The Stainless Steel Rat Sings The Blues [Hardcover]

Harry Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1994

Caught during a failed robbery, Slippery Jim, the Stainless Steel Rat, cuts a deal--to journey to a prison planet filled with homicidal maniacs to recover a lost alien artifact--that puts his freedom and his life on the line. 20,000 first printing. $20,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Even after four previous capers on the various planets of Harrison's high-tech (but recognizably hip) 25th century, the freshness of the author's language overcomes a somewhat predictable plot structure to make this outing by his favorite future antihero, Slippery Jim DiGriz, thoroughly entertaining. This installment (following The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You! ) finds the con man/hero under sentence of death by slow-acting poison after he has (almost) robbed an impenetrable Mint. To acquire the antidote he must contract with his natural foe, the military types of the Galactic League. Thus he agrees to retrieve an alien artifact from a prison planet occupied by assorted religious maniacs, TV junkies and Survivalist recluses. What better time, then, to start a rock 'n' roll band? Combing military service files for signs of both combat capacity and musical ability (DiGriz finds they are virtually incompatible) he assembles the Stainless Steel Rats band and proceeds to get himself and his three unlikely commando sidekicks (Steengo, Floyd and Madonette) arrested, sentenced and deported to the prison planet. Once there, the prefab four demonstrate their good humor and hand-to- hand combat abilities encountering the nouveau Vikings, fundamentalist Shepherds, troglodytes and even Feminist Separatists as they race the clock in search of the mysterious artifact. The breakneck pace and DiGriz's offbeat interior monologue keep the plot airborne, and both SF hardcore and mainstream readers should find this an enjoyable adventure.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Caught in the act of robbing the new mint on the planet Paskonjak, master thief Jim DiGriz, a.k.a. the Stainless Steel Rat, is offered a deal by the Galactic League: discover a stolen artifact thought to be somewhere on the prison planet Liokukae within 30 days and go free--or die. In the same vein as previous adventures featuring Harrison's irrepressible antihero (e.g., Stainless Steel Rat for President , Bantam, 1988), this latest outing boasts fast-paced action, a hint of melodrama, and a sizable dose of satirical tweaks at modern culture. The overall predictability of the plot and the shallowness of the supporting characters will probably not deter die-hard series fans. Purchase where necessary.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 229 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (March 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553096125
• ISBN-13: 978-0553096125
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #626,620 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A sequel to a sequel to a prequel:, April 26, 2000

By 

James Yanni (Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues (Mass Market Paperback)

First there was "The Stainless Steel Rat", our introduction to Slippery Jim DiGriz, aka the Stainless Steel Rat, a high-tech, futuristic conman and thief who is caught, after a long and successful career, by the galactic special corps, and recruited to join them because it takes a thief to catch a thief. Then followed four more books in chronoligical 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 his stories were taking, Harrison retreated to the beginning, and wrote the prequel, "A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born". Then he followed that with "A Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted", a story following immediately on the heels of the prequel. This story follows that one chronologically.

There are dangers to writing prequels, and this book fails to avoid them entirely. In a prequel, it is necessary to make it plausible that a character's experiences could lead to him being the person he is at the beginning of the book the prequel precedes; this is reasonably well accomplished in this book, if not perfectly well. But it is also necessary, in a prequel, that the story be interesting without having anything happen so major and potentially relevent to events in later stories that it seems impossible that the character never referred back to those experiences in chronologically later, but previously written, stories. Here, this book fails miserably; given that DiGriz has experiences in chronologically later books with both time travel and visitors from his time's far future, both of which also come into play in this book, it seems incredible that we've never "heard" him mention the experiences in this book before.

But perhaps this is all too stringent a set of complaints to make about a book that, like the rest of the series, is never intended to be taken seriously; like a James Bond story, or an action movie, the "Stainless Steel Rat" stories are all meant as merely fun romps, plot-driven and action-intensive, without worrying about whether those plots will stand close scrutiny for internal consistency.

So let's review it on its own terms: yes, it's a fun romp, with plenty of action. As usual in these books, the dialogue is rather stilted and artificial, the characters are two-dimensional, and if it enhances the potential for action and drama in the plot, Harrison doesn't let a little thing like consistency of character stand in his way. (DiGriz is supposed to be brilliant, but makes enough stupid mistakes to keep himself in constant danger, so that the pace of the action can stay high.)

This book, like the rest of the books in the series, is fun brain candy, but don't expect careful plotting or a serious story, and don't examine things too carefully for plausibility or internal consistency; it won't stand up to even passing examination.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Snooze!, April 28, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues (Mass Market Paperback)

A definate disappointment from an otherwise excellent author and tremendously entertaining series. I've read all the SSR books, and was very excited when this one came out. However, the story was rather flat and much of the "life" has slipped out of Slippery Jim. Many parts were entirely too predictable, while others were just plain not believable. I really got the impression that Harrison decided to do this book just for a bit of added revenue, as it seemed his heart really wasn't in it. Overall, I'd say you're better off skipping this particular entry in the tale of Slippery Jim and keep your fond memories of him intact.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars WELL AT LEAST IT FEATURED THE STAINLESS STEEL RAT...That is something at least., June 11, 2011

By 

D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues (Mass Market Paperback)

Like most of the other reviewers here, I am a big Harrison fan and have truly enjoyed the Rat over the years. I have indeed read several of the novels in this series more than one time.

These are not heavy books by any means. I think the term "brain candy" best describes them. They are almost completely plot driven and with the exception of Slick Jim, the characters are more or less two dimensional...if even that. We have action, unlikely situations the Stainless Steel Rats either finds himself in or puts himself in, along with daring escape, the constant threat of capture and violence and some very strange cultures the author has come up with over the years. These books are intended to be read and enjoyed and not to be examined too closely as to their literary standards. Hey, they are escapism and they are fun.

This story is the third is a series of prequels to the original book, "The Stainless Steel Rat," the book that started it all. These three novels tell us how Jim DiGriz became the SSR. The first two, A Stainless Steel Rat is Born and The Stainless Steel Rat is Drafted, held up pretty good. The stories were interesting and very typical Harrison. They were funny, full of action and DiGriz showed flashes of the brilliance to come. There was plenty of thieving and manipulation of the system, two things the Rat is quite good at.

This book though is not up to the standards of the other two prequels nor is it up to the standards of the next eight novels. I am sorry to tell you that while this book was by no means horrible and that I did enjoy it, it simply did not live up to Rat's reputation.

Jim is conned into taking a dangerous assignment to one of the unlikely worlds that Harrison conjures up to retrieve a lost artifact. Jim, who is rather brilliant, goes pretty much brain dead through this entire work. It has some funny lines and funny situations but they were not enough to carry the story. Everything was extremely predictable and well...just simply boring in spots. I kept waiting and waiting and nothing really happened to make the story pop.

I certainly would encourage anyone; any Rat Fan, to read this one simply because it is a part of a great series, but don't expect to find all the elements in this one that we all have come to love and expect. I am giving this one three stars simply because it is the SSR and because it is Harrison who wrote it. It is probably deserving of only two stars at most though.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks