Define 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 | : | Anniversary 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 |
Harry Harrison
Mass Market Paperback | Pages: 208 pages Rating: 3.93 | 13386 Users | 456 Reviews
Interpretation 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. Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes …..
Specify Books Supposing 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) |
Rating Of Books The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat (Publication Order) #1)
Ratings: 3.93 From 13386 Users | 456 ReviewsCommentary Of Books The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat (Publication Order) #1)
I absolutely love all the Stainless Steel Rat books, and have read each one many times. I cannot recommend them highly enoughA 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
I think the fact that it's taken me a week to get through a third of this short book is a fair indication of my total lack of interest, so I'm giving up.I read this and a couple more of the series back in my teens and remember enjoying them well enough. And I can't really say there's anything about it that's actually annoying me this time round. It's just a pulp crime caper set in space and good enough at being that. But it's not special - I don't understand why it seems to be hailed as some
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
Good action, clever spy thriller and a bunch of crime geniuses that actually come across as smart, and a sympathetic main character, all more than make up for the relatively petty shortcomings of slightly uneven plotting and shallow universe. I believe I will keep up with the series.
ORIGINALLY 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
Rating: 3* of fiveDistastefully sexist, but 58 years old. (The book, not the reviewer.) (Although I'm regularly informed of my innate inferiority of character due to sexism.)It was a modest amount of fun reading it because I like capers. "Slippery Jim" diGriz plans a fun caper indeed, thrice in fact, and I had no problem seeing how to modernize the capers. Still and all, I can't really think of a reason to read the book if you haven't already because there's really nothing substantive to be
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