The Stainless Steel Rat in The Missing Battleship

by Harry Harrison

Slippery Jim diGriz--a.k.a. The Stainless Steel Rat--is back in this classic adventure, originally published in the April, 1960 issue of Astounding Science Fiction! It might seem a little careless to lose track of something as big as a battleship ... but interstellar space is on a different scale of magnitude. But a misplaced battleship--in the wrong hands!--can be most dangerous.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Ebooks, Space Opera, Audiobook, Crime

ebook

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey) was an American science fiction author best known for his character the The Stainless Steel Rat and the novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966), the basis for the film Soylent Green (1973). He was also (with Brian W. Aldiss) co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.

Excerpted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the earliest Stainless Steel Rat stories but unfortunately not one of the best. And yet, it's still a lightly humorous take on the theme of using a thief to catch a thief -- even if the thing stolen is a whole battleship. :)

Takeaway? Don't con a con man. Or rather, go ahead, those who think they're wise to the con are the easiest to fool. :)

[Oleksandr Zholud · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short story set in the Stainless Steel Rat’s series. The main protagonist is just turned from the career of thief to the one of thief-taker. Someone is making a new version of ancient empire’s battleship, a leviathan of war, unstoppable by modern fleets. The hero should stop it and find a culprit behind it.
A great easy to read yarn, nothing novel or challengeable but well written funny story to lighten your evening.

[Yibbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

That one was funny, but not very original. One thief (reformed) is set to chase down a master con man before he can enslave the galaxy. It was rather stock, but the humor of the narrator kept it quite interesting and lighthearted.
Then there are the amusing little scientific details, such as the reliance on paper files for official records.
I would recommend this one as well.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acceptable, but not his best

[Mya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Harry Harrison and equate his science fiction stories to the confectionate type of fun, kitschy type of space drama that I don't have to think too hard about and that is just...yeah really fun and escapist. This freebie (how I got introduced to Harrison in the first place) is about a space ship that was constructed and altered under false pretenses into a battleship. Beurocratic incompetance aside, its almost comedic as a former criminal turned into a force for the law is charged with getting to the bottom of who is responsible for the creation of such a dangerous weapon and why. Good pulpy fun, this novella is supposedly a section from a larger work that I hope to be able to read one day and yes the reader does get the impression that there is a bigger tale behind the narrative. If you have young adult readers interested in sci fi, Harrison is always a good writer to recommend.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harrison does a good job of incorporating the sci-fi elements of his world slowly enough for me to stay on top of it. His anti-hero, Jim di Griz, is an amoral private detective-type, especially his interior monologue of a voice. He prides himself on being smarter than anyone else, but he gets caught and is pretty much forced to 'go straight.' And that is when his troubles begin.

I really liked Jim...His internal battle of having to be forced to be the good guy, when deep down, he is a thief and a cheat and a liar...and he likes it that way.

The book I listened to was called THE STAINLESS STEEL RAT, but the synopsis for that book didn't match...I'm very confused about what's going on...

The book ends with a funny twist that makes me want more.

[Charles van Buren · Rating 4 out of 5]

An introduction to THE STAINLESS STEEL RAT

As one would expect of Harry Harrison, a sci-fi great, this is an interesting well written story. However, the ending seems flat. Some reviewers claim that is because this isn't a short story, but some chapters of THE STAINLESS STEEL RAT. I have been unable to determine if that is so. I believe the Rat was first published as a short story then expanded into a novel. Either way this is a free introduction to Harrison's famous series.

For those who don't know, the Rat concerns the exploits of a master criminal forcibly recruited into the Special Corps, a galactic intelligence/crime fighting agency. The Corps' director is a former criminal as are its operatives.

I downloaded this book via Kindle Unlimited.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great elaboration scifi adventure novel. It's short, but delightful .......a science fiction at its best.
Admiral diGriz was suspecting the Cittanuvo, the second planet of B star were secretly building a battleship. As a planetary police he has to investigate a two questionable suspect who engineered the scheme. An inspired master criminal Pepe who's apparently has an ability of bribing a bloated- bureaucrat with his female assistant Angelina.

Meanwhile, Captain Inskipp and Admiral diGriz has to find a way to capture these culprit who just murdered eighteen space police, while trying to stop them from getting away to another planet.

[Ralph McEwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A first person story of going undercover to find a battle-cruiser spaceship.
A good story, well recorded and read, a good voice
Audio Book MP3 downloaded from http://librivox.org/short-science-fic...
Public Domain stories that are read by volunteers. I listen to these short stories while walking to work.

File Size: 27.5 MB
Play Duration: 58 min 53 sec
Read By: Barny Shergold

[Scott Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story was one of Harrison's more balanced pieces in terms of not setting up the artificially inflated hero by staging relatively weak characters around him. Instead, this is one where the hero gets upstaged. Not bad pacing from a plot perspective and limits the use of uncanny insight/power to overcome plot barriers. A decent piece of writing.

[PSXtreme · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic HH with a Stainless Steel Rat reference...that only adds to the overall score. I truly love the "classics." This audiobook version can be acquired FREE over at https://archive.org/details/misplaced...

[Chris Aldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can’t remember where I first got this story from. Found it again though
10/20 20 mins. Part of LibriVox Audiobook “Short SF Collection Vol. 059”. Well narrated by Dale Grothmann. Definitely Enjoyed it.

[John Yelverton · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a rather odd short story that keeps you on edge throughout the whole thing. It is technically science fiction, but it pretty much just reads like a classic detective story.

[Aricia Gavriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loads of fun as "Slippery Jim" DiGritz, who will later be known as "The Stainless Steel Rat," finds himself on the trail of a Moriarty-like arch-criminal, an individual almost as clever as himself ... and Jim is very, very clever. After a long career in crime, he's been recruited by the secret service rather than simply being executed on the spot: "It Takes A Thief."

The resulting tale is a good read (actually a short story, what used to be called a novelette: I think it's around 8,000 words, which is fairly common length for longer short stories. This one originally appeared in, I believe, Amazing -- or was it Astounding? -- in 1960). The tech obviously hasn't stood the test of time; high duh factor there. But the humor certainly has, and the pace --

Well, it races along because Harrison has, essentially, synopsized a novel within these few pages. If he'd told the story blow by low, line by line of dialog, he'd have come up with about 45-60,000 words, which was very average for an SF novel of the era, and indeed was around the length of the subsequent Stainless Steel Rat "slim" volumes ... of which there are something like ten. Consider this short piece "Stainless Steel Rat #0," the prequel, the set-up. If fact, it's the story in which Harrison penned the immoral line, "I smelled a rat. A stainless steel rat." Aha! The rest was history, and a good time was had by all.

I just wish someone would bundle up five at a time of these slims, package them in the same paperback or hardcover. I'd buy. I'd love to own the paperbacks, even secondhand, but the sheer cost of the shipping involved makes this impossible. Note to self: get up to Blackwood Books, see what's on the shelf.

[Len · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little story that is only science fiction in as far as is set in the future and the plot revolves around a giant spaceship. Everything else is a low budget crime thriller and an introduction to the author's The Stainless Steel Rat.

Slippery Jim DiGriz appears to be a reformed person now serving in the Special Corps, a galactic security force. He longs for a mission of his own and, using his natural criminal talent, he smells a rat when he believes he has evidence that a large merchant spaceship under construction on the planet Cittanuvo is being secretly adapted into an old-style massive military battleship. Think in terms of the Dreadnought battleships that dominated navies around the First World War, but flying through space. He persuades his boss to send him to find out who is behind the scheme. This introduces Angelina, who comes to play an important role in the later career of the Rat.

While the plot may appear routine there is something in the style of writing that makes one feel that this is a step above pulp fiction. Each character has an individual personality while DiGriz pulls the ensemble together. While it is interesting the ending's openness leaves a hole in the plot. It is setting up a much fuller story rather than telling its own tale.

[David Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book. Due to multiple medical problems which include chronic pain, headaches & a movement disorder, I
listen to a lot of audiobooks/stories, especially at bedtime.

A fun story, coupled with the FUNtastic reading style of Phil Chenevert, and I can forget, for a few minutes, my physical problems.

I’ve listened to this book in audiobook format at least a dozen times, and each time I was able to doze off and get some much needed sleep...not because the story was boring or the reader was bad, but because I was so relaxed & physically comfortable that I COULD get to sleep!

And...an added bonus! I have some really fun dreams when listening to audiobooks like “The Misplaced Battleship”, before awakening back in my physically difficult & painful body!

[Joe Slavinsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was somewhat disappointed in this book. Harrison(may he rest in peace) is a science fiction legend, although I haven't read any of his work until now. I was not quite desperate for another book, and the library was closed, so I went online, through Overdrive, to find one. This is not the easiest site to navigate, and I found this book among the "classics". This book was first published in 1960, and is quite dated. There's a mention of the stainless steel rat(Harrison's most familiar series), but that was it. It was a novella, which seems to be part of a series, but I couldn't find it listed among Harrison's work on Fantastic Fiction.com. At any rate, the library is open today, so I will find something to feed my literary appetite.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantasy listening

A will written fantasy Sci-Fi space opera adventure novella with interesting will developed characters. Someone is building a super battleship and the main character must ✋stop it from happening. Things start from there to the conclusion. I would recommend this novella to anyone looking for a quick read. Enjoy the adventure of reading 📚 2021⏳
Alexa reads to me due to eye damage and issues from shingles.

[D.L. Morrese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jim DiGriz (AKA Slippery Jim, AKA The Stainless Steel Rat) is working with a clandestine interstellar law enforcement group as a lowly file clerk when he notices that someone has submitted plans to build a huge cargo ship, which he recognizes is really going to be a battleship. He's given a new job within the organization. Find out who's building it, why, and stop them.
I found this Stainless Steel Rat short story as a Kindle freebie on Amazon. It's a very good read for the money. :-)

[Brad · Rating 1 out of 5]

Missing content

The description says there are two books, Stainless Steel Rat and Misplaced Battleship. There are not. There is only one book - I assume The Misplaced Battleship, although that’s a bit unclear. It also says there’s a “linked table of contents.” There isn’t- there’s no table of contents at all, linked or otherwise.

I suspect there was a glitch during an update or something. Needs to be fixed.

The one story I did get, however, I enjoyed tremendously.

[Stan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh! It was a linear story, a quick read. Shorter side of a novella, I think.

How do you capture the bad guys who built a super battleship that has more firepower than anything else in the galaxy? You use yourself as bait, of course.

I guess when it was written this was a good story. For today, not so much. Not a bad story, mind you, just kind of "meh".

[Saya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tengo varios relatos de este tamaño por leer, y este no me ha entusiasmado. Al final es una hiistoria de timadores, pero espaciales; de robos y de trampas y de fugas. Está bien escrito, sí, pero no es el estilo que me guste...

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great example of Harrison's entertaining breezy style.

[mark williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

Really good read keeps on twisting and turning right though the whole story nice ending as well all ways a good read

[Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun, quick read that I enjoyed. Recommend reading if you want to kill an hour.

[Martin Willoughby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witty short story.

[Emma Hope · Rating 1 out of 5]

Don't bother

Don't waste your 59p. It's just chapter 4 to 7 of the full book The Stainless Steel Rat. Rip off

[BBFlyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An oldie but a goodie. Nice to reread some older stories, occasionally.

[Anna gillam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapter of much longer book

Its stainless steel rat, but this is just one chapter of one of the books (where he meets his future wife), not a full story in itself.

[Nav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reformed(?) conman v. con(wo)man, but in space.