Hollow Kingdom

By: Kira Jane Buxton

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

In this hilarious, "dazzling" romp, a foul-mouthed crow is humanity's only chance to survive a zombie apocalypse–think Watership Down meets Dawn of the Dead (Mona Awad, author of Bunny).

S.T. is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with his human 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.

With no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into a frightening new world with his trusty steed Dennis (a loyal but dimwitted dog), S.T. discovers that the neighbors are devouring one other. 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 Guide.

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 bestselling 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-winningauthor 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 bestselling author ofHotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

"Hollow Kingdom offers a bird's-eye view of the apocalypse we all want and need-especially when the bird in question is a plucky, Cheeto-loving domesticated crow . . . With infinite heart and humor, Kira Jane Buxton's fine-feathered narrator guides us through richly imagined animal realms while braving the terrifying collapse of the human world. A dazzling, wholly original debut, revealing the great paradox of humanity's fatal flaws and resilient spirit."—Mona Awad, authorof 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl and Bunny

"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."—Laurie Frankel, author of This isHow It Always Is and member of the Seattle7 Writers

"What a surprising, funny, terrifying, marvelous, wholly original novel! Buxton combines a vivid horror show (think zombies and the gruesome, bloody extinction of man) with a touching love story between the unlikeliest of BFFs: a crow, a hound, and a man who's had a tough go of things on Tinder, and that was before his eyeball fell out. With humor and a style that brings to mind Tom Robbins and Karen Russell, Buxton's debut is heartwarming and heart stopping, hilarious and tragic."—Amy Poeppel, author of Limelight and Small Admissions

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.

Great book to Crow About!

I always enjoy a book that is written in the first person view of an animal. This story is told by a crow about the extinction of mankind justifiably so. As Mankind devolves into a gibbering mass of oozing flesh only in search of the electronic God that it created snd the ever-present beep, someone had to take over. In steps, ST, a crow that had previously been owned by a mofo, and taught the ways of humans. Off starts the adventure to save domesticated animals and recreate a world without man. Great read if you like crows and animals.

Great feeling in the actor's voice!

I am a person who does not read fiction very often. This book was phenomenal!!! The storytelling is fantastic! I have always loved crows...this one, S.T, is what I hope every crow is like!

Funny, endearing and so entertaining!

Funny, endearing and so entertaining! Unique storytelling perspective. I have recommended it to many already