He is also a master of disguise and martial arts, an accomplished bank robber, a criminal mastermind, an expert on breaking and entering, and (perhaps most usefully) a skilled liar. He is a futuristic con man, thief, and all-round rascal. James Bolivar diGriz goes by many aliases, including ' Slippery Jim' and ' The Stainless Steel Rat'. James Bolivar diGriz, alias ' Slippery Jim' and ' The Stainless Steel Rat', is a fictional character and a series of comic science fiction novels written by Harry Harrison. 'About this title' may belong to another edition of this title.First cover printing to The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison The breakneck pace and DiGriz's offbeat interior monologue keep the plot airborne, and both SF hardcore and mainstream readers should find this an enjoyable adventure.Ĭopyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Once there, the prefab four demonstrate their good humor and hand-to- hand combat abilities encountering the nouveau Vikings, fundamentalist Shepherds, troglodytes and even Feminist Separatists as they race the clock in search of the mysterious artifact. What better time, then, to start a rock 'n' roll band? Combing military service files for signs of both combat capacity and musical ability (DiGriz finds they are virtually incompatible) he assembles the Stainless Steel Rats band and proceeds to get himself and his three unlikely commando sidekicks (Steengo, Floyd and Madonette) arrested, sentenced and deported to the prison planet. Thus he agrees to retrieve an alien artifact from a prison planet occupied by assorted religious maniacs, TV junkies and Survivalist recluses.

To acquire the antidote he must contract with his natural foe, the military types of the Galactic League. This installment (following The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You! ) finds the con man/hero under sentence of death by slow-acting poison after he has (almost) robbed an impenetrable Mint. Even after four previous capers on the various planets of Harrison's high-tech (but recognizably hip) 25th century, the freshness of the author's language overcomes a somewhat predictable plot structure to make this outing by his favorite future antihero, Slippery Jim DiGriz, thoroughly entertaining.

The stainless steel rat sings the blues