Reviews for The amazing Maurice and his educated rodents

The average rating for The amazing Maurice and his educated rodents based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-04-02 00:00:00 Michael Mckenzie For children? Maybe, but there are some dark issues going on and dealt with from the master himself. Terry Pratchett's first Discworld "story" designating it as written for children (followed by the wonderful Tiffany Aching sub-series) but I would submit this is YA territory, no warm fuzzy Disney moments here. First of all, if there was a film this reminded me of it would be the 1995 Chris Noonan film Babe. In this very good movie, a young piglet confronts the contrast and distinction of animals as pets and being loved as a part of the family while also being food. "That'll do pig, that'll do." Here, Pratchett has crafted a clever parody of the Pied Piper of Hamelin story, with of course, some Discworld twists, turns, what haves you (not the Brothers Grimm but rather the Sisters Grimm). Channeling Orwell in Animal Farm and Daniel Keyes Flowers for Algernon, Pratchett has again returned to the ubiquitous phenomena of animals becoming sentient after living and eating in and around Unseen University. Seems the residual magic boosts the critter's intelligence and provides a fecundity of fictional MAGIC for all us Discworld aficionados out here. Maurice the cat and his band of smart RATS have teamed up with Keith the teenage piper to swindle some Uberwald villages. As in all of Pratchett's books, though, there is a lot going on besides talking rats and some dubiously naïve villagers. This is also one of his darker outings, which again makes me wonder about this being marketed to wee ones, unless Pratchett in his INFINITE AND IMPRESSIVE GENIUS makes that point, it is the young ones who can still get the irony of sentient rats pretending to be led away by a fake flutist. Recommended, one the best Discworld books.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-09-01 00:00:00 Vincent Fava Pratchett at his best. This is his first YA Discworld book although I think that label is put more for marketing purposes. This is one of his darker works and like all good Discworld book there is so much going on beneath the surface. Behind there is story of clash of generations, finding one identity, spirituality and religion and Pratchett's realistic (or pessimistic if you are an optimist ) view of humanity and much more and his signiture cynical humor . 5 stars aren't enoug, that is why we have favorites shelf.