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kynan's review
1.0
TL;DR: Do not read, for completionists only.
TL: I'm not a "read between the lines" kind of guy. I'm happy to read something and the have a big ole think about it after the fact but, I'm going to read the lines and take them as read. This pig-headed literalness, combined with my confusion around this series and what might constitute satire therein, has lead to an extreme level of uneasiness with regard to the content of this book. Maybe this was Mr Harrison's none-too-subtle jab at [b:Atlas Shrugged|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405868167l/662._SY75_.jpg|817219] (although he left the run a bit late if so). This book is a real reversion to misogynistic viewpoints espoused back in [b:The Stainless Steel Rat|64394|The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat, #4)|Harry Harrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328073906l/64394._SY75_.jpg|824589]. The original sexism is back, and it brought its friend homophobia along for the ride! But maybe that's a) also biting satire aimed at skewering the military and its inability to accept all but an outwardly straight-laced society, b) an attempt to stay true to the likely mindset of the time, based on the chronological order of this book in the series. I don't know, but it's enough to make for some uneasy reading.
On the face of it, this is just another episode in the Stainless Steel Rat series, but it really falls flat. The normal happy satirical jabs are replaced with slabs of Rand-like diatribe (in terms of tone, volume and content!) and the usual joie de vivre is missing. Maybe it's the way the story starts, with Jim hell-bent on murderous revenge for the death of The Bishop, maybe it's the slow discovery of his future morals through action and didactic monologue, maybe it's the lack of the usual ridiculous set-pieces told in a familiar yet unfitting voice as the not-yet-twenty Jimmy diGriz makes astoundingly well thought-out and canny decisions under immense pressure or maybe it's just all of those things put together. Whatever it is, the frankenstein story that results is not enjoyable.
The story picks up directly where [b:A Stainless Steel Rat is Born|64397|A Stainless Steel Rat is Born (Stainless Steel Rat, #1)|Harry Harrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334406277l/64397._SY75_.jpg|62514] leaves off and young Jim is attempting to pick up the trail of Captain Garth, who sold Jim and The Bishop into slavery back on Spiovente and whom Jim directly blames for The Bishop's death. Jim is still contained in the League prison, awaiting shipment back to Bit 'o Heaven at the outset and, as you can imagine, he doesn't stay contained for long. Subsequently the action bounces around the planet, taking a chapter or seven to launch a blisteringly excoriating diatribe against the military in general before moving on to a new planet, and a lesson in "Individual Mutualism".
It's a heavy-going slog in terms of the usual Stainless Steel Rat fare and, despite an attempt at the usual histrionics, it feels forced and un-fun. I wouldn't recommend reading this book and I think its only redeeming feature is that I learned the word borborygmus from it.
Oh, and just a footnote for me: this is the first one of the series that I don't think I actually read when I was younger. I have very strong memories of the others, but this story was all new to me.
TL: I'm not a "read between the lines" kind of guy. I'm happy to read something and the have a big ole think about it after the fact but, I'm going to read the lines and take them as read. This pig-headed literalness, combined with my confusion around this series and what might constitute satire therein, has lead to an extreme level of uneasiness with regard to the content of this book. Maybe this was Mr Harrison's none-too-subtle jab at [b:Atlas Shrugged|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405868167l/662._SY75_.jpg|817219] (although he left the run a bit late if so). This book is a real reversion to misogynistic viewpoints espoused back in [b:The Stainless Steel Rat|64394|The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat, #4)|Harry Harrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328073906l/64394._SY75_.jpg|824589]. The original sexism is back, and it brought its friend homophobia along for the ride! But maybe that's a) also biting satire aimed at skewering the military and its inability to accept all but an outwardly straight-laced society, b) an attempt to stay true to the likely mindset of the time, based on the chronological order of this book in the series. I don't know, but it's enough to make for some uneasy reading.
On the face of it, this is just another episode in the Stainless Steel Rat series, but it really falls flat. The normal happy satirical jabs are replaced with slabs of Rand-like diatribe (in terms of tone, volume and content!) and the usual joie de vivre is missing. Maybe it's the way the story starts, with Jim hell-bent on murderous revenge for the death of The Bishop, maybe it's the slow discovery of his future morals through action and didactic monologue, maybe it's the lack of the usual ridiculous set-pieces told in a familiar yet unfitting voice as the not-yet-twenty Jimmy diGriz makes astoundingly well thought-out and canny decisions under immense pressure or maybe it's just all of those things put together. Whatever it is, the frankenstein story that results is not enjoyable.
The story picks up directly where [b:A Stainless Steel Rat is Born|64397|A Stainless Steel Rat is Born (Stainless Steel Rat, #1)|Harry Harrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334406277l/64397._SY75_.jpg|62514] leaves off and young Jim is attempting to pick up the trail of Captain Garth, who sold Jim and The Bishop into slavery back on Spiovente and whom Jim directly blames for The Bishop's death. Jim is still contained in the League prison, awaiting shipment back to Bit 'o Heaven at the outset and, as you can imagine, he doesn't stay contained for long. Subsequently the action bounces around the planet, taking a chapter or seven to launch a blisteringly excoriating diatribe against the military in general before moving on to a new planet, and a lesson in "Individual Mutualism".
It's a heavy-going slog in terms of the usual Stainless Steel Rat fare and, despite an attempt at the usual histrionics, it feels forced and un-fun. I wouldn't recommend reading this book and I think its only redeeming feature is that I learned the word borborygmus from it.
Oh, and just a footnote for me: this is the first one of the series that I don't think I actually read when I was younger. I have very strong memories of the others, but this story was all new to me.
kynan's review against another edition
1.0
TL;DR: Do not read, for completionists only.
TL: I'm not a "read between the lines" kind of guy. I'm happy to read something and the have a big ole think about it after the fact but, I'm going to read the lines and take them as read. This pig-headed literalness, combined with my confusion around this series and what might constitute satire therein, has lead to an extreme level of uneasiness with regard to the content of this book. Maybe this was Mr Harrison's none-too-subtle jab at [b:Atlas Shrugged|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405868167l/662._SY75_.jpg|817219] (although he left the run a bit late if so). This book is a real reversion to misogynistic viewpoints espoused back in [b:The Stainless Steel Rat|64394|The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat, #4)|Harry Harrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328073906l/64394._SY75_.jpg|824589]. The original sexism is back, and it brought its friend homophobia along for the ride! But maybe that's a) also biting satire aimed at skewering the military and its inability to accept all but an outwardly straight-laced society, b) an attempt to stay true to the likely mindset of the time, based on the chronological order of this book in the series. I don't know, but it's enough to make for some uneasy reading.
On the face of it, this is just another episode in the Stainless Steel Rat series, but it really falls flat. The normal happy satirical jabs are replaced with slabs of Rand-like diatribe (in terms of tone, volume and content!) and the usual joie de vivre is missing. Maybe it's the way the story starts, with Jim hell-bent on murderous revenge for the death of The Bishop, maybe it's the slow discovery of his future morals through action and didactic monologue, maybe it's the lack of the usual ridiculous set-pieces told in a familiar yet unfitting voice as the not-yet-twenty Jimmy diGriz makes astoundingly well thought-out and canny decisions under immense pressure or maybe it's just all of those things put together. Whatever it is, the frankenstein story that results is not enjoyable.
The story picks up directly where [b:A Stainless Steel Rat is Born|64397|A Stainless Steel Rat is Born (Stainless Steel Rat, #1)|Harry Harrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334406277l/64397._SY75_.jpg|62514] leaves off and young Jim is attempting to pick up the trail of Captain Garth, who sold Jim and The Bishop into slavery back on Spiovente and whom Jim directly blames for The Bishop's death. Jim is still contained in the League prison, awaiting shipment back to Bit 'o Heaven at the outset and, as you can imagine, he doesn't stay contained for long. Subsequently the action bounces around the planet, taking a chapter or seven to launch a blisteringly excoriating diatribe against the military in general before moving on to a new planet, and a lesson in "Individual Mutualism".
It's a heavy-going slog in terms of the usual Stainless Steel Rat fare and, despite an attempt at the usual histrionics, it feels forced and un-fun. I wouldn't recommend reading this book and I think its only redeeming feature is that I learned the word borborygmus from it.
Oh, and just a footnote for me: this is the first one of the series that I don't think I actually read when I was younger. I have very strong memories of the others, but this story was all new to me.
TL: I'm not a "read between the lines" kind of guy. I'm happy to read something and the have a big ole think about it after the fact but, I'm going to read the lines and take them as read. This pig-headed literalness, combined with my confusion around this series and what might constitute satire therein, has lead to an extreme level of uneasiness with regard to the content of this book. Maybe this was Mr Harrison's none-too-subtle jab at [b:Atlas Shrugged|662|Atlas Shrugged|Ayn Rand|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1405868167l/662._SY75_.jpg|817219] (although he left the run a bit late if so). This book is a real reversion to misogynistic viewpoints espoused back in [b:The Stainless Steel Rat|64394|The Stainless Steel Rat (Stainless Steel Rat, #4)|Harry Harrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328073906l/64394._SY75_.jpg|824589]. The original sexism is back, and it brought its friend homophobia along for the ride! But maybe that's a) also biting satire aimed at skewering the military and its inability to accept all but an outwardly straight-laced society, b) an attempt to stay true to the likely mindset of the time, based on the chronological order of this book in the series. I don't know, but it's enough to make for some uneasy reading.
On the face of it, this is just another episode in the Stainless Steel Rat series, but it really falls flat. The normal happy satirical jabs are replaced with slabs of Rand-like diatribe (in terms of tone, volume and content!) and the usual joie de vivre is missing. Maybe it's the way the story starts, with Jim hell-bent on murderous revenge for the death of The Bishop, maybe it's the slow discovery of his future morals through action and didactic monologue, maybe it's the lack of the usual ridiculous set-pieces told in a familiar yet unfitting voice as the not-yet-twenty Jimmy diGriz makes astoundingly well thought-out and canny decisions under immense pressure or maybe it's just all of those things put together. Whatever it is, the frankenstein story that results is not enjoyable.
The story picks up directly where [b:A Stainless Steel Rat is Born|64397|A Stainless Steel Rat is Born (Stainless Steel Rat, #1)|Harry Harrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334406277l/64397._SY75_.jpg|62514] leaves off and young Jim is attempting to pick up the trail of Captain Garth, who sold Jim and The Bishop into slavery back on Spiovente and whom Jim directly blames for The Bishop's death. Jim is still contained in the League prison, awaiting shipment back to Bit 'o Heaven at the outset and, as you can imagine, he doesn't stay contained for long. Subsequently the action bounces around the planet, taking a chapter or seven to launch a blisteringly excoriating diatribe against the military in general before moving on to a new planet, and a lesson in "Individual Mutualism".
It's a heavy-going slog in terms of the usual Stainless Steel Rat fare and, despite an attempt at the usual histrionics, it feels forced and un-fun. I wouldn't recommend reading this book and I think its only redeeming feature is that I learned the word borborygmus from it.
Oh, and just a footnote for me: this is the first one of the series that I don't think I actually read when I was younger. I have very strong memories of the others, but this story was all new to me.
moonblink39's review
2.0
Read as part of [b:A Stainless Steel Trio|172486|A Stainless Steel Trio (Stainless Steel Rat, #1-3)|Harry Harrison|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388629202s/172486.jpg|62525]
theoverindulged's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I’m reading these in chronological order, rather than order of release, and I can’t say that this is as strong as book one. It starts out very slow, lots of buildup when we know the who, what, and why. But it picks up so much faster and really is a terrific read! Fun, funny, just tense enough, and as loveable as book one.
cjdavey's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
thomcat's review against another edition
3.0
Opens well enough, and a few daring escapes later, our hero ends up drafted. After that, it becomes clumsy anti-army kind of stuff. The antagonist is a paper-thin caricature. Few daring escapes, little cleverness, one great character (Mark). There is one more sequel to this, prequel to the original book, and I am hoping for better.
vaderbird's review against another edition
3.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
ianbanks's review against another edition
3.0
Ths begins almost immediately after the close of the last book. This is a very rare occurrence in the life of the Rat. And while it does add to the immediacy of the story it does make the reader want to compare the two adventures more than they might normally. Which is a shame because this is probably the weakest of the Rat's adventures so far: it's a good fun read, but it covers no new ground, feels like a rerun of capers past and has possibly the clunkier exposition in a series that relies on exposition as part of its tropes and formulae.
Put simply, it's a bit of a dud. An entertaining dud but it contradicts a few points of continuity - the idea of interplanetary invasion being expensive and pointless, for one; the continuing references to Earth/ Dirt, although that ship sailed very early on in the series, to be honest; and the entirety of the plot of The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge seems to be cribbed here, if I'm honest - but we do get a deepening of Jim's personal philosophy as well as a few glimpses into his life that we hadn't had before, so it's worth it for bridging the gap between the callow youth we met in the previous book and the seasoned criminal we meet in the (actual) first novel of the series.
Jim's capers are still one of the best ways to waste your time, though, even with a subpar entry in the series.
Put simply, it's a bit of a dud. An entertaining dud but it contradicts a few points of continuity - the idea of interplanetary invasion being expensive and pointless, for one; the continuing references to Earth/ Dirt, although that ship sailed very early on in the series, to be honest; and the entirety of the plot of The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge seems to be cribbed here, if I'm honest - but we do get a deepening of Jim's personal philosophy as well as a few glimpses into his life that we hadn't had before, so it's worth it for bridging the gap between the callow youth we met in the previous book and the seasoned criminal we meet in the (actual) first novel of the series.
Jim's capers are still one of the best ways to waste your time, though, even with a subpar entry in the series.
kbeddes's review against another edition
4.0
Genre: sci-fi, clever capers
Summary: Jim diGriz is out for revenge, going after the man that killed his mentor, the Bishop. Only, this man is a big-wig in a secret military machine. Adventures and scrapes abound.
Response: There was quite a bit of commentary about militarism and life in the military in general. I have a sneaking suspicion that the author has less than favorable views towards the military. It makes for an interesting read, especially when viewed within our context here and now. Jim also comes across a paradisaical world with an interesting political philosophy. It would have been enough to leave Jim there, happy and contented but then that would be the end of his story and seeing as there are, like, ten more books in the series, it obviously isn't the end. I enjoyed the plot-line, however unbelievable it got at points. diGriz is a fascinating character. Like I said before, he isn't perfect but he is introspective and a character which I admire.
Summary: Jim diGriz is out for revenge, going after the man that killed his mentor, the Bishop. Only, this man is a big-wig in a secret military machine. Adventures and scrapes abound.
Response: There was quite a bit of commentary about militarism and life in the military in general. I have a sneaking suspicion that the author has less than favorable views towards the military. It makes for an interesting read, especially when viewed within our context here and now. Jim also comes across a paradisaical world with an interesting political philosophy. It would have been enough to leave Jim there, happy and contented but then that would be the end of his story and seeing as there are, like, ten more books in the series, it obviously isn't the end. I enjoyed the plot-line, however unbelievable it got at points. diGriz is a fascinating character. Like I said before, he isn't perfect but he is introspective and a character which I admire.