King Rat

King Rat is China Miéville's first novel, and it's simpler than any of his books I've read so far. Simpler, different, but not poorer in any way. You can see everything here: his master storytelling skills, his unique way of guiding a story forth, his ideologies and beliefs stripped bare before the reader. I believe I would have liked this book more if it were my first Miéville, but yes, I liked it nonetheless. I just wish I had seen more of King Rat's world. I want to meet Queen Bitch and the Lord of the Flies, I wanna know if the spiders found a new ruler. I like it when stories leave me like this: wanting more.