Take a photo of a barcode or cover
gbweeks 's review for:
The Stainless Steel Rat
by Harry Harrison
I saw mention of this book and had not thought about the series for many years, and had to see how well it aged. The answer is not too bad. It is a nice touch that Jim diGriz is easily outsmarted by a woman, and accepts that, which makes this much nicer to reread than the original James Bond novels, which are painful.
The premise that crime is mostly eliminated but a few people commit them just to feel alive is still interesting, as is diGriz's strongly held belief that criminals should never kill (which is central to the story). The view of the future is fun, though sometimes quite off--I hope the coal-fueled robot was just a joke?
You really suspend disbelief, and that's part of the reading experience. DiGriz does many things absurdly easily, but is never flawless either. Overall, I enjoyed returning to this series, though I also don't find myself eager to read more.
The premise that crime is mostly eliminated but a few people commit them just to feel alive is still interesting, as is diGriz's strongly held belief that criminals should never kill (which is central to the story). The view of the future is fun, though sometimes quite off--I hope the coal-fueled robot was just a joke?
You really suspend disbelief, and that's part of the reading experience. DiGriz does many things absurdly easily, but is never flawless either. Overall, I enjoyed returning to this series, though I also don't find myself eager to read more.