Hollow Kingdom

 

One review described this book as a cross between The Secret Life of Pets and The Walking Dead. I can't imagine a better way.

As someone with a lifelong distrust of birds, I was skeptical about reading a book narrated by a domesticated crow. I don't think I would have even gotten past the cover without a personalized recommendation from my favorite local, independent bookstore. But, when the good folks at Auntie's suggest a title, who am I to question it?

Our hero in the book is that crow, named S.T. It's short for Shit Turd, because what else would a white trash dude call the crow that becomes his pet? Anyway, S.T. tells the story in real-time of what's happening in Seattle during a zombie apocalypse. He watches his "owner" Big Jim acting strangely, and when he ventures out to pick up some medicine at the nearby drug store, he realizes all of the humans (or MoFos, as he calls them) are out of their minds. He knows its most dire when he flies home and sees the sweet old lady next door eating Triscuits. Triscuits, we soon learn, is the name of her dog.

S.T.'s exploration paint a fascinating picture of what might happen if the humans of Seattle are dead, insane, imprisoned, overrun. His journey to find the animals who know better takes us to Century Link field, to the Amtrak station and throughout Pike Place Market. In those common Seattle sights, we find packs of wild dogs and zoo animals that have been set free. And, we find that the ping of a cell phone makes the zombies lose control.

I loved the concept of this book. I LOVED S.T. I loved the way the narrator described how the animals might see the world (calling the zoo a "creature quilt", for example, because imagine what a zoo looks like from the air.) The story itself started to lose interest for me about 65% of the way through, though. We were traveling to find info and to rescue the other domesticated animals and I found myself impatient to reach the destination. When we finally did, I thought it was sweet and, somehow, hopeful. I just needed a little more meat to get me there (or maybe some more Cheetos - S.T's favorite.)

It's a book like none I've ever read and really did keep me mostly entertained. If you live in Seattle, especially, it's worth your time.