Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 320

Publisher - Headline

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

One pet crow fights to save humanity from an apocalypse in this uniquely hilarious debut from a genre-bending literary author.

S.T., a domesticated crow, is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with his owner Big Jim, trading insults with Seattle's wild crows (those idiots), and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer: Cheetos ®.

Then Big Jim's eyeball falls out of his head, and S.T. starts to feel like something isn't quite right. His most tried-and-true remedies--from beak-delivered beer to the slobbering affection of Big Jim's loyal but dim-witted dog, Dennis--fail to cure Big Jim's debilitating malady. S.T. is left with no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into a wild and frightening new world with his trusty steed Dennis, where he discovers that the neighbors are devouring each other and the local wildlife is abuzz with rumors of dangerous new predators roaming Seattle. Humanity's extinction has seemingly arrived, and the only one determined to save it is a foul-mouthed crow whose knowledge of the world around him comes from his TV-watching education.

Hollow Kingdom is a humorous, big-hearted, and boundlessly beautiful romp through the apocalypse and the world that comes after, where even a cowardly crow can become a hero.


My Review

Y'all know I love a zombie book (my blog has it's own tab just for these types of books) but this one is different from many of the others I have read. In fact is pretty much the first zombie book I have read like this. The main character and narrator of the book is a bird, a domesticated crow called S.T. (Shit Turd). He is a bit of a scardey, doesn't associate with his own kind and his whole world is his human Jim and Jim's daft dog Dennis. When Jim's eye falls out that is the first incline something isn't right. S.T. will need to venture out to try find medicine to help Jim, soon S.T. realises this isn't an isolated incident and him and Dennis will need to head out into the world if they have any chance of survival.

Sooo, humans actually don't play a huge part in the story, yes they are zombies and the animals need to keep out of their grabby, bitey mitts. The story focuses on S.T. and then Dennis as they attempt to make sense of what is/has happened and what they will do next. Some chapters let us hear from other animals as they experience the decline of interaction with their humans. As S.T. gets his head around what has happened he embarks on a mission and interacts with other animals he finds along they way as they try to adjust to a world without humans.

I did quite enjoy this to be honest although as the majority of characters are animals there is some animal fatalities which of course dampened my enjoyment. Even a passing animal I find hard to read if it passes or gets hurt so not a spoiler as much as a headsup. Lets face it a zombie book with humans you know there will be death(s) it is the nature of the story but almost all of our characters are animals.

A really unique approach to a zombie apocalyptic book giving us main characters as animals, I would love there to be a follow up and see what comes next. This is my first time reading this author, I would absolutely read them again, 3.5/5 for me this time.

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