Rats and Gargoyles

Finally finished this; it was a bit of a struggle. It took about a week to read the first 6 chapters, and over a week to read the last 3. A very strange book; it helps if you know something of Alchemical Philosophy and Masonic teaching.

Set in The City (which other cities reflect), ruled by the 36 divine Decans and their gargoyle servants, this details the struggle of humans to overthrow their masters, the Rat Lords ruled by the eight-fold Rat King. The Rat Lords in turn want to overthrow the Decans. There are other races resident there as well; principally the Kateyans (who appear to be some kind of colobus-like primate with a prehensile tail).

Just to make things weird, the technology level seems to be set at around the English Civil show more War. The Rat Lords come across as though they are conceived by Dumas, the Kateyans seem to be Babylonian or Sumerians judging by their names (and live the opposite side of the world - Cathay), and there seem to be several human kingdoms, one of which appears to be analogous to Spain.

I think I may not have read this one before although the paperback is in my library, but I recall reading book 2 in the series, The Architecture of Desire. This, as always, is well-written, but highly densely plotted. It’s difficult keeping the plot straight. I also don’t know how to categorise this; it starts reading like a fantasy and then you realise that it’s actually an alternate universe. Book 2 is definately an alternate universe.

In all honesty, this may have been better split into 2 volumes. I understand why it’s a single volume, but I was flagging badly towards the end.

Recommended if you like this sort of thing. show less

I'd read the "companion" book to this one, 'The Architecture of Desire' quite some time ago, and wasn't aware that this story was linked!

It's a darkly inventive, complex but rewarding book... Gentle's prose is of the sort that you have to pay close attention to keep track of what's going on... it's dense, the plot is convoluted, and many things are merely hinted at or implied - Gentle took the old adage, "show, don't tell" seriously in writing class!

Lucas, a foreign prince, has arrived in the city at the heart of the world anonymously, to study at the College of Crime (a highly respected institution). He meets a fellow student, the strong-willed Katayan girl Zaribeth, who is in training as a King's Memory, an official recorder of show more events. By chance, they uncover a plot which may set the order of the city - and the world - on its head. That order currently is that thirty-six god-daemons rule the world, enforcing their wishes through their terrifying gargoyle/dragon acolytes. On a mortal level, the rat-lords and their grotesque king have precedence over mere humans, who chafe at their place at the bottom of the hierarchy...
The major players at this juncture of events may turn out to be the corpulent Lord-Architect Casaubon and the mysterious scholar-soldier/mage White Crow....

The city is very Renaissance, and Gentle borrows heavily from 16th/17th century magical philosophy, but is also informed by a steampunk aesthetic, with gear-and-cog-run computers, engines - mentions of underground trains, photography, etc..

I'd HIGHLY recommend this book to any fans of China Mieville... or anyone who appreciates literary fantasy.
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A dark, vivid and complex alternative medieval world, a fantasy where highly intelligent rats rule subservient men under the direction of gods incarnate, the Thirty-Six, monumental Decans whose gargoyle acolytes terrorize the populace and maintain the holy rule. Into the menacing city, with its teeming masses and its Thirty-Six temples of the Fane, comes Lucas, prince of Candover, to study at the the University of Crime. He and a classmate, the tailed Katayan Zar-bettu-zekigal, training to be a King's Memory, stumble into a plot to destroy this world and its balance of power. While men stir up revolt against the Rat-Kings, Plessiez, a Rat priest, schemes to sow true death through plague and necromancy to unsettle the Decans and decimate the serfs. Other forces--other gods and an Invisible College--enter the fray. Gentle paints her mystical and occult world in the nightmare images of Hieronymus Bosch, drawing deeply on Rosicrucian and Hermetic lore, while at the same time creating idiosyncratic and believable characters. show less

Really wanted to like this. Gave it 100 pages, but after a while I felt like I was often reading random words on a page. I often couldn't tell who was speaking and so didn't know which voice to use when I was reading it to my wife. I often found myself reading a line and saying, "I don't have any idea what that means."

I know that Mary Gentle is a loved author, all I can think is that she was trying to get a little crazy with this one and it didn't work for me (or my wife). I didn't even know what kind of creature one of the main characters was. Maybe the story just needed a little more "front loading/info-dump" to explain the world and what was happening.

Complex fantasy set in a sprawling city. At its heart the Fane, home to the Decans — 36 gods come to Earth. The humans continue to build the Fane; the rats are kings and priests and trouble is brewing. A fascinating cast of characters — including a young prince at the university; a King's memory; architects and builders; priests and magia come together to change the world.

Mary Gentle has created a wonderful world of intertwining stories as characters meet and part, interacting to avert a crisis. A richly described society and a captivating story. Loved it.

Dark, rich worldbuilding and a story to justify it. Great.

*note to self. Copy from A.