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starrysteph's review
adventurous
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
We’ve all read zombie apocalypse stories focused on the survivors - the hardy group of humans fighting for a better new world.
But what if nobody made it out?
What if every human was infected?
What if the only survivors - were other animals?
That’s what goes down in the opening scenes of Hollow Kingdom, and we’re left to follow human-adoring crow S.T. and his bloodhound sidekick Dennis as they navigate the wake of tragedy, try to figure out what happened, and rescue other domestic animals.
This book had the curious ability to make me laugh out lou and roll my eyes at the raunchy absurdity, but also weep in a ball on the couch.
We do mostly follow S.T., but we also get beautifully-crafted chapters between his narratives from all sorts of different animals. Though sometimes a little cheesy and -and often romanticizing animal interactions - these interludes were some of my favorite parts of the novel.
At times the plot became too repetitive without seeming to move forward. It felt like large sections of the novel could have been chopped without a loss, and that made my reading experience a little antsy. The humor also occasionally rubbed me the wrong way. I also didn’t love the measly background we got around the cause of the zombie infection. It’s a trope that bothers me.
Overall though, I enjoyed this journey. Be prepared for some heartbreak, folks. Especially if you are an animal lover like me.
CW: animal death, human death (all ages), gore, body horror, violence, animal cruelty, cannibalism, confinement, vomit, drug use, suicide, ableism, sexism, fatphobia, war, Harry Potter references
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, Gore, Fatphobia, Drug use, Child death, Confinement, Vomit, Suicide, Ableism, Sexism, War, Cannibalism, Death, and Body horror
bodiesinbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Grief, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Cannibalism, Car accident, Child death, Cursing, Excrement, Medical content, Racism, and Suicide
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