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Rat King Landlord
Colossal rats invade from the town belt!
Your rent is up but everyone is calling it a summer of love.
Vivid posters incite residents to an evening of mayhem.
For many years rats have contented themselves with scraps. But as summer heats up and the cost of living skyrockets, we can no longer ignore that our friends are seeking their own rung on the property ladder.
Your rent is up but everyone is calling it a summer of love.
Vivid posters incite residents to an evening of mayhem.
For many years rats have contented themselves with scraps. But as summer heats up and the cost of living skyrockets, we can no longer ignore that our friends are seeking their own rung on the property ladder.
- GenresFiction
197 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
4 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
December 24, 2020
Holy shit this is one of the best books. Just full stop so so good.
Sidenote this is the first book I’ve ever read where a non-binary character is just *there* w no explanation or anything, just someone who uses they/them pronouns & I loved that. Thanks Murdoch!
Sidenote this is the first book I’ve ever read where a non-binary character is just *there* w no explanation or anything, just someone who uses they/them pronouns & I loved that. Thanks Murdoch!
March 23, 2025
So Wellington it hurts. Obscenely silly!
September 28, 2020
New Zealand has been on a bit of a buy local kick since Covid has taken its turn to pull the economy's pants down and run away laughing, coming back lately to do it again when the economy had just pulled them back up.
Funnily enough, while I proudly buy my books locally from a local bookshop for local people, I haven't really been reading locally-written books.
What a hypocrite bastard.
So I bought this, Rat King Landlord, written by a chap from Wellington. It is surreal. The bloke must have been in a craft-beer haze with possibly some other substances involved that may be closely related to hops. Could a rat really own property? Could a rat implement a rental assessment? Could a groundswell of support for renters turn into a social revolution against landlord investors?
The whole thing is quite mad with just enough of a sneaking possibility, that given we are just a few missed meals away from revolution, to be true.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Funnily enough, while I proudly buy my books locally from a local bookshop for local people, I haven't really been reading locally-written books.
What a hypocrite bastard.
So I bought this, Rat King Landlord, written by a chap from Wellington. It is surreal. The bloke must have been in a craft-beer haze with possibly some other substances involved that may be closely related to hops. Could a rat really own property? Could a rat implement a rental assessment? Could a groundswell of support for renters turn into a social revolution against landlord investors?
The whole thing is quite mad with just enough of a sneaking possibility, that given we are just a few missed meals away from revolution, to be true.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
April 22, 2023
Enjoyably silly, but also pointy. And very, very Wellington.
June 24, 2023
A wild, silly, funny romp, but with a deadly serious side. To rent in Aotearoa is not a neutral decision. It's to be caught up in systems of faceless power, oppression and exploitation, exercised by the haves against the have-nots. Murdoch references the theories and theorists to back this up, but the story's equally compelling if you don't fancy turning your brain on for those bits.
Stephens partnered with the Renters' Union to produce this edition suited to a renter's budget. I got mine for $2 from @unitywellington, the cheapest new book I've ever bought.
The story builds builds through a crescendo of hot, smelly rage that only peaks right at the end. It's a perfect book to partner the ongoing struggle of renters for basic rights to be enshrined in legislation. Access to shelter is a human right.
Loved the varied illustrations by so many talented Kiwi artists.
Afrer Down from Upland, Stephens is 2 from 2 in my books.
Stephens partnered with the Renters' Union to produce this edition suited to a renter's budget. I got mine for $2 from @unitywellington, the cheapest new book I've ever bought.
The story builds builds through a crescendo of hot, smelly rage that only peaks right at the end. It's a perfect book to partner the ongoing struggle of renters for basic rights to be enshrined in legislation. Access to shelter is a human right.
Loved the varied illustrations by so many talented Kiwi artists.
Afrer Down from Upland, Stephens is 2 from 2 in my books.
November 3, 2025
I haven't seen a rat (yet) but when I do I'll take it as a sign.
Overall an enjoyable (but also 😬) read about the ridiculousness of the not-so-great housing/rental market in Wellington (+everywhere else). Start thinking about a (future) uprising I guess!
I'd say worth the recommendation ash!
Overall an enjoyable (but also 😬) read about the ridiculousness of the not-so-great housing/rental market in Wellington (+everywhere else). Start thinking about a (future) uprising I guess!
I'd say worth the recommendation ash!
January 7, 2024
half relatable romp through Wellington's rat-infested suburbs, half how-to-stage-a-renter-uprising handbook, recommended reading for disillusioned Millennials
March 14, 2025
Time for a class revolution e hoa mā!
July 12, 2021
The set-up/exposition was mostly not very interesting but in hitting the chapter “Don’t call the cops” it gets engaging.
Freddie’s voice sounds not like your average barista and I don’t understand why the word abject is being used three times in 4 paragraphs at one point, perhaps a joke?
I like this idea of the affected public rebelling almost in the background, going along with the idea that housing issues are annoying. But let it be known that I will consider using the unseen public to demonstrate a point in my own upcoming draft.
This is a solid read so far. I think the craft has some issues(imperfect, but most books have this issue...), and Stephens meanders on things every now and then to no outstanding result, but the central plot makes some of the weaker dialogue and stream of consciousness prose more enjoyable than not.
To be a really great novel this needs simplifying. Streamlining, generalised setting, three plot strands max, cutting anything that wanders off into unrelated ideas and opinions unless they relate to the politics of the piece. Using a book like ‘Convenience Store Woman’ as a model. A comment on socio-political issues that gets to the point. In its current form it’s a short book but it isn’t a short read. It’s not as easy to pick up, and some of the sections are slightly confused or are saying the things which don’t help the perfect message out.
There’s a romance-pining plot that could have a definitive, powerful change—one of the two people gets mad depressed about Wellington life and it makes the other one replace love with pity. Such emotional backbones would be a nice touch.
I’ve been spying many attempts at Rob Doyle-esque prose (not sure where it originated from but Doyle is my master reference) and it gets close but doesn’t work so well. It’s thrown in and doesn’t fit right. One imperfect sentence added to the end of a paragraph with no great impact here and there.
Not not worth reading. Would’ve preferred either a simplification or stressing of the “literary” side of things. Not sure if it’ll read well in 100 years. Will be dead then. It is enjoyable.
I did think the landlord was transforming into a rat, or the consciousness was coming into a rat before going in to the book but what I got was mostly what I came for, lol.
Freddie’s voice sounds not like your average barista and I don’t understand why the word abject is being used three times in 4 paragraphs at one point, perhaps a joke?
I like this idea of the affected public rebelling almost in the background, going along with the idea that housing issues are annoying. But let it be known that I will consider using the unseen public to demonstrate a point in my own upcoming draft.
This is a solid read so far. I think the craft has some issues(imperfect, but most books have this issue...), and Stephens meanders on things every now and then to no outstanding result, but the central plot makes some of the weaker dialogue and stream of consciousness prose more enjoyable than not.
To be a really great novel this needs simplifying. Streamlining, generalised setting, three plot strands max, cutting anything that wanders off into unrelated ideas and opinions unless they relate to the politics of the piece. Using a book like ‘Convenience Store Woman’ as a model. A comment on socio-political issues that gets to the point. In its current form it’s a short book but it isn’t a short read. It’s not as easy to pick up, and some of the sections are slightly confused or are saying the things which don’t help the perfect message out.
There’s a romance-pining plot that could have a definitive, powerful change—one of the two people gets mad depressed about Wellington life and it makes the other one replace love with pity. Such emotional backbones would be a nice touch.
I’ve been spying many attempts at Rob Doyle-esque prose (not sure where it originated from but Doyle is my master reference) and it gets close but doesn’t work so well. It’s thrown in and doesn’t fit right. One imperfect sentence added to the end of a paragraph with no great impact here and there.
Not not worth reading. Would’ve preferred either a simplification or stressing of the “literary” side of things. Not sure if it’ll read well in 100 years. Will be dead then. It is enjoyable.
I did think the landlord was transforming into a rat, or the consciousness was coming into a rat before going in to the book but what I got was mostly what I came for, lol.
November 9, 2022
Loved this book! So much! Picked it up because Rat King 👑 but it was so fun to read a magic realism book in such a familiar tone. Have recommended to all of my flatmates. Would recommend to anyone.
June 28, 2023
3.5* A charming, witty and fun read.
A surrealist take on the housing crisis and class struggle in Wellington, New Zealand, as young idealistic Marxist renters pledge violence and chaos as they attempt to rail against property ownership elitism, while desperately yearning to be part of it.
An aggressively unassuming narrator along with a likeable cast of characters kick off a highly enjoyable first half of the novel. The sharp, nimble focus of the opening was lost in the second half in a jumble of pseudo-politics; a straighter story of being beholden to the rent trap could have delivered a more powerful punch without the other distractions. But a solid enjoyable read. And so Wellington.
A surrealist take on the housing crisis and class struggle in Wellington, New Zealand, as young idealistic Marxist renters pledge violence and chaos as they attempt to rail against property ownership elitism, while desperately yearning to be part of it.
An aggressively unassuming narrator along with a likeable cast of characters kick off a highly enjoyable first half of the novel. The sharp, nimble focus of the opening was lost in the second half in a jumble of pseudo-politics; a straighter story of being beholden to the rent trap could have delivered a more powerful punch without the other distractions. But a solid enjoyable read. And so Wellington.
November 11, 2021
"I just feel like everything's got away from us. Like there's no next step in this city. I keep working in this job, even with more pay, but houses are going up by more than my total salary every year. I'll never own my own home. Without a home, how can I have a family and kids? I look at my parents and wonder how they did it. It's not simple... Well, actually it is simple. Unless my pay doubles, I'll still feel like I'm swimming against a rip. Like falling into the river is inevitable and you don't even know if there's another side anymore."
Was all of it true? Was none of it true? Does it matter?
Read
February 4, 2024goddamn back with another book well accentuated by its atypical print format.. I bought the $2 newspaper version printed by the renters united. I'd sit and read a section with a coffee in the morn, posted up like a stern movie dad. fun silly story I rlly enjoyed, personally really got off on the wellingtonness of it all too
February 8, 2024
Bloody hilarious. I couldn't stop reading. Nice quick read at just under 200 pages. Set in my home town where I vividly remember renting and am very glad I no longer have to do so. Can't even imagine having a rat for a landlord although I think many could!
September 2, 2020
Goddamn near perfect book for the disillusioned millennial. Fantastic premise and a well balanced sense of both humour and despair.
September 14, 2020
Entertaining and relevant and breezy to read!
December 21, 2020
i think this is my favourite book i read this year.
July 25, 2024
funniest thing ive ever read 💀
December 30, 2020
abolish landlording!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews