Harry Harrison - The Stainless Steel Rat.

[Rodders]

A new fan for this old book. That's great news!!!

I read this when i was in school and really enjoyed. It was fun with great characters. As for the sequals, i think the later ones suffered somewhat, but the early ones are just as much fun as the first.

 

[Connavar]

Its practically a new book compared to my last few SF reads by Heinlein,Jack Williamson,Richard Matheson,Rocket ship Galileo(1947), Darker Than You Think(1948), I Am Legend(1954)

Good to hear once again the early sequels are good i want to read more of Slippery Jim badly ! If i hadnt ordered 7 books already this month i would gotten the omnibus with book 2-3.

 

[AE35Unit]

Con the sequels I've read are Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge, SSR Gets Drafted,and SSR Sings the Blues. All entertaining!

 

[Dave]

When I began this thread, back at the end of the Stone Age, I think the list in my first post was complete. Personally, I think they are a little hit or miss, but all reasonably good, but with a definite downward trend. I think one or two more have been written since that I haven't read, but Harrison is a prolific writer.

None are as good as the original, and it has been a while since I re-read any, but read them all. Even the interactive book is good, and the other short stories in 'Stainless Steel Visions'.

I'd also recommend 'Make Room, Make Room', the 'Deathworld' trilogy, 'Bill the Galactic Hero' and 'The Technicolour Time Machine'. I've not read his his 'Eden' books which are very popular. I must get around to those.

 

[Rodders]

I saw in Books Etc that there's an omnibus edition with all the SSR stories for £12.99.
Definately one for my next book haul.

 

[Taltos]

I saw in Books Etc that there's an omnibus edition with all the SSR stories for £12.99.
Definately one for my next book haul.

If you mean the 2008 Gollancz edition - book description says, that it contains only the first three SSR adventures.

 

[Connavar]

Thats more than enough for me. Three books at once is cheaper than looking for older copies of each book.

 

[rojse]

Harry Harrison has his own website, including an informative page on the Stainless Steel Rat series. I can't link the site yet, but is the author's first and last name with a dot com at the end. It has some interviews, artwork, information, details on the books released, and so forth.

As for Slippery Jim... yes, Stainless Steel Rat is a fun read, but the attitudes towards social issues and gender are identical to that of when the book was first written, which is disappointing for an adult reader.

 

[Allegra]

Thanks guys for reminding me to buy these books. They sound just like the type of books I'd adore!

 

[Taltos]

As for Slippery Jim... yes, Stainless Steel Rat is a fun read, but the attitudes towards social issues and gender are identical to that of when the book was first written, which is disappointing for an adult reader.

I don't understand your statement - do you really want, that someone would rewrite the SSR books to fix the "attitudes towards social issues and gender" ?
Next no doubt you'll want to fix Heinlein books.

 

[rojse]

I don't understand your statement - do you really want, that someone would rewrite the SSR books to fix the "attitudes towards social issues and gender" ?
Next no doubt you'll want to fix Heinlein books.

I am saying that my reaction towards, and rating of, "The Stainless Steel Rat" takes into account the social attitudes, particularly those towards women, present in the book. Any recommendation I make of this book to another also must take this into account.

 

[Connavar]

Then you can dismiss most of quality sf books before the the 70s.

I dont really care unless the book is full of hate,too much negative attitude.

 

[Ian Whates]

I was lucky enough to have an hour of Harry all to myself a couple of years ago in the bar at a convention in Derby, and he was telling me that a major studio bought the film rights to the Stainless Steel Rat 25 years ago (27 now) and had renewed them each year since, even threatening to start making the film once or twice without ever doing so... But there's hope it might happen one day!

 

[rojse]

Then you can dismiss most of quality sf books before the the 70s.

I dont really care unless the book is full of hate,too much negative attitude.

There are lots of SF books made before the 1970's that I think are great. Most of my top ten books are made before 1970, actually.

All that I am saying is that my opinions of a book must take into account both the way it treats social issues (including the way a book depicts women and/or various minorities) and the context that this depiction occurs in. The Stainless Steel Rat isn't nearly as bad as some SF pulp that I have read, but then, a lot of SF was rather poor in the manner in which women were depicted and writte.

If I have not made it clear in any of my posts, I do like The Stainless Steel Rat. However, in saying I like the book, I must point out that the treatment of social issues at the time must be taken into account of my judgement of the book.

 

[AE35Unit]

a lot of SF was rather poor in the manner in which women were depicted and writte.

.

Its not the fiction or the author at fault there, but the times! Thats how people were in the old days! Women were second class citizens, the cliched stay at home housewife, greeting the working man with pipe and slippers. It was a different society back then-now women have a lot more equality thank Darwin!

 

[rojse]

Its not the fiction or the author at fault there, but the times! Thats how people were in the old days! Women were second class citizens, the cliched stay at home housewife, greeting the working man with pipe and slippers. It was a different society back then-now women have a lot more equality thank Darwin!

Science Fiction writers are supposed to extrapolate about more than just the future of technology, are they not? Is an SF writer of the early sixties meant to presume that the world social structure and social systems will stay stagnant for thousands of years? What about a SF writer writing and publishing today?

 

[Connavar]

I could diss todays SF because in 90% of future sf worlds its about mostly white europeans,white americans. While in the US alone there are big procents of latinos,other type of people....

Writers in any era will write what they know from their backround. Its the same about any genre,non-genre fiction.

Lets not kid ourselfs and think we are so modern today and take a issue with the social attitudes from older fiction. Women views have improved,many things havent.

 

[rojse]

I could diss todays SF because in 90% of future sf worlds its about mostly white europeans,white americans. While in the US alone there are big procents of latinos,other type of people....

Writers in any era will write what they know from their backround. Its the same about any genre,non-genre fiction.

Lets not kid ourselfs and think we are so modern today and take a issue with the social attitudes from older fiction. Women views have improved,many things havent.

I can agree with all of that.

 

[BAYLOR]

I read the first book and found to be a very funny , entertaining and first rate read.

 

[Bick]

I need to re-read at least a couple of these - I still have the Sphere UK paperbacks I bought new in the mid-1980's:

Great stuff.