not the one true leader of all rats and he is not Prince Rat, but he is one of them, Citizen Rat. Main characters Saul Garamond: Primary protagonist, a half human, half rat hybrid, due to being King Rat's son. Being hunted by the Piper, who wants to either control him or kill him. King Rat: Title character, fallen king of the rats, father of Saul, and locked into a centuries long feud with the Piper. The Piper: Primary antagonist, the famous Pied Piper of Hamelin, has returned to continue his feud with King Rat. He is searching for a way to control or kill animal and human hybrids like Saul. Anansi: King of the spiders, an ally to King Rat, and mentor to Saul, while he is still exploring his new powers. Loplop: King of the birds, an ally to King Rat, saves Saul during his first disastrous confrontation with the Piper. Natasha Karadjian: Saul's friend from before his life changed, a drum and bass musician, she is being used by the Piper as a way to discover new music to control animal and human hybrids. Reception Reviewing the book for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Charles de Lint praised King Rat as "a riveting, brilliant novel... the inspired mingling of old mythic matter with the contemporary world, ... an utter delight." Award nominations Further reading References External links 1998 British novels 1998 fantasy novels Debut fantasy novels Novels set in London Novels by China Miéville Macmillan Publishers books 1998 debut novels