King Rat [Paperback]

Dazed and confused in a cell, and charged with the killing of his father, Saul is visited by King Rat who leads him on a roof-top escape route. Saul finds he is half-rat himself, and having met Anansi, Lord of the Spiders, and Loplop, Bird Superior, he learns of the legendary Piper of Hamelin.

Something is stirring in London’s dark, stamping out its territory in brickdust and blood. Something has murdered Saul’s father, and left Saul to pay for the crime. But a shadow from the urban waste breaks into his prison cell and leads him to freedom. A shadow called King Rat. In the night-land behind London’s façade, in sewers and slums and rotting dead spaces, Saul must learn his true nature. Grotesque murders rock the city like a curse. Mysterious forces prepare for a showdown. With Drum and Bass pounding the backstreets, Saul confronts his bizarre inheritance – in the badlands of South London, in the heart of darkness, at the gathering of the Junglist Massive. Like the DJ says: ‘Time for the Badman.’ ‘Tackles his theme with a dark assurance... with its original blend of twisted urban fairytale and modern gothic horror, King Rat marks out China Miéville as an author to be watched.’ The Times ‘Brings together elements of fantasy, fairytale and the detective story... I greatly enjoyed Miéville’s weird and engaging myth-making.’ Daily Telegraph --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

China Miéville lives and works in London. He is three-time winner of the prestigious Arthur C. Clarke Award (Perdido Street Station, Iron Council and The City & The City) and has also won the British Fantasy Award twice (Perdido Street Station and The Scar). The City & The City, an existential thriller, was published in 2009 to dazzling critical acclaim and drew comparison with the works of Kafka and Orwell (The Times) and Philip K. Dick (Guardian). His most recent novel, Kraken, was published in 2010. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.