Average customer rating:
- "Changi was genesis, the place of beginning again"
- Excellent novel
- A Classic About One Man's Temporary Power
- King Rat the Worst of the Clavell Saga
- Not For the Faint at Heart
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King Rat
James Clavell , and
Michael York
Manufacturer: Books on Tape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
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ASIN: 0736645586 |
Customer Reviews:
"Changi was genesis, the place of beginning again".......2007-09-29
We should be really grateful for the strike that prevented Clavell to work as a screenplay writer and director for a few weeks in the early sixties and led them to write his first novel. In this edition there is a nice prologue by his daughter explaining what prompted him to write this book, and how quickly he wrote it. The novel is a fictionalized retelling of Clavell's experiences in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Singapore.
Clavell does an amazing job in describing the personalities of the different characters that take part in the story. The fact that the camp held American, English and Australian prisoners provided him with the opportunity to showcase his acute understanding of the different cultures. If you add on top of that the Japanese and the locals that were in charge of managing the camp, you will find a wealth of characters that make this a mesmerizing read. There are two characters though, that are at the center of this tale, and whose actions could serve as a study in sociology. One is an American, the King, who is a corporal that has the ability to facilitate commerce, which is prohibited by camp rules, and therefore makes a very nice living, especially when compared with everyone else. When the King meets Peter Marlowe, a British Lieutenant, the contrast of personalities and moral codes could not be clearer. Thus starts an unusual friendship that will test Marlowe's character and convictions, since he will have to decide between compromising his morals in return for better living conditions for him and his friends, and sticking to his guns and keep on living miserably.
One thing that you can tell as soon as you start reading this novel, and that is confirmed later, is that Clavell is an excellent narrator and has a gift for describing characters and give them a soul. This helps understand how he can hold the reader's attention without it wavering in lengthy novels like Shogun. In this case, the parts that deal with the secret commerce help provide the story with variety, because they speed up the pace and change the tone. It is also interesting that this edition includes the passages related to the situation of those left behind, mainly wives and kids. These provide additional insights into the lives of the prisoners, helping us understand their motivations and behavior better.
In summary, this can only be defined as an excellent read. Although it has some scenes that may be hard on some readers for their brutality, I believe that the great majority of people will love it.
Excellent novel.......2007-05-13
After reading Tai-Pan, I obviously wanted more of the same. This is exactly what King Rat is. It takes place in a very different time and surroundings, but you know you're reading James Clavelle. The beloved character descriptions, the adoration of the hero (Tai-Pan in Tai-Pan and the King in King Rat), the great plot and events, etc. Great book!
A Classic About One Man's Temporary Power.......2007-03-06
Everyone should have a copy of this book. In a POW camp during WWII, the stars and titles don't really matter much. The low ranking soldier becomes the most powerful with his natural cleverness and slick dealings. In the most horrible living conditions, he is the King! This book has a very deep meaning about human nature and the dignity one gives up for an extra food ration or a cigarette. But, for the King, what happens when the war is over?
King Rat the Worst of the Clavell Saga.......2007-03-02
James Clavell's "King Rat" is hands down the worst of his Asian saga. Only related to the other four by the main character's possession of a "gold ring, signet of the Clan Gordon" (italics) mentioned once on the seventh page. Any reader of Clavell would expect this to have some significance later but the thread never reemerges. Did the author forget about it, carried away by his clearly sophmoric adulation of his Hero? Or did he toss it in at his publisher's request in order to somehow justify this waste of print by weakly connecting it to his better works. And what is this shiftless down-and-out motherless drunkard's son doing with such a treasure anyway? Surely that would have made a more interesting book. Of course, the matural answer is that Clavell is telling his own story, what he lived through as a POW. He has, however, forgotten the first rule of freshman exposition: "Just because it happened to you, doesn't make it interesting." Certainly, there are traces of the Clavell magic--despite his always hackneyed prose, he is a master storyteller, but in this case the threads lead nowhere and peter out where a quick death would be more merciful. A large theme is built up around a secret radio, but when discovered not once but twice the Japanese commander who has been built up as a terrifying menace offers cigarettes to all involved. None are tortured,jailed or even questioned. It is as if he is uncertain as to whether he wants to write The Gulag Archipelago or Catch 22 and settle for Hogan's Heroes" (of TV sitcom fame). Changi makes Stalak 13 look the Hanoi Hilton. There is even a Corporal Schwarz-like Japanese guard who, like his sitcom counterpart has "no stomach for war" and comes close to saying "I know nothing-Nothing!" Clavell,who knows how to spin yarn, would be great on a campout and we cannot forget the majestic sweep of his four ?good? books, but, like the t-shirt says, "I spent nearly four years in a Japanese POW camp and all could come up with was this lame book. I was going to give the book away but instead chucked into the recycle bin.
Not For the Faint at Heart.......2006-10-23
Warning: this is a disturbing book. It is gripping and enthralling, but horrifying. It shows men being tested to the utmost, and the many bad qualities this brings out. But it also shows true friendship and cooperation against adversity.
Clavell truly brings to life a POW camp of Englishmen and Americans (captives of the Japanese) and the horrors they were subject to. Men help each other survive, but also betray each other, and are jealous of each other's success. The King, an American soldier, is especially envied because he is extremely skilled at trading and making deals. He and the Englishman Peter Marlowe are the main characters, but there are also stories of other men and how they survive.
The ending is perhaps the most frightening part of the whole book. The prisoners are freed at the end of WWII, and as they leave the camp, they must learn to be part of the world again, and not the world they created. I won't spoil anything more. For anyone who can handle its intensity, "King Rat" is an eye-opening read.
Average customer rating:
- King Rat the Worst of the Clavell Saga
- A prison camp and an opportunity
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King Rat
James Clavell
Manufacturer: Delacorte Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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James Clavell's Tai-Pan
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ASIN: 0385292112
Release Date: 1983-02-01 |
Customer Reviews:
King Rat the Worst of the Clavell Saga.......2007-03-02
James Clavell's "King Rat" is hands down the worst of his Asian saga. Only related to the other four by the main character's possession of a "gold ring, signet of the Clan Gordon" (italics) mentioned once on the seventh page. Any reader of Clavell would expect this to have some significance later but the thread never reemerges. Did the author forget about it, carried away by his clearly sophmoric adulation of his Hero? Or did he toss it in at his publisher's request in order to somehow justify this waste of print by weakly connecting it to his better works. And what is this shiftless down-and-out motherless drunkard's son doing with such a treasure anyway? Surely that would have made a more interesting book. Of course, the matural answer is that Clavell is telling his own story, what he lived through as a POW. He has, however, forgotten the first rule of freshman exposition: "Just because it happened to you, doesn't make it interesting." Certainly, there are traces of the Clavell magic--despite his always hackneyed prose, he is a master storyteller, but in this case the threads lead nowhere and peter out where a quick death would be more merciful. A large theme is built up around a secret radio, but when discovered not once but twice the Japanese commander who has been built up as a terrifying menace offers cigarettes to all involved. None are tortured,jailed or even questioned. It is as if he is uncertain as to whether he wants to write The Gulag Archipelago or Catch 22 and settle for Hogan's Heroes" (of TV sitcom fame). Changi makes Stalak 13 look the Hanoi Hilton. There is even a Corporal Schwarz-like Japanese guard who, like his sitcom counterpart has "no stomach for war" and comes close to saying "I know nothing-Nothing!" Clavell,who knows how to spin yarn, would be great on a campout and we cannot forget the majestic sweep of his four ?good? books, but, like the t-shirt says, "I spent nearly four years in a Japanese POW camp and all could come up with was this lame book. I was going to give the book away but instead chucked into the recycle bin.
A prison camp and an opportunity.......2004-05-11
This novel's one of those a reader finds himself wondering whether he'd have enjoyed it as much if he'd seen the movie first. Probably it's best not to wonder. Steve McQueen made a great hero of the prison camp in the movie, but something was lost. A young man, an entepreneur, finds his element in a Japanese POW camp in Southeast Asia. He's a scrounger, a bargainer, a person who can get whatever anyone needs, wants, yearns for. He charges for it in labor, in goods, in money. All the other prisoners dispise him for what he's able to do, but use him.
This is a story of the human condition, of human weakness, human flaws and blame. Read the book, see the movie and allow yourself to feel the tragedy of a man who's doing what he does best, fills a needed function, earns the hatred and scorn of his betters, all in an environment that ends the day the Japanese surrender.
Amazon.com
Saul Garamond returns from a journey in late evening and sneaks into his bedroom to avoid a confrontation with his estranged father. He awakes to the intrusion of police and the news that his father has been murdered and he is the number-one suspect. Forgotten in a jail cell, he is freed by a peculiar, stinking, and impossibly strong stranger--only to find rescue may be worse than imprisonment. The plot moves through subterranean and rooftop London quick as a techno beat, as Saul discovers his curious heritage and finds himself marked for death in an age-old secret war among frightful inhuman powers.
China Miéville's urban fantasy novel, King Rat, is an impressive, even daring, debut. It is a Lost Prince story that avoids both black-and-white morality and the standard fantasy-novel adoration of royalty. Furthermore, it is inspired by the unlikeliest of sources, the Rat King legend and the Pied Piper of Hamelin fairy tale. Finally, King Rat, powered and propelled by the rhythms of jungle/drum-'n'-bass music, is a fantasy novel set in the 1990s that genuinely captures the 1990s. --Cynthia Ward
Book Description
Something is stirring in London's dark, stamping out its territory in brickdust and blood. Something has murdered Saul Garamond's father, and left Saul to pay for the crime.But a shadow from the urban waste breaks into Saul's prison cell and leads him to freedom. A shadow called King Rat, who reveals Saul's royal heritage, a heritage that opens a new world to Saul, the world below London's streets--a heritage that also drags Saul into King Rat's plan for revenge against his ancient enemy,. With drum 'n' bass pounding the backstreets, Saul must confront the forces that would use him, the forces that would destroy him, and the forces that shape his own bizarre identity.
Customer Reviews:
don't listen to the whiners.......2007-09-28
i too read perdito street station first and loved it. i then bought everything china mieville wrote. next came the scar and un lun dun. i ate them up with joy. those are all amazing and fabulous books...the worlds he creates are compelling and thick with the details that bring sights, smells, tastes of his imagination into the light, whole and accessible. but i have no problem at all with king rat which i read next. it works. completely. it is in a world and place that for the most part we know but still his vision of that world and a sub-world we know only through fairy tales is fully fleshed and one i enjoyed going to immensely. you can't rate this book in regards to his others...you rate a book on it's own terms and that for me is a big thumbs up and 5 stars.
Another success........2007-08-08
Especially if you are into the music scene, ie drum and bass. A fun read, and I hope to read the rest of his work soon. Not as good as Perdido, but close.
3 and a half stars.......2007-04-03
"King Rat" is pretty good for a first novel. It's a fun, fast read and Mieville's writerly skills are apparent. I loved the way he painted his neo-Goth portrait of London's darker side, but the story-line is a little thin and the characters are kind of flat.
It did whet my appetite for his other books, which I'll soon read.
Perdido Street StationIron CouncilThe Scar
My 100-word book review.......2006-01-18
First novel by inventive left-wing fantasy author China Mieville, in which young Saul Garamond comes to terms with his true identity as a half-rat superhero, after the murder of his father. Set in the shadowy, seamy underbelly of London, this novel is also about the esoteric world of drum-and-bass music. The characterisation is fairly flat, and there really should be a bit more of a background to Saul; King Rat is not quite in the same league as the Bas-Lag novels, but still displays a brilliant imagination, and a rather anarchic mix and match approach which I find very stimulating.
Early work - unimpressive.......2005-12-23
I am a HUGE fan of China Mieville. I have read Perdido Street Station, The Scar and Iron Council. Those were GREAT books, but this is not in the same league.
The book was interesting at the beginning, but there was not enough going on to keep me interested. I forced myself to finish it, hoping that it would get better. I would not recommend this book to anyone, since he has written far better novels.
Customer Reviews:
Chained Memories, Inbred Insanity.......2002-03-21
The Rat King's description of future man depicts bedlam and insanity. It is a combination of inbreeding within families, inherited insanity and prejudices dictating a person's station in life. The Rat King becomes the symbol of survival, it works but noone knows why or how, it just keeps on working with old mens brain. It seems for a while that Doctor Tanner will become totally absorbed in the Rat King. I was waiting for the rescue up to the very last chapter. This book is very good reading.
Rat King is no dog!.......2000-10-03
Yes! That's right, kiddies! Read Rat King now because it's a strong story with well-rounded characterization of the characters. I'm hoping to see more badinage between Doc and the gang in future installments because one can use the Doc's antedeluvian inisghts to create great jokes. Deathlands should have at least one great laugh in it, like old times. This ghost writer is delivering consistent quality, and hopefully more fresh surprises as we all continue on our Deathlands journeys -- hopefully more detail on each character, and more arctic adventures, including some jumps to alien planets such as Mars, with time spent more on what is found there is what I favor most. More discoveries of technological weapons and other inventions would elevate the series into more sophisticated levels of chills and thrills too.
Put it this way, it ain't going to hurt!
Deathlands the way it used to be!.......2000-09-17
After some of the latest entries in the Deathlands saga this is like a breath of fresh air, or more accurately a breath of old air. This title reeks of old school Deathlands so much as to be uncanny. Many long time readers will relive memories of the classic 'Crater Lake' - in fact the book even refers to events that occurred during that title. This gives this book a lot of mileage in this particular grizzled old fans eyes, there's a lot of back referencing and it helps to make the book feel comfortable, actually part of the series as a whole. Whereas some of latest entries have really suffered from their stand-alone approach to continuity, this embraces the series' history and even refers slyly to the master himself - Mr Laurence James (R.I.P). It's not entirely perfect but it's a great first effort, any nit-picking just seems redundant really. If anyone from Gold Eagle is reading this then please give this author free reign on the series, this guy really knows his stuff! The characters are spot on and it feels like the old Deathlands novels used to (as was noted by a previous reviewer). So forget the faintly risible 'Pandoras Redoubt' and its ilk, this Deathlands really hits the Mark!
Inside vs Outside.......2000-09-14
I have finished Rat King and here are my thoughts on it.
The author did a fairly good job in getting the characterization down, the characters were acting in the way that we've all become accustomed to over the years. I did enjoy seeing people who've been not mentioned in many novels brought up again, such as Michael Brothers, Lori Quint, Uncle Tyas and so forth. It's nice to see they are no longer forgotten.
The basic story is that the group of warrior survivalists find themselves inside a redoubt that is filled with the inbred and mutated descendants of military personnel who believe that the war against the Soviets is still taking place and where rank is determined through hereditary instead of skill. They are also at war with a small tribe of equally inbred and mutated survivors who live hours away, who they call the Outsiders.
The arrival of the group is a godsend to the insiders as they have Doc Tanner with them. General Wallace needs him to be joined with a supercomputer called Mobius, or the Rat King.
Ryan's group are actually encouraged to escape, as Wallace has a plan to capture Doc Tanner. It goes off without a hitch, but at the same time Ryan and his other people encounter the Outsiders and are subsequently captured and forced to return with the survivors.
At the survivors camp the group are to be sacrificed. But they quickly turn the tide. Instead of killing their captors, they cut a deal with them and agree to train them in order to use them in assaulting the Insiders redoubt and rescuing Doc Tanner.
The results are as to be expected. I won't go into any more details.
I had three problems with the book. They are as follows:
Inside the redoubt, Those hooked into the comp claimed that they had no idea what had happened over the years, but were able to access Doc's memory. Through this they should have been easily able to discover what Doc told them about the holocaust to be true.
The second problem I had with the book was that the author kept bringing up that Doc was always on the brink of insanity. Which is not the case. Over the series, Doc gained more and more control over his faculties. I hope that the authors would realize this.
The third and final problem I had with the book was in a fight between Jak and one of the Outsiders. Jak has been described as one of the best hand to hand fighters there are and has been able to fight multiple attackers and win. I seriously don't think that one man would take him down.
Here is the reason why. The author did an exceptional job describing how both insider and outsider groups believe that they are exceptional combatants, due to the fact that they have never really had anyone else to fight other than each other.
The arrival of Ryan's group prove otherwise.
SO, if that is the case, Jak should not have been beaten so easily.
Overall, I give the novel a 3 and a half out
of five. It was worth while reading.
RAT KING ROCKS!.......2000-09-13
This was one of the best Deathlands books to come out for awhile. Finally the characters are in character and the action was tightly written. When you find out what the RAT KING is - it is nothing like what you would expect. Superb writing like this is what makes this series a classic hit! Keep up the good work.
Book Description
An Adventure for Character Levels 1-3 Remember the golden days of role playing, when adventures were underground, NPCs were there to be killed, and the finale of every dungeon was the dragon on the 20th level? Well, those days are back. Dungeon Crawl Classics feature bloody combat, intriguing dungeons, and no NPCs who aren't meant to be killed. Each adventure is 100% good, solid dungeon crawl, with the monsters you know, the traps you fear, and the secret doors you know must be there somewhere.
This is a 3.5-edition update of the ENnie-recognized best-seller that started the Dungeon Crawl Classics line! In Idylls of the Rat King, goblin bandits are once again attacking the silver caravans, killing innocent miners and stealing cargo. The goblins have taken up residence in an abandoned mine northwest of Silverton. Someone must get rid of them. But this is no ordinary abandoned mine. It was deliberately barricaded generations ago when the Gannu family, founders of Silverton, discovered an unspeakable evil on its lowest levels. And these are no ordinary goblins, for the curse of the Gannu family courses through their veins...
This world-neutral, stand-alone adventure is completely new, not a reprint. It uses the 3.5 edition of the d20 rules set, and is fully compatible with the world's most popular role playing game.
Average customer rating:
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Off With the Rat's Head: Tales of the Father, Son & King
Michael Meade
Manufacturer: Yellow Moon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
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ASIN: 0938756478 |
Book Description
These two African stories speak to the father-son relationship. "Off with the Rat's Head" is a story from the Housa people. "The Sweetness of Life" is a story from the Ranga people. In both an adventure occurs when father and son are outside of community. Once "outside," father and son are confronted by a serious dilemma. In its own mysterious way, each story points out the troubles that are common between fathers and sons; yet neither of the stories offers any solutions. The stories evoke the griefs and wounds of fathers and sons, remind of the love and suffering between the two, and propel listeners toward that first step in healing--looking at the wound. After each story, Michael discusses the images and the ways they relate to the world today.
Book Description
Remember the good old days, when adventures were underground, NPCs were there to be killed, and the finale of every dungeon was the dragon on the 20th level? Those days are back. Dungeon Crawl Classics don't waste your time with long-winded speeches, weird campaign settings, or NPCs who aren't meant to be killed. Each adventure is 100% good, solid dungeon crawl, with the monsters you know, the traps you fear, and the secret doors you know are there somewhere.
In Dungeon Crawl Classics #1: Idylls of the Rat King, our heroes defeated a vicious wererat and his minions. Now the Rat King is back! Investigating a ring of slavers, the heroes find themselves in the city's slums. Unknown to them, the entire dungeon is a ruse designed to lure them into the Rat King's clutches. Baited deep underground, the PCs square off against an army of wererats and slavers. When they face unbeatable odds, they can't avoid being captured and tossed into a dungeon cell! Bereft of armor, weapons or equipment, they must fight their way through a rat warren, past the collapsed tomb of an undead warrior, and back into the sewers of the Rat King!
This world-neutral, stand-alone adventure is completely new, not a reprint. It uses the 3.5 edition of the d20 rules set, and is fully compatible with the worldÂ's most popular role playing game.
Amazon.com
Quirk and Schoell's rehashing of the biographical details of Frank Sinatra and the rest of his crew is only intermittently able to disguise its contempt for their personal and professional lives. If there's an opportunity for a pot shot, rest assured this book will take it, from the admittedly deserved (Cannonball Run II, anyone?) to the probably uncalled for (a charity performance for a halfway house for ex-convicts is dismissed with snide comments about Sinatra the wannabe gangster). Much of the source material is drawn from Quirk's footwork as an entertainment reporter in the 1960s; interviews that he conducted with Peter Lawford over the years also provide some juicy tales of sex and drugs, as well as the inside scoop on his ouster from "the Clan" after brother-in-law President Kennedy backed out of his planned Palm Springs vacation at Frank Sinatra's home. (The same stories, with much less venom and some more pizazz, can be found in Shawn Levy's Rat Pack Confidential.)
Book Description
The Rat Pack -- Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop -- had talent, money, and power to burn. They also had something else even more important.
They had fun.
Customer Reviews:
Out-ratting the Rats.......2007-07-16
The back cover suggests that the main reason for the Rat Pack's appeal was the fun they seemed to be having. The contents, however, seem to be intended to deconstruct this premise. One by one, in numbing detail, the five men (and "mascot" Shirley Maclaine) are subjected to jaundiced, gossipy biographies that portray them as pathetic characters. Very little of the information is original - many of the anecdotes related here are familiar and seem selectively drawn from more in-depth biographies. The tone is consistently vulgar and deprecating. There are also tedious reviews of all the films of every Pack member, including critiques of seemingly every cast member's performance, prolonging an already unpleasant read. It is as if the authors wished to undermine the undeniable talent and charm these performers had, and which remains their legacy. This cheap anthology simply exploits that legacy.
fuhgettaboutit.......2006-12-14
I'm going to throw away my copy, too. Perhaps the most annoying aspect, for a film buff, is how the authors add insult to injury with their "film reviews." It's bad enough that they get facts wrong -- most of the score to ON THE TOWN was NOT written by Leonard Bernstein, for example -- but then these ignoramuses presume to pass negative judgment on classics like ON THE TOWN and FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, a right they clearly haven't earned with their "research."
Save your dough.......2004-01-28
The only reason I give this book one star is because zero stars wasn't an option. It took two guys to write this tripe? One monkey could have done a better job. This book is lazy and poorly written and I am ticked off that I wasted my money on it. The definitive book on the Rat Pack has got to be Shawn Levy's. After reading the first two pages of Levy's book I was hooked. The difference between a real writer and a couple of hacks.
CLIFF "RAT" NOTES.......2002-05-15
Here is the deal. If you are just starting to get into the Rat Pack or any of the players individually. Then this book is a good start. I would call it the Cliff notes of the individuals and their movies. If you have seen all the movies including the Matt Helm movies or if you have already read books on Dean, Frank, Sammy's biography then you are way ahead of this book and pass it by.
But if you have not seen the movies and want to learn the basics of each man and then from there search into each one of them seperatly then this is a good starter. There are some great books on all the guys but you will finded Sammy's Biography to be the most fun. Remember to check out deanmartinfancenter.com for more info on the Rat Pack. For the guys who wrote this you could have given us some fun facts or answered some questions, instead they read everyone else book and put together their own version.
Ratty.......2002-01-28
The blurb on the cover of THE RAT PACK says "They had fun" but there's precious little fun to be found here. This book is a tedious listing of (mostly negative) events. It lacks any sparkle and vigor, and if I believed half of it, I'd have to wonder just what the appeal of this group of overgrown adolescents could be. There had to be more.
The Chairman of The Board is the centerpiece as an egomaniacal bully who uses his star power to make the world feel indebted to him. His reported temper tantrums seem utterly absurd. Anyone who used his fists or threats of mob violence as much as the authors claim Sinatra did, should have and would have been locked up, "different era" or no. The Frank Sinatra in these pages wouldn't be a "King of Cool". He wouldn't be anything much.
The rest of the boys orbit around Frank like some kind of an inebriated solar system. The boozing and skirt-chasing is leaden, so where's the thrill? Where are the laughs? If this book is at all accurate (and it isn't, listing Dean Martin's date of death incorrectly), it means that this group of supremely talented entertainers valued nothing, not even themselves.
The bulk of the book is made up of mostly scathing summaries of the Rat Pack movies. Nary a word is said about either Frank or Dean's musical careers. Sammy Davis Jr. is dismissed as little more than the Rat Pack houseboy. Peter Lawford is depicted as a sexually confused drug addict craving the attention of the others. Joey Bishop is virtually forgotten. The Rat Pack Mascots (Shirley MacLaine and Angie Dickinson) get barely honorable mentions (MacLaine far more than Dickinson). One has to wonder why Shirley MacLaine would continue to associate with The Rat Pack after being assaulted by mobster Sam Giancana twice in their company. The book begs an answer. MacLaine is no slouch, so obviously more and better was happening with the "Clan" than this sordid book deigns to tell us.
To really appreciate the Rat Pack give a listen to The Rat Pack Live at the Sands or The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection: Live & Swingin (CD & DVD).
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