Customer Reviews

Stainless Steel Rat for President (Stainless Steel Rat Books (Paperback))

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you like the Stainless Steel Rat books, this will be one of your favorites! Slippery Jim is at his best when accompanied by Angelina and the boys... which is the case here. The SSR puts together one of his best schemes with the help of his lady love and slippery sons. This one has it all: politics, laughs, adventure & even a hint of romance! Harrison does it again.

Fascist dictators, watch out -- Slippery Jim diGriz is on the planet, and he'll stop at nothing to secure freedom, peace, and representation for the people. Even if he has to lie, cheat, steal, and stuff ballot boxes to do it.

Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series is lots of fun and you can't help but love con-man Slippery Jim, his sadistic wife Angelina, and their twin sons James and Bolivar who are, for better or worse, chips off the old blocks. This time, in The Stainless Steel Rat for President, the whole family takes a vacation on a backward planet that's modeled after a mid-20th-century Central American republic which is democratic in theory but in reality is being enslaved by a totalitarian dictator backed by a vicious military force. Even though they're completely corrupt themselves, the diGriz family can't stand to see innocent people suffering because they make their living stealing from corporations -- not people (I'm not sure what kind of entities own, run, and otherwise make their livings from the corporations if it's not people... but, I digress...).

No corrupt martial government is a match for the diGriz family. Armed with their combined good looks and sharp wits, a fast car, lots of cool gadgets, a wardrobe of disguises, and plenty of sleep gas and nose plugs, they set out to bring down the tyrant. And, of course, we know they will -- the fun is in how they get it done and the trouble they run into along the way. The Stainless Steel Rat for President relies too heavily on the sleep gas (every time we think Jim's bound to be caught, out it comes), and the story drags during some car chases, but there are many clever scenes and laugh-out-loud moments.

The best part, as I've mentioned before with this series, is the production by Brilliance Audio. These books are read by the riotously funny voice actor Phil Gigante who saves the day by providing constant diversion even when the plot sometimes can't quite muster it up.

Harry Harrison does comedy better than almost any other Science Fiction writer, and the Stainless Steel Rat - Slippery Jim Di Griz - is probably his funniest creation. This is my personal favourite of the Stainless Steel Rat books.

After one adventure too many, Slippery Jim, his beautiful but slightly murderous wife Angelina, and their two sons decide to have a rest on a backward planet. However, they get mixed up in the planet's politics, challenging the military dictator who has maintained himself in power for hundreds of years by rigging electors.

If you enjoy this, another comedy SF series which might amuse you, by Harrison's only serious competitor for the title of funniest Science Fiction writer, is the Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold. The first book about Miles is "The Warrior's Apprentice."

Looking back on the events of "The Stainless Steel Rat for President" I wonder if Ferdinand Marcos read it. If so, unluckily for him, so did his opponents ....

Strongly recommended

One has to keep in mind that once a pop culture symbol such as James Bond secures a certain niche in society that a bit of parody is to be expected. Such is the case with the television series "Get Smart" which mocked Bond to perfection and such it is with The Stainless Steel Rat. Spending a belated honeymoon with the reformed femme fatale, Angelina, who is now his beloved wife they find themselves embroiled in intrigue and andventure when fate places them on a planet run by an evil, tyranical dictator who rigs the elections for certain victory. Though Jim DiGriz is seen as having matured a bit since his last outings his stainless steel exterior hasn't tarnished in the least. Amidst the mayhem humor abounds for an enjoyable laugh at what the life of a government agent might be like in a galaxy soon to come but not, necessarily, so far away.

Yes, Slippery Jim DiGriz, AKA the infamous Stainless Steel Rat, is at it again in this epic novel of crime, comedy, and political chicanery! This book will leave you in awe of the Rat's incredibly clever conniving crookery, as he duels with the evil dictator Zapilote for control of a paradise planet. A word of advice, though: be careful when you get wrapped up in this novel. Jim DiGriz is so slippery, you just might find your pockets picked

Like previous Stainless Steel Rat series books I have read, Harry Harrison makes you laugh all the way through the book along with intrigue and suspense. I think this can be enjoyed by about every one.

One of the best books in the series. Witty, satirical, and just a fun read. When a courier carrying a secret message for Slippery Jim is found murdered by the police it's up to the Stainless Steel Rat to find out why. Political hijinks are the rules of the game and the Rat plays it dirtier than the rest.

Another amusing installment of the Stainless Steel Rat series. When Slippery Jim di Griz is on holiday with his easy on the eyes spousal unit, he deals with the local politician, who keeps himself in power though skullduggery.

The Rat is a master of this, and decides to go into politics and beat him at his own game, and much entertainment is had by all.

The Stainless Steel Rat is back and he's... well, he's exactly the same as he was in his previous books, except now he's got a wife and two grown sons who are exactly the same as well. And that's as it should be. Reading a SSR book isn't about character development, or moral complications, or really anything at all other than watching an incredibly cool, practically unstoppable James Bond style superman work his way through platoons of bad-guy minions. The fact that we get a liberal sprinkling of science fiction goodies like space-ships and sleep bombs only adds to the fun.

I particularly liked this book for the way it changed the typical conflict: Instead of requiring a solitary mission to snatch some valuable item or stop some particular bad guy Slipper Jim must steal an entire election in order to save a planet under the dictatorial rule of a "president for life". This expanded the tricks necessary to win the day and introduced many amusing concepts, from voting the graveyard to protecting your political rallies from ballistic missile attack. Now if Harry Harrison could just have realized a little earlier that Esperanto was never going to be a Galactic lingua fraca, the entire book would have been one perfect romp.

Hello, everyone! Owning a few of the other books in the Stainless Steel Rat series, I got this book second-hand from an Amazon vendor to complete my SSR collection that I've been slowly building up since my mid-teens. I got a very good copy for a few bucks, so it was a good deal. The book caused me to chuckle at a few places, but nothing over-the-top-funny. If you want a quick read that isn't too heavy, really recommended. Otherwise, you may want to look elsewhere for your sci-fi comedy, such as Douglas Adams' awesome stuff. Just my two cents! =)