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Hollow Kingdom
On sale
7th July 2020
Price: £12.99
Genre
A humorous, big-hearted romp through the apocalypse, where even a cowardly crow can become a hero. Perfect for fans of Dawn of the Dead and Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies.
‘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
‘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 bestselling author of H Is for Hawk
S.T. is a domesticated crow. He 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.
But when Big Jim’s eyeball falls out of his head, S.T. starts to feel like something isn’t right. His most tried-and-true remedies – from beak-delivered beer to the slobbering affection of the loyal, but dim-witted, dog Dennis – fail to cure his owner.
S.T. is left with no choice but to venture out into a frightening new world, where he discovers that the neighbours are devouring each other, and the local wildlife is abuzz with rumours of dangerous new predators roaming Seattle…
Humanity’s extinction has arrived, and the only one determined to save it is a foul-mouthed crow.
Readers love Hollow Kingdom…
‘Beguilingly different’ Bookist (starred review)
‘…wildly original and inventive, funny and profane’ Laurie Frankel, author of This is How It Always Is
‘I love this book so much! I wanted to set it on fire while hugging it.’ Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
‘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
‘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 bestselling author of H Is for Hawk
S.T. is a domesticated crow. He 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.
But when Big Jim’s eyeball falls out of his head, S.T. starts to feel like something isn’t right. His most tried-and-true remedies – from beak-delivered beer to the slobbering affection of the loyal, but dim-witted, dog Dennis – fail to cure his owner.
S.T. is left with no choice but to venture out into a frightening new world, where he discovers that the neighbours are devouring each other, and the local wildlife is abuzz with rumours of dangerous new predators roaming Seattle…
Humanity’s extinction has arrived, and the only one determined to save it is a foul-mouthed crow.
Readers love Hollow Kingdom…
‘Beguilingly different’ Bookist (starred review)
‘…wildly original and inventive, funny and profane’ Laurie Frankel, author of This is How It Always Is
‘I love this book so much! I wanted to set it on fire while hugging it.’ Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
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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.
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.
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.
Everything you're hearing about Kira Jane Buxton's Hollow Kingdom--that it's wildly original and inventive, funny and profane--is wonderfully true. But even better, this book is timely, smart, movingly written, and beautifully concluded.
If you've ever thought that humans were the ones in charge, Kira Jane Buxton's groundbreaking novel will have you thinking otherwise. Full of unforgettable humor, insight and beauty, Hollow Kingdom enriches our human experience by inhabiting the minds (and bellies!) of our non-human animal companions and reminding us that we're not alone here on this earth.
Buxton's quirky ideas and compelling nonhuman characters will satisfy literary fiction and zombie genre enthusiasts alike who are looking for something beguilingly different.
The human apocalypse as only a crow can tell it.
Beguilingly different
Funny and sad, Buxton's fable is also full of purpose and meaning, and ultimately hopeful
One of our favourite wacky reads this year
A wholesome and humorous tale of unlikely heroism.
Part ecological fable and part adventure story, but it's all very good
A quirky zombie apocalypse romp
A funny and heartwarming book that stays with you long after you finish it