King Rat is a dark novel immersed in the underground of London, that twists an old fairy tale with rich characters.
Set in London, Miéville’s first novel, King Rat is about Saul, whose life is turned upside down when his father is murdered and the cops try to pin him with the crime. This is the catalyst for a whole new world and set of rules, but I won’t give it all away. But the fantastic element is down well and easily suspends your disbelief.
I will say though, that the world is rich, partly set within the milieu of London’s Jungle music scene and is a twist on the Pied Piper of Hamlin tale. The characters are all original and interesting in their own right but the strength is in the atmosphere. The whole feel of the novel is dark, sinister and underground. For me, this is the ideal mood for a novel and I was hooked by this feel of the world.
The plot moved at a fast pace and had clear developments and twists, but at the same time came across as realistic. Similarly, the ending built up to a massive climax that was as a whole satisfying without being too cliché at all. The imperfectness of the ending maintained the realism of this very unreal world.
Miéville is known by many as a socialist, and member of Britain’s Socialist Workers Party so of course I was interested to see how he approached politics within this novel. Saul’s late father was an active socialist as part of an organisation so politics is part of the backdrop of the novel but never front and centre.
But the texture and world is obviously shaped by his understanding of the world, adding to the richness of the world especially with his descriptions of the city, contrasting the front of the city with its hidden core, alluding to how it was built by workers.
As Miéville has said in interviews, you don’t have to be political to read these novels, but for those who are interested in the politics, it’s definitely there to be read into.
Overall, an original tale with great characters is definitely recommended for lovers of dark and fantastic stories.
[Rating:4.5]
Hmmm!
I haven’t read this China book but what you wrote makes it sounds pretty inviting ^_^ how do you recon it compares to his other more recent novels though?
You should read it. It’s good. Though I can’t compare to the others as this is seriously the first of his novels I’ve read. So I guess it sounds a bit premature to love him already.
I agree with Jordan. You’ve also tempted me with this review.
.-= Karen Lee Field´s last blog ..Cut…It…Out! But What If…? =-.
You should read it. I’d be interested to know what you think.
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To tell the truth, I probably would have never found this book if it wasn’t for my World Lit class but I’m glad I found it/read it. Its a different genre that I’m used too but I feel I could read more books like this. I tend to judge a book by its cover but I think if I were to see the cover of the book randomly I would have atleast checked out the summary and then would have gotten bored of it. This book was one of the greatest books I have read and I can’t wait to buy it to have it as my own. I loved King Rat’s attitude and personality but personal I don’t think I’d be able to hang around him for longer than a few minutes.