korin_catbyte's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
woolfen's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/4 Stars.
This was a very enjoyable read, and was Miéville's very high-quality debut. His pacing is very strong, and really holds your attention with its very readable prose. The themes of fatherhood early on really caught me and I found exceptionally moving - quite dramatically so, much more than I would have expected.
Beyond the originality of the spin of the basic premise - of the Pied Piper of Hamelin and it's ratty inhabitants - this was a much less fleshed out novel than the sprawling 'Kraken'. I thought that the 'weirdness' that Miéville characterises himself by was kept quite subtle and realistic - which worked to keep the story contained but left the world feeling a little empty perhaps. With this in mind, the tightly-paced narrative weirdly has an overarching feeling of lightly rocking up from scene to scene. Anansi and Loplop could have provided such interesting characters, but were not massively developed.
Finally - (Pete) the Piper similarly lurched from being a very capable and intimidating villain in the scenes he's in - but only in an overt manner - unlike a villain like the Tattoo, or Goss and Subby, all from 'Kraken', and whose presence teeters over the pages and spills into scenes in a much more meaningful manner than the Piper does. He is a powerful force, but not so much of a presence.
Miéville's books have weirdly characterised London for me in my time here, and brought a slightly daydreaming quality of wonder to this place.
This was a very enjoyable read, and was Miéville's very high-quality debut. His pacing is very strong, and really holds your attention with its very readable prose. The themes of fatherhood early on really caught me and I found exceptionally moving - quite dramatically so, much more than I would have expected.
Beyond the originality of the spin of the basic premise - of the Pied Piper of Hamelin and it's ratty inhabitants - this was a much less fleshed out novel than the sprawling 'Kraken'. I thought that the 'weirdness' that Miéville characterises himself by was kept quite subtle and realistic - which worked to keep the story contained but left the world feeling a little empty perhaps. With this in mind, the tightly-paced narrative weirdly has an overarching feeling of lightly rocking up from scene to scene. Anansi and Loplop could have provided such interesting characters, but were not massively developed.
Finally - (Pete) the Piper similarly lurched from being a very capable and intimidating villain in the scenes he's in - but only in an overt manner - unlike a villain like the Tattoo, or Goss and Subby, all from 'Kraken', and whose presence teeters over the pages and spills into scenes in a much more meaningful manner than the Piper does. He is a powerful force, but not so much of a presence.
Miéville's books have weirdly characterised London for me in my time here, and brought a slightly daydreaming quality of wonder to this place.
jordandotcom's review
2.0
DNF at page 222. every character annoys me, no one seems all that fleshed out, the writing is not super compelling, etc.
norrell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This has been my first foray into China Miéville’s fiction, and I thought - Might as well pick up his debut, especially given the fact I had been hankering for some gritty urban fantasy for quite some time. And I’ve got another thing to admit - for the past six years I’ve been convinced I’d love Perdido Street Stationand New Crobuzon in general, so I’ve been putting it off to the best of my abilities. Again, this made the decision to pick up King Rat all the more easy.
The setting is London, but it’s a character as well. Miéville seems very invested in architecture and its secrets in King Rat, constantly (well maybe not all the time, but at least a noticeable amount) likening the insides of building to bowels while animating London as a sort of being through his language. One that is indifferent, but breathing none the less. This was one of the aspects I quite enjoyed - a particular interest in urban landscape, names of streets and buildings flying around, all in a chaotic hodgepodge of graffiti and kebab places. If you want effective urban fantasy, might as well try to take it up a notch, even if it doesn’t exactly succeed all the time.
The second thing I appreciated - the language. Now, Miéville is often talked about in respects to his verbose style and the fact that many believe the man simply writes with five open thesauruses at his writing desk, going about it like a focused mad scientist. In King Rat, this specific quality isn’t as pronounced but even from the debut I could sense that Miéville has an ability I cherish in writers - he knows how to pick the right words for the situation, words that might’ve been stretched to phrases and phrases that could’ve been mere two words but whose placement simply makes sense.
The dialogue can at times feel laboured and clunky, I must admit, sometimes overly edgy or bri’ish but I’m choosing to look past it because all of that adds to the weird clunky charm of the novel. A highlight of the dialogue was King Rat’s flow of old and new slang firmly set in London, old and new.
The characters were mostly distinguished by a few key traits, sometimes moving like puppets because the contrivance and plot told them to. But in general, they were enjoyable to read about although a bit lacking. Aside from Saul and King Rat and the twist which interconnects them, all of which made their relationship and the characters themselves weirdly nuanced but also wonderfully, self-righteously stubborn, other characters - Saul’s friends and the landscape of other animal monarchs - were interesting enough and gave the impression of existing before and after the story. That is something that I in general find delicious - unresolved relationships and things left hanging in the air, peppered with a few plans or directions not wholly fulfilled by the end.
The final two things I enjoyed - the plotting and inspiration. The plot doesn’t hinge upon wild twists of fate and circumstance, which I’ve kind of grown tired off, but simply makes sense if you pay even the least attention. Although some might find that unrewarding, and I get that, it is just what I needed at the moment. For the inspiration - King Rat is a sort of loose retelling that features characters from myth and and an artist's alter-ego. To be frank, I think Miéville could’ve benefited from going for the weirder still, focusing more on the fable-like quality of this world he had created, but alas, this was not the case.
If you read primarily for characters - maybe skip this one, if you read primarily for plot - maybe give King Rat a go. But mostly read it for the vibes and atmosphere. In general, just from the reputation, I will say this probably isn’t in Miéville’s top 6 novels in terms of artistry, character and plotting but it is enthusiastic about itself and grimy enough to faintly remind me of a weird, vivid cross-section of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines and the comic-book series Fables. The novel is still noticeably a debut, although a good one at that, but maybe don’t read if you’re a huge fan of Miéville’s and expect mind-boggling brilliance at the door-step.
If anything, King Rat, with its grubby fingers, bears an omen of a very promising author who was still honing his craft.
The setting is London, but it’s a character as well. Miéville seems very invested in architecture and its secrets in King Rat, constantly (well maybe not all the time, but at least a noticeable amount) likening the insides of building to bowels while animating London as a sort of being through his language. One that is indifferent, but breathing none the less. This was one of the aspects I quite enjoyed - a particular interest in urban landscape, names of streets and buildings flying around, all in a chaotic hodgepodge of graffiti and kebab places. If you want effective urban fantasy, might as well try to take it up a notch, even if it doesn’t exactly succeed all the time.
The second thing I appreciated - the language. Now, Miéville is often talked about in respects to his verbose style and the fact that many believe the man simply writes with five open thesauruses at his writing desk, going about it like a focused mad scientist. In King Rat, this specific quality isn’t as pronounced but even from the debut I could sense that Miéville has an ability I cherish in writers - he knows how to pick the right words for the situation, words that might’ve been stretched to phrases and phrases that could’ve been mere two words but whose placement simply makes sense.
The dialogue can at times feel laboured and clunky, I must admit, sometimes overly edgy or bri’ish but I’m choosing to look past it because all of that adds to the weird clunky charm of the novel. A highlight of the dialogue was King Rat’s flow of old and new slang firmly set in London, old and new.
The characters were mostly distinguished by a few key traits, sometimes moving like puppets because the contrivance and plot told them to. But in general, they were enjoyable to read about although a bit lacking. Aside from Saul and King Rat and the twist which interconnects them, all of which made their relationship and the characters themselves weirdly nuanced but also wonderfully, self-righteously stubborn, other characters - Saul’s friends and the landscape of other animal monarchs - were interesting enough and gave the impression of existing before and after the story. That is something that I in general find delicious - unresolved relationships and things left hanging in the air, peppered with a few plans or directions not wholly fulfilled by the end.
The final two things I enjoyed - the plotting and inspiration. The plot doesn’t hinge upon wild twists of fate and circumstance, which I’ve kind of grown tired off, but simply makes sense if you pay even the least attention. Although some might find that unrewarding, and I get that, it is just what I needed at the moment. For the inspiration - King Rat is a sort of loose retelling that features characters from myth and and an artist's alter-ego. To be frank, I think Miéville could’ve benefited from going for the weirder still, focusing more on the fable-like quality of this world he had created, but alas, this was not the case.
If you read primarily for characters - maybe skip this one, if you read primarily for plot - maybe give King Rat a go. But mostly read it for the vibes and atmosphere. In general, just from the reputation, I will say this probably isn’t in Miéville’s top 6 novels in terms of artistry, character and plotting but it is enthusiastic about itself and grimy enough to faintly remind me of a weird, vivid cross-section of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines and the comic-book series Fables. The novel is still noticeably a debut, although a good one at that, but maybe don’t read if you’re a huge fan of Miéville’s and expect mind-boggling brilliance at the door-step.
If anything, King Rat, with its grubby fingers, bears an omen of a very promising author who was still honing his craft.
lordenglishssbm's review
3.0
The building blocks of Mieville's style are all here: Characters whose development happens in the background until he brings it all together at the very end, the repetition of somewhat unusual words (that nevertheless fit the situation) for no real reason beyond he seems to like them, and the mashup of horror imagery with left-wing politics. It's all done much more sloppily here than in The Scar, though. His prose in particular has some rather memorable misfires, though I at least got a laugh out of the description "like a cartoon villain on speed."
It's not a bad first book. It moves at a clip and the villain is memorable, but I'm happy that he kept refining his craft after writing it.
It's not a bad first book. It moves at a clip and the villain is memorable, but I'm happy that he kept refining his craft after writing it.
nikcc's review
3.0
Struggled to get into this but it was a clever retelling of a classic children's story in a twisted way. It caught my attention once I got into it
stucifer_'s review against another edition
3.0
Probably more of a 3.5, but rounded down because I wasn't prepared for there to be a pivotal plot point centered on a sexual assault. I recognize this book was published 23 years ago and we culturally have more awareness of content warnings now, but updating the summary on this website to include major content warnings costs no money.
I am glad I had read other Miéville before this one, because the dialogue here gets a bit clunky, and the emotions of the MC lose sincerity for me when they run high. (Poor dude has been through a lot, but it seems he has the same response to King Rat throughout the entire second half of the book, and that's just angrily calling him the same three things.) I'm also not sure the dialects work; they seem a bit overdone. Having read another of his novels, I know his dialogue writing has improved, is more natural and nuanced now, but if I hadn't done so, I think I'd be a bit put off.
That said. I love the concept of this book. A crime thriller mashed up with a dark, contemporary subversion of fairy tales, with elements of horror, all set in a specific mid-90s London subculture? Sign me up! The sense of place and atmosphere is fantastic, the percussive beat of the language often feels like listening to the very music that runs through the novel, and the suspense was artfully crafted; I genuinely could not foresee the specifics of how the climax would resolve. I do also love the political bent, especially at the end, but I think it's a bit hamfisted; the author has gotten better at the social commentary as he has continued writing, as well.
Whenever I find an author I really like, I love reading their books in release order, to see how their writing has changed over their career. I'm looking forward to doing the same for Miéville, and all in all this was a really fun (and promising, I'm sure) debut.
I am glad I had read other Miéville before this one, because the dialogue here gets a bit clunky, and the emotions of the MC lose sincerity for me when they run high. (Poor dude has been through a lot, but it seems he has the same response to King Rat throughout the entire second half of the book, and that's just angrily calling him the same three things.) I'm also not sure the dialects work; they seem a bit overdone. Having read another of his novels, I know his dialogue writing has improved, is more natural and nuanced now, but if I hadn't done so, I think I'd be a bit put off.
That said. I love the concept of this book. A crime thriller mashed up with a dark, contemporary subversion of fairy tales, with elements of horror, all set in a specific mid-90s London subculture? Sign me up! The sense of place and atmosphere is fantastic, the percussive beat of the language often feels like listening to the very music that runs through the novel, and the suspense was artfully crafted; I genuinely could not foresee the specifics of how the climax would resolve. I do also love the political bent, especially at the end, but I think it's a bit hamfisted; the author has gotten better at the social commentary as he has continued writing, as well.
Whenever I find an author I really like, I love reading their books in release order, to see how their writing has changed over their career. I'm looking forward to doing the same for Miéville, and all in all this was a really fun (and promising, I'm sure) debut.
lauraglovestoread's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I was happy to finally read China Miéville's 1998 debut novel, having previously enjoyed many of his works -- at this point, I'm a fan, and I'll read anything he puts out (non-fiction included). Unsurprisingly, as his debut this is less well developed and polished than his later work; I found here certainly some of the aspects that distinguish his work, but it does not approach later works like The Scar or Iron Council in its execution.
One of the things I really love about Miéville's work is his ability to make a setting come alive and feel real, and this definitely is already apparent in this first book. The London of King Rat is something the reader can feel, hear, taste, and smell (though, in this instance, one... really wouldn't want to, given so much focus on the sewers and garbage). The character development is underwhelming here (with the exception of protagonist Saul), particularly compared to his later books.
All in all, of course Miéville fans will absolutely not want to miss this. I would not, however, recommend it as a place to start with his work, as his tremendous strengths as an author - which I cannot understate - really come through more in his later books.
One of the things I really love about Miéville's work is his ability to make a setting come alive and feel real, and this definitely is already apparent in this first book. The London of King Rat is something the reader can feel, hear, taste, and smell (though, in this instance, one... really wouldn't want to, given so much focus on the sewers and garbage). The character development is underwhelming here (with the exception of protagonist Saul), particularly compared to his later books.
All in all, of course Miéville fans will absolutely not want to miss this. I would not, however, recommend it as a place to start with his work, as his tremendous strengths as an author - which I cannot understate - really come through more in his later books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Torture, Violence, Death, Animal death, Death of parent, Murder, and Gore
Minor: Rape