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A review by thepurplebookwyrm
Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Full video review: https://youtu.be/oZgfINlQPfA.
Wow. Just wow.
2022 has delivered unto my hands yet another new favourite! This wildly original tale about a domesticated crow, S.T., and its human's dog, Dennis, trying to survive a human-extinguishing plague in Seattle unexpectedly, but absolutely, blew me away.
I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into when I started this novel. The author employs a hybridised prose style that weaves together very high-brow and low-brow language, and this doesn't always work for me. I was also, at first, under the impression this would be little more than a quirky, but decently enjoyable and entertaining little tale featuring non-human animal protagonists, without much else to recommend it. But no.
For starters, whilst it is true I'm not necessarily a fan of vulgar language, it is equally true the vulgarity that characterises certain parts of the narrative and, more importantly, S.T.'s speech serves a very precise world-building function. For one thing, S.T., a crow, partly uses the language he has picked up from his human Big Jim, and Big Jim isn't the most refined of chaps. For another, a lot of non-human animal species would not necessarily have the qualms we do, on average, about organic processes and organic materials. It would thus make sense, for example, for a dog to think about urine-marked places or objects a lot, given the role this plays in canine communication and information-gathering. In this respect, some of the writing in Hollow Kingdom feels very raw and, well, organic, a bit like it does in paganism-infused Mythago Wood or The Mists of Avalon. Only here, it is even more so because the story is entirely told from the point of view of non-human animals. There are also welcome humorous aspects to the vulgarity (e.g. humans in this novel are referred to as "MoFos", because that is what S.T.'s human called other people!).
The vulgarity, however, is counterbalanced with beautiful lexical precision and theme-appropriate flights of lyricism. As such, the prose in this book is incredibly colourful and richly textured, and allows for the conveyance of intense emotions and deeply meaningful theming.
I felt so much reading Hollow Kingdom, and shed a ridiculous amount of tears going through its story. Yes, the fact this story is told through the voices of feathered and furred creatures most certainly helped this animal and Nature-loving reader. But beyond this original and incredibly well-realised narrative device, it is the fact this story is an Ode to Nature, Humanity, and the Interconnectedness of everything that catapulted it to "new all-time favourite" status. Identity - and dual "citizenship", in a way -, love, community and hope in the face of irreversible, apocalyptic change are all explored in Hollow Kingdom. There is humour, there is action, there is tension, there is found family, there is narrative fulfilment. Yes, there is all of that.
But it is the thoughtful, spiritual depth I found in the pages of this book that truly blew me away. I was touched by this same depth in Dune, yes; in Hyperion even more. Perhaps in The Southern Reach to a lesser extent, sure. But it is The Mists of Avalon I was reminded of the most when I turned the very last page of Hollow Kingdom, tears streaming down my face. This is extremely high praise on my part, to be clear, but I feel it is entirely justified, even though both novels are, to be clear once more, very different in most other respects.
Plus, you know, a crow MC. Birbs for the win, all day, every day. 💜
Wow. Just wow.
2022 has delivered unto my hands yet another new favourite! This wildly original tale about a domesticated crow, S.T., and its human's dog, Dennis, trying to survive a human-extinguishing plague in Seattle unexpectedly, but absolutely, blew me away.
I wasn't quite sure what I was getting myself into when I started this novel. The author employs a hybridised prose style that weaves together very high-brow and low-brow language, and this doesn't always work for me. I was also, at first, under the impression this would be little more than a quirky, but decently enjoyable and entertaining little tale featuring non-human animal protagonists, without much else to recommend it. But no.
For starters, whilst it is true I'm not necessarily a fan of vulgar language, it is equally true the vulgarity that characterises certain parts of the narrative and, more importantly, S.T.'s speech serves a very precise world-building function. For one thing, S.T., a crow, partly uses the language he has picked up from his human Big Jim, and Big Jim isn't the most refined of chaps. For another, a lot of non-human animal species would not necessarily have the qualms we do, on average, about organic processes and organic materials. It would thus make sense, for example, for a dog to think about urine-marked places or objects a lot, given the role this plays in canine communication and information-gathering. In this respect, some of the writing in Hollow Kingdom feels very raw and, well, organic, a bit like it does in paganism-infused Mythago Wood or The Mists of Avalon. Only here, it is even more so because the story is entirely told from the point of view of non-human animals. There are also welcome humorous aspects to the vulgarity (e.g. humans in this novel are referred to as "MoFos", because that is what S.T.'s human called other people!).
The vulgarity, however, is counterbalanced with beautiful lexical precision and theme-appropriate flights of lyricism. As such, the prose in this book is incredibly colourful and richly textured, and allows for the conveyance of intense emotions and deeply meaningful theming.
I felt so much reading Hollow Kingdom, and shed a ridiculous amount of tears going through its story. Yes, the fact this story is told through the voices of feathered and furred creatures most certainly helped this animal and Nature-loving reader. But beyond this original and incredibly well-realised narrative device, it is the fact this story is an Ode to Nature, Humanity, and the Interconnectedness of everything that catapulted it to "new all-time favourite" status. Identity - and dual "citizenship", in a way -, love, community and hope in the face of irreversible, apocalyptic change are all explored in Hollow Kingdom. There is humour, there is action, there is tension, there is found family, there is narrative fulfilment. Yes, there is all of that.
But it is the thoughtful, spiritual depth I found in the pages of this book that truly blew me away. I was touched by this same depth in Dune, yes; in Hyperion even more. Perhaps in The Southern Reach to a lesser extent, sure. But it is The Mists of Avalon I was reminded of the most when I turned the very last page of Hollow Kingdom, tears streaming down my face. This is extremely high praise on my part, to be clear, but I feel it is entirely justified, even though both novels are, to be clear once more, very different in most other respects.
Plus, you know, a crow MC. Birbs for the win, all day, every day. 💜