King Rat, Drum & Bass.

King Rat on Amazon.com

Rarely does a book make me want to TURN UP the music while I read.

China Mieville’s King Rat is an urban fantasy set in a gritty London of dirty alleys, sewers, warehouses, rats, birds, spiders and a scary Pied Piper villain. The book  reads like a homage to the culture of 1990’s Drum ‘n Bass and for the human characters, Jungle/DnB is a religion and way of life.  Interestingly,  most criticisms of King Rat dismiss the music-subculture stuff as trite or contrived when this is the part that I found most fascinating. (example: Here’s a bad review)

Here’s another review.

I want to hear Windy City.

For now:

Related links:

The Amen Break

YouTube Documentary: A London Somet’ing Dis (1993) – 3 parts. Here’s Part 1: