The Stainless Steel Rat
|
|
The Stainless Steel Rat refers to a fictional character and the series of novels involving the character. They were written by science fiction author Harry Harrison.
The Stainless Steel Rat, James Bolivar (or "Slippery Jim") DiGriz, is a futuristic con man, thief and all-round rascal. He is a master of disguise, an excellent bank robber, a brilliant breaker and enterer, and (perhaps most usefully) a skilled liar. It goes without saying that he is endlessly charming. A master of self-rationalization, the Rat frequently states his belief that he is doing society a favor by committing crimes.
There have been ten books in the Stainless Steel Rat series.
| Contents |
Book synopses
- The Stainless Steel Rat (1961)
- At the beginning of the first novel, the Stainless Steel Rat is out-conned into working for the government. In the Space Corps, the elite law-enforcement and spy agency, he joins the ranks of an organization that is entirely constituted of ex-criminals like himself. In the novel, he has several adventures and meets his love interest, Angelina, who is even more sociopathic than he is.
- re-issued in paperback (1986): ISBN 0441779247
- The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge (1970)
- The Stainless Steel Rat gets married, saves the universe from a marauding military civilization, and becomes father of twins.
- re-issued in paperback (1986): ISBN 0441779123
- The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World (1972)
- The Stainless Steel Rat travels to Earth, 1984, and then to Napoleonic France, to stop a madman from destroying the timeline.
- re-issued in paperback (1989): ISBN 0441779131
- The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You! (1978)
- After freeing his family from various forms of incarceration, the Stainless Steel Rat saves the all-human galaxy from invading aliens.
- re-issued in paperback (1985): ISBN 0553276115
- The Stainless Steel Rat for President (1982)
- The Stainless Steel Rat and Angelina enjoy a belated honeymoon on a planet run by a dictator who rigs elections to get into office, so they set the Rat up as a candidate instead.
- re-issued in paperback (1987): ISBN 0553276123
- A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born (1985)
- A novel chronicling the beginning of the Stainless Steel Rat's career. He intentionally gets caught trying to rob a bank so that he will go to jail where he can learn from the masters of crime, only to realize (too late) that the true masters would never get caught.
- paperback (1986): ISBN 0553279424
- The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted (1987)
- The Stainless Steel Rat, early in his career, hunts the man who killed his mentor, but in the process must save a defenseless planet from an imminent attack.
- original hardback: ISBN 0553052209
- re-issued in paperback (1991): ISBN 0553273078
- The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues (1994)
- The Stainless Steel Rat (in the same earlier timeline as Is Born and Gets Drafted) goes to a prison colony planet to retrieve an alien artifact, which he must find in thirty days or the slow-acting poison he was administered will take its effect.
- original hardback: ISBN 0553096125
- paperback (1995): ISBN 0553569392
- The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell (1996)
- In the later timeline (to which the stories have henceforth returned), the Stainless Steel Rat searches for his wife, who has apparently been abducted by a con man who preys on religious believers, swindling them out of their money and then enslaving them in coal mines.
- original hardback: ISBN 0312860633
- paperback (1998): ISBN 0812551079
- The Stainless Steel Rat Joins the Circus (1999)
- The Stainless Steel Rat is hired by a businessman to investigate thefts; the clues lead the Rat to suspect a roaming circus, which he infiltrates.
- original hardback: ISBN 0312869347
- paperback (2000): ISBN 0812575350
Chronological order
The book series is written only in a semichronological order; it breaks the continuity during part of the series to focus on the Rat's early career, then returns to "modern-day". Here, then, is a list of the books in the order they take place, rather than the order they were written.
- A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born
- The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted
- The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues
- The Stainless Steel Rat
- The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge
- The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World
- The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You
- The Stainless Steel Rat for President
- The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell
- The Stainless Steel Rat Joins the Circus
Interactive book
Harrison also produced a parody of the Choose Your Own Adventure books, You Can Be The Stainless Steel Rat (ISBN 0441949789):
The reader's decisions will determine whether he or she can find Prof. Geisteskrank on the planet Skraldespand and bring him back before he activates a lethal new weapon.
Despite the above description, the player cannot fail, regardless of his choices (even though it is possible to get caught in a loop at one point, this can be escaped).
External links
- Template:Isfdb series
- Series listing (http://www.scifan.com/series/series.asp?SR_seriesid=508) at SciFan
Other uses
The Stainless Steel Rat is also the arch villain on the Internet-based Lord Mike Saga.