Rat Raves!

The website Curled up with a Good Book published an excellent review of Death Rat!, saying:

"The result is a funny, smart, and even warm novel. One more like this, and I, too, may concede that Nelson is the funniest man alive."

You can read the whole thing here:

Death Rat! Review at Curled up with a Good Book

The February 15th edition of Kirkus Reviews contained a glowing review of Death Rat!, saying,

"Deft, jolly send-up of the publishing world by actor and former TV writer/host (Mike Nelson's Mind Over Matters), this about a hack who after 40 years of failure learns the meaning of concept...Fast-paced, outrageous and funny, first-novelist Nelson's mockery of media mendacity is as biting as La Dolce Vita or Network--only funnier!"

What if an aging, unsuccessful Minnesota author of history books with names like Old Von Steuben had a Farm: The German-American Settlement of the Midwest decided he could write a book every bit as vapid and ridiculous as the books that sold 400 times that of his own? Well, he would write Death Rat, of course, the thrilling tale of a man who battles prejudice, his inner demons, and a cunning six-foot long rat.

And what if at 60 years of age, he was told by publishers that, though his book was a thrilling read, he just didn't look the part of a virile writer of gripping adventure books featuring cunning six-foot long rats? Well, he would cook up a scheme so outrageous, it would incur the wrath of Gus Bromstad, the beloved author of the homespun Dogwood Downs series of books. And it would stir up the bizarre religious fervor of King Leo, the libidinous funk superstar, whose CD LoveDeathTomorrowJelly was one of the biggest sellers of the decade. And it would throw him into a strange symbiotic relationship with the entire town of Holey, Minnesota, population thirty-eight.

Such is the fate of one Pontius Feeb, the hapless author of Death Rat. Perhaps it is a cautionary tale for all who attempt to write gripping novels featuring cunning six-foot long rats...