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The Stainless Steel Rat for President (Stainless Steel Rat (Chronological Order) #8)

by Harry Harrison

3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 · rating details · 2,434 ratings · 42 reviews

This time the Special Corps has given the Rat a daring assignment - liberate a backward tourist planet from the clutches of an aging dictator. With his lovely but lethal wife Angelina and his two stalwart sons James and Bolivar, diGriz pits ballots against bullets in the fight for freedom. He's vowed to restore truth, justice and democracy to the world of Paraiso-Aqui, if ...more

Paperback, 185 pages

Published November 1st 1982 by Bantam (first published August 1st 1982)

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Mar 09, 2012 Robert rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: scifi

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. My political awareness dawned slowly and I would guess that is the way it happens for most people. When the Falklands were invaded by Argentina I thought it was a territorial dispute. When I read The Prince and The Art of War (cartoon version) as an undergrad I could not believe how blatently obvious the contents of both were. Somewhere in between, however, my awareness took a huge lurch forward in the time it took to read the 185p of this book.

I thought the whole thing was hilarious: not merely My political awareness dawned slowly and I would guess that is the way it happens for most people. When the Falklands were invaded by Argentina I thought it was a territorial dispute. When I read The Prince and The Art of War (cartoon version) as an undergrad I could not believe how blatently obvious the contents of both were. Somewhere in between, however, my awareness took a huge lurch forward in the time it took to read the 185p of this book.

I thought the whole thing was hilarious: not merely the cartoon violence and silly ego-boosting wise-cracks of the narrator, the Rat himself,but the idea of rigged elections and the "good guys" rigging things in order to defeat the Dictator and how the rigging was done and the propagandising - everything. I had no clue about such things prior - suddenly I was awakened to a whole new world of lying, cheating and moral compromise. Bit of a shock at the time and seemingly totally over the top.

But of course, I see from re-reading, the politics is tame compared to the realities of pseudo-democratic despot nations, the techniques deployed standard and the only unrealistic aspect of the whole thing the tiny body count.

Which brings up the topic of the tone of the book: the Stainless Steel Rat books are comedies and cartoon violence features strongly, played for laughs - up to the point of maiming or death. Then it is very serious and the Rat neither condones nor commits murder and struggles even to kill in self-defense. When such things happen the tone becomes very serious indeed. There are deaths in this book and I would guess Harrison thought they were an essential ingedient of the book because back on Earth people die in droves fighting against the kind of self-serving dictator portrayed in this book. They should not be laughed at. Iwould like to compare and contrast this with other writers of cartoon violence, particularly Eoin Colfer in his Fowl biographer mode, Derek Landy (of Skullduggery fame) and China Mieville - specifically his Un Lun Dun. The lattermost of these writers fails miserably to keep proper control over tone, where-as the others know exactly when and where humour is appropriate and the contrasting seriousness is necessary. Harrison here, seems to be like these other writers in that the Rat books seem firmly aimed at kids, yet they seem not to have been overtly marketed towards them.

The readily recognised political situation removed to other worlds is a standard SF idea but other SF ideas are thin on the ground. What few technological gizmos are described in any detail struck me as completely preposterous, on the second reading - I don't remember that being my reaction first time round.

Not long after reading this the first time, I read Harrison's A Trans-atlantic Tunnel, Hurrah! then watched the whole Channel Tunnel financial fiasco unroll thinking through-out, "I read about this in a Harry Harrison book..." So Harrison seems to be an author best read whilst young for the huge educational benefits available "hidden" in his OTT SF stories... ...more

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May 30, 2011 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: scifi-fantasy

An uber-snarky intergalactic James Bond, if Bond were a family man and had a seemingly unlimited supply of just the right gasses, smoke-bombs and weaponry, and had a profound distaste for killing people. A quick fun read. Will seek out previous installments of the Rat's adventures. Harrison throws in a bunch of subtle goodies such as references to books concerning political dirty tricks as The Education of A Prince by Mac O'Velly. Snark.

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Mar 15, 2011 Kat Hooper rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook

3.5 stars audio version

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Fascist dictators, watch out — Slippery Jim diGriz is on the planet, and he’ll stop at nothing to secure freedom, peace, and representation for the people. Even if he has to lie, cheat, steal, and stuff ballot boxes to do it.

Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat series is lots of fun and you can’t help but love con-man Slippery Jim, his sadistic wife Angelina, and their twin sons James and Bolivar who are, for better or worse, chips o 3.5 stars audio version

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

Fascist dictators, watch out — Slippery Jim diGriz is on the planet, and he’ll stop at nothing to secure freedom, peace, and representation for the people. Even if he has to lie, cheat, steal, and stuff ballot boxes to do it.

Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat series is lots of fun and you can’t help but love con-man Slippery Jim, his sadistic wife Angelina, and their twin sons James and Bolivar who are, for better or worse, chips off the old blocks. This time, in The Stainless Steel Rat for President, the whole family takes a vacation on a backward planet that’s modeled after a mid-20th-century Central American republic which is democratic in theory but in reality is being enslaved by a totalitarian dictator backed by a vicious military force. Even though they’re completely corrupt themselves, the diGriz family can’t stand to see innocent people suffering because they make their living stealing from corporations — not people (I’m not sure what kind of entities own, run, and otherwise make their livings from the corporations if it’s not people… but, I digress…).

No corrupt martial government is a match for the diGriz family. Armed with their combined good looks and sharp wits, a fast car, lots of cool gadgets, a wardrobe of disguises, and plenty of sleep gas and nose plugs, they set out to bring down the tyrant. And, of course, we know they will — the fun is in how they get it done and the trouble they run into along the way. The Stainless Steel Rat for President relies too heavily on the sleep gas (every time we think Jim’s bound to be caught, out it comes), and the story drags during some car chases, but there are many clever scenes and laugh-out-loud moments.

The best part, as I’ve mentioned before with this series, is the production by Brilliance Audio. These books are read by the riotously funny voice actor Phil Gigante who saves the day by providing constant diversion even when the plot sometimes can’t quite muster it up. ...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Linda I rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, harry-harrison, science-fiction, satire

Another zany and fun rat adventure whereby this time he and Angelina are simply trying to enjoy a belated honeymoon but instead end up involved in overthrowing the corrupt government of Paradiso Aqui by becoming its next president! Of course, like all rat books, the story is full of social and political parodies (this time Latin American-type politics), loads of outlandish scheming, great dialogue, wonderful characters and plenty of laugh-out-loud moments.

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Dec 29, 2013 Raj rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: humour, sci-fi

Slippery Jim DiGriz is back, this time away to the paradise planet (so the tourist brochures say) of Paraiso Aqui, from where a garbled message has come. Now a reformed character, he finds a planet with a façade of democracy but ruled by a brutal dictator. With his psychopathic wife and equally crooked children by his side, he sets out to rig the already rigged election and bring true democracy to this benighted planet.

A fun short novel, it's nice to see Slippery Jim up to his old tricks again, ...more

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Mar 16, 2014 Mark Speed rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

The good old rat is back. I thought I'd write this as a topical review, given the farcical elections in Crimea today. See what I did there? Let's do a bit of time-travel - I wonder how we'll look on the Ukraine/Crimea situation a decade from now?

This is not a spoiler, given the cover blurb. There's a dictator on this backward planet, and the agency sends in the rat to sort it out. What do you think might happen in a situation like that, and with a title like Stainless Steel Rat for President? As ...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Simon Forward rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So we come to the end of our travels with the Stainless Steel Rat. And Harry Harrison makes sure Slippery Jim goes out in grand style.

The Peter Ellison cover of my copy portrays an older Rat, bewhiskered and bemedalled, amid a shower of bunting and ticker-tape as some hig-tech fighters perform a celebratory fly-past overhead. It's fitting as the whole thing feels like a party. Perhaps more of a retirement party than a political parade as there seems to be a stated intent to send the Rat off to r So we come to the end of our travels with the Stainless Steel Rat. And Harry Harrison makes sure Slippery Jim goes out in grand style.

The Peter Ellison cover of my copy portrays an older Rat, bewhiskered and bemedalled, amid a shower of bunting and ticker-tape as some hig-tech fighters perform a celebratory fly-past overhead. It's fitting as the whole thing feels like a party. Perhaps more of a retirement party than a political parade as there seems to be a stated intent to send the Rat off to rest as the book concludes.

All good things do come to an end and it's best if they go out on a high. Like The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You this is bold and daft and at least as enjoyable as all those bottles of 'ron' that Jim puts away during the course of this adventure. It also pulls off that trick of retaining a slightly nastier edge in the midst of all the comedy, managing to paint a vivid - and even vibrant - picture of a brutal totalitarian state in a tropical paradise. When hasn't a corrupt South/Central American dictatorship been ripe for a humorous poke or two? But it's quite nifty to be able to build them up as a convincing enemy while knocking them down like coconuts in a carney.

Paraiso-Aqui is nicely realised, allowing Harrison to sugar the mix with his linguistic skills, and further shows the author's taste for a blend of futuristic and retro. The mechanical semaphore towers that are a feature of every noble estate are an especially nice touch. There's all the usual twists and turns and bumps on the road, all the reliance on gadgetry and wit - along with less reliance on the miraculous eleventh-hour rescues that perhaps got used one too many times in other books in the series.

Jim, Angelina and sons, James and Bolivar, operate well as a family unit without tarnishing the Rat's status as the Stainless Steel hero. It's hard to see Bond settling down and bringing his loved ones along on a mission or two with anything like the successful results seen here. But then, it's too easy to stretch that Jim DiGriz/James Bond comparison as once again plenty of light is shone on the Rat's moral stance on the use of guns, violence and killing. DiGriz has a reticence in these areas that Bond doesn't share and it makes life that little bit harder as he goes up against murderous foes like dictator Zapilote and his chief henchman Oliveira. It also makes things more interesting.

Good zip-along action, the humour at Harrison's sharpest and definitely a fond farewell to the series. Obviously I can't condone crime, but there's a something refreshingly honest and optimistic about having a thief run for political office. And not just in a corrupt South/Central American totalitarian state. ...more

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Nov 15, 2014 Joseph Baxter rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have read most all of the SSR books, and while by this time in the series the stories are wearing a bit thin, it's still a fun tale. Harrison probably bears much of the blame for my own speech patterns. Unfortunately, though, I don't think I could hand this to a teen on the basis of scattered in-character but lecherous comments (though still far less than broadcast television).

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Sep 27, 2014 Nai Wang rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fun but I really disliked the story. Terrible plot and not the usual antics you'd come to expect from the RAT!

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Jun 09, 2011 Andreas rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

SciFi humor. I quite enjoyed the first five books or so, but in the end the laughter starts wearing thin. I gave up after “The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell”. Those I have read are:

The Stainless Steel Rat
The Stainless Steel Rat’s Revenge
The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World
The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You
The Stainless Steel Rat for President
A Stainless Steel Rat is Born
The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted
The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=817

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Nov 26, 2011 Steven Poore rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Good old-fashioned rip-roaring fun, told in first-person style with tongue placed very firmly in cheek. It's been some years since I last read any of these (clue: the Milk-Snatcher still ruled Britain back then...), and I'm afraid to say this one hasn't matured all that well. As a parody of the SF of the 50s it is perfectly serviceable, and Jim Di Griz will always be one of the genre's greatest protagonists, but the overall feel is one of a slightly rusty Italian Job In Space...

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Feb 27, 2014 Dch3jac1 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Perhaps not as good as some of the others in the series, but still great fun.

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Feb 15, 2013 Eric Lawson rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction

Slippery Jim and his family are back. Jim and Angelina are having a belated honeymoon on the holiday world of Paraiso-Aqui. Of course, nothing is as it seems and the ruler of Paraiso-Aqui has been rigging the elections for a very long time.

The diGriz clan are sent in to make sure that the next election has the correct result.

An entertaining look at how to rig elections, lie, cheat, steal and influence people.

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Mar 12, 2007 Nigel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read the Stainless Steel Rat series when I was a kid, and thoroughly enjoyed it (I couldn't resist it since I was also a 2000AD reader, where the Stainless Steel Rat was given the graphic serialisation treatment). I'm giving it 3 stars because I suspect that if I re-read the series today I wouldn't be quite so captivated. Great stuff for younger sci-fi fans though.

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Sep 23, 2010 J rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels

Another thrilling adventure with The Stainless Steel Rat. Harrison is a talented writer who weaves humorous and exciting tales with flair. He’s got his characters down to a science, which makes this series nothing but fun. If you get to this point in the series, “Slippery” Jim and family are like old friends who throw the best parties.

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Apr 04, 2012 Michael Ward rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The stainless steel rat books were good. This was one of the best ones. There is an interesting comment somewhere in the book about how monetarism had wrecked whole worlds which is kind of prophetic when we look at the state of the western economies today that most embraced monetarism.

This was a good and interesting read.

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May 03, 2008 Velveeta rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: already-read

not finished with it yet, but i am reading all the stainless steel rat books, and so far i am well pleased! the style is a bit dated, granted, and it's an all ages storyline - but still enticing, because of the writing and the characters. if you like robert lynn aspirin's myth adventures books, you will like these as well!

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Feb 27, 2008 Steve D rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Steve by: Matt Davidson

I read the Stainless Steel Rat series in early highschool, and I thoroughly enjoyed the sci-fi environment along with the conman turned good guy (somewhat) spy. I suspect that if I re-read the series today the writing would not be quite so captivating, but I give it a solid recommendation for younger sci-fi fans.

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Jul 31, 2012 William P. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not the best SSR book, but hardly bad. There are some odd bits, like a highlighted piece of gadgetry that never gets used in any interesting ways, and there's only a little bit of tension, but Jim is always fun to follow. The narrator for this series is fantastic and really captures the feel of the books.

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Jul 18, 2012 Chelsea Decker rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-fiction

Slippery Jim is at it again! I was very surprised at his new mission. He's running for president on a planet with a corrupt government to help fix it? But how will he work for the Special Corps if he does that? But the book had a great ending which I thought was appropriate.

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May 16, 2009 Sean Randall rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An interesting continuation of the saga. Hardly earth-shatteringly brilliant, but it's nice to see how James' kids (now grown up) handle things in the field. james' reading speed may leave the imagination behind a little, but it's an interesting read all the same.

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Jul 04, 2012 Dorian rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scifi

Fun read and fun characters. I started with this one and for some reason believe that it is likely not the best in the series. So I will be reading more about the stainless steel rat, but with hopefully more laughs.

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Jul 29, 2009 Andrew Hennessey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

indication early on in my life that the BBC were telling me lies about westminster- might find if I read it today that it isn't up to the standard of deviance of our current generation of wise guys

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Jul 11, 2010 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi

This is my favorite in this series, it is funny without being too slapstick and has great social commentary.

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Sep 21, 2012 Noah Easterly rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

These were more fun when I was younger. But worked well to fill the time, and as a palate cleanser.

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Aug 18, 2012 Jason Young rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Slippery Jim DiGriz does it again. I don't care what anyone says, these stories are great!

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Sep 08, 2013 Matt Heavner rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fun read. This one was an interesting (very superficial) look at anarchism/fascism vs democracy..

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Jun 30, 2011 Győző rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The best one of the first four. The characters are much more developed and finally no time travel

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Mar 14, 2013 Dehibberdwrites rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, science-fiction

The Stainless Steel Rat series was an excellent and entertaining read.

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Aug 16, 2007 Jonathan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Funny, tricksy and a born criminal, the stainless steel Rat goes into Politics!

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About Harry Harrison

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey) was an American science fiction author best known for his character the The Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966), the basis for the film Soylent Green (1973). He was also (with Brian W. Aldiss) co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction G ...more

More about Harry Harrison...

Books by Harry Harrison

The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat, #4)

The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat, #4-6)

A Stainless Steel Rat is Born (Stainless Steel Rat, #1)

The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You! (Stainless Steel Rat, #7)

The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World (Stainless Steel Rat, #6)

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The Stainless Steel Rat for President (Stainless Steel Rat (Chronological Order) #8)

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