Not as good as it wants to be., 23 Nov 2007
Its obvious from the sort of humour used that the book is aiming to be much in the style of Terry Pratchett. Unfortunately what at first promises to be an entertaining read swiftly becomes boring and bogged down. The plot, like the humour, is slow and contrived, the characters cliched and the story unoriginal in the extreme (its a bad retelling of the Pied Piper of Hamlin). I really wanted to like this book but I just don't. As for the writers aspirations...I'm sorry but even Pratchett at his worst is a lot better than this.
Bit of a giggle, 16 Feb 2007
I found this book in a car boot sale for a pound and having just spent the last 2 or 3 months reading 'View from the Mirror Quartet' I fancyed something short not too serious and this looked like it would fit the picture.
It is obviously written for a younger age group but on the whole i found this to be an ok read (not exception) but quite funny and entertaining in places and an intersting take on an old tale.
Although is wasnt the best book that i have read it did manage to keep me interested to find any others of this seris that might exist.
Not bad for 1p :-), 26 Mar 2006
While the comparisons with Pratchett are obvious and, indeed, unavoidable (at many points in the book you could be forgiven for accidentally reading Ankh-Morpork instead of Dullitch) this is a promising start to the series.
The characters were likeable, although some expansion of their histories and character would have been nice. I did feel that, after his initial introduction, the character of Diek was largely left as a prop in the background - he didn't really DO anything, and the concept of his struggle with dark magic seemed to evaporate.
Having said that, I think that the basic foundation for a good series of fantasy books is present in Ratastrophe Catastrophe, and I shall read on in the series to see how it progresses. There were one or two laugh out loud moments in this book, mostly focussed around slapstick moments, and hopefully as the author gets to grips with his writing style these should increase in frequency and become more in-line with the story.
My only notable criticism is that the ending is quite oddly written - there are definitely a few loose ends lying around that could have done with tidying up. This, as with anything else, may improve in future books.
In summary, I'm glad I got this book. It was an entertaining read and, for the 1p I paid for it, definite value for money!
The Start of An Amazing Series, 22 Mar 2006
I've read Rat Cat a few times now, and I haven't posted a review before because, although I loved it, I did think it was the weakest of the series.
But looking back and re-reading, it is an incredible book full of humour and invention, and I really do think Illmoor is now about the best fantasy series written for the teen/ya market in Britain. I've just finished book 4, which was INCREDIBLE and so funny.
Rat Cat is the start of the Illmoor Chronicles. It's an adventure quite similar to the Pied Piper story but, like I said before, you have to read it to gain entrance to this brilliant series of books. Rat Cat is first, then Yowler, Shadewell and Dwellings. There is another one on the way, too.
Yipee!
Almost a catastrophe, 22 Jul 2005
David Lee Stone's first Illmoor Chronicle is not quite a catastrophe, but it's not good either. The first of this fantasy series, "The Ratastrophe Catastrophe," is one of those books that has to strain to be halfway funny and a quarter entertaining, but doesn't quite manage it.
Evil magic possesses a very ordinary young man named Diek, making his eye glow and giving him the power to charm animals and people with music. At about the same time, the ancient, run-down city of Dullitch is suddenly overriden with thousands of giant rats. Diek offers to charm them away, for a price. He does so... only to be informed that there isn't enough to pay him.
So he charms all the city's children away. So the dim Duke hires some not-so-competant mercenaries, including belligerent dwarf Gordo, crocheted-hat-wearing giant Groan, and has-been wizard Tambor. But can they find the missing children and defeat the evil magic in time, or will the parents of Dullitch revolt?
Something magical is missing from "Ratastrophe Catastrophe," and it's not just because of the constant comparisons to Terry Pratchett. A few too many things -- Dullitch, the Duke, the guilds, even the magical possession story -- are similar to Pratchett's Discworld, but that wouldn't be a problem if Stone had crafted a funny, witty fantasy.
Unfortunately, he tried and failed. With an old plot like the Pied Piper, a story needs exceptional wit to stand out. Unfortunately Stone seems focused more on contrived jokes that really aren't that funny, like hair loss or the Tower of Screaming Doom. They're a little funny, but not so funny that you might actually laugh at them. If he just let the humour flow, it would have worked better.
And even more unfortunately, all the time that Stone spends on his jokes takes away from the characters. They're all paper-thin one-joke characters -- inept wizard, big doof, grumpy dwarf, corrupt politicians. And the most interesting characters vanish pretty quickly, such as the weirdo who is mad because he LIKED having a rat infestation.
Humorous fairy-tale retellings are a common thing, but David Lee Stone adds little to the genre in "The Ratastrophe Catastrophe." Here's hoping the second book of the series has some substance.
