Hollow Kingdom (original 2019; edition 2019)

by Kira Jane Buxton (Author)

Series: Hollow Kingdom (1)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
1,033	63	19,829	(3.93)	95
Fantasy. Fiction. Literature. Humor (Fiction.) HTML:A finalist for the 2020 Thurber Prize for American Humor! "The Secret Life of Pets meets The Walking Dead" in this big-hearted, boundlessly beautiful romp through the Apocalypse, where a foul-mouthed crow is humanity's only chance to survive Seattle's zombie problem (Karen Joy Fowler, PEN/Faulkner Award-winning 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 (i.e. "those idiots"), and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer: Cheetos ®. But when Big Jim's eyeball falls out of his head, S.T. starts to think something's not quite right. His 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 suddenly discovers that the neighbors are devouring one other. Local wildlife is abuzz with rumors of Seattle's dangerous new predators. Humanity's extinction has seemingly arrived, and the only one determined to save it is a cowardly crow whose only knowledge of the world comes from TV. What could possibly go wrong? Includes a Reading Group Gui… (more)

▾Book information

Member:	Chica3000
Title:	Hollow Kingdom
Authors:	Kira Jane Buxton (Author)
Info:	Grand Central Publishing (2019), 320 pages
Collections:	Your library, Currently reading, Wishlist, To read, Read but unowned, Favorites
Rating:
Tags:	to-read

Work Information

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton (2019)

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▾Member reviews

English (61) French (1) All languages (62)

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Showing 1-5 of 61 (next | show all)

3.75/5

S.T. sure has a way with words. I could not have predicted that I would love the ending of the book as much as I did. A wonderful and funny story of hope and perseverance. The writing was an instant catch as soon as I started, was a bit slow in the middle, but wow that ending. The climactic battle, the mourning of loss, and the hope within the final chapter. A super fun read and I’d recommend it. (

)

fedjbomb | Feb 27, 2024 |

3.5 stars A very interesting perspective on a world ending pandemic! Kudos to the author’s creativity and tongue in cheek humor. I really enjoyed ST’s loyalty to both humans and his murder. I felt the disease itself was a like unrealistic but you get the author’s message loud and clear. (

)

slittleson | Feb 2, 2024 |

Loved little S.T. as well as the chapters told from the perspective of other animals, but why, oh, why did the author have to do Dennis like that? Just got the sequel book Feral Creatures because I was so charmed by this one. :) (

)

nessie_arduin | Feb 1, 2024 |

Look, it was okay. I absolutely loved the premise (I mean, who doesn't want to know what the animals get up to when people are wiped out in an apocalyptic scenario?) but the style really wasn't for me. I didn't enjoy the humour, and while I love birds I hated ST (yes, birds can be mean, snarky, etc and in entertaining ways, but I just didn't like him). I liked the octopus but unfortunately that was very limited... (

)

TheAceOfPages | Dec 2, 2023 |

The weirdest but so full of heart. Can't wait for the sequel in August! (

)

feralcreature | Oct 31, 2023 |

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▾Published reviews

1 review

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thingScore 100

Buxton takes a joyfully original approach to apocalyptic fiction. See, instead of us humans being the focal point in the story of our own extinction, it's the plethora of life that we leave behind that takes center stage.

added by melmore | editNational Public Radio (NPR), Ilana Masad (Aug 10, 2019)

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (4 possible)

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Kira Jane Buxton	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Louie, Thomas	Designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Petkoff, Robert	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Taylor, Jarrod	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

Hollow Kingdom (1)

▾Awards and Honors

Awards

Audie Award (Finalist – Science Fiction – 2020)

NCSLMA Battle of the Books (High School – 2022)

Washington State Book Award (Finalist – Fiction – 2020)

Distinctions

NPR: Books We Love (2019)

Notable Lists

Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults (2020)

Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Fiction – 2019)

King County Library System Best Books (Fiction Books – 2019)

Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List (Selection – 2020)

NPR Best Book (2019)

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▾Common Knowledge

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Canonical title

Original title

Hollow Kingdom: A Novel

Alternative titles

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

Seattle, Washington, USA

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

It is just like man's vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions. -Mark Twain

Dedication

For Jpeg, who taught me how to fly

First words

I should have known something was dangerously wrong long before I did. How do you miss something so critical? There were signs, signs that were slow as sap, that amber lava that swallows up a disease-kissed evergreen. Slow as a rattlesnake as it bleeds toward you, painting the grass with belly scales. But sometimes you only see the signs once you're on the highest branch of realization. -Chapter 1, ST., A small craftsman home in Ravenna, Seattle, Washington, USA

Quotations

Last words

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Original language

Canonical DDC/MDS

813.6

Canonical LCC

PS3602.U9825

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

▾Book descriptions

Fantasy. Fiction. Literature. Humor (Fiction.) HTML:A finalist for the 2020 Thurber Prize for American Humor!
"The Secret Life of Pets meets The Walking Dead" in this big-hearted, boundlessly beautiful romp through the Apocalypse, where a foul-mouthed crow is humanity's only chance to survive Seattle's zombie problem (Karen Joy Fowler, PEN/Faulkner Award-winning 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 (i.e. "those idiots"), and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer: Cheetos ®.
But when Big Jim's eyeball falls out of his head, S.T. starts to think something's not quite right. His 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 suddenly discovers that the neighbors are devouring one other. Local wildlife is abuzz with rumors of Seattle's dangerous new predators.
Humanity's extinction has seemingly arrived, and the only one determined to save it is a cowardly crow whose only knowledge of the world comes from TV.
What could possibly go wrong?
Includes a Reading Group Gui

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