The Hollow Kingdom

A lot of this book was delightful (the first 2/3, and the mini quest at the end), and very funny. Overall I did enjoy it! But it was weirdly very misogynistic for a story with plucky girl heroines. Nothing out of step with the tradition in which it's working, but I still found it unexpectedly, and apparently unwittingly, grim and sad. Apparently, men three times your age, who stalk, harass, and torment you, and attempt to carry you off to be their unwilling child incubator, ultimately know what's best for you. Please don't even get me started on the whole gross 'no widows, virgins only' thing, when apparently the King on the other hand can have as many wives as he kidnaps and has die in his care.

The first in a fantasy trilogy for young readers, The Hollow Kingdom follows the story of orphaned sisters Kate and Emily Winslow, who find themselves at Hallow Hill, in the care of two great-aunts they have never met. Kate, who is keenly aware of her surroundings, finds herself haunted by a growing sense of unease, and after a wild and stormy night when she and Emily are brought home by a strange hooded man, she learns that Marak, the king of the goblins under the hill, has marked her out as his queen...

This well-written work was inspired by Elizabeth Marie Pope’s The Perilous Gard, but manages to invert many ideas presented in that earlier work. While both heroines are named Kate, and both enter underground kingdoms in order to save show more loved ones, this later work does not present the supernatural world as inferior or morally suspect. The melding of the heroine into another race is seen as both desirable and possible, perhaps revealing the increased pull of paganism and multi-culturalism over the last thirty years. The kidnapped bride theme also strongly evokes the Greek myth involving the abduction of Persephone by Hades, though it is never specifically mentioned.

As an aside, I should note that this title was initially published with a very different cover, and was only later re-released with cover illustrations by Matt Manley, who designed the latter two books in the trilogy as well. I myself prefer the original cover, with artwork by Megan Lightell Timmons, but what can you do? show less

I would call this a lesser known young adult series. I've read it twice and loved it myself, but in ten years I've never seen it in the bookstore I work in.
I absolutely adore these stories. They center around three young women who leave the human world behind and become a crucial part of the goblin world. I love the fact that, although goblins are still presented as ugly and terrifying, they are actually the heroes of this trilogy. Normally goblins are simply the bad guys or the brute force thugs of bad guys. Not since the Labyrinth have I enjoyed goblins so much - more so here, in fact.

In this first book, Kate, a proper English lady, is abducted by the Goblin King to be his bride. She is, of course, resists this fate but comes to show more appreciate her new people and eventually must save the goblin kingdom from an outside threat.

The descriptions and development of the goblin characters make this a worthy addition to any young adult book collection. The storyline of the three novels are very well woven together, and the characters are intriguing female characters who stand up for what they want and protect the men that they love. show less

When strong-willed Kate and her little sister Emily return to their ancestral home after their father's death, they are greeted by two fluttery aunts and a surly cousin who feels that he, not the girls, has a right to the property. Their cousin's antagonism is soon the least of their worries, though. One evening the sisters get lost on the paths and back roads around the estate, and they meet a strange little company. When one of them, Mr. Marak, offers them an escort home, Em is glad to accept -- but Kate is more cautious. Something in her warns her to keep her distance from this odd but charming stranger. Through a series of fantastical events, Marak reveals to Kate that he is the Goblin King, and she is his chosen bride. Kate is show more determined never to go with the goblins. She dreads the thought of living in their dank underground halls, never being able to feel the wind or see the stars. When Emily is in danger, however, Kate makes a bargain with the Goblin King. Will she regret it -- or will she find that life with the goblins is not at all what she expected?

This story has its faults, it's true (I should probably detest the goblin method of finding brides), but I love it all the same. Marak is a great character with a wicked sense of humor, and Charm (who has no sense of humor at all) is also a favorite of mine. Some readers complain of pacing problems in the book, but the flow of the story has never bothered me. I definitely recommend this to fantasy fans. show less

To start, I must ask you this:

~Have you ever read a book where you were both revolted by and in love with the "prince"?

~Have you ever loved the main character, wanted the best for her, and still wanted to see her world irrevocably shattered?

If you said yes, but especially if you said no, READ THIS BOOK.

As the official summary goes:

"For thousands of years, young women have been vanishing from Hallow Hill, never to be seen again. Now Kate and Emily have moved there with no idea of the land’s dreadful heritage—until Marak decides to tell them himself.
Marak is a powerful magician who claims to be the goblin king, and he has very specific plans for the two new girls who have trespassed into his kingdom..."

Things do get a little "Series show more of Unfortunate Events-y" when these two orphaned sisters must also contend with a scheming relative who's after the estate that was left to them, but that's the ONLY thing in this book that's even slightly unoriginal.
I have never, ever, ever encountered a book like this before. And to think that I was shallow enough to almost pass it up because it's about goblins!
Had I given in to my strange, little quirks, I would have missed out on a powerful read, indeed!
I literally closed the book at the end and sat there saying, "Wow. Wow! WOW!"

Dunkle creates the strangest, most repulsing (and yet strangely alluring) world in this story--a world that strong, stable Kate gets sucked into and must unwillingly sacrifice all she holds dear for.

Marak, meanwhile, is a deliciously deceptive and cunning character. He's amazingly complex and reading about him is like being let in on this big secret. It feels mischievous, scandalous, and incredibly exciting.

Forego everything else on your "to be read" list and cuddle up with this book. Make sure you're completely alone so that when it grabs you, pulls in, and makes you shout out loud, you don't scare the obsessive coffee-maniacs in the cafe at Barnes and Noble.

Now, I must admit that this book is (unfortunately) the first in a trilogy.
Yes.
It's a sad thing because the last two books are like dead weights dragging the first one down.

If you love Marak and Kate (and how couldn't you!?) you'll do yourself a favor and keep their images untarnished --DO NOT read Close Kin or In the Coils of the Snake!

Close Kin is about the not-really-all-that-interesting-but-still-necessary-for-The Hollow Kingdom-to-go-the-way-it-does Emily and a character she meets in the first book.
Ho hum.
This book basically takes the characters from the first story and sets them on the backburner to focus on Emily. Yea. I never really liked her (and I'll be surprised if you do) and I hated the way the best people were shoved aside.

This problem worsens in In the Coils of the Snake, where even Emily is ungracefully thrown aside--only to be replaced by all-new people.
Sorry.
Did I ask for a brand new book?
No.
I asked for a continuation of the series and the people in it--not a whole new story in that world!

I HATE when authors do that!!
It's such a black mark on Dunkle's name! There was nothing wrong with The Hollow Kingdom!

I don't know if it's actually the case or not, but the last two books strike me as stories written after Dunkle's publisher said something like, "Quick--while the iron's hot!! Two more!! Everyone writes trilogies!!"

Aye.

So.

Summation:

Read The Hollow Kingdom; you'll adore it!
Skip the last two and consider your life better for it.

This review is also an entry on my blog :) show less

You’ve caught a goblin, my dear, all for your very own.
----
Kate and Emily, having been recently and conveniently orphaned, arrive at their ancestral lands of Hallow Hall to live with their new guardian. But Hallow Hall is not theirs alone, and the goblin king who lives below will have his bride come hell or high water.

I didn’t realize The Hollow Kingdom was foundational YA fantasy, but having read this book I see so many shades of it in other stories. Holly Black clearly read this book (to the point where I can see several deliberate callouts in her work), and The Goblin Emperor also takes its cues from here, as does Spinning Silver. Dunkle isn’t inventing the wheel – she dedicates The Hollow Kingdom to Lloyd Alexander, who show more wrote his own foundational fantasy series. Nevertheless, The Hollow Kingdom is clearly an inspiration to many works that I’ve enjoyed.

I wish I could say that I enjoyed The Hollow Kingdom as much as I’ve enjoyed its successors. I certainly enjoyed the first half, where Kate uses her wits to escape the goblin king Marak again and again (no thanks to her sister Emily, who is clearly being set up for a sequel but otherwise plays little role in this book). Kate is a great protagonist: stubborn, brave, and very determined to stay above ground and not wedded to a goblin. I also quite enjoyed Dunkle’s worldbuilding, which has a lovely English folktale feel to it.

But the second half is honestly a disaster. Once Kate marries Marak, she basically gives up all fight and spunk and goes meekly to her fate. There’s a lot of character development that happen over rapid time skips, in which Kate goes from unwilling prisoner to “eh, it’s fine and I kinda like it down here.” Which is dumb character development. You can’t handwave character development in a time skip. You just can’t.

Not to mention the ending conflict comes out of left field and has almost nothing to do with the first half. And also not to mention the second half gets very bogged down introducing characters who will undoubtedly be of critical importance in the sequel.

So, in summary, good first half and terrible second half. But The Hollow Kingdom did inspire some of my favorite books, so I’ll forever be grateful for that. Just not grateful enough to bump it up a star. show less

Kate and Emily are new to Hallow Hill. They lose their way in the twilight and soon a strange band of men appear, offering to escort them. Unmarried maids have been known to disappear after dark and Kate has an odd feeling about their leader. She follows her gut, does her best to avoid him but he appears to her again night after night. No locked door seems able to keep him out and her family doesn't believe her. He is the Goblin King, Marek, and he intends to have Kate for his bride.

When I was a little girl I was fond of The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald and I guess that fondness remains, for when I read the blurb about The Hollow Kingdom I knew I wanted to give it a try.
It's very well done YA and I enjoyed it. The goblin show more kingdom is vividly imagined and I thought Dunkle was quite original in the details she included. I loved the snake charm.
It's somewhat of a beauty-and-the-beast tale and like most YA books, it's about Kate growing up. Even though the other goblins call Marek "elf-pretty", he'd never pass as a handsome human but he's a good King and they know he cares about them. There's a lot in here about humans, goblins and elves - they hate and fear each other and yet they need each dynamic to survive. I think this series could well be used to talk to kids about racism. show less