King Rat
A novel by China Miéville

During the last year in my quest for the ultimate horror novel I kept coming across intriguing reviews of King Rat, a debut novel by China Miéville. This book hopped in and out of my shopping basket so many times at an unnamed on-line bookstore that when it finally made it's way to paperback, I plunked down my money and got my very own copy. I can now tell you that King Rat is one of the most beautifully written books I've read in the last several years. The descriptive and metaphorical use of language occasionally verges on the poetic. As well, I can tell you that China Meiville's revisit to the Pied Piper of Hamelin story is as original and intriguing as the reviews promised. In her world the story is much more than an allegory but it is a bitter feud between ancient adversaries.

Over the years when I've encountered mention of the Pied Piper, I've wondered what happened to the children lured into the mountain but I've never taken the time to wonder about the event from the rats' point of view. Clearly China Miéville has. The rats have a king, King Rat -- aptly enough -- and he's been gnawing over plans of revenge for the last few centuries. This is where Saul, Prince Rat comes in. Poor Saul thinks he's just an average guy still temporarily living with his widowed father, completely unaware of his very unique parentage. This is until his dad ends up taking a dive out his apartment window and the police are auditioning Saul for the role of murder. King Rat comes to the rescue and like a Jedi master teaches young Saul the joy of being a rat.

Possibly the most horrific scenes are those where King Rat introduces Saul to the delights of dining on garbage. A three-day-old hamburger, still shiny with the saliva of its previous owner, serves as an above average repast for the rat folk. Fruitcake prior to making its way to the trash is unappetizing enough, but once it's sawdust and dirt encrusted, nauseating takes on new meaning. The scenes of sewer living read like an article from Better Homes and Gardens by comparison.

You may have guessed by now that if our hero is a rat, then the villain must be the infamous Piper. And what a villain he is. A brutal sort who wants all that don't dance to his tune dead. His methods are gruesome and sadistic as he slowly destroys Saul's world in an effort to eliminate the one person who is immune to his flute's enchantment. The Piper can only play one tune at a time and since Saul is both human and rat, it is just another badly played band instrument to the Prince.

As with most fairy tales, so many things are not explained but offered up as is. Such as why is King Rat for all intent and purpose a man, never once appearing as a rat? And who or what is the Piper? As well as where do their powers come from? There were no lycanthropes at play or even obscure mythology exploited. Whys and hows clouded my reading and tended to distance me from the story being played out. As a fan of genre my ability to suspend disbelief is pretty strong, but it adamantly refused to kick in for King Rat.

The distancing effect was not helped by the often indecipherable jargon and colloquialism used by the book's more colorful characters. In several instances I had no clue as to what was being said as plans were hatched or jokes exchanged. Atmosphere is all well and good but it's wasted if you haven't a clue as to what's going on. Maybe in the end, it's just really hard to empathize with a rat and his mates.

RE-READ FACTOR: As intriguing as the premise is I most likely won't be spending any more time with the King Rat.

SEQUEL FACTOR: There is plenty of potential for the further adventures of Saul, the Rat Prince, and his pals, but... I just don't know.

STRONG CHICK FACTOR: Natasha the DJ had some potential early on but was too quickly enthralled by the piper to make much of an impression.

-- Torrey Daily Simms

King Rat, published by Tor Books, is currently available in both hardback and paperback.

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