King Street Run

by V.R. Ling

To Thomas, archaeology was time travel…
little did he know how literal that would turn out to be.Thomas Wharton, an archaeology graduate, becomes drawn into the problems of a series of anachronistic characters who exist in the fractions of a second behind our own time. These characters turn out to be personifications of the Cambridge Colleges; they have the amalgamated foibles, history, and temperament of their Fellows and students and, together with Thomas, must enter into a race against time to prevent their world being destroyed by an unknown assailant.
  King Street Run is a satirical fantasy thriller set among the iconic buildings of contemporary Cambridge.

Cover Alison Buck

Genres: Fantasy, Dark Academia

337 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 19, 2024

Reviews

[Katy Wimhurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

King Street Run is like the offspring of Dr Who and Tom Sharpe. Thomas Wharton, a polite man from a working-class background, finds himself as a postgraduate at King’s College, Cambridge. He stumbles through a portal and meets two men and a woman, who turn out to be the personification of three of the Cambridge colleges. Then begins an adventure in which Thomas assists the three to protect their world from an unknown foe. This includes fighting giant angry gargoyles, borrowing ancient archaeological treasure, and drinking copious cups of tea. The setting of Cambridge, with its passage ways, churches and colleges, is nicely evoked, and the story is told in a playful voice, with wit and light political commentary at moments.

[Theresa Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book demonstrates why I like taking a chance on a little known author. I confess, I didn’t want to read it on first look. I don’t like fantasy and I’ve never been to university but I liked the blurb about archaeology and so I thought why not? Well, I loved it. The fantasy element isn’t dungeons and dragons type stuff, it's sort of thriller fantasy if that's a thing. What I mean is that it has fantasy in it but it's well grounded and the story is mystery/thriller. The whole concept is very clever. King street run reminds me of the first time I had a tequila. The full effect didn't hit me until I'd finished the whole thing. There are so few books these days that treat the reader with intelligence. I don't mean that in a snobby way but I mean there aren't many books with hidden depths, hidden meanings, and things you have to either look up or go back to at a later point because suddenly you get the meaning but ksr is full of those moments. The author’s style reminded me a bit of Tom Sharpe and a bit Douglas Adams. That sort of witty, fast pace language. I’m now reading it again as I’m determined to find more of the easter eggs and another review says theres the titles of eight m r James stories in the text. LOL I don't know any m.r James stories but I'm gonna look them up and have a list while I re-read. One thing I'm definitely doing after reading king street run is going to Cambridge to see kings college and all the other places where the portals are :-D

[Mike Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read. It starts at a sedate pace and pokes fun at the farcical aspects of academic bureaucracy. The story builds nicely and I really warmed to the characters. I am not sure if a knowledge of Cambridge or university life would make this more enjoyable. It certainly didn't detract from my enjoyment, though I do want to visit Cambridge now. A really good story with great imagination.

[Evelynlok · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hi!
I just read your story and had to message you, it was incredibly immersive. I kept imagining the scenes visually, almost like a comic unfolding as I read.

I’m a commission artist (comics, webtoons, manga/manhwa), and your writing really inspired me to reach out. If you’re open to a quick chat or want to see my art, I’d love to connect.

You can reach me on Discord (eve_verse).
Thanks again for such a great read!

Evelyn

[Amy Orrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fanastical love letter to Cambridge with a wealth of satire and a hint of steam punk, all wrapped up in a Doctor Who-style romp.

[L.N. Holmes]

This is a Small Spec Book Awards nominee!

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's about a very likeable archaeology student called Thomas who comes from a rough background but through his hard work and brains ends up going to Cambridge. King street run reminded me of Tom Sharpe's Porterhouse Blue. The humour is understated but I love that. KSR is full of easter eggs and holy mother of god I'm here for it!!!! Seriously love that sort of thing.
I wont give any spoilers but an example of one of the more fun easter eggs is there’s a scene where the lead character Thomas is talking to a gardener (pay attention to his name and all names) And the gardener reels out the latin names of some flowers. If you google the latin names of the flowers you’ll find they mean something and that the gardener is more than he seems which then makes sense later on and in the bigger picture. There’s very little in this book that is arbitrary or random. Pay attention to character’s names It unravels a whole new meaning. it's not just a good story to enjoy reading but there's also all these rabbit holes you can follow. The conversations between the colleges is well thought out and the characters well defined. It's been a long time since a book made me think like this. I worked in Cambridge for a number of years so I picked up on many of the hidden references but I’m currently re-reading to find more. My broad take on the story is that the gargoyles represent pointless administration and Thomas basically represents what academia should be and all the principles it should have. he's the idealistic scholar trying to get the long in the tooth academics to push back against it. There's a metaphor for life in there. Really looking forward to whatever this author writes next. A good high step above your usual fantasy fiction.

[Jenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impressed! King Street Run was recommended to me by a friend who knows I love dark academia (basically if it's gothic, mysterious and set in some sort of organisational setting then I'm in). I'm actually now on my second read because I enjoyed it that much. I really like the characters and when I finished I wanted to be around them again. That doesn't often happen to me but I actually wanted to be in their company again. They're well rounded and so real at times that I can almost hear them. King Street Run has a good style to it. It's easy to read but is full and I mean full of double meanings. I love that sort of thing. I don't want to give anything away, but pay attention to names. It's not laugh out loud funny but then it's not meant to be. The humour is very dry and often takes you by surprise. It's one of the most original novels I've read in a long time, both in terms of story and writing style.