Book launch Tuesday at Third Place Books: The Hollow Kingdom

Seattle author Kira Jane Buxton will launch her first book, The Hollow Kingdom, on Tuesday, August 6, 2019, 7pm at Third Place Books at Town Center, intersection of Bothell and Ballinger Way NE in Lake Forest Park.

Here's a story description:

ST, a domesticated crow and bird of simple pleasures, loves 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 ST starts to feel like something isn’t quite right. 

Unable to cure Big Jim’s debilitating malady, ST is left with no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into a wild and frightening new world with his trusty canine companion, where he discovers that the human neighbors are devouring each other and 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.

But this doesn't really do the book justice. The crow is charming and likeable and completely relatable as the anti-hero narrator of the story - taking turns with an arrogant cat. The plot twists with every chapter in a way that was amusing and surprising.

The book is set in Seattle, quite authentically. At one point ST is knocked off a branch by the arrogant college crows - you know, the ones who live at the UW Bothell campus. ST doesn't like them very much - "a bunch of elitist toot cabbages."

The themes of catastrophic biodiversity loss and global warming are balanced by the crow, who as Buxton says, "represents hope and belief that we can use our big beautiful brains and still save the planet."

Here's a quote that I wish I'd said: The book is “strange, delightful, crass, thoughtful, funny, and oddly poetic...”

You can purchase a copy on Tuesday and have Buxton autograph it for you. Call the bookstore at 206-366-3333.

--Diane Hettrick

On Monday, August 5, 2019 at 7pm, author Brandon R. Brown will present his book The Apollo Chronicles: Engineering America’s First Moon Missions.

The Apollo Chronicles presents an immersive journey from the space program's origins through the Moon landings. As the son of an Apollo program engineer, Brandon R. Brown presents the story of the earthbound, those who solved confounding problems and balanced missions on a mathematical razor's edge to the Moon and back.