Synopses & Reviews
Something is stirring in the London dark, stamping out its territory in brickdust and blood. Something has murdered Saul Garamond's father, and left Saul to pay for the crime. "But a shadow from the urban waste breaks into Saul's prison cell and leads him to freedom. A shadow called King Rat. Freedom and a new destiny: King Rat reveals Saul's royal heritage, a heritage that opens a new world to Saul, the world below London's streets. "A heritage that also drags Saul into King Rat's plan for revenge against his ancient enemy, the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The Piper walks the world again, and wants to finish the job he started those long centuries ago. With Drum and Bass pounding the backstreets, Saul must confront the forces that would use him, the forces that would destroy him, and the forces that shaped his own bizarre identity.
Review
"This is a riveting, brilliant novel. The language sings, the concepts are original and engrossing." Charles de Lint
Review
"A genuine contribution to London's subterranean mythology. King Rat is as sharp as a Tokyo comic. It's humane and delinquent. And it bites." Iain Sinclair
Review
"[Mieville's] prose melds James Herbert's nihilistic violence with the metropolitan paranoia of Martin Amis, circa London Fields, and he shows a talent for authentic dialog and cinematic set pieces. Most striking, perhaps, is the meticulously crafted topography of a brooding London peopled by despondent youth and bizarre night creatures and rife with the rhythms of drum 'n' bass." The Times (London)
Review
"King Rat: a story so compelling you almost haven't time to notice how fine the writing is; a dark myth reinvented for our time and for London in particular with great wit, style, and imagination." Ramsey Campbell
Review
"[An] extraordinary debut novel....China Mieville is a remarkably eloquent new writer who has produced genuine magic here." Locus
Review
"King Rat goes down as sweetly as week-old garbage, to leave the reader eyeing speculatively the manhole covers of Soho and Battersea. A knotted, toothy, thought-provoking read." M. John Harrison
Review
"From the novel's opening image ('The trains that enter London arrive like ships sailing across the roofs'), the narrative crackles with a mesmerizing melange of impressionistic description and street slang that powerfully limns the squalid London cityscape. Paced at the rhythm of the Jungle music it evokes, this dark urban fantasy proves nearly as irresistible as the Pied Piper's tunes." Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Something is stirring in London's dark, stamping out its territory in brickdust and blood. Something has murdered Saul Garamond's father, and left Saul to pay for the crime.
But a shadow from the urban waste breaks into Saul's prison cell and leads him to freedom. A shadow called King Rat, who reveals Saul's royal heritage, a heritage that opens a new world to Saul, the world below London's streets--a heritage that also drags Saul into King Rat's plan for revenge against his ancient enemy,. With drum 'n' bass pounding the backstreets, Saul must confront the forces that would use him, the forces that would destroy him, and the forces that shape his own bizarre identity.
Synopsis
Something is stirring in London's dark, stamping out its territory in brickdust and blood. Something has murdered Saul Garamond's father, and left Saul to pay for the crime.
But a shadow from the urban waste breaks into Saul's prison cell and leads him to freedom. A shadow called King Rat, who reveals Saul's royal heritage, a heritage that opens a new world to Saul, the world below London's streets--a heritage that also drags Saul into King Rat's plan for revenge against his ancient enemy,. With drum 'n' bass pounding the backstreets, Saul must confront the forces that would use him, the forces that would destroy him, and the forces that shape his own bizarre identity.
About the Author
China Mieville is a Ph.D. candidate at the London School of Economics. He lives in London.