Customer Reviews

The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

There is very little in the world worse than watching a favorite author write well below his potential. The four previous Stainless Steel Rat books I had read were all full of acerbic wit, tight action, and amazing (yet credible) escapes. This one is lacking in nearly every category. With every page, I was desperately hoping that Harrison would break out and regain his form. Alas, it was not to be.

This book is what I consider the terminal end to the series. I've been a die-hard fan of Slippery Jim for around... two decades (and I'm only 26). This book, however, is a phenominal whiffle of bunk. I can't believe that the series has become this corny. It's terribly insulting that Mr. Harrison would do this to one of my most beloved literary memories. Not that I want to give away any spoilers, but I have one word for those of us that have already read the book... SAUSAGES!
So lets say that you don't believe me. Just have a look at the cover. That pretty much sums up the feel of this book. Corny. It made me irate for days.
I'd still like to recommend the first 7-8 books in the series to you folks, though.

It wasn't the best Stainless Steel Rat book I've read, but it was still pretty damn good!

Perhaps not quite as good as the rest of the books, it still is lovely reading.

I did enjoy this latest SSR book but, not quite as much as the others I have read. I love the books that include Angelina & the boys but, in this one Jim seems a little out of character at times. His usual quick glance at other ladies seemed to linger much longer than normal, in Angelina's absence. He didn't jump to self-correct his wandering eyes as quickly as he used to.

Other than that & a disappointing ending to a certain love triangle that had formed... (I won't give anything away)... I still enjoyed this Stainless Steel Rat adventure. You do have to put common sense & reality aside in order to immerse yourself into this plot but, SSR readers should be used to that by now! Give this book a chance... let yourself believe in the impossible & you'll enjoy this one too!

I was very disappointed by the previous SSR book - The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues - but I was hoping that it was a sad lapse by a writer that I have otherwise enjoyed consistently. I was wrong. Very wrong. This book reads like a parody of his previous books. The humor is forced, the characters are flat, the plot is ludicrous (and manages the neat trick of being both rushed and tedious at the same time), and incredibly useful (and incoherent) devices are invented at the drop of a hat whenever the main characters need them.

I earnestly hope that Harry Harrison doesn't write another SSR book because if he writes one I'll buy it and read it and I'm pretty sure after the last two that I won't like it.

Harry Harrison has done it again! As soon as I found out that another Stainless Steel Rat Book was out, I RAN to the book store to pick it up! TSSR goes to Hell is a great book; everything you would expect from Jim diGriz and his wife Angelina & Sons! Anyone who has read this series has got to pick this one up... (It would make a killer movie too!) As would many of the other excellent (and hilarious)adventures the Old Rat gets into... Pick it up and ENJOY!!!

The Stainless Steel Rat Goes To Hell - in a hand basket. The story you are about to read is trite, only the names have been kept to hoodwink the innocent. Where is the cleverness? Where is the humour? I have avidly followed 'The Rat' from the beginning and this is not the rat I have come to enjoy so much. I looked hard to make sure this was actually a Harrison, because it reads like a cheap copy. This is definitely a low point. I console myself that anything he writes from now on can only be better

First there was "The Stainless Steel Rat", our introduction to Slippery Jim diGriz, aka the Stainless Steel Rat, the galaxy's greatest thief and con man, in which our hero, after a long and successful career is apprehended by the galactic special corps and "persuaded" to join them, on the theory that it takes a thief to catch a thief. Then there followed four sequels; in order, "The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge", "The Stainless Steel Rat Saves The World", "The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You!", and "The Stainless Steel Rat For President". Then, apparently growing bored with the direction that his series was taking, Harrison wrote the prequel, "A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born", followed by a sequal to the prequel, "The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted", and a sequel to that, "The Stainless Steel Rat Sings The Blues". This book is a return to the original sequence, following "The Stainless Steel Rat For President".

All of these books are fun reads, light and action-filled, without overmuch concern for plot plausibility or consistency. This one is no exception. Still, it did seem to me that the writing style had matured a bit; this is one of the better books in the series from that standpoint. Still, the plot itself seemed rather weak, and the ending rather unsatisfying. All in all, it isn't bad, but don't expect too much. Read it for entertainment, not when you want a book that makes much sense.

I always found the Stainless Steel Rat series engaging and entertaining. Unfortunately this novel does not meet my expectations. Its plot seems to wander from one stupid thing to the next - totally ruining the scene. Jim DiGriz seems to be totally out of character and has lost his wit. This novel bares an unfortunate resemblance to the terrible "Bill the Galactic Hero". I hope the next novel doesn't lack the chaotic wit the others did. Well, I've said my piece.