Review: Hollow Kingdom

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

4.5 Stars bumped to 5 Stars because of the creativity

Kira Jane Buxton's debut offers a funny but often poignant look at the plight of pets left behind by owners after an apocalypse. Told largely through the eyes of a pet crow named S.T. (short for Shit Turd), who is struggling to deal with the zombification of his beloved owner Big Jim, we see animals domestic and wild around the globe adjusting to a post-human world. S.T., aka The One Who Keeps, an impressively bright corvid, tries to safeguard his dog, a bloodhound by the name of Dennis, and eventually a bright and perky Pomeranian named Cinnamon, as they navigate a world in which the humans, called MoFos (thank you, Big Jim), are either ravenously seeking connectivity, I mean grisly sustenance, or busy mutating into... well, I'll leave that for you to discover. The release of animals from the Seattle Zoo by The One Who Opens Doors (can't give their identity away, sorry) further complicates their perils, as does a terrible encounter with The One Who Spits (ditto). Set in Seattle, we meet a wise female octopus named Onida (The One Searched For), a murder of crows leader named Kraai, an African Gray named Ghubari, a tabby called Genghis Cat, and a flock of eagles, as S.T, The One Who Keeps, tries to find answers to what caused the MoFos to become ill, to release trapped domestic pets, and to make his peace with an apocalypse that will change the earth and the Aura (the animal communication network) forever.

The idea of this novel is so wildly creative. Loaded with humor, it did occasionally drag a wee bit due to some repetitiveness in S.T.'s struggles, but it's such a minor quibble overall. The astute reader can early on figure out the origins of the zombification of the human race, but Buxton's exploration through S.T.'s and his companions' eyes is well-rendered and I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

I was fortunate to have received an Advance Review Audiobook from Hachette Audio, via Libro.fm. The audiobook is not to be missed. While a few mispronunciations (satiety, etc) are momentary distractions, narrator Robert Petkoff's voicing of the huge number of characters in this tale is a delight for the listener.

I received a Digital Review Copy, along with a paper copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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