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153rd out of 2,946 books
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12,385 voters
The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat #1)
There is a prequel called, A Stainless Steel Rat is Born.
In the vastness of space, the crimes just get bigger and Slippery Jim diGriz, the Stainless Steel Rat, is the biggest criminal of them all. He can con humans, aliens and any number of robots time after time. Jim is so slippery that all the inter-galactic cops can do is make him one of their own
In the vastness of space, the crimes just get bigger and Slippery Jim diGriz, the Stainless Steel Rat, is the biggest criminal of them all. He can con humans, aliens and any number of robots time after time. Jim is so slippery that all the inter-galactic cops can do is make him one of their own
Mass Market Paperback, 208 pages
Published
December 1998
by Orion
(first published 1961)
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To understand the unique brilliance and enduring popularity of the Stainless Steel Rat, it’s important to understand the world in which these stories take place. It is the far future and genetic manipulation and controls have bred the “malcontent” or “criminal” gene out of humanity...all but a few anyway. Society is sterile, homogenous and lifeless.
Shattering the status quo is James Bolivar DiGriz (aka The Stainless Steel Rat) and his roguish, adventure-filled criminal schemes. He is an exciti...more
Mar 08, 2012
Jason Koivu
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who needs a fun, action-packed good time
Recommended to Jason by:
Stephen, he of many reviews
A fun, entertaining and, above all else, quick read. Just what the doctor ordered after finishing the mammoth tome that is A Game of Thrones. This Sci-Fi lite-meets-hardboiled cop dramedy makes for a nice, mindless distraction. It probably only deserves 3 stars (this ain't Shakespeare, folks!), but I'm willing to bump it up a full star more for the pure enjoyment of it all. Some will consider the writing so-so or even subpar, while others will complain of stereotypical characters (I actually enj...more
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
"At a certain stage, the realization strikes through that one must either live outside of society’s 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...more
"At a certain stage, the realization strikes through that one must either live outside of society’s 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...more
I was surprised to find how well this book stands up after all these year. I hadnt read Harry Harrison before so i didnt expect it to be this good.
It was raw quality with fun adventure, great satirical humour,ingenious plot twists. Good action too. The ideal fun space adventure i was looking for.
Slippery Jim himself is an awesome character to read and memorable. His strong first person narrative carried the book very well. Every thought,word from him was interesting. He made me smile by the kind...more
It was raw quality with fun adventure, great satirical humour,ingenious plot twists. Good action too. The ideal fun space adventure i was looking for.
Slippery Jim himself is an awesome character to read and memorable. His strong first person narrative carried the book very well. Every thought,word from him was interesting. He made me smile by the kind...more
I read this book for the first time back in the early 90s, while at university. We had a fantastic book shop where you could give back books you'd read to help fund your new purchases. I introduced myself to a lot of previously unread science-fiction authors thanks to that shop, but I also read through a lot of great series that way too. Strangely, I never went any further with the stainless steel rat series, although I remembered loving the first book – and I gave it four stars based on that me...more
A cool sci-fi crime/spy romp that benefits greatly from the writer's sense of "voice." Writing an entire story in the first person can fall flat if the author hasn't really "nailed" the narrator's persona. This writer had it dialed in perfectly. A nice, short, fully enjoyable little book that definitely makes me more interested in the series than I was before.
Taking a break from Masterworks for a little bit, I grabbed this on hearing of the author's passing. Better late than never.
First in a series of ... lots, the Rat is a intergalactic con man in a universe where criminality is low due to personality modifications. Captured criminals are rehabilitated, or ... are recruited in to the Corps, where their individual skills are especially useful. Use a thief to catch a thief.
The story is the first outing for the Rat under the Corps. The Rat is foiled by...more
First in a series of ... lots, the Rat is a intergalactic con man in a universe where criminality is low due to personality modifications. Captured criminals are rehabilitated, or ... are recruited in to the Corps, where their individual skills are especially useful. Use a thief to catch a thief.
The story is the first outing for the Rat under the Corps. The Rat is foiled by...more
This is definitely the best pulp scifi I have ever read!
There are no actual rats, steel or otherwise, in this story (I have to admit I was a bit disappointed about that); the stainless steel rat is the protagonist and narrator's metaphor for his chosen role in society -- slipping between the cracks and taking what he wants. In the far future it's harder to do this, as society is run by experts who maintain peace and abundance and who cull potential criminals from the population. Thus one can't j...more
There are no actual rats, steel or otherwise, in this story (I have to admit I was a bit disappointed about that); the stainless steel rat is the protagonist and narrator's metaphor for his chosen role in society -- slipping between the cracks and taking what he wants. In the far future it's harder to do this, as society is run by experts who maintain peace and abundance and who cull potential criminals from the population. Thus one can't j...more
I read this as a kid and have fond memories of reading it under the blanket with a torch well after I should have been asleep...that was until I would laugh and then I would get busted by my mum. This is space adventure for kids and young adult audiences. I have not re-read them so I can't say if it still holds up for a mature audience. The characters were fun and well written with a nice pace that keeps a young reader entertained. It was written back in the 60's and reflects a lot of popular cu...more
Стоманеният плъх: Крадецът вика “Дръжте убиеца”: http://www.knigolandia.info/2009/11/b...
Сядам да пиша с широка усмивка на лицето си. След негово всемогъщество Дъглас Адамс отдавна не бях попадал на качествена хумористична фантастика. Дори бях брутално разочарован при прочитането на една от частите на Бил Галактическия герой от Хари Харисън.
Изумително е обаче, че точно същия автор ми върна вярата в добрия стар космически смях. Прочетох за нула време великолепния първи том на историите за “Сто...more
Сядам да пиша с широка усмивка на лицето си. След негово всемогъщество Дъглас Адамс отдавна не бях попадал на качествена хумористична фантастика. Дори бях брутално разочарован при прочитането на една от частите на Бил Галактическия герой от Хари Харисън.
Изумително е обаче, че точно същия автор ми върна вярата в добрия стар космически смях. Прочетох за нула време великолепния първи том на историите за “Сто...more
Jun 12, 2011
Sue Smith
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-read-in-2011
What a hoot of a book!! Think James Bond melded with Indiana Jones and Batman in a 1960ish movie of Earth in the 'future' - no specified time..just sometime later - where there's intergalactic travel and the world is one of many out there that are all populated by others, surprisingly alot like us! The book didn't really rate a 4 star but for cheese factor it sure did!! There was more than once when it had me snorting with laughter just at the absurdity of it all. At least the original series of...more
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I went into this book thinking that it might be too old of a science fiction book for me to really enjoy reading just for the sake of reading. I was wrong.
This book was so much fun. The main character is a thief in a society in which there pretty much are no criminals. And he's not a thief b/c he's a bad person. He's a thief b/c living in the pre-programed type of society that exists would drive him crazy from boredom. Oh, and by the way, he is also a master of disguise, and if that isn't pretty...more
This book was so much fun. The main character is a thief in a society in which there pretty much are no criminals. And he's not a thief b/c he's a bad person. He's a thief b/c living in the pre-programed type of society that exists would drive him crazy from boredom. Oh, and by the way, he is also a master of disguise, and if that isn't pretty...more
This is a great campy sci-fi story. Set in the future and in a society where most everything is regulated and nearly perfect, comes a con rat, James DiGriz or Slippery Jim, who is simply unsatisfied with the nicety of his world. After decades of successful cons, Slippery Jim, though meticulously careful in planning his cons, is convinced he can outsmart the authorities. That is, until the Special Corps eventually catch up to him and snare him in their trap. However, rather than arrest him, they...more
THIS BOOK IS SO MUCH FUN ITS WORTH STEALING!!!!
I have just re-read this one and adored every naughty moment, the main character is none other than Slippery Jim DiGriz, a galactic thief with a love of cigars and fine living, whats outstanding is the morality of this crook, he literally has justified his every move and you love him more for it, also he doesn't kill people, he is pretty specific about that until he gets caught by Inskip and the Special Corps and he finds himself becoming a copper.....more
I have just re-read this one and adored every naughty moment, the main character is none other than Slippery Jim DiGriz, a galactic thief with a love of cigars and fine living, whats outstanding is the morality of this crook, he literally has justified his every move and you love him more for it, also he doesn't kill people, he is pretty specific about that until he gets caught by Inskip and the Special Corps and he finds himself becoming a copper.....more
The first in the series was written back in 1961, before mobile phones, before tablets, desktop computers and the internet and before Armstrong (RiP) took his first small step: there are a few anachronisms that are bound to flummox younger readers (photographing onto "a roll of film" whatever that might be, for instance) but by and large it's aged extremely well.
It is pretty much classic space opera sci-fi from a byegone era; the adventures of a hardened, wiseguy space-crim, written in Harrison'...more
It is pretty much classic space opera sci-fi from a byegone era; the adventures of a hardened, wiseguy space-crim, written in Harrison'...more
3.5 stars. I'm not sure exactly how old I was when I first read this, but unfortunately it didn't hold up as well in reality as it did in my memory. The retro-future aspect is amusing. A giant interstellar civilization with print newspapers and magazines seems laughable these days. Jim is still funny, though I found myself thinking, oh, not another caper description. The real let down was the writing though. I won't grumble about lack of characterization or any of those old cliche-critiques that...more
2.5 out of 5
In 1961, I am sure this book was stellar. It is colorfully written. There is a whimsical tone to the narration. It evokes a lot of the B-sci-fi of the time. The plot is always moving. Lots of snappy action fill the pages. It is short. All of these make The Stainless Steel Rat a great book for teens.
In 2012, this book is not so stellar. Heck, we are in the 'future' now (at least for the 60's) and none of that B-sci-fi is considered quality fiction nowadays. Just like SSR, that sci-fi...more
In 1961, I am sure this book was stellar. It is colorfully written. There is a whimsical tone to the narration. It evokes a lot of the B-sci-fi of the time. The plot is always moving. Lots of snappy action fill the pages. It is short. All of these make The Stainless Steel Rat a great book for teens.
In 2012, this book is not so stellar. Heck, we are in the 'future' now (at least for the 60's) and none of that B-sci-fi is considered quality fiction nowadays. Just like SSR, that sci-fi...more
Though I haven't read these books since I was in middle school, just seeing the covers remind me of how much I used to love them. They showed me that science fiction doesn't have to be intellectual or time-consuming to read, but instead can be a light and easy story. I recommend these books to anyone who's new to science fiction and doesn't know where to start.
I think the best thing I can say about this book is that it does not age well.
In the far future (which, I think would be about now, although I'm willing to forgive the book this bit), people have been selectively bred to be socially conscious and responsible. The few malcontents that are born are weeded out fairly quickly, so that there is virtually no crime. So the whole wide world/civilization is fairly bland, with few exceptions. The main character, Jim diGriz, is one of those exceptions, an...more
In the far future (which, I think would be about now, although I'm willing to forgive the book this bit), people have been selectively bred to be socially conscious and responsible. The few malcontents that are born are weeded out fairly quickly, so that there is virtually no crime. So the whole wide world/civilization is fairly bland, with few exceptions. The main character, Jim diGriz, is one of those exceptions, an...more
Jul 27, 2012
Valerie
added it
The origin of the title is 'Slippery Jim' DiGriz' argument that if you build stainless steel mousetraps, you create the need for stainless steel rats.
This genesis book is the introduction to the series, in which the Stainless Steel Rat is coopted by the system...sort of. That is, he serves his society, in his own independent and eccentric way. And his superiors permit this quasi-rebellion because he's more useful to them that way. He's uneasy about selling out, but he justifies it by arguing tha...more
This genesis book is the introduction to the series, in which the Stainless Steel Rat is coopted by the system...sort of. That is, he serves his society, in his own independent and eccentric way. And his superiors permit this quasi-rebellion because he's more useful to them that way. He's uneasy about selling out, but he justifies it by arguing tha...more
I decided to re-read this book, which was an early favorite of mine, when I heard about Harry Harrison's recent death. It was as much fun as I remembered it being. it features a series of criminal capers which are fun to read. The hero is a criminal who is forced into the service of law and order and he and the book view both criminals and the establishment with an eye that is alternately jaundiced and sympathetic. The tone is sardonic and witty. All in all, this is a fun book.
It is also, howeve...more
It is also, howeve...more
This genre of books is a bit unique in sci-fi since it is about a criminal in the future. The original SSR was written in 1961 and is fairly forward thinking. The main character is that good looking anti-hero who breaks the law but charms everyone. In the setting where criminals are reprogramed he is instead recruited by the Special Corps a secret government/spy agency. This series is about his missions. I really do not want to give anything away but you should check out the first three books si...more
I don't know why but I was expecting something more like vintage space opera from the 30's and was surprised to find this was actually written in the mid '60s and still feels fresh.
This is light, fast-moving, edge of your seat stuff that you will whip through in no time. A charming, loveable rogue protagonist is nearly impossible not to engage with. While he think's he's clever, he still gets outsmarted on quite a regular basis, his fallibility only making him more likable. There is very little...more
This is light, fast-moving, edge of your seat stuff that you will whip through in no time. A charming, loveable rogue protagonist is nearly impossible not to engage with. While he think's he's clever, he still gets outsmarted on quite a regular basis, his fallibility only making him more likable. There is very little...more
What can I say about a popular series that has lasted so long? I'll tell you the kind of thing that I was looking for from the reviews before deciding if I wanted to get this one.
This has the gritty feeling of the old pulps, but with a lite hearthed quality added to produce an endearment to the main character. While the characters are stereotypical they have depth and you want to follow them. This is set up well for a series of future adventures. Even though dated somewhat, I didn't find anythin...more
This has the gritty feeling of the old pulps, but with a lite hearthed quality added to produce an endearment to the main character. While the characters are stereotypical they have depth and you want to follow them. This is set up well for a series of future adventures. Even though dated somewhat, I didn't find anythin...more
This book is great fun. Firmly tongue in cheek the character of Slippery Jim is inspired and even the supporting characters are developed far more than in most SF books. There are numerous twists and turns in the plot-line and some great examples of "future gazing" including the odd coal fired robot. It's also refreshing to not have to wade through the seemingly obligatory 600 or so pages which characterise most space opera style novels now. Harrison, like Asimov, manages to pack a great story i...more
Well regarded amongst SF fans, I found it frustratingly just short of the mark in so many ways. Written at a time when when much popular SF was beginning to move in a more philosophical and metaphysical direction, this book remains firmly in the pulpy space-opera mould. It's not without merit, at its core is a rollicking adventure yarn, but the telling is hampered by a rather disjointed episodic narrative. The characters are archetypes, and whilst they could have heightened the drama as pantomim...more
Here's another one I read in my childhood. I believe I mistakenly bought a later entry in the series, perhaps "The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World," not realizing it was a multiple-book story. I then picked up a collection that brought together the first three in the series. To my recollection, I read the first two novels in that collection and possibly the third, though I can't remember it much at all.
Re-reading the first book, a few small pieces of the story came back to me, as did specifi...more
Re-reading the first book, a few small pieces of the story came back to me, as did specifi...more
The first published in the Stainless Steel Rat series, but the fourth book chronologically, this was the original introduction to The Stainless Steel Rat, James Bolivar diGriz, aka Slippery Jim.
A bank robber who is benefiting society. The bank staff get a bit of excitement, the police get to run around with their shiny toys, the media gets to print sensational stories, the public get entertainment, and the economy improves because he puts all this money back into circulation. The only downside i...more
A bank robber who is benefiting society. The bank staff get a bit of excitement, the police get to run around with their shiny toys, the media gets to print sensational stories, the public get entertainment, and the economy improves because he puts all this money back into circulation. The only downside i...more
I nabbed this one after the death of the author, Harry Harrison, led many writers I enjoy to remark how much they enjoyed his writing and how it influenced them (I had never heard about him before his death). The story of a grifter turned into a inter-stellar cop was simple, and The Stainless Steel Rat himself made for a fun narrator, constantly overestimating himself and underestimating everyone else. There weren't too many surprises, as the plot was pretty predictable, but it was a fun read. A...more
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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...
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
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“We must be as stealthy as rats in the wainscoting of their society. It was easier in the old days, of course, and society had more rats when the rules were looser, just as old wooden buildings have more rats than concrete buildings. But there are rats in the building now as well. Now that society is all ferrocrete and stainless steel there are fewer gaps in the joints. It takes a very smart rat indeed to find these openings. Only a stainless steel rat can be at home in this environment...”
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Jul 16, 2011 11:41am
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