''Mike Nelson's Death Rat!'' is the first full-length novel by American author Michael J. Nelson. It was first published on April 1, 2003. The cover art was illustrated by pulp artist Michael Koelsch.

Plot

''Death Rat!'' is primarily a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

, with its main subject being the state of

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, where Nelson lives. Nelson's targets include parodies of famous Minnesota residents like

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

and

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radio ...

, as well as the attitudes and quirks of Minnesotans in general. The protagonist of ''Mike Nelson's Death Rat!'' is Pontius Feeb, usually called Ponty, an author of many historical treatises who has just been fired. While working in a fast food restaurant he gets the idea to write a novel of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

based in the small town of Holey, Minnesota. Feeb's novel revolves around the conflict between two citizens of Holey in the early 1900s, and a giant rodent from which the novel gets its name. However, when he tries to sell the novel to a publisher, he is told that he doesn't look right to be the author of an action novel. Feeb then enlists the help of local actor Jack Ryback to pretend he wrote the book and attempt to sell it. Jack sells the novel easily, but tells the publisher that it is a

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

book, instead of a novel. Jack and Pontius then work with the citizens of Holey to attempt to cover up the book's fictional nature. During their many visits to Holey, Ponty becomes friendly with the town's female mayor. As Feeb's ''Death Rat'' grows in popularity, the cover-up becomes harder and harder to maintain, as the rock star "King Leo" adopts the book as the scripture of a new religion, and sets up a revival in Holey. Meanwhile, a rival Minnesotan author desperately tries to discredit Jack and "his" book. In the end the plot is revealed, And after a flurry of lawsuits and media attention Jack and Pontius go back to doing minimum-wage work in St. Paul. In the end, Ponty decides to go live in Holey with the friends that he made there.

Characters

Pontius "Ponty" Feeb - A small bookish history author with a number of failed nonfiction books to his name. Jack Ryback- A large, rugged failed actor who looks the part of an outdoorsman. Gus Bromstad - Homespun author of the Dogwood books. King Leo - A

-esque funk superstar. Sandi Knutson - Mayor of Holey and love interest of Ponty. Ralph - Barkeep at Holey's local pub, the Taconite.

References

{{reflist

External links

Michael J. Nelson's Homepage
American comedy novels 2003 American novels Novels set in Minnesota 2003 debut novels

Plot

Characters

See also

References

External links