The Rats of Hamelin

The Rats Of Hamelin

The Rats of Hamelin: A Piper's Tale (Moody Publishers, 2005) is a historical fantasy/fairy tale fantasy novel by Adam McCune and Keith McCune. Gachi-Changjo Publishing Company published a Korean translation entitled 6월 26일, 하멜른 (June 26, Hamelin) in 2007.

Set in medieval Germany, the story is based on the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. In this version, however, the Pied Piper is not an expert in magic piping, but an eighteen-year-old apprentice named Hannes (Johannes) who is supposed to kill the rats as his final exam before becoming a Master Piper.

Everything seems to go wrong. Someone is trying to keep the rats in Hamelin—someone with powers like Hannes’s. Hannes had hoped to buy his father’s freedom with the reward, but the Town Council has stolen every penny of the fund and is against Hannes from the beginning. Even the mayor’s daughter, with whom Hannes has fallen in love, seems to think he is getting in the way. In the end, Hannes has to overcome the Town Council, his mysterious enemy, and himself.