The Stainless Steel Rat

Hands down, this is one of the most entertaining and engaging SF audiobooks I have purchased from Audible, and you don't want to know how many I have. For one thing, as a dyed-in-the-wool SF fan for almost 50 years, it was great to revisit one of the most memorable characters from the wacky space operas of the 1960s, of which Harry Harrrison and his contemporary, Keith Laumer, were masters. This is a thoroughly entertaining, nutty story, well-written, satirical and charming.

Now, as to Phil Gigante's reading. Calling it a reading or a narration is a gross misrepreentation of one of the most entertaining performances I have yet encountered in my huge Audible collection. His tone and delivery is absolutely, flawlessly perfect for DiGriz -- sardonic, larcenous but totally suggestive of the "diamond in the rough" that is the Stainless Steel Rat. Not only that, but the range of voices and accents that Mr. Gigante is able to project, effortlessly phasing from one to another without missing a best, is nothing less than astonishing. At times, I almost forgot I was listening to an audiobook, but instead an old radio play such as X-Minus-One or Dimension X. I frequently caught myself laughing aloud not only at Harrison's turns of phrase but also Gigante's perfect timing and delivery.

If you like wacky, vintage space opera told with humor and style, catch "The Stainless Steel Rat" ... if you can. They don't call him Slippery Jim DioGriz for nothing.

My first dip into the world of Harry Harrison, and found it great. I loved the character and the story and the way it progressed throughout. I cant wait to hear more. I found the humor spot on for me and the way of thinking of the main character was excellent. I highly recommend this story to anyone who is a fan of humorous Sci-fi.

Jim DiGriz is a suave man-about-town kind of thief...a high-class crook who gets caught ends up working for the law, not against it. DiGriz isn't a noble lawman or dedicated to fighting crime...he just realizes he's caught in the web of the Special Corps. Then he pursues a temptress named Angelina, who is a quite ruthless criminal. His hunt for the lovely Angelina becomes the focus of his life (and the story).

Somehow, I see Jim DiGriz as a cross between The Thin Man and Han Solo. This isn't high literature or something with a deep message...it's light, fun, entertaining and a bit campy. I did think the story bogged down a little towards the end, but not terribly so.

There are a lot of Stainless Steel Rat novels but only a couple on Audible...hopefully, more Rat is coming.

Phil Gigante's narration is very well done...just right for this campy spoof.

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.

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.

Criminals are fun. Science Fiction is fun. It is light. It is funny. It is fun. A wonderful break from more serious books.

I got this during a 3 for 2 sale and feel I got quite the bargain. I have always been a fan of Phil Gigante's narrating abilities so after reading previous reviews and seeing that Phil was the reader I jumped in. This was great fun, with wit, some surprising twists, and futuristic sci-fi thrown in. I enjoyed Mr. Harrison's writing. This is the introduction and so we are just starting to delve into Slippery Jim's psyche and character. I didn't like Angelina so much and with the way the story ended I am curious to see how she will be redeemed in the next installment.
I got the feeling that these books were written some time ago, having enjoyed Sci-Fi for over 35 years, and investigation proved that to be true. However, that doesn't detract from the overall story or narration. It is still well worth the credit and the listen. I look forward to purchasing the entire series. My only regret is that, at the time of this review, Harry Harrison is 86 and his writing has slowed down, so we can't look forward to too many more of the Stainless Steel Rat stories.

This is a fun little story and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's short, just about 5 hours long, but there's a great story compacted in those short hours. It's a light read that you can listen to while you're working, and I've found this is a book that I keep listening to over and over again.

The story is in the first person, told by the hero (or anti-hero) which works very well for the audio format if they get the right narrator. In this case they did. The story was fun, fast, and funny.

I was surprised when I found out, after I had read this book, that it was written in the 1960's. It has held up surprisingly well and it was a thoroughly enjoyable read. The story is quick moving and fun and the reading is excellent.