The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents: (Discworld Novel 28) (Discworld Novels)

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Early-Bird Cameo: The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents (and their scam) were first mentioned in Reaper Man, although most people reading it assumed Maurice was a human conman who trained rats. Shrouded in Myth: The genuine Rat Piper encourages tales about what his magic pipe can do so that people will deal on his terms.

Terry Pratchett really knows how to write a kids book. I would have devoured this thing when I was a lad. Maurice and the rats are good characters, as is Keith, the aforementioned stupid-looking kid. The origin of Maurice and the rats' intelligence was fairly well done. Hell, it's a fantasy story. How much explanation do you need? Pratchett took the classic story of the pied piper and Discworld-ed it up with questions of philosophy, destiny, and leadership. And rat-kings. Arc Number: Continuing a Discworld tradition of 8 being a magically-potent and dangerous number, there are eight blind rats that comprise the Rat King. Maurice, a streetwise tomcat, has the perfect money-making scam. Everyone knows the stories about rats and pipers, and Maurice has a stupid-looking kid with a pipe, and his very own plague of rats—strangely educated rats…

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Nor what happened to the eight blind keekees who were freed when Maurice bit through the tail-knot that merged them as Spider: did they regain their individuality, become comatose, or just drop dead?

Hugh Laurie voices the title character, a charming, talking cat in a world where not all animals talk. (Why he and his rat buddies can speak is one of the plot's mysteries.) Anyway, Maurice goes to small villages and sings about their rat problem, revealing that only he and his buddy Keith ( Himesh Patel) can “pied piper” the rats out of town and save the day. For a price, of course. It’s all a scam. Keith, Maurice, and even the rats (including ones voiced by Gemma Arterton and David Tennant, among others) are just trying to make a little coin on their way across the country. Pratchett set 41 of his novels in Discworld. Among these the stories featuring trainee witch Tiffany Aching – such as The Wee Free Men and A Hat Full of Sky – are especially popular with younger readers. Teenagers are recommended to start the series with Mort, Guards! Guards! or Small Gods. Younger readers also enjoy Pratchett’s Nome and Johnny Maxwell trilogies.Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Sardines is the quirkiest and most eccentric of the rats, always laughing and joking and dancing everywhere. While other rats don't always take him seriously, they can't deny that he, in many ways because of his quirks, is exceptionally good at what he does. Maurice senses a voice which tries to enter his mind and causes the rats to start behaving like normal rats ("keekees") to the dismay of Dangerous Beans, who is also depressed to learn that Mr Bunnsy Has an Adventure is just a children's story. Dangerous Beans and Peaches rescue Keith and Malicia, while Darktan leads a group out to rescue Hamnpork. Hamnpork is rescued after being severely injured in the coursing ring, while in the process Darktan has a near-death experience after being caught in a trap. Hamnpork dies of his injuries soon after and Darktan takes over as leader. As the rats move into the town's underground, they discover an overwhelmingly large number of rat traps, but no live keekees (rats who can't talk or think). Gosh, really,’ said Maurice, wondering if there were any more fish-heads and, if there were any more fish-heads, whether they were worth all this.

Rats are intelligent, especially when they’ve eaten magical rubbish and joined forces with a clever cat called Maurice to relieve a town of its rat plague - and most of its money. Near the beginning of the book, the protagonists learn that the rat catchers keep people away while they're working by spreading a story that rats carry a plague that will make your legs fall off. Near the end, when the Rat Piper arrives, one of the town guards warns his colleague to be polite because it's said that if you annoy the Rat Piper he can blow a special note on his pipe that will make your legs fall off; his colleague replies, "Oh, like the plague?" Multitasked Conversation: When Maurice is trying to tell Sardines to leave before Malicia turns around and sees him. He's not very good at it, and it doesn't work for long. The book opens with Amazing Maurice (a sentient cat), a group of talking rats (the Clan), and the human boy Keith travelling in a mail coach to a small town called Bad Blintz. The group plans to enact a scheme they have used many times before, where in the rats pretend to infest the town and Keith poses as a rat piper to lead the "vermin" away for a small sum of cash. Although Maurice sees nothing wrong with this hustling business, the rats find it immoral, and convince Maurice that this town will be the last one they rob. Upon arriving in town, the group discovers that the people are convinced of a massive rat infestation, and have spent much of their savings on two rat catchers. Despite their efforts, food continues to disappear from the town. As the rats move into the town's underground, they discover an overwhelmingly large number of rat traps, but no live keekees (rats who cannot talk or think). Aboveground, Maurice makes similar observations, including that many of the rat tails the rat catchers display as proof of their successful hunting are in fact shoelaces. Maurice and Keith meet the mayor's daughter Malicia and introduce her to the talking rats. They discover a great deal of food stolen by the men and large cages when the local keekees are being bred for coursing.I've only got a couple more Discworld books I've not read, both part of the Tiffany Aching y-a series. And then I will (after many years of negligence) be 100% up-to-date with the series!

Upon arriving in town, the group discovers that the people are convinced of a massive rat infestation, and have spent much of their savings on two rat catchers. Despite their efforts, food continues to disappear from the town. The book has been adapted for the stage twice: first by Stephen Briggs in 2003 and published by Oxford Playscripts, [5] then in 2011 as a musical by Matthew Holmes, published by Collins Musicals. [6] Both versions are designed for use in schools. Resourceful Rodent: The rats have human-level intelligence and can use tools. With a cat and a boy, they run a con that involves recreating The Pied Piper of Hamelin to make money. The rats are smart enough to form a dedicated "bomb disposal squad" that scouts ahead and deactivates rat traps. Maurice is blessedly short on fart jokes* and long on Pratchett's brand of homespun philosophical irony.Dangerous Beans, the rats' spiritual leader, is crushed by the realization that the rats are just mindless animals at heart, and leaves with his assistant Peaches.