Let's Leave 'Em Amazed! (Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents -Terry Pratchett)

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Product:	Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents -Terry Pratchett
Date:	18/09/06 (150 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Hilarious and well-written.

Disadvantages: None that I can think of except that it ends too soon!

--- SECTION 1 - THE AUTHOR ---
Terry Pratchett is... well, a very strange writer. That is probably the best way to describe him. Strange. Strange in a sense that his books all take place in the land of Discworld and towns named after spoiled Jewish food. Strange in a sense that some of his characters name themselves after things they see on soup cans. And strange in a sense that he totally kicks ass! As I vaguely pointed out in my last review over the Metallica album "Load", I like things that are different. And "The Amazing Maurice" is DEFINETLY DIFFERENT. Classifying this book in the Intermediate Fantasy genre is like classifying Einstein under the "guy" genre. Of course that's what it is... but it's also a lot more than that. All Terry Pratchett books are. This just happens to be my favorite one. Terry was born in Beaconsfield, where his first published work, called "The Hades Business" appeared in his school magazine when he was just thirteen (this was later republished in Science Fantasy Magazine and something else I can't remember). In 1965, he became a journalist for the Bucks Free Press. During this time, he was sent to interview Peter Bander van Duren, the co-director of a publishing company called Colin Smythe Limited. While he was there, he mentioned that he had written a novel of his own, The Carpet People, which was published in 1971. From there, the Pratchett legacy expanded, a formidable force indeed. His unique style and often humorous tales have sold him over 40 million books worldwide, which, in 2003, placed him in second place in the UK fiction sales total, right behind J.K. Rowling herself. Pretty impressive if you ask me.


--- SECTION 2 - THE STORY ---
In this particular Discworld adventure, a cat by the name of Maurice tricks towns into believing that there is a terrible rat infestation, along with the help of his band of educated rodents. As for how they got educated, I'll leave that for you to find out. Maurice, the rats, and a kid named Keith go from town to town and start setting off traps, taking food, dancing across tables in funny little hats, etc. until word reaches the governor and they call a rat piper. Then Keith comes out, plays a little tune, their signal to split, and the rats follow him out of there. Keith is, of course, payed for his services. As Maurice tells the rats, it isn't exactly stealing. You know, just because it's all an act, a few of the clan rats believe it is illegal and immoral, but Maurice assures them otherwise. But Maurice has this weird little ability to convince the educated clan of rodents that anything he tells them is true. Because he says if they didn't take the money, the government would use it to "start wars". All was going well... then they hit Bad Blintz.

"'S called Bad Blintz," said the kid, referring to the guidebook.

"Ahem...should we be going there if it's bad?" asked Peaches, looking up from the counting.

"Hah, it's not called Bad because it's bad," said Maurice,"That's foreign language for bath, see?"

"So it's really called Bath Blintz?" said Donut Enter,"Sounds like some kind of soap."

"Nah, nah, they call it Bath because -" the Amazing Maurice hesitated, but only for a moment "- because they got a bath, see? Very backward place, this. Not many baths around. But they got one, and they're very proud of it, so they want everyone to know. You pro'bly have to buy tickets even to have a look at it."

So they carry out the usual preparations as always. Rats get in, get messy, get out. Hoppity-skip, everyone's happy... usually. Yeah, but not this time. This time, another scam is discovered by Keith and the governor's daughter, Malicia. As it turns out, someone was already trying to convince Bad Blintz that they had a rat infestation - the rat catchers. Bad Blintz hates rats out of their minds. Food is disappearing all over the place, and in their frantic search for a solution decide that a rat infestation would be the most logical answer. Maurice began to grow suspicious when he realized they looked at him like he was Jesus Christ walking down the street or something. Trust, in a place like this something's bound to go awry.


--- SECTION 3 - THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN DETAIL ---

--Maurice--
The Amazing Maurice is an expert con artist and the ringleader of the entire Pied Piper operation. A fair dose of spontaneous education taught him the concept of money - and he liked it. Slick as snot and clever as is possible for a cat, Maurice uses his knowledge to scam money out of any village he crosses by, perhaps for reasons beyond those which he shares with his rat friends. --- "Let's leave 'em amazed," said Maurice, "Rats? They think they've seen rats in that town? After they've seen us, they'll be making up stories!"

--Keith--
Often referred to as "the stupid-looking kid", Keith is the piper that Maurice uses to gather the rats up after they go on their little widdling spree. Though he may appear unintelligent at first glance, there could be a little more to him than what first meets the eye. --- "I am," said the kid,"I want to go on playing my flute in the future. It doesn't cost anything to play. But maybe the rats are right. We've had a couple of narrow squeaks, Maurice."

--Malicia--
The slightly erratic daughter of the governor of Bad Blintz that believes that life is exactally like stuff you read. Although at one point in the book her rambling comes in handy, she's was obviously inserted to (successfully) add humor and, I think, is a bit... touched. --- "Abandoned orphan is good," said Malicia. "After all, a prince can only grow up to become a king but a mysterious orphan could be anybody. Were you beaten and starved and locked in a cellar?"

--Dangerous Beans--
The wisest of the rats, and also the smallest, is the half-blind Dangerous Beans. The older rats were used to being regular rats their whole lives and never bothered coming up with questions about life - but there are quite a few forming in the little white rat's head that most others would consider best left unasked. --- "Yes," said Dangerous Beans quietly. "We can think now. We can think about what we do. We can pity the innocent one who means us no harm. And that's why it can stay."

--Hamnpork--
The clan leader. One of the rats who dicourages the whole "thinking" scene. --- "I've widdled on everything since I was out of the nest," said Hamnprk, "Now they tell me it's not right. If that's what thinking means, then I'm glad I don't do any."

--Darktan--
Tough, moody and agressive, Darktan is not one to stick around humans willingly. His naturally imperious atmoshphere, endurance, and take-no-crap attitude is what really brings the rats about in the end. And by then, he still hasn't quite forgiven humans for the what they put the clan through. A bad-ass in rat form. --- Darktan opened his mouth to say : Like you? No, we just don't hate you enough. We're not friends. But...

Note: There are a TON more characters in books, but the above are the ones I felt were most important.


--- SECTION 4 - WHAT I SAY ---
I loved this book. Though it is generally intended for younger audiences, it's enjoyable for folks of all ages. 340 pages of hilariousness built around a solid storyline with (almost) believable characters and detailed descriptions of settings, feelings, etc. It's kinda hard to get into at first, because you have no idea what's happening, but read on a little and you won't be able to put it down (you may also want to go back and read the beginning again to see if it makes more sense the second time around, I know it did for me). As previously stated, it's different. Different is good. Can't exactly call it 100% original but that doesn't lessen the enjoyability of the book. Since American keyboards don't have the "pounds" symbol on them, I'll just say you can get the paperback version for a very decent price. Definetly one to look out for next time you visit the local bookstore or library. You'll understand the story even if you haven't read any of the other Discworld books. Trust me - this was my first one. And just wait until you see what happens at the end - wouldn't that be awesome in real life?


--- SECTION 5 - CONCLUSION ---
I highly advise you to check this one out, either for a good read or to shut the kids up. Hehe...

Summary: A great book. Pratchett at his best. And remember, don't eat the green wobbly part.