Book Review | Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton

Feral Creatures is the second book in the Hollow Kingdom series by Kira Jane Buxton.

 

In this stunning follow-up to Hollow Kingdom, the animal kingdom's "favorite apocalyptic hero"is back with a renewed sense of hope for humanity, ready to take on a world ravaged by a viral pandemic (Helen Macdonald).

Once upon an apocalypse, there lived an obscenely handsome American crow named S.T. . . .
 
When the world last checked-in with its favorite Cheeto addict, the planet had been overrun by flesh-hungry beasts, and nature had started re-claiming her territory from humankind. S.T., the intrepid crow, alongside his bloodhound-bestie Dennis, had set about saving pets that had become trapped in their homes after humanity went the way of the dodo.
 
That is, dear reader, until S.T. stumbled upon something so rare—and so precious—that he vowed to do everything in his power to safeguard what could, quite literally, be humanity's last hope for survival. But in a wild world plagued by prejudiced animals, feather-raising environments, new threats so terrifying they make zombies look like baby bunnies, and a horrendous dearth of cheesy snacks, what's a crow to do?
 
Why, wing it on another big-hearted, death-defying adventure, that's what! Joined by a fabulous new cast of animal characters, S.T. faces many new challenges plus his biggest one yet: parenthood.

I laughed, I cried, I fell in love.

Told through the POV of animals in a post-apocalypse trying to save the last human on Earth, Feral Creatures was an absolute joy to read.

Feral Creatures is fantasy, scifi, and horror all rolled into one. It's a rare and beautiful book. The first book in the series Hollow Kingdom was one of my favorite books of 2019, and I have zero doubts Feral Creatures will be in my top books of the year list this year. (I have such a book hangover now!)

If you haven't read Hollow Kingdom, I highly, highly recommend you pick that one up and continue on with Feral Creatures. This series is such a gift!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5/5 stars

Review copy provided by publisher

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New Favorites | Hollow Kingdom and Of Foster Homes and Flies

Do you ever read a book that you basically just loved and for various reasons you had a hard time reviewing? Below are a couple of books that I fell in love with recently and highly recommend.

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton

One pet crow fights to save humanity from an apocalypse in this uniquely hilarious debut from a genre-bending literary author.

S.T., a domesticated crow, is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with his owner Big Jim, trading insults with Seattle's wild crows (those idiots), and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer: Cheetos ®.

Then Big Jim's eyeball falls out of his head, and S.T. starts to feel like something isn't quite right. His most tried-and-true remedies--from beak-delivered beer to the slobbering affection of Big Jim's loyal but dim-witted dog, Dennis--fail to cure Big Jim's debilitating malady. S.T. is left with no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into a wild and frightening new world with his trusty steed Dennis, where he discovers that the neighbors are devouring each other and the local wildlife is abuzz with rumors of dangerous new predators roaming Seattle. Humanity's extinction has seemingly arrived, and the only one determined to save it is a foul-mouthed crow whose knowledge of the world around him comes from his TV-watching education.

Hollow Kingdom is a humorous, big-hearted, and boundlessly beautiful romp through the apocalypse and the world that comes after, where even a cowardly crow can become a hero.

Hollow Kingdom is so good! And hilarious.

Hollow Kingdom is a science fiction, fantasy, post-apocalyptic, comedy, zombie book all rolled up into one told through the POV of a crow. What more could you possibly need to know? (Bonus: his companion is a dog.)

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Of Foster Homes and Flies by Chad Lutzke

A neglected 12-year-old boy does nothing to report the death of his mother in order to compete in a spelling bee. A tragic coming-of-age tale of horror and drama in the setting of a hot New Orleans summer.

"Coming of age... is this like Catcher in the Rye?" She makes a funny noise--one of disgust. "No way. I'd never pass that trash on to anyone. Trust me. This one's good."

I see why everyone speaks so highly of Chad Lutzke. I loved Of Foster Homes and Flies so much. I should write a longer review, but instead I'm going to spend my time hunting down more Lutzke stories to read.

If you love coming of age horror, you need to pick this one up.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐