Hollow Kingdom

By: Kira Jane Buxton

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

A finalist for the 2020 Thurber Prize for American Humor!

"The Secret Life of Pets meets The Walking Dead" (Karen Joy Fowler, PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author) 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.

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 another. Local wildlife is abuzz with rumors of 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 around him comes from TV.

What could possibly go wrong?

©2019 Kira Jane Buxton (P)2019 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Hollow Kingdom is a nature book for our own age, an exuberant, glittering, hard-hitting mashup of Dawn of the Dead and The Incredible Journey. It's an adventure lit by strange myths, brand-names, television and smartphone screens, a fable with teeth and claws about animals making new lives amongst the ruins of humanity. It's transformative, poignant, and funny as hell. S.T. the irrepressible, cursing crow is my new favourite apocalyptic hero." (Helen Macdonald, New York Times best-selling author of H Is for Hawk)

"A plucky hero, a boisterous tale, startling prose and eerie events combine for a thoroughly enjoyable account of the end of the world as we know it. The Secret Life of Pets meets The Walking Dead." (Karen Joy Fowler, PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves)

"I love this book so much! I wanted to set it on fire while hugging it. I wanted to hasten the apocalypse just to see how my own pets fare in a more humane world without humans. Kira Jane Buxton's voice is fresh, like a newly dug grave, but so joyful and honest you'll laugh out loud, and then check to make sure you haven't lost an eyeball. Hollow Kingdom is a wildly original debut and a paean to my favorite city." (Jamie Ford, New York Times best-selling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet)

Secret Life of Pets meets Walking Dead indeed!

This is YA meaning Young-Twenty-Somethings who like comedy with F-bombs, bodily humor jokes, and raunchy innuendo. It feels like Animal Farm with a Pinky & the Brain sensibility, if Pinky was a lovable lunk of a bloodhound named Dennis and the Brain was a crow named Sh!t-turd who refers to humans as MOFOs even as he embraces human culture and Cheetos. And zombies. It was unique, engaging and even somewhat deep. Favorite part: the POV from Ghengis Cat.

Zombie Apocalypse from the Pets' Point of View

This was a humorous new twist on an old concept - the zombie apocalypse. Most of it was very funny, parts were a lot deeper than one would expect, and I very nearly cried once. There were a couple of elements that missed the mark for me, but I think that's a personal preference thing, definitely not the author or the narrator's fault. All in all, I would recommend it. I might even listen to it again.

ST the MoFo

Great book that I would highly recommend. Hearing it from a crows perspective is such a unique take. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Wow, this audio book is one of the best!

I have listened to hundreds of audio books on this and other platforms. This book was excellent. Funny, entertaining, and read so well. Just a heads up it does use profanity and some rough humor but it does it well. I liked it so much that I am going to buy the hardcover for my collection.

Chapter 5

and LOVIN EVERY MINUTE OF IT..READER, STORY, MC!! I can already tell one won't be enough. And I'm coming up on 1k in library;)

Creative Twist on Zombie Books

This was a captivating, fun, easy to go through twist on zombie books. Highly recommend for a book you can't put down.

hilarious and poingant

absolutely hilarious yet a deeper look into human connection through the eyes of a crow.

Unique and delightful

loved it. a bit predictable. redemption with witty characters and clever storyline. I love ST!

Just can't get into it...

The book is cleverly written. The humor is quite enjoyable at times, but it's not enough. Overall, I'm just not into this book. I've spent much of the time listening just to get through it to finish it rather than to hear it. It's not a bad book, but I don't really like it. i love animals and I love zombie books so i dont know where it went wrong... Perhaps it's just hard to get invested in the daily perils of a pet crow? I've never been a big fan of reading humor eithrr. I am eager to start a new listen. Maybe a true zombie apocalypse book next.

Who could ask for more?

What's not to love about a crow, a bloodhound, and the entire animal Kingdom at odds against zombied humans? The narration of the book is top notch! The characters were all lovable in their own ways. ST has a potty mouth, or a potty beak I should say, but it is a perfect part of his storytelling. If the human race was going to end, this is exactly how I'd want it to be. I always root for the animals in every story and this one was no exception! Beautiful and creative!