Bill, the Galactic Hero on the Planet of Robot Slaves [Hardcover]

Harry Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 1989

A sequel to the author's "Bill, the Galactic Hero", published over 20 years ago, this book is the first of a new series of novels featuring Bill. With two right arms, an artificial foot, and a set of surgically-implanted tusks, Bill sets out to find the source of Chinger-controlled metal dragons.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

After an attack by mechanical dragons destroys the Imperial military base on the planet Grundgy, Corporal Bill is "volunteered" to locate the source-planet of the evil machines. The author of the "Stainless Steel Rat" series continues the adventures of another irrepressible "hero" in an outrageous spoof that features broad satire, slapstick humor, and a strong antiwar message. For large collections.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Gollancz (October 19, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0575046155
• ISBN-13: 978-0575046153
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,743,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty Good Barthroom Humor, March 15, 2004

By 

C. T. Mikesell (near Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bill, the Galactic Hero on the Planet of Robot Slaves (Paperback)

Harry Harrison's Bill the Galactic Hero (BtGH) series is the sci-fi equivalent of Robert Aspirin's "Myth" fantasy books: pun-based humor is paramount and the more improbable the plotline the better.

This time around BtGH and company find themselves on the Planet of Usa after a nasty Chinger attack on their military base. Robotic lifeforms are the indigenous species on the planet, with two factions endlessly at war with each other. The Chingers have allied themselves with one of the factions (the one with the robot slaves), leaving the humans to ally themselves with the other. Residing on the planet are several humanoid groups, also endlessly at war with each other.

If you've picked up on the theme of endless war then this book might not be too subtle for you (if the theme escaped you, you might consider a position as a cadet with the Space Troopers). The machinations of war are severely criticized - and parodied - in the novel. In this respect the book is similar to Joseph Heller's Catch-22 (in much the same way that microwaveable pork rinds are akin to a Honeybaked ham), but because so little of the storyline can be taken seriously Harrison's commentary is easily dismissed if you happen to disagree with it.

The first BtGH book was divided into three major sections. Here the story takes place in half a dozen or so set pieces, each having very little to do with each other (beyond taking place on the Planet of the Robot Slaves). Some of them are funny (The Roman Legion vs. King Arthur), some of them are not (the PLDP).

Take away the comedy and there's not a lot to recommend this book. I happen to find character names like Cy BerPunk (computer technician) and Mel Praktis (doctor) mildly amusing - plus my father, brother and a nephew are each named Bill (only the nephew has true Galactic Hero potential), so it's fun to tweak them about their namesake. If these things don't hold true for you, you might want to consider reading a different book.

5.0 out of 5 stars The third in the Starship Troopers, Forever War trilogy, February 3, 2010

By 

Charlweed (S.F. Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bill, the Galactic Hero on the Planet of Robot Slaves (Hardcover)

This review was supposed to be for the FIRST BTGH book. Sorry for clicking the wrong title.
Please see Bill The Galactic Hero

4.0 out of 5 stars Like all of the best parodies, it can be difficult for some people to read and appreciate, October 26, 2009

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Planet of the Robot Slaves (Bill the Galactic Hero) (Paperback)

The puns in this book whiz by at a rapid and frequent pace, it takes an agile mind to catch and appreciate them all. It is a science fiction story that is a parody of science fiction stories, the human propensity for war and the military mindset that propagates it. Bill is a reluctant soldier, he was drafted into the military yet has no stomach for the arts of war; he would rather spend his time in chemically induced bliss.
Through a sequence of foul-ups, Bill finds himself marooned on a planet with a few other misfits, one of which is called Cy BerPunk. None of them could ever be mistaken for a person with courage and they find themselves riding dragons, fighting with and against mechanical war machines and in the territory of Barthroom, where a southern gentleman named Jonkarta rules with his fiancee Princess Dejah Vue. King Arthur, Merlin, a parody of the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz and many other references to the pulp side of science fiction make an appearance.
To completely appreciate this book it is necessary to know something about the history of science fiction where science is not paramount. For example, the reference to Barthroom has a double meaning, the more obvious one to "bathroom" and the more complex one to the stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs. With parodies piled on parodies, this book is fun to read as long as you take not a single word of it seriously.