King Rat (novel)

King Rat (novel)
Attribution
Author	China Miéville
Cover artist	Mark Moran
Publication information
Publisher	Mcmillan
Release date	June 1998
Pages	333

King Rat is an urban fantasy novel by China Miéville, published in 1998. Set during the late-1990s, King Rat follows the life of Saul Garamond after the death of his father and his meeting with the fallen king of London's rats, the aptly-named King Rat. As King Rat takes Saul under his wing, the young man is quickly embroiled in a centuries-old rivalry. King Rat was Miéville's debut novel.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to everyone who read this in the early stages. All my love and gratitude go to my mother, Claudia, for all her support, always; and to my sister, Jemima, for her advice and feedback.

Deep love and thanks to Emma, of course, for everything.

My heartfelt thanks to Max Schaefer, who gave me invaluable criticisms, hours of word-processing help, and great friendship during a generally rubbish year.

I can never thank Mic Cheetham enough. I am incredibly lucky to have her on my side. And thanks to all at Macmillan, particularly my editor Peter Lavery, and at Tor, particularly Brian Cholfin and Jenna Felice.

I owe too many writers and artists to mention, but respect is especially due to Two Fingers and James The Kirk for their novel Junglist. They blazed a trail. Many thanks also to Iain Sinclair for generously letting me keep the metaphor I accidently stole from him. Jake Pilikian introduced me to Drum and Bass music and changed my life. Big up to all the DJs and Crews who provided a soundtrack. Awe and gratitude especially to A Guy Called Gerald for the sublime Gloc: old, now, but still the most terrifying slab of guerrilla bass ever committed to vinyl. Rewind. A London Sometin’…

Plot summary

Summary:

King Rat follows Saul Garamond, who is accused of his father’s murder and rescued by King Rat, who reveals that Saul is half-rat and possesses unique abilities. As Saul explores London’s underground world, he learns of the return of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who is manipulating his friends, including Natasha, a musician collaborating with a mysterious flautist named Pete.

King Rat allies with Anansi (Spider King) and Loplop (Bird King) to fight the Piper, but Saul discovers King Rat is actually his biological father, having raped Saul’s mother. Meanwhile, Pete reveals himself as the Piper, killing Saul’s friends and using music to control animals and humans alike.

At a climactic club performance, Pete’s use of layered flute samples allows him to control everyone, but Saul resists. King Rat attacks, and the Piper attempts to escape through a magical rift. Saul ensures the Piper is trapped on the other side and then undermines King Rat’s rule by turning the rats against him. Rejecting monarchy, Saul embraces a new identity: Citizen Rat.

Characters

• Saul Garamond - Primary protagonist, a half human, half rat hybrid, due to being King Rat's son. Being hunted by the Piper, who wants to either control him or kill him.
• King Rat - Title character, fallen king of the rats, father of Saul, and locked into a centuries long feud with the Piper.
• The Piper - Primary antagonist, the famous Pied Piper of Hamelin, has returned to continue his feud with King Rat. He is searching for a way to control or kill animal and human hybrids like Saul.
• Anansi - King of the spiders, an ally to King Rat, and mentor to Saul, while he is still exploring his new powers.
• Loplop - King of the birds, an ally to King Rat, saves Saul during his first disastrous confrontation with the Piper.
• Natasha Karadjian - Saul's friend from before his life changed, a drum and bass musician, she is being used by the Piper as a way to discover new music to control animal and human hybrids.

China Miéville's novels and other works