Rats and Gargoyles is set in a world extrapolated from the middle ages, with some modern and invented ideas thrown in. In an immense city at the centre of the world, an aristocracy of man-sized rats govern a diverse mix of more human people, and all are under the incarnate eyes of a group of Gods living in a huge temple within the city. The storyline has several strands, involving a number of plots to overthrow the established order, and attempts by a sort of secret society to stop these activities from causing apocalypse. I first read this book years ago, when it was first published, then again a year or two ago. Both times I eagerly soaked up the ideas in the book - they were, and still are, unlike those in any other sci-fi story I've read; inventive, absorbing, and introduced gradually thoughout the book, keeping the story fresh right to the end. I found the storyline itself interesting, and the descriptive writing was also good (evoked plenty of images). One criticism, in parts the pacing was rather slow, I think this book could have been significantly better if it moved faster. But overall, a good read, and something you don't find every day.
