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Loading... King Ratby China Mieville
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. King Rat was a fast read, but once the Pied Piper of Hamelin story clarified, it ran along rather predictably. The book does delve into the world clearly enough, and takes the reader into the world of Drum and Bass music sympathetically. (  )JoshEnglish | Feb 15, 2009 |   I liked this a great deal, more than a number of others whose comments I have seen. It isn't on the grand scale of Perdido Street Station, and the fantasy elements don't sit quite so well with its London setting, but it has some great ideas and his enthusiasm for the subjects really comes through. There are times when China seems to be a slightly detached observer of the jungle scene rather than an insider, but this may be down to the writing as much as anything else. A fun read. (  )kevinashley | Sep 21, 2008 | nomiddlename | Mar 29, 2008 | It could be argued effectively that King Rat is little more than a retelling of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, only much darker and without the clever repurposing of Tube station names. And yet, I enjoyed it just as much as most anything Gaiman -- my favorite living author -- has done. Why? Good question. (Maybe it was because I was on vacation in London at the time?) (  )grabbingsand | Mar 26, 2008 | With King Rat, China Mieville retells the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, giving an already dark story even more sinister underpinnings. In keeping with the gloomy nuances of the story, King Rat is set in London’s gritty and feral drum and bass scene, and Mr. Mieville makes the music play just as large a part in the story as the characters. And, no, that’s not a good thing. The novel launches into action almost immediately - Saul Garamond comes home one night and wakes up the next day wrongfully accused of his father’s murder. As is wont in these stories, Saul has an unexpected savior who springs him from his jail cell - his would-be uncle, King Rat; Saul is, in fact, his heir apparent, although that’s hardly a position of distinction. The rats no longer follow King Rat after the Pied Piper led his subjects to drown themselves seven hundred years ago. Such vengeful vermin, these rats are. Read the full review here. (  )bastardmoon | Mar 14, 2008 | 0.056 seconds to build listing  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com (ISBN 0312890729, Paperback)Saul Garamond returns from a journey in late evening and sneaks into his bedroom to avoid a confrontation with his estranged father. He awakes to the intrusion of police and the news that his father has been murdered and he is the number-one suspect. Forgotten in a jail cell, he is freed by a peculiar, stinking, and impossibly strong stranger--only to find rescue may be worse than imprisonment. The plot moves through subterranean and rooftop London quick as a techno beat, as Saul discovers his curious heritage and finds himself marked for death in an age-old secret war among frightful inhuman powers.China Miéville's urban fantasy novel, King Rat, is an impressive, even daring, debut. It is a Lost Prince story that avoids both black-and-white morality and the standard fantasy-novel adoration of royalty. Furthermore, it is inspired by the unlikeliest of sources, the Rat King legend and the Pied Piper of Hamelin fairy tale. Finally, King Rat, powered and propelled by the rhythms of jungle/drum-'n'-bass music, is a fantasy novel set in the 1990s that genuinely captures the 1990s. --Cynthia Ward (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:17 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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