The Stainless Steel Rat

Stainless Steel Rat, Book 1

By: Harry Harrison

Narrated by: Phil Gigante

Length: 4 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award, Science Fiction and Fantasy, 2011

DiGriz is caught during one of his crimes and recruited into the Special Corps. Boring, routine desk work during his probationary period results in his discovering that someone is building a battleship, thinly disguised as an industrial vessel. In the peaceful League no one has battleships anymore, so the builder of this one would be unstoppable.

DiGriz' hunt for the guilty becomes a personal battle between himself and the beautiful but deadly Angelina, who his planning a coup on one of the feudal worlds. DiGriz' dilemma is whether he will turn Angelina over to the Special Corps, or join with her, since he has fallen in love with her.

©2010 Harry Harrison (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

A classic space adventure with a thief s as hero

love it. the adventure flies. Acting story pacing great. A fine yarn with plenty of laughs, twists and enthusiasm

Meh

Would you recommend The Stainless Steel Rat to your friends? Why or why not?

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone because I didn't like the story. While the author tries to make the main character seem like a good(ish) criminal, I didn't really like the guy. I was also not impressed with his relationship/obsession with the other primary character (also a criminal).

Have you listened to any of Phil Gigante’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

The narrator did a good job of presenting the characters. I have no complaints about him.

Any additional comments?

The book summary is pretty accurate - this is the story of a space criminal who gets caught, is forced to join a special police force, and then takes a case trying to catch another master criminal. It's a bit campy. Some people will probably love it.

Excellent story - Awesome series

This is still one of my favorite sci-fi series. it's fun and always smart. This is the first in the series. I have read and have listened to these stories for 40 years.

Fun diversion

“white Collar” meets space opera pulp fiction. As delightful as I remembered from reading the book back when it was new. The narration is really closer to old fashioned radio play - excellent voice acting and adds to the book on tape significantly. Well done!

Well-Narrated

This was a very satisfying performance of Jim’s thoughts and dialogue, the best part of the book. It was a game go with Angelica’s dialogue, the weak aspect of the novel. Bravo. Well done.

Great To See An Old Friend Back

I have been a keen Rat reader for over 30 years. In recent times I have switched to audion books a bit more and was delighted to see my old friend Slippery Jim making a comeback in the updated audio format, and not before time. This is the first in the series of Rat books and one of the best, the narrator does a fine job with all the characters and story. Old time Rat fans like me will love it, newbees will have a chance to discover one of the best sci-fi characters ever written. Enjoy.

Awesome narration

Perhaps I'm already biased because Phil Gigante is one of my absolute favorite narrators, but I thought he did a brilliant job with this campy sci fi tale. The characters were clearly distinguisable and sounded exactly as I had imagined. The story, too, is an excellent cops-n-robbers tale turned on its head. Definitely a recommend listen.

Harry as we love him

It is fun, and light, and I laughed a lot. Story is quite simple, but then all the greatest stories are. Harry can be dark from time to time, but this one is really funny.

Narrator is good. I had a problem with loudness/volume changing of his voice while I was out walking, but it is a pleasant voice nevertheless. Oh, and when DiGriz goes undercover as a Stellar Guard - his foreigner-like accent is devastatingly funny.

I recommend this book for light reading with all my heart.

A criminal version of Jame Bond

Harry Harrison's The Stainless Steel Rat offers a unique anti-hero. The main character is a career criminal who is a mastermind of elaborate, complicated plans that bedevil the local authorities all the while he is relating in narcissistic detail how brilliant he is. He is finally captured by an elite spy network who want him to work for them. During a field test, he is bested by a female version of himself and goes rogue in order to settle the score with her. She continues to play Moriarity to his Holmes until finally his spymaster handlers corral her foiling his vision of their teaming up to produce an over the top version of Bonnie and Clyde.

Harrison revels in extremely detailed setups with a non-stop patois of an overly confident supervillain. While the escapades are a bit overdone, the excess is part of the charm that leaves one rooting for the 'bad' guy to pull it off.

The narration is superb with the perfect delivery for style of character. At the same time, character distinction is reasonable with a brisk pace making for a quick listen.

Top notch story, top notch performance

Harry Harrison delivers another exciting and witty novel and Phil Gigante delivers another flawless performance. I am so glad this was my introduction to audiobooks. All other audio novels I have listened to since pale in comparison to the first four Stainless Steel Rat works.