Specify Books To The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat (Publication Order) #1)
| Original Title: | The Stainless Steel Rat |
| ISBN: | 1857984986 (ISBN13: 9781857984989) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Stainless Steel Rat (Publication Order) #1, Stainless Steel Rat #4 |
| Characters: | James Bolivar diGriz, Angelina |
| Literary Awards: | Audie Award for Science Fiction/Fantasy (2011) |
Harry Harrison
Mass Market Paperback | Pages: 208 pages Rating: 3.93 | 13386 Users | 456 Reviews
Details Of Books The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat (Publication Order) #1)
| Title | : | The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat (Publication Order) #1) |
| Author | : | Harry Harrison |
| Book Format | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 208 pages |
| Published | : | December 1998 by Orion (first published 1961) |
| Categories | : | Science Fiction. Fiction. Humor. Space. Space Opera. Science Fiction Fantasy. Comedy. Audiobook |
Narration Concering Books The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat (Publication Order) #1)
This was an interesting book to read. Pulp sci-fi written in 1961 and reprinted dozens of times. First in a successful and long running series. My copy comes from the late 80s when it was selling very well.The main points of interest for me were how poor a prediction of future technology it was, and how badly sci-fi was written 55 years ago.
The Stainless Steel universe has the 'standard' many-times-faster-than-light travel, instant communication (via psychic telephone men this time), and highly intelligent robots.
A strange distinction is made between robots and computers. The robots have 'robot brains' and can do complex jobs like being policemen. (some run on coal!)
Computers on the other hand do bugger all. You feed them navigation instructions on tape. They take anything from 1o seconds to several minutes to search modest databases. And that's pretty much it.
Files are held in filing cabinets on paper. Our hero spends a fair time rustling his way through dusty heaps of files.
Currency is paper and coin. Our hero (a thief who turns policeman) steals money in bags and carries it to other planets hidden in his luggage.
So in short, the laws of physics are overturned at will with not even a two-word description of the engines or principles involved, and the computer revolution goes unanticipated.
The story is a rather silly one about chasing a murderous female criminal who Slippery Jim falls in love with in a deeply unconvincing 1950s movie kind of way. The plot is pretty thin and involves a bunch of face-changing and unlikely guesswork. The world/universe building are very basic and rather uninspired.
I found the book's only saving grace to be that the first person narrator, Jim, has a strong, lively voice with a measure of humour to it. Given that the sci-fi 'failings' were pretty common to most (all?) of the sci-fi around at the time I guess the strong voice accounts for the books' popularity.
Essentially this work was 'of its time' and has dated badly.
Fortunately it's a very short book, perhaps only 50,000 words or so.
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Rating Of Books The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat (Publication Order) #1)
Ratings: 3.93 From 13386 Users | 456 ReviewsCriticism Of Books The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat (Publication Order) #1)
3.5 stars. Great setup for what would become sci-fi grandmaster Harry Harrison's most enduring series and character, Jim diGriz, AKA the Stainless Steel Rat. Funny, clever and daring, he makes the perfect inter-galactic rogue extraordinaire in a galaxy that's been mostly purged of crime thanks to scientific advancements that enable the early detection and elimination of deviant personality traits. He stays one step ahead of the authorities, constantly moving on to his next scam on a new planetORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature."At a certain stage, the realization strikes through that one must either live outside of societys bonds or die of absolute boredom. There is no future or freedom in the circumscribed life and the only other life is complete rejection of the rules. There is no longer room for the soldier of fortune or the gentleman adventurer who can live both within and outside of society. Today it is all or nothing. To save my own sanity, I chose nothing."In the future
This book aged very well - probably because it focused more on the characters and the caper - and those are timeless.
2nd reading. Shame, this seemed so much better in my teens. Still holds some magic but the majority must have escaped through a hole in the pocket of my flairs.
I was never particularly attracted by this book before, but when Ryan from SpecFic Junkie was reading it, he got me intrigued. I wasnt going to buy it, in case it remained not-my-thing, but actually its pretty fun. Slippery Jim is basically a Vlad Taltos/Locke Lamora of sci-fi: a loveable rogue, ultimately reluctant to do real harm, and sort of kind of on the side of right. Its a pretty short book, or the tone might start to grate, and there were one or two things I disliked about the portrayal
Excellent SF caper novel. The successors get steadily worse, but #1 is definitely worth reading.
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