A wonderful and disgusting take on the fantasy inherent in the filth of London's animal underground, all rats and spiders and pigeons and sewage and alleyways full of trashbags. Also, somehow, a dive into Drum and Bass music, which was cool but unexpected. But if we're meant to feel for Saul Garamond as he goes on this adventure, it falls woefully flat. And if we're meant to feel for King Rat, or hate him and yet can't pull our eyes away, he loses much of his appeal as soon as we learn that this is also a Pied Piper story. But, man, China Mieville knows how to write a sewer.

The start is very fun (dark from the start, but so fun!) but it gets a little bogged down in the middle. My biggest gripe is that Jungle music is a hugely important part of the story, but we have no direct interest shown in Jungle music by the main character until close to the climax. His friend is shown to be deeply in the culture, but Saul never is related to it in any of his backstory exposition.

Ignore the person who gave it two stars, they probably only did it because there aren't any overweight men for them to oggle over.