Customer Reviews

King Rat

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After reading Mieville's phenomenal "Perdido Street Station" I rushed right out to buy his first novel, "King Rat." I could have delayed my haste. While also stylish and distinctively written, this dark, urban fantasy, compared to his second work, is a rough cut, much more loosely written and barely approaching the wonders or skill of writing present in the following novel. While I may be grudging of comment by comparison, "Perdido Street Station" is a masterpiece of speculative fiction, whereas "King Rat" reads as a someways good but fledgling effort. In many respects there is little to distinguish it from early Charles De Lint, though Mieville comes across here as more hip and involved with the music he provides as an underlying theme.

While certainly a departure from the ordinary fantasy, written with a degree of verve and suspense, drawing, as another reviewer has stated, upon the folklore of the Piper of Hamelin and tales of the rat king, placed within the context of modern day London and its vibrant, in part underground music scene, this tale lacks both the riveting use of language and the vivid world creation found in the author's second novel. Unlike "Perdido Street Station," as others have additionally noted, here the characters remain relatively flat, perhaps in part intentionally reflecting the cartoon characters referenced in the novel. As earlier stated, more loosely written and evolved, the cord of metaphor underlying the basic storyline never seems as fully integrated or realized as in Mieville's second novel, unable to entirely lift the tale above the surface of its active, running narrative, or significantly set it apart from other and equally skilled writers of urban fantasy.

Though I suspect fans of urban fantasy may find my observations too harsh, or critical by comparison, it is doubtful had I even not read "Perdido Street Station" that I would have been enamoured with this novel. Good but far from great, this is a very respectable first effort that should be applauded for what it attempts, even if not entirely successful. One catches glimpses of the brilliance later displayed and captured fully in "Perdido Street Station," as well as the author's desire to push speculative fiction beyond its normal boundaries. Nonetheless, I can only give this effort at best three and a half stars.

One theme amongst the other reviews for this marvelous book is to compare it to the author's next, Perdido Street Station which most people seem to have read first.

I did not. (In fact I have not yet read Perdido, having recently and reluctantly cancelled virtually all of my magazines due to the sad realization that there was not enough time in my life to keep up with both magazines and books.)

Nevertheless, I believe I would still have valued King Rat as highly as I do now.

King Rat layers levels of reality the way the physical geography of the book is layered with the surface of London, the downbelow, and occsionally the air when Loplop, King of the Birds is aloft.

The portrayal of the Techno - Drum and Bass milieu is perfectly realized as if by someone who must have lived it. The realm(s) of the three Kings, whom I cannot help but identify with Elementals, is both physically well drawn and (intentionally or not) an allegory for the sub-conscious.

The characters are exceptionally well portrayed. The reinvention of the Pied Piper is so audacious and effective that every page where he appears is haunted by a different Kind of Music entirely.

When I finished it, although probably not even the author would agree with the connection, there was nothing for it but to watch my DVD of The Sweet Hereafter, a different sort of work entirely, but one which also uses the Pied Piper as a significant metaphor.

Buy it. Read it. Be moved by it.

Fantasy books are not scarce these days, when everyone wants to write one, and publishers print whatever comes in this genre.

King Rat is different, however, not only by it's uncommon method of having the secondary world within the real world, but also by it's uncanny way of getting to you... This is a book that combines todays music with old folklore and mixes them with almost mythical,yet real characters to form a new genre in itself.

The main character is at first just another bloke that life has given the finger, but he grows on you and becomes real, his fears tangible, his experiences real.

The story is a common theme: the showdown between Good and Evil, but told in a new way, where the good forces aren't wholly good and the evil not only bad.

Miéville has a way with the language that will make him a very good writer, a mix between the daily speech and the descriptive Britishness only a few could muster.

Fantasy fan or not- read the book!

King Rat is a highly original urban fantasy. It is also unlike anything you have ever read before. I think that Mieville is single most original writer of urban gothic fantasy, more so even than Clive Barker. You will never see London with the same eyes again!

Watch out for 'Perdido Street Station', Mieville's second novel, published in the UK earlier this year. It is set in a really strange universe, mixing fantasy horror and science fiction in a way that is unique and original. It will simply blow your mind. This writer is destined to be one of the biggest stars. Buy this novel now and then buy anything else China Mieville writes.

In "King Rat" China Mieville has created a Pied Piper tale for the 21st century. Using the duality of the ultra-chic yet hyper-primitive culture of the London club scene as his backdrop, and writing with machine-gun pacing, Mieville has created an alternate world that is by turns amusing and terrifying. Unlike his other two novels (which are brilliant in their own right) "King Rat" is raw, there's really no other way to say it, Mieville's words drip and fester like the sewers that are his settings, and his characters resonate with appropriately primal emotion.

It would be extraordinarily difficult to do any more than sketch out the storyline without blowing the plot, but, as I alluded to above, it can safely be said that this is an entirely new and unique take on the Pied Piper. Mieville has transformed the Piper from a jilted, mean-spirited employee, into a force of overawing malevolence and tremendous power. At the same time, as one might deduce from the title, we follow the rats into the sewers and watch as they, and their king, plot revenge for a thousand year old injustice.

As always, Mieville's worldview is always just skewed enough to keep the reader off balance. He takes the reader inside the Piper's song, and reveals that it is a cry out to our most base desires: lust, gluttony and greed. Unlike a devil, which speaks with a deceitful tongue, he pulls back the veil that separates humans from animals, and that instills animals with self-preservation. He promises all that we ever wanted, but would never admit even to ourselves.

Likewise, Mieville's characters are excellent as usual. In particular, Saul, the half-man, half-rat who forms the centerpiece of the story is supremely well conceived and written. His hesitance to turn his back on the human world even as he is lured by the rat world is fascinating, and both real and surreal at the same time. In addition, the supporting cast of characters is also excellent. Saul's human friends exude a pathos, a certain patheticism...weakness that stands in stark contrast to the animal in Saul. Finally, there are several characters that skirt the fantastic while still being utterly grounded. I don't want to ruin any surprises, but it is fair to say that each is superbly realized and effectively captures the essence that Mieville had in mind.

I read both of Mieville's other novels (`Perdido Street Station' and `The Scar') when they came out, and I enjoyed them both thoroughly. Mieville's command of the language is second to none, and he absolutely revels in the descriptive power of the written word. His characters are always morally ambiguous, and hence completely human. That said, I never completely appreciated these novels until I explored their roots in "King Rat"; where it is raw and jarring, they are contemplative and polished. However, they all share Mieville's boundless imagination and thoughtful writing. "King Rat" is the first stepping-stone in what I expect to be a brilliant career, and as such, it is a superb work in its own right, and even more so, within the context of a greater body of work.

Jake Mohlman

If you haven't read the jacket cover, King Rat is a modern day Pied Piper tale. Saul, the main character, is a quiet, awkward young man who is caught in a bittersweet relationship with his father. When his father is suddenly murdered, Saul is left alone, scared, and framed. Now the prime suspect, Saul must flee the scene. Enter King Rat and his subterranean lifestyle. King Rat offers Saul protection, but it comes at a price. Saul follows the ratman underground and into the sewers and back alleys where he must learn to use his senses and instincts to survive. As Saul adapts to his new life, one of two of his only friends in the "real" world, finds a blond stranger outside of her apartment, keenly listening to the drum-in-bass tracks she's created. The stranger has a flute and is intent on collaboration...

Mieville does a great job of the relationship between Saul and King Rat--curiosity, loathing, and admiration. I loved the mix of disgusting scents and tastes that Saul experiences as he learns to become a rat (nothing like moldy bread and pre-chewed meat to whet the appetite). Nice dark overtones. Unfortunately I just couldn't get into the Piper premise and it made the book an extremely clunky read (apologies to die-hard Mieville fans). The retold tale felt like what it was, a vehicle or skeleton for the more engrossing relationship between Saul and King Rat, and I couldn't help wondering why Mieville didn't give the story a new mythology--he's certainly creative enough. What made it worse for me, is that Mieville doesn't stop with the Pied Piper, he goes on to include ancillary folklore gods like Ananzi the mythical African spider king, LopLop bird leader (I think this might be a French myth, but not sure), and I believe there's another character that makes a cameo. It's just too much for me. The plotline just dragged. I would have been much happier if Mieville had just focused on King Rat and Saul and Saul's father. The interactions of those three characters and the mystery of Saul's mother's death (in the first fifth or so of the book) were far more interesting than the Piper premise. Mieville's definitely an interesting writer. I haven't give up, but King Rat was not a winner for me.

I found myself wishing I were rereading Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere The similar subject matter's uncanny--Gaiman had the jump though, publishing his in 1998 vs. Mieville's 2000. [Neverwhere's plot ALSO takes place in London's Underground with and ALSO has a displaced main character. Coincidence? Consider: Gaiman's American Gods (2001) has a Mr. Nancy (an Anansi character), as well as a huge turnout of mythological gods (a much funnier book in my mind). Did Gaiman and Mieville make some sort of bet or oath over a pint? I'm turning into a conspiracy theorist, but things just get beyond odd when you consider Gaiman's new book titled Anansi Boys. Whaddup boys?? But I digress--] If you're looking for something comparably dark to King Rat, slightly tongue-in-cheek, and in the same dang location, read Neverwhere first. It's a more enjoyable, with fewer extraneous plotlines, and Gaiman doesn't seem to take himself as seriously.

China Mieville's first novel is an amazing and horrifying tale of a young man who discovers that his father has been murdered and then that he is chief suspect. You'd think that that would be enough for a riveting novel, but that's only the beginning. He then discovers that he is not what and who he thinks he is, and his voyage of self-discovery combines with his rediscovery of London and its many levels. And, as the review title suggests, there are things about this book that, described baldly and out of context, would gross out most people but which work superbly in Mieville's capable hands. I don't want to sound cryptic, but I cannot in good conscience give away too much of this remarkable book's plot. It is beautifully realized, amazingly written, and haunting. I took other reviewers' advice and read this one before his latest, PERDIDO STREET STATION. It's excellent advice. (I'll review PERDIDO when I've finished it.) China Mieville is a remarkable writer, one with an amazing career ahead of him.

I should have enjoyed this book ... unusual rythms, engaging if flat main character, great themes. But I have to say it left me feeling let down, because the book I read before this was PERDIDO STREET STATION, China Mieville's sequel. It bears about as much resemblance to King Rat as the Lord of the Rings does to the Hobbit. So watch this space ...

King Rat is a difficult book to find a place for. It is neither science fiction nor fantasy and will be overlooked by many of those readers. It likely belongs in the shelf with other horror novels where its redeeming qualities will likely be overlooked by legion fans adoring vampires, psychic abilities, and X-philes looking for a new home. Its future may lie closest on the screen for which it is exquisitely well suited. Once there it will give rise to a wealth of mainstream readers who will adore its ferocity, puerility, and pace.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS:

If there was ever a book that served as an oasis for the connoisseur of speculative fiction, it is King Rat. Very quick, quite short, and immensely engaging it carries just enough political weight and psychological angst to be well worth the invested time without causing sleepless nights pondering its mysteries. A 5-hour plane ride coming up? There is no better book.

WHO SHOULD PASS:

Certainly if you're squeamish of rotten food, rats, or spiders, then this is no the book for you. Similarly, it is a novel rife with coarse language, violence, filth, and enough remorseless sentiment over modern humanity to give pause to the pure still among us. Do not expect redemption from Saul.

READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW AT INCHOATUS.COM

Like a lot of you folks I started out getting to know China Mieville's twisted world-view through his magnificent PERDIDO STREET STATION. I was taken away by the scope of his imagination, the fantastic sprawling vision scattered almost carelessly upon the pages of that book. PERDIDO STREET STATION is a darned fine example of imaginative world-building.

KING RAT is a whole 'nuther ball of moldy cheese. It's a lot more fun, more along the lines of Neil Gaiman's ANANSI BOYS or darned near anything by Christopher Moore. And yet as light as it is, the book is darned dark as well.

KING RAT is a fun, beer and pretzel book for pessimistic urban dreamers. You don't really have to think as hard as you do when you're reading PERDIDO STREET STATION, and I loved this book for that. Good golly, when you think that this was Mieville's first novel, and he rolled it off just as easy as peas.

Mieville has certainly grown as a writer since then, but don't discount this first little book of his. It's a darned good read, and I anticipate reading it again. It's a fun dark ride through the crawlhole's of London. Fans of Charles De Lint and Neil Gaiman are definitely going to want to check this out.

I write big wordy professional reviews for several different genre mags. I like to stretch and relax when I post an Amazon review. That's the difference between KING RAT and PERDIDO STREET STATION. KING RAT is a beer and a burger and a yack with friends. PERDIDO STREET STATION is a long walk up a steep hill. Both are worth it in their own way. Pick this book up. I recommend it.

Yours in horror,
Steve Vernon