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 Good Space Opera With A Heavy Dose Of Humor

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

Not better nor worse. The voices provided are different than the ones I created in my own head when reading, but they worked just fine.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Slippery Jim himself of course. He is the point of view character and narrator for the whole story. He is also pretty darned fun to listen tell the story.

Which scene was your favorite?

The bank robbery. The sense of joy and twisted humor of the character just make it a very fun sequence.

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

Yes, it keeps your attention well and is short enough to allow it to be done in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

This is the start of a fairly long running series. I read the first three back in high school and several of the following ones as the years went by. The first three were, in my opinion, the most fun and most original. If you would like to try a good old fashioned space opera with a heavy dose of humor, this is for you. Recommended.

Dated but still entertaining

I found this book a bit too predictable in it's story line. Maybe it's because I'm looking at it from the perspective of 2014 and when it was written some of the concepts presented would have been revolutionary.

The narrator really assisted this book. With the story just keeping my attention, the narrator managed to bring the characters out so that I was more engaged, thereby making a very long drive more pleasant.

Can I recommend this book? Yes, but don't expect too much. It will entertain you, and maybe even give you a laugh as you contemplate how things have changed since this was written.

Bit of a letdown

I was drawn in by the description, and was entertained by the main character at first. However I was disappointed when it took a turn for the somewhat cheesy and predictable. I was also fairly annoyed at the blatant male chauvinism and misogyny of the main character toward the female antagonist, despite her obviously being his intellectual superior. But then I saw that the book was written in 1961, so no shocker. But I was still disappointed the author's assumptions about the social constructs of the future.

Very Modern Sounding Sci/Fi For 1961

Any additional comments?

I've heard this book raved about by a few people before I had the chance to listen to it. Honestly, it was pretty damn good, but I don't really see what all the fuss is about.

I think most readers fall in love with the protagonist. He is a lovable rascal. Everyone loves a rascal.

Narration performance was very good to top it all off.

I would highly recommend the book, but I wouldn't put it on any "Must-Read" lists.


8.62 / 10.00

A fun space mystery adventure

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.

Pedestrian.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Maybe, depending on their tastes

Would you ever listen to anything by Harry Harrison again?

Not sure

What aspect of Phil Gigante’s performance would you have changed?

A little TOO expressive.

Did The Stainless Steel Rat inspire you to do anything?

Stop listening before end.

Any additional comments?

Not my cup of tea. Someone who finds cookie cutter movies/books entertaining would be fine with this.

Decent, imaginative book. Fun mastermind criminal.

Cocky narration reminded me a lot of 'Emperor Mollusk Versus the Sinister Brain', which I enjoyed more. The Stainless Steel Rat was a decent book; above average but not praise-worthy. The story and situations were imaginative but seemed to have some gaps. For example, well, I guess I don't want to spoil that part of the book so I'll be as generic as possible; the mastermind put himself into a situation to attract the attention of another mastermind, but I don't think the second mastermind would have found him all that desirable based on his actions. He definitely didn't come across to me as a smart potential ally, which is what I think he was trying to demonstrate. In any case, I'm rather neutral on the book. I didn't hate it at all, but didn't find it interesting enough to continue with the series.

annoyed at first

It took me about 2 hours before I got the humor and then I realized that Phil Gigante's voice was perfect! I have never liked any kind of space/future for lack of words star trek movies or books until now. I will be picking up more books from this series, it was a lot of fun.

Clever, Entertaining and Witty

If you could sum up The Stainless Steel Rat in three words, what would they be?

Clever, Entertaining, Witty

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Stainless Steel Rat?

When he is robbing the banks, and he is faking his death at the hospital.

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

The protagonist, and the man who recruits him

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Made me laugh

Any additional comments?

its was awesome! Very Clever, and entertaining and witty book, written in 1961 about the future. These are generally the best books about the future I find, as most modern movies about the future suck, or get things totally wrong when you watch them 10 years later.

Fantastic performance

Phil Gigante’s narration is amazing, and reason enough to listen to this audiobook. But as is so often the case with older classic sci-fi stories, the plot and details are often so dated that the overall book suffers as a result.