- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Gollancz; paperback / softback edition (29 Dec 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0575101032
- ISBN-13: 978-0575101036
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.2 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 999,040 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Stainless Steel Rat Returns
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More About the Author
Product Description
Book Description
The world's favourite conman is back - in a brand-new adventure!
Product Description
James Bolivar 'Slippery Jim' diGriz, Special Corps agent, master conman and interstellar criminal (retired), is living high on the hog with his lovely, vivacious wife Angelina on the luxury planet Moolaplenty when long-lost Cousin Elmo arrives. And Cousin Elmo's not alone: he's got a ship full of porcuswine and their keepers, and they're all looking for a new home. And before he's even finished his first cocktail, his bank account's been drained and he and Angelina are off wandering the stars on a sabotaged ship. In this darkly satiric work Harry Harrison brings his most famous character out of retirement for a grand tour of the galaxy, cocktail in hand, his luscious wife by his side, a smile on his lips and larceny in his heart. He's in search of adventure, gravitons, and a way to get the porcuswine out of his life . . . for ever!
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This late addition to the Stainless Steel Rat series is essentially three short stories. The first sets up a McGuffin; the second recounts events on Planet A; the third recounts events on Planet B. That's it. Nothing more to see -- go home.
I'm not sure whether 'The Stainless Steel Rat Buys A Spaceship' was a working title or not, but it describes the content far better than '...Returns' -- a title which promises a fresh sip of the wisecracking, smart crime capers we know & love.
Instead we limp through flaccid references to politics and British culture; characters (and animals) who keep re-appearing simply to remind us they exist (including Jim's lovely psycho wife Angelina); and wafer-thin adventures that make the vacuous short story 'Golden Years of the Stainless Steel Rat' look like 'War And Peace'.
I love the Stainless Steel Rat books. I started reading them 30 years ago and have re-read regularly. The only previous low-point novel in the series, '...Goes To Hell', at least had *some* plot. The follow-up, '...Joins the Circus', was a tightly-written and exciting adventure that capped-off the diGriz family saga nicely. Harry Harrison should have finished it on that high note.
Like seeing an old friend and realising that the spark has gone -- sometimes nostalgia isn't enough.
I'm not sure whether 'The Stainless Steel Rat Buys A Spaceship' was a working title or not, but it describes the content far better than '...Returns' -- a title which promises a fresh sip of the wisecracking, smart crime capers we know & love.
Instead we limp through flaccid references to politics and British culture; characters (and animals) who keep re-appearing simply to remind us they exist (including Jim's lovely psycho wife Angelina); and wafer-thin adventures that make the vacuous short story 'Golden Years of the Stainless Steel Rat' look like 'War And Peace'.
I love the Stainless Steel Rat books. I started reading them 30 years ago and have re-read regularly. The only previous low-point novel in the series, '...Goes To Hell', at least had *some* plot. The follow-up, '...Joins the Circus', was a tightly-written and exciting adventure that capped-off the diGriz family saga nicely. Harry Harrison should have finished it on that high note.
Like seeing an old friend and realising that the spark has gone -- sometimes nostalgia isn't enough.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
With any long-running series, there's always a concern about whether the latest book (or movie) will be a good one or one of the duds. James Bolivar `Slippery Jim' diGriz made his first appearance in a 1957 short story, so he's been around longer than most. The books in the series vary in tone from the dark (The SSR's Revenge) to almost pantomime comedy (the brilliant SSR Wants You), and there's always a thought-provoking undercurrent, where the author riffs on politics, philosophy, capitalism, equality, or whatever.
For me there's only one dud in the series, The SSR Goes to Hell, and I should probably read that one again before condemning it completely. Five star books in the series are the original novel, The Stainless Steel Rat, plus SSR Saves the World (time travel and a Napoleonic villain), SSR Saves the World (aliens invade our universe, and Jim flirts with them!), SSR is Born (the prequel), and SSR Joins the Circus.
The latest, the Stainless Steel Rat Returns, isn't quite a five star entry, but it has many of the qualities of the best of them. The plot draws the original stories and the `prequel' stories together, as Jim is visited by cousins from his rural home planet who bring with them a herd of porcuswines. As with most of the rest of the series, the plot consists of a series of catastrophes and hairbreadth escapes, building to the final confrontation. Along the way Harrison takes a few swipes at the banking system and the human race's ability to start a conflict over just about any kind of difference between two groups. The only thing really missing is the trademark Slippery Jim bank heist or theft.
The first time through I read this at a greedy gallop because I wanted to find out what happened next. A second reading allowed me to savour the best bits. And I've just heard a snippet of the audio book, which sounds great, so I'll be picking that up too. So this book's probably a three or a four, and I'm giving it four stars because I'm glad to see the Rat back.
For me there's only one dud in the series, The SSR Goes to Hell, and I should probably read that one again before condemning it completely. Five star books in the series are the original novel, The Stainless Steel Rat, plus SSR Saves the World (time travel and a Napoleonic villain), SSR Saves the World (aliens invade our universe, and Jim flirts with them!), SSR is Born (the prequel), and SSR Joins the Circus.
The latest, the Stainless Steel Rat Returns, isn't quite a five star entry, but it has many of the qualities of the best of them. The plot draws the original stories and the `prequel' stories together, as Jim is visited by cousins from his rural home planet who bring with them a herd of porcuswines. As with most of the rest of the series, the plot consists of a series of catastrophes and hairbreadth escapes, building to the final confrontation. Along the way Harrison takes a few swipes at the banking system and the human race's ability to start a conflict over just about any kind of difference between two groups. The only thing really missing is the trademark Slippery Jim bank heist or theft.
The first time through I read this at a greedy gallop because I wanted to find out what happened next. A second reading allowed me to savour the best bits. And I've just heard a snippet of the audio book, which sounds great, so I'll be picking that up too. So this book's probably a three or a four, and I'm giving it four stars because I'm glad to see the Rat back.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Oh dear. I bought this book without first reading the other reviews, and really wish I had for I might have saved my money and not gone ahead with the purchase. I too have loved the works of Harry Harrison for many years. His writing has almost always been taut, with good story lines , believable characters and many, many laughs. Jim diGriz in this book drinks too much and is a victim of circumstance, not a stainless steel rat in the walls of a future society that is just begging to be conned. The plots, all three of them, hang together in a loose way that doesn't demand you keep reading until the end. I took a week to read this instead of the three or four hours solid that I would normally take on one of Mr Harrison's books, much of it spent wishing the book had ended. The individual plots are poorly thought through and executed, the characters sketchy at best. Angelina is a bit character, one of the twins a walk-on part only. The bad guys come and go, the good guys similarly and all without any real story ending. Don't bother is my advice to anyone tempted to buy this book.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Aimless and dull
Don't get me wrong, I love the Stainless Steel Rat from my youth. In fact in the Kindle editions I enjoyed going back to his worlds again. Read more
Published 2 months ago by King_Rat
stainless steel rat books
Thankfully the rat has returned, This one is a welcome addition to all my other rat books, Although i felt a little bit let down by the story line i still found it hard to put this... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Edge
Mediocre Rat is still good reading
It's true, this isn't one of the best entries in the series. There is too much socializing going on at the expense of plot. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Iljitsch van Beijnum
More of a remake than a real Stainless Steel Rat book
I don't think anything could have lived up to my expectations for this book, but it does come close. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Marcus Blakeston
A Welcome Return for the Rat
I enjoyed this one. Harrison has addressed some of the flaws in the later books in the series. Jim and Angelina have their wealth stripped away and so some of the old hunger is... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Brian_OWC
Dissapointing
I have been a fan of Jim DiGriz since I was a teenager - and bought this hoping it would be similar to the rest. Sadly no. Read more
Published 21 months ago by P. Fenton
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