King of the Rats

Rivers of London #5.3

by Ben Aaronovitch, Christine Blum (Translator), Ben Bailey Smith (Narrator)

When a self-styled King of the Rats crashes a corporate do hosted by Fleet and Tyburn naturally the Folly are called in. Peter and Kumar have to determine whether his majesty is the legitimate ruler of the rat nation or a sad man with a rodent fixation.

And they’d better do it fast before irate Rivers decide to embark on a bit of DIY pest control.

King of the Rats is short story written by Ben Aaronovitch. The story was written exclusively for Cityread London 2015. It was read publicly by Doc Brown (Ben Bailey Smith) at the Mail Rail. It was an 'extra' in the paperback Waterstones edition of The Hanging Tree.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, Mystery, Crime

1 pages, Audiobook

First published March 25, 2015

About the author

Ben Aaronovitch's career started with a bang writing for Doctor Who, subsided in the middle and then, as is traditional, a third act resurgence with the bestselling Rivers of London series.

Born and raised in London he says that he'll leave his home when they prise his city out of his cold dead fingers.

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ha! I'm glad we get an introduction to each of these short stories because otherwise that "cover picture" would have had me confused. ;)
In this case, the Postal Museum's Underground Railway asked the author to pen a short story as they were renovating the facility as a historical attraction. Not only did he do it, Doc Brown was the one performing it in the secret train maintenance yard underneath the Mount Pleasant sorting office. Go figure!

Anyway, the story is about the Mail Rail - a fascinating bit of London's history that I hadn't previously known about. Melvin (a character we will apparently meet in a later novel) is a guy stopped by Peter and Jaget Kumar in the Underground while wearing a rat costume.
Why is Peter there? Well, it has something to do with melvin crashing a soirée and some river deities - you know how it is. ;)
And because of previous adventures, Jaget Kumar is his trusted sidekick for everything happening underground so yeah.
Which leads to Melvin, who thinks he's a rat and why he thinks he's a rat and that leads to a grievance between Lady Ty and her sister Fleet on one side and ...

Honestly, I thought the ending was too abrupt - I wanted a bloody meeting / resolution, not for the entire thing to end like THAT! *lol*

It was funny but ultimately too short. Again. *sighs*

There used to be a video showing Doc Brown's performance of this story but it doesn't seem to work anymore. Sorry.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess I just wanted more. It was already getting interesting, but then it was over.

I'm beginning to think that I really just like the full-length novels. Still, these are amusing enough for bite-sized pieces.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An amuse bouche. You barely get it in your mouth and it is gone. Enjoyable nonetheless.

[Darcy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a weird one. I found it a bit disturbing how much the guy thought he was a rat. And while I know this is a short, it seemed not quite finished, like there was more that wasn't in the audio clip.

[Cee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was turning out to be super fun, but then it just ended. Super abrupt. I was hoping for a resolution.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story is only available as an audio-book (as far as I can determine), and can be heard here for free. It was specifically written for the 2015 Cityread London, an event whose purpose is "to celebrate the power that reading has to bring communities together", presumably through public readings.

I loved the narrator & the distinctive voices he gave to each character. (Just wish they could have edited out all the swallowing he did as he was speaking)

As most other reviewers have noted, this feels like only half a story. Peter & his coworker track down where the "King of the Rats" came from, but it's just the beginning. Who was responsible for turning him into a 'rat'? What are they? What happens once Peter & Jaget go in the house? Does Peter, in fact, need rescuing?
Perhaps this was a little teaser of a story that never got fleshed out in Aaronovitch's brain, but he decided to throw out what he DID have written and just leave us all hanging. It's unsatisfying, but the writing itself is good...which is why I so very much hope he finishes this short story!

[Graff Fuller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rivers of London 5.8 King of the Rats by Ben Aaronovitch

3.25 Stars

funny mysterious tense

Fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I really didn't understand why this story was put HERE, but what can I say? Hmm?

Interesting story, and that this is now a possibility...makes living in this world a bit more weird.

Okay...on to the next book in the series Rivers of London 06 The Hanging Tree.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story--except that the ending felt too abrupt, given who they were confronting.

[Rina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting enough of a short story. While I appreciated the appearances of Lady Ty and Fleet (and Jaget!), the plot itself wasn’t my favourite. Especially the conclusion.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh. Just when it got started, it ended. Maybe we’ll find out what happened in some future story.

[Miriam · Rating 2 out of 5]

It isn't just a short story - its half a story. Maybe a quarter of a story? where is the rest???

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Edit: As some people have mentioned, the full reading can be found on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIQLS...). I have no idea why I could not find it before, but I've listened to the whole thing now and adjusted my rating accordingly. I still find it weirdly short, but the file is undoubtedly complete.]

I'll have to agree with the authors of the previous reviews: The file is certainly cut short. Even if this is only meant to be a snippet, it does not make sense for it to end where it did. Sadly, I could not find the complete story anywhere, neither as an audio file nor in written form. Therefore, I will have to give it two stars, although I certainly found the premise interesting. Moreover, I really liked the narrator. He's not what I imagined Peter would sound like, but after a minute or so of getting used to him, I thought that he was a good choice. I'm not sure if it's the same narrator they chose for the rest of the series, though, as I usually read the hard copies.

[Jim Mason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is this unfinished? or the file cut short?

[meikoyim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seems unfinished. Wanna know more...

[Roo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one really leaves you wanting more.

you can watch a reading by Doc Brown in the PO tunnels here https://youtu.be/BIQLSQbghFc

[Maikel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edit: just watched the complete file on YouTube, which really is just a couple of seconds longer. Review still stands:

Just like everyone else, I felt like there was more to come, when the audio was cut. It even sounds like the speaker is about to continue, but he never does.
Which is a pity really, because I would have liked to find out what happened after. However, based on the short’s position in the storyline and the fact that the spirit of the canal does not play a role in the later books (as of yet?) I’m afraid we might be left hanging and fleshing our the story for ourself.

Still three stars, because the writing is superb as always and because I’m a little fanboy to whom a Peter Grant story is pretty much like cheese to the rat king.

[Brok3n · Rating 3 out of 5]

Origin of the spirit of the Grand Union canal

In False Value we met Mrs Canal, who is the spirit of the Grand Union Canal. This short story introduces her, and tells of an unfortunate estate agent whom she enchanted into thinking himself the King of the Rats. Peter catches Lady Ty and Lady Fleet in a fib, which is fun.

Read it here.

[Minnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5*

These short stories are so short that not even the author calls them stories but moments, but even so, this one ended a little bit too abruptly for my taste (and just when I was beginning to really enjoy it, too). Which I guess is kind of the point of the whole exercise, but still, "I want more" not in the hypothetical sense that I'd be willing, if pressed, to read more from the author, but quite literally I want to find out what kind of beef there might be between the orangutan and the Thames goddesses!

[Des Pemberton · Rating 3 out of 5]

What there was was quite enjoyable. However, all we get is a start of a story and a hint of a middle of a story and a full stop. Why was Melvin turned into a rat? Was he king of the rats? Wouldn't it have been better to get a better qualified being to be king of the rats, like an actual rat? Do we get to 'meet' the urangutan, who supposedly turned Melvin into a rat, we evidently 'meet' Melvin again in False Value (No 8 in the series)? And, how does a urangutan pay the local authority the council rates, in bananas?

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Melvin "the rat" gatecrashes a party attended by Lady Tye and Fleet, Peter Grant is called in to investigate. Why did a simple estate agent decide to become a rat, who is behind it all, why did he gatecrash the party. All is revealed within.

You can find a video of the reading (done in the Rail Mail depot; part of the Postal Museum) here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIQLS...

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2021 bk 169. short story 169. What to do when your 'sister-in-law' turns up a human in rat costume in her territory (i.e. storm drainage system)? You follow police procedures if you are Peter Grant. Follow it he does and discovers a man whose encounter with magic and induced a craving for cheese and old ropes. Another look at the life and relations of our favorite Detective constable.

[RavenT · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was published in the anthology Tales from the Folly.

It's an amusing moment in the Rivers of London series. The reading made me giggle a few times.

You can find the full reading of the short story here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIQLS...
Transcript here: https://maple-clef.tumblr.com/post/11...

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started out interesting then abruptly ended with no resolution. Why? Part of Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection.

[Alex Bergland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I had accidently skipped past the ending, because I listened though audiobook. But, nope! It just abruptly ended with no resolution. Like all Rivers of London pieces, I got sucked into the story which is great. But, I'm not alright with not knowing how everything gets pieced together and what ultimately happens.

[Rachreads22 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is probably the lowest rating I've given any of these books and it's not because it's not a good story. It's because, as others have noted, it's more like half a story! I definitely felt like this was incomplete and wanted more!

[Stacie Birch · Rating 2 out of 5]

This ends almost mid sentence and feels as if we are missing the ending

[Jon]

you can find the full reading of the story here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIQLS...

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This snippet really left me wanting more!

[gkbowood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just like that- you end it??!!

[Jenette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was quirky and fun.