Scan barcode
hagbard_celine's review against another edition
3.0
Gotta love a master spy/thief/nogoodnik who infiltrates intergalactic empires while sneaking in booze to avoid the DTs.
kynan's review against another edition
3.0
There was a nine year hiatus between the first and second Stainless Steel Rat books, but there's certainly nothing in terms of content that would give that away. One thing I realised is that this book (and it's predecessor) have a lot in common with the James Bond movies that were being produced around this time; Harry Harrison could easily have been writing screenplays for that particular franchise!
The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge is another non-stop action adventure featuring everyone's favourite narcissistic misogynist Slippery Jim diGriz! Actually, misogynist is probably a bit harsh, a product of its time, this book does actually seem to be trying to do its bit for progressive feminism: there is a whole planet that has been successfully run as a matriarchy for years but diGriz can't help classifying everyone as "girl" and, in a rather revealing slip, one of the female factory owners whilst expounding on the merits of her robotic butlers states:
If you can overlook the 70's attitude towards women then there's a lot of over-the-top fun to be had here. The action literally starts from the first paragraph, picking up the characters of James and Angelina from the first book (Angelina has spent some time with the preternaturally-skilled psychologists of the Special Corps and is no longer quite so psychopathic) whom are about to get married and the action is such that, by chapter three, they are well on the way to infiltrating and attempting to extinguish the interplanetary invasion tendencies of a particularly war-mongering planet.
Similar to the first book, the "plot" steps us from set-piece to set-piece and we witness diGriz pulling off coup after coup, every chapter a cliffhanger ending! It really is fun and it's full of fantastic displays of self-control and self-awareness embedded in humorous internal dialogue:
Despite the character flaws, there's a lot to be admired in the way diGriz thinks about the world. His persona is very much that of a libertarian skeptic and he has some pretty strong ideas about the military, governments and taxes and religion. Harrison has a deft hand and diGriz makes several compact but compelling statements about the things he holds dear. On the sanctity of life:
Or life and religion:
Or war:
I think I actually enjoyed this book a bit more than the first, perhaps because the crazy ambition just takes everything to the next level! The plans and solutions that are dreamt up are truly audacious and watching them unravel and get patched by even more outrageous things is a hell of a lot of fun. There is no thought given to the ability of the technology and although lip-service is paid to the concept of logistics, a significant portion of what happens here just isn't really plausible. But I don't think it's meant to be
The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge is another non-stop action adventure featuring everyone's favourite narcissistic misogynist Slippery Jim diGriz! Actually, misogynist is probably a bit harsh, a product of its time, this book does actually seem to be trying to do its bit for progressive feminism: there is a whole planet that has been successfully run as a matriarchy for years but diGriz can't help classifying everyone as "girl" and, in a rather revealing slip, one of the female factory owners whilst expounding on the merits of her robotic butlers states:
A butler, a servant, a willing aid around the house that makes the house a home, relieving the lady of the establishment of the chores and cares and stresses of modern living…The "lady of the establishment" in this civilization is very much not the one performing these chores!
If you can overlook the 70's attitude towards women then there's a lot of over-the-top fun to be had here. The action literally starts from the first paragraph, picking up the characters of James and Angelina from the first book (Angelina has spent some time with the preternaturally-skilled psychologists of the Special Corps and is no longer quite so psychopathic) whom are about to get married and the action is such that, by chapter three, they are well on the way to infiltrating and attempting to extinguish the interplanetary invasion tendencies of a particularly war-mongering planet.
Similar to the first book, the "plot" steps us from set-piece to set-piece and we witness diGriz pulling off coup after coup, every chapter a cliffhanger ending! It really is fun and it's full of fantastic displays of self-control and self-awareness embedded in humorous internal dialogue:
Panic! Or rather a moment of panic. I always allow myself at least a brief panic in any tight situation. This flushes out the bloodstream, starts the heart pumping faster, releases a jolt of adrenalin and provides other nice things for an emergency. But only a little panic, time was pressing.
Despite the character flaws, there's a lot to be admired in the way diGriz thinks about the world. His persona is very much that of a libertarian skeptic and he has some pretty strong ideas about the military, governments and taxes and religion. Harrison has a deft hand and diGriz makes several compact but compelling statements about the things he holds dear. On the sanctity of life:
Each of us has only this one brief experience with the bright light of consciousness in that endless dark night of eternity and must make the most of it. Doing this means we must respect the existence of everyone else and the most criminal act imaginable is the terminating of one of these conscious existences.
Or life and religion:
I've killed in self-defense, I’ll not deny that, but I still maintain an exaggerated respect for life in all forms. Now that we know that the only thing on the other side of the sky is more sky, the idea of an afterlife has finally been slid into the history books alongside the rest of the quaint and forgotten religions. With heaven and hell gone we are faced with the necessity of making a heaven or hell right here.
Or war:
War is a violation of any code of ethics or morality, a monstrosity against which any weapons must be used.
I think I actually enjoyed this book a bit more than the first, perhaps because the crazy ambition just takes everything to the next level! The plans and solutions that are dreamt up are truly audacious and watching them unravel and get patched by even more outrageous things is a hell of a lot of fun. There is no thought given to the ability of the technology and although lip-service is paid to the concept of logistics, a significant portion of what happens here just isn't really plausible. But I don't think it's meant to be
archiekeys99's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
cjdavey's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
hoperu's review against another edition
3.0
This time James DiGriz is fighting space communists and working with a sexy lady army, slipping out of trap after trap once again.
bibliophilelinda's review against another edition
5.0
In this next installment of the Stainless Steel Rat Series "Slippery" Jim DiGriz marries the homocide-happy Angelina and is sent to the planet Cliaand to infiltrate and prevent their military from conquering less resistant planets. Along the way he robs banks, becomes a proud father of two bouncing baby boys, assumes personalities as frequently as he changes socks, successfully ingratiates himself in the military hierarchy only to be discovered, receives the worse type of psychological torture, has to rescue his wife only to reciprocally need rescuing and successfully prevents another galaxic catastrophe. A funny, well-written and entertaining read for fans of science fiction, humor, and political satire.
wyrmbergmalcolm's review
4.0
This enjoyable infiltration and sabotage story of one man against an entire world is very reminiscent of Eric Frank Russell’s Wasp. It has a nice satirical look at the military and warmongery in general. Jim’s new wife Angelina features a little in this one, but mainly is just Jim.
The only negative about this book, and the series as a whole, is the James Bond level of survivability of the titular character. Yes, he finds himself in bleak situations but you know he’s always going to get out of them somehow. Sometimes though, it’s nice to just read an enjoyable romp without any stress.
The only negative about this book, and the series as a whole, is the James Bond level of survivability of the titular character. Yes, he finds himself in bleak situations but you know he’s always going to get out of them somehow. Sometimes though, it’s nice to just read an enjoyable romp without any stress.
thomcat's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the premise (invading a planet from another planet is impossible - but these guys are doing it - go figure out how). The infiltration and action were just as clever and fun as in the first book. The information gained late in the book seems to hint at a recurring villain. The only thing that lets this down is the solution to the original problem - it turns out they are successful invading planets because... they convert all the resources to invading the next planet? Not terribly convincing.
ellimister's review
4.0
Ugh, this reader and the way he never says DeGriz. Other than that, this was a fine books.