A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born

By: Harry Harrison

Narrated by: Phil Gigante

Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's Summary

The prequel to the Stainless Steel Rat. Slippery Jim is here a brash 17-year-old who has left his parents' porcuswine farm, planning to embark on a life of crime. The book opens with Jim bungling a bank job so that he can be arrested and sent to prison, where he plans to learn the art of being a master criminal. Deciding that the Bishop should be his mentor, Jim sets about proving himself worthy of the master's attention.

He eventually has to flee his home planet of Bit O' Heaven with the Bishop, but Garth, the captain of the ship who promised them safe passage, sells them into slavery. The latter part of the book details Jim's adventures on the planet Spiovente, a semi-industrial world fighting feudal wars with weapons smuggled in (against League regulations) by Captain Garth.

Man of steal: Listen to more in the Stainless Steel Rat series.

©1972 Harry Harrison (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

The backstorry on Jim

This was interesting and better developed than a lot of the other books in the series. it is defenitely fun to see where the rat came from and what shaped him. Moving away from the other books in the series seems to have given the author a fresh view that made this better than most of the later boos. this one is worth a credit.

Thoroughly enjoyed it!!

Would you consider the audio edition of A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born to be better than the print version?

Yes. The narrator really made the characters come to life!

What other book might you compare A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born to and why?

Other Stainless Steel Books, or maybe Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy.

Which character ??? as performed by Phil Gigante ??? was your favorite?

The main one - Jim DiGriz

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Robin Hood P.I.

Still good

A book from my early years. Still enjoyable. Maybe I have not grown up!

Harry Harrison at his best, with excellent narrati

Harry Harrison is always guaranteed to provide hours of fun, specially so with the excellent narration by Phil Gigante

The rat goes to school.

What did you love best about A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born?

The story is a prequel giving the series background The villains are well drawn, as usual. The story is crafted better than some of the others. Fun!

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Bishop made the story work. This character explained the mind set of Jim Degris.

Which character – as performed by Phil Gigante – was your favorite?

Phil Gigante showed his range in this narration. He is a star. He always makes good, entertaining stories better. His performance of Jim as a teen helped the entire series.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I will have that kind of time in about a year.

Any additional comments?

The production is always good in this series.

A 'prequel' to the Stainless Steel Rat series

This book maintains the general sense of the earlier books in the series. It feels a little strained at times, like the author was reading his notes from the earlier books, but is nevertheless a good read. If you liked the earlier books, you'll like this one.

Great prequel

Great performance. Nice beginning of the stainless steel rat and his bedevilry. Definitely recommend this book.

James Bolivar DiGriz Gets His Start

I'm a huge fan of "Slippery Jim," and of course, his writer, one Harry Harrison. I'm not as thrilled with Phil Gigante. He does the job, if not as well as I might like. His "female" voice is grating at the best of times. He's a middling actor at best. He's what I've got, so I won't judge him too harshly. It's a good way to pass eight hours, and for the fifteen to twenty dollars, one can do a lot worse.

One of my favorites

I have read this book on several occasions and it is one of my favorites

Terrific!

A true classic that I never get tired of, or forget to return to regularly. Harrison at his very best.

As always, the additions of Jim as great fun.

As always, the additions of Jim as great fun. Highly recommend. Will buy the next.

An old favourite better than ever

What about Phil Gigante’s performance did you like?

Phil Gigante has done an absolutely perfect job for this audiobook. His characterisation of the infamous Slippery Jim DiGriz is wonderful and engaging, he really manages to bring the story to life.

Any additional comments?

The Stainless Steel Rat books were favourites of mine when I was younger. When they were released as ebooks recently I bought them and re-read the series and enjoyed them just as much as I used to. When I came across them on Audible I thought I'd give them a try.

Some old favourites haven't done well as audiobooks (the lacklustre reading of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan for example) but that is most certainly NOT the case with the Stainless Steel Rat. I would heartily recommend this series of audiobooks, whether you've previously read the books or not.