A hilarious journey with a not-quite dead and not-quite likeable main character. We join Marius with his new found partner-in-crime as they are robbing corpses of their riches on a battlefield. One of the corpses happens to be the fallen King of Scorby, Marius has no trouble robbing the corpse of the King, crown and all. Meanwhile, the free dead of the underworld are looking for a King...Marius gets transported the the world of the free dead to rule them; except, he is neither a King nor dead. For his trickery, the dead take his heartbeat and send him on a quest to find them a King, his newly dead fried Gerd is supposed to accompany him.Marius' adventure is full of comedy and magic. Reminding me of a Captain Jack Sparrow character, Marius is a liar, thief, pickpocket and general con artist but I came to feel for him and his journey. An intriguing and unique plot, great for a Halloween-time read.I'll look forward to reading the next book with Marius, The Marching Dead.This book was received as an Advanced Reading Copy from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. The Corpse Rat King starts off on a good step, meanders a little towards the middle but picks back up towards the end. Battersby's book has some good character work and the world is fully realized, just wish the "quest" was a little more intricate. His dialogue is enjoyable and the main character is a fun guy to hang out with for a while. Enjoyed it but left me wanting a bit more...with the way it ended and the very nature of fantasy...I'm pretty sure a sequel may be in the works.
What do You think about Corpse-Rat King, The (2012)?
Started off good, then just got slower and more confusing as it went on.
—ivanka15
I need 6 stars, I need them. It needs them. Read this book. READ IT
—dina
cool mix of christopher moore and jesse bullington. very funny.
—pszews33
This was fun - different idea - not great but fun to read.
—Dreadoublerainbows
