Editorial Review
Winner of the 2001 Carnegie Medal
One rat, popping up here and there, squeaking loudly, and taking a bath in the cream, could be a plague all by himself. After a few days of this, it was amazing how glad people were to see the kid with his magical rat pipe. And they were amazing when the rats followed hint out of town.
They'd have been really amazed if they'd ever found out that the rats and the piper met up with a cat somewhere outside of town and solemnly counted out the money.
The Amazing Maurice runs the perfect Pied Piper scam. This streetwise alley cat knows the value of cold, hard cash and can talk his way into and out of anything. But when Maurice and his cohorts decide to con the town of Bad Blinitz, it will take more than fast talking to survive the danger that awaits. For this is a town where food is scarce and rats are hated, where cellars are lined with deadly traps, and where a terrifying evil lurks beneath the hunger-stricken streets....
Set in Terry Pratchett's widely popular Discworld, this masterfully crafted, gripping read is both compelling and funny. When one of the world's most acclaimed fantasy writers turns a classic fairy tale on its head, no one will ever look at the Pied Piper -- or rats -- the same way again!
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Customer Reviews
Not for kiddies 
2006-12-27
I read this when it came out, thinking that perhaps it might be OK to share with my children. Note, please, that it was not marketed or labeled as young adult fiction when I bought it. I found it to be one of the darkest and least funny of the discworld novels, and not at all appropriate for my kids at that time. I didn't think about it again until, to my horror, my sister-in-law gave a copy to my ten-year-old son. My thirteen-year-old might be OK with the cruelty, starvation, cannibalism, animal pit-fighting, and so forth, but not the 10-year-old. This book is deep Pratchet, and as such, not for children. I was appalled to see that it is now being sold as a children's book. I would never offer this book to someone in middle school or younger unless I knew him and his reading level very well.
Genuine Pratchett for the younger reader 
2006-11-04
Pratchett keeps his keen edge when writing for a young audience. In this book he's created characters who are relatively complex people trying to shape a society and find meaning in their lives, and oh yeah, they happen to be a colony of rats, led by an alley cat with con-man tendencies. The book is imaginative and engaging, with an adventurous and sometimes creepy story line. Great stuff.
Hey you . . . stupid looking kid . . . 2006-10-15
Maurice is a great character, exactly what a talking cat would be like. The story is an interesting spin on the story of the piper who plays the rats out of town that is set in Discworld. The story has the wit and humor that all of Terry Pratchett's books have. A really enjoyable read for kid and adult fans of Terry Pratchett. It also has a good moral about working together to solve problems, but really you could ignore that if you wanted . . .
Discworld 2006-08-27
I've decided he's too good and too prolific for me to write a brand new review every single time I read one of his books. Discworld currently has 34 titles and every one of them will probably knock your socks off. His mind bubbles and flashes like a boiling pot of electric eels, and I simply can't get enough of his writing.
A reviewer has compared him to Geoffrey Chaucer. He reminds me more of Douglas Adams, or perhaps S Morgenstern. Great company, isn't it? He's an extremely skillful and imaginative writer, damn funny, clever and observant to boot. He's also very easy to read. A master of characterization, and if there's anything else you like about reading that I didn't mention here, assume I simply forgot. He's awesome.
Another reviewer mentioned Jonathan Swift and PG Wodehouse. Why such hallowed company? Because Pratchett belongs there! Truly, I'm enjoying my quest to read every book in the series. You should do the same, and begin your quest at the library because he's got to be there. He's awesome!
Yet another reviewer said Jerome K Jerome meets Lord of the Rings. Yeah, that works too.
Why do we, as reviewers, compare authors to other authors? Because it's easier than thinking. In the case of Terry Pratchett, it's probably because we'd otherwise wind up quoting the guy. He's so unique that we just don't know how else to cope with his greatness. Even this paragraph sounds like foamy drool raving, doesn't it? That's how all readers react to Pratchett. Reviewers simply don't have the good sense to keep it to themselves.
I could call his writing fantasy, but I could likewise call what Douglas Adams wrote science fiction. In both cases, I wouldn't be wrong, but I'd be neglecting so much and just totally missing the point. A rare few authors transcend a genre to such a degree that you know they're shouting out, loud and proud, a big fat "Bite me!"
I love Terry Pratchett's writing, and I completely understand why some folks refer to him as their favorite author. Or favourite, I should say, since we're being British. He's one of those authors that makes you want to grab whoever's in hearing range and start reading passages aloud. I'm simply thrilled that there's such an extremely talented and prolific author who's been working for years without me being aware of him. Now I have much catching up to do, and I will love it.
My favorite Pratchett novel 2006-07-20
I travel for a living, and Terry Pratchett's discworld books are always a good standby because a) they are easy to read, b) enjoyable, and c) available in most airport bookstores.
However, my favorite by far is The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. The story is light and fun, with a deeper lesson for those who want it. It is cleanly written and the story progresses nicely. Subjects such as religion, the afterlife, right vs. wrong, and wisdom vs. intellect are all flirted with, but nothing is jammed down your throat.
The characters are largely stereotypical on the surface, but again there is more to them, if you dig in and pay attention (with the possible exception of the mayor's daughter, who is pivotal to several analogies about life and stories, but otherwise is fairly two-dimensional). The character of Maurice (a cat) is the heart of the story, and will likely be a favorite among readers. Maurice represents a facade of control and power that borders on arrogance... and that most of us are forced to adopt to some extent in our own lives/careers; yet like most people, Maurice is not as in control as he thinks, and his wise alley-cat exterior crumbles in the face of morality and courage, proving that he's a good guy (err, cat) after all.
T.A.M.A.H.E.R. is fun and appropriate for all ages, teaches some good life-lessons about compromise and culture-tolerance, and gets five bright pointy stars from me.
I should also note that the story is short -- a refreshing change from novels (especially "fantasy" novels) that are often stuffed full of sawdust and slag in order to round out 400 terribly written pages. In contrast, Pratchett has written a beautifully concise and well structured story.
[Edit: As I am a huge fan of--and therefore inspired by--Terry Pratchett, I feel I'm justified in pointing out my new book Cluck: Murder Most Fowl. Many of my fellow Pratchett fans have been early readers and have enjoyed it. Apologies for the shameless self-promotion, -edk]
typically brilliant! 2008-07-21
If you're familiar with Terry Pratchett's work, this is every bit as good as the best. For those who don't yet know the joys of Discworld, this is a great book to start with. It does take place in the Pratchett universe, but it's much more stand-alone than many of his books. Thoughtful, exciting, and -- above all -- hilarious!
The second rat gets the cheese! 2007-11-08
While this is technically a Discworld novel (even Death makes a cameo appearance), it's really an independent story intended for young adult readers. However, Pratchett (like Heinlein) writes books for younger readers that actually appeal to all readers. The thing is, the wizards of Unseen University have a toxic spell-dump behind their institution that often has unpredictable effects on living (and previously nonliving) things. In this case, the rats that live and take their meals there find themselves with suddenly advanced intelligence. They learn to think, to act in concert, to read, to wear selected clothing and use weapons, and to dream of a utopian future. However, Maurice, who has also become intelligent, is a cat with imagination and the soul of a con man, and he organizes a Pied Piper scam with the aid of the rats and a stupid-looking young musician named Keith. And they're making good money, until they choose as their next target the town of Bad Blintz, where a mysterious and very dangerous force is at work among the rats and rat-catchers. As his fans know, Pratchett understands the feline psychology, and Maurice is a hoot: "Cats are good at steering people. A miaow here, a purr there, a little gentle pressure with a claw . . . and Maurice had never had to think about it before. Cats didn't have to think. They just had to know what they wanted. Humans had to do the thinking. That's what they were for." But it turns out he also knows a lot about the social life of rats. (He read "more about rats than is good for me," he says in the Afterword.) Among the rats, there's the practical engineer with a military bent, the old-fashioned boss who distrusts change, the nearly blind intellectual mystic, the politically astute lieutenant (and tap dancer), the loyal young female -- all the characters you would expect in an epic. The dialogue is believable (and not nearly as off the wall as in the "mainstream" Discworld novels), the characterization is spot on (especially Malicia, the mayor's daughter, who considers life just one long fairy tale and packs accordingly), and Pratchett never hesitates to bring in a bit of shocking truth. An excellent book.
Doesn't pull punches when it comes to the darkness, but absolutely wonderful 2007-10-27
I posted a reply to a comment made a while back by a concerned mother, and wanted to repost it in the larger comments section because I feel it's important to get out there. The reviewer noted that the book discusses cruelty, starvation, cannibalism and animal fighting. For the record, Terry Pratchett is NOT OK with any of these terrible things, as is made abundantly clear in the book! He describes these scenes with tangible disgust. And they are there because there are important moral lessons about courage, bravery, altruism and friendship to be learned.
I'm an adult fan of Terry Pratchett's with no children, and while it is a rather dark book, I know that I would have been able to handle it back when I was in 5th grade or so. Then again I was an only child and very mature as my parents treated me as an equal who found out her own capabilities rather than was kept from the darker elements of the world "for her own good." A running theme in Pratchett's work is that children are far more intelligent and able to discern right from wrong than adults give them credit for. I would have loved to have read this book as a child! Don't dismiss it out of hand. It is challenging, but far more rewarding than reading, say, "Mr. Bunnsy".
Finally, although I'm sure I don't have to spell it out after my rants above, I absolutely loved this book. And I do understand why a parent might be concerned about a child getting scared by some of the more sinister elements of T.A.M.A.H.E.R. But the overall messages of tolerance and friendship are so positive that I think every kid should read this as soon as they are mentally and emotionally able. Let your children decide; I bet they'll surprise you.
Is this book really for kids? 
2007-07-05
I found this book to be immensely entertaining. Despite relatively clean jokes, this doesn't really seem all that different from the rest of the Discworld series, in terms of reading difficulty. However, I imagine I might say otherwise, were I still in elementary school.
Pratchett 2007-06-14
What can I say, it is Terry Pratchett. As with all things written or produced by this strange man: It is outstanding.
