S.T. the crow (full name Shit Turd) realizes something is deeply wrong with his human, Big Jim, when Jim’s eyeball falls straight out of his head and lands on the ground. Things only get worse from there. The illness affecting Big Jim seems to have struck everyone else in Seattle too, and it’s turned all those MoFos (what Big Jim and S.T. call humans) into mindless horrors that will eat their pets as soon as look at them. S.T., along with Big Jim’s bloodhound Dennis, set off to try to find answers and, maybe, fix what’s gone wrong with humanity.
Hollow Kingdom follows S.T. and Dennis as they navigate a post-apocalyptic Seattle, where the animal kingdom – freed of humanity – has started to take over the formerly bustling city. We meet a variety of wildlife, all of whom S.T. (who identifies as a MoFo, thank you very much) finds deeply suspicious. But some alliances are made, and some creatures are more helpful than others, and soon S.T. finds himself with a new mission: saving all the pets trapped indoors now that their owners are no longer around.
Hollow Kingdom is fascinating, and so clearly written by someone who loves animals in all their variety and wonder. All the animal characters are a delight to read, and the horror moments are truly terrifying. It’s pretty depressing to think about the extinction of human beings, I’m not going to lie. But even while it’s sad, the book is also funny and moving. S.T.’s love for Dennis and Big Jim is touching, and his obsession with human food like Cheetos is often a driving factor in their decision making. There were some asides that had me snorting with laughter, but there were also moments that had me in tears. (My husband declared he would not be reading this book after watching me cry for five straight minutes.) Overall, Hollow Kingdom is an engrossing read and a neat take on the zombie novel.