King Rat
The Asian Saga, Book 4
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King Rat
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Narrated by:
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Simon Vance
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By:
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James Clavell
About this listen
The epic novel of war, savagery, and survival in a Japanese POW camp by the #1 New York Times bestselling author and unparalleled master of historical fiction, James Clavell
Japanese POW camp Changi, Singapore: hell on earth for the soldiers contained within its barbed wire walls. Officers and enlisted men, all prisoners together, yet the old hierarchies and rivalries survive. An American corporal, known as the King, has used his personality and wiles to facilitate trading with guards and locals to get needed food, supplies, even information into the camp. The imprisoned upper-class officers have never had to do things for themselves, and now they are reduced to wearing rags while the King’s clean shirt, gained through guts and moxie, seems like luxury in comparison. In the camp, everything has its price and everything is for sale. But trading is illegal—and the King has made a formidable enemy. Robin Grey, the provost marshal, hates the King and all he represents. Grey, though he grew up modestly, fervently believes in the British class system: everyone should know their place, and he knows the King’s place is at the bottom.
The King does have a friend in Peter Marlowe, who, though wary of the King and himself a product of the British system, finds himself drawn to the charismatic man who just might be the only one who can save them from both the inhumanity of the prison camp but also from themselves. Powerful and engrossing, King Rat artfully weaves the author’s own World War II prison camp experiences into a compelling narrative of survival amidst the grim realities of war and what men can do when pushed to the edge. A taut masterwork of World War II historical fiction by bestselling author James Clavell.
©2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. (P)2015 Blackstone AudioWhat listeners say about King Rat
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 03-01-2023
King Rat, a Masterpiece
Firstly Felicitations to both Clavell & Vance, both exceptional artists and craftsmen.
King Rat 🐀 took me inside a Japanese Prisoner of War Camp , also inside many 2nd World War POW Camps. This work has allowed a unique vantage , no amount of research into this war has been able to give me. Both poignant and compelling, it took a certain girdling of the loins to get through certain parts; all the while my own Dear departed Father who died much to young as a direct result of 4 years as a POW, walked beside me. I now understand him just that little bit more. ThankYou Mr Clavell ✨🙏🏼✨
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Aleksandar
- 09-01-2021
Another incredible piece
Clavell is a literary genius. Whilst not my favourite of the series, it’s still an amazing story and compels me to want to read the next.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Michael R
- 14-10-2018
Wonderful
Excellent story, very well read. Definitely recommend this story to people who enjoyed other James Clavell stories.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Elijah Chen
- 09-06-2019
not as good as first three
first three books in Asian saga were better. this one I found a bit lacking but it was still worthwhile
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 17-02-2023
An epic tale of survival
A truly epic tale of survival of the human spirit against all odds and a system designed to systematise despair. Clavell’s ability to describe human interactions, and the motivations that underpin these, is uncanny!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jim
- 14-04-2024
Real Australian accents in context
His best novel . He was in Changi though he was careful to say the characters are amalgams of other people.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Richard
- 14-11-2018
King Rat: the best Clavell novel.
Sat up last night listening to the last 5 hours. A horrific tale, unfortunately true. Mans inhumanity to man shows through streaked with human misery and compassion. In 2018 we don’t understand the significance of the book. I am not sure I will be able to sleep tonight.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Owen Cleverton
- 22-01-2018
Superb
A superb rendition of a great story. What's more to be said? Highly recommended, listen to it!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ben M
- 19-04-2020
Great tale.
I really liked the Ralph Lister readings of Shogun and Tai Pan, and I was a bit dubious about changing narrator but this is a great reading of a great novel. Just give it a go, you can also return it!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- David
- 22-10-2022
one of my all-time favorites
the narration was epic as was the story which I have not heard for many many years much I had forgotten and very glad to remember loved it
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