I’m not very familiar with Terry Pratchett. I think I tried a few of his books way back in college years (had a roommate who was a fan) and the humor just felt tiresome to me. So this is the first one I’ve read completely, and I really enjoyed it, in spite of (or maybe because of) the dark tones.
Set in a fantasy world (Discworld- again, unfamiliar to me but that didn’t matter), this is kind of a Pied Piper retelling with a huge twist. The reader meets a gang of talking rats, teamed up with an ambitious cat (who can also talk) and a gentle-mannered boy who plays a pipe. They run a scam, infiltrating towns with their rats that appear to be causing a terrible infestation, then of course the boy piper offers his services, “leads” the rats away, and they share the spoils afterwards. Maurice the cat runs the whole thing (and seems to be the only one who really cares about the money, odd detail- had me wondering exactly why he was saving up for “retirement” ?) Much later in the story you get filled in on why Maurice and the rats can talk- because it’s obvious that most animals in this world don’t. So the group comes to a new town, gets ready to run their scam, and everything goes wrong. Something else is going on in this town, and the talking rats are in danger. The rats are trying their usual skills to deal with the situation, but it becomes more than they can handle. The cat at first just wants to get out of it all with his fur intact and perhaps money in his paws still, but has to decide at the end if he really cares more about the rats’ welfare. And the boy ends up in an unwelcomed partnership with a local girl who’s obsessed with storytelling- she wants every situation to follow some classic trope– she talks a lot and acts bossy but is surprised to find that the boy has some answers of his own in the end. Really funny how the girl’s character kept breaking the fourth wall in a way, commenting on particular aspects of telling stories while being in a story. The only character that didn’t really stand out to me much was Maurice for some reason. I was more intrigued by the talking rats and the dilemmas their intelligence presented them. All round a fun tale, with a lot to say about human nature, how awful we treat rats (the ones seen as vermin), compassion and fair play in the end.
I think I might just need to read some more Pratchett.
Borrowed from my teenager’s bookshelf.