there, but man... I can't handle it in writing. I needed ALL the trigger warnings.
I will say, the general idea of the book is wicked cool. What happens when us humans have used technology so much that we basically destroy our existence and become a bunch of zombies? The animals will take over the world again! I'm so curious to read Kira's thoughts on what would happen, but I'm going to have to stop at this book before another animal death sends me into a panic spin.
So my overall thoughts: Skillfully written book that is really good, but not made for me as a reader.
One out of five stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Violence, and Animal death
Moderate: War and Bullying
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