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Stainless Steel Rat #2
The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted
Alternate cover for ISBN10 #0553273078 ISBN13 #9780553273076
In a galaxy where civilization covers every world with steel and ferroconcrete, only a very special man can break all the rules and still stay free. A man who moves through the rafters of society like a rat. . . A stainless steel rat. . . And when the galaxy goes to war, it needs special men. . . That’s when. . .
The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted
The 25th century’s most outrageous outlaw is back – and this time it means war! “Slippery Jim” diGriz, better known as the Stainless Steel Rat, is seeking revenge for the murder of his mentor-in-crime, the fabled archcriminal known as The Bishop. His trail leads to Nevenkebla and the iron-fisted dictator General Zennor – the kind of man who’d sell his own mother into slavery just to see the expression on her face. Now in the uniform of a Nevenkeblan soldier, Jim discovers Zennor’s vile plan to enslave a defenseless planet. Only a man with a special code of honor – only a Stainless Steel Rat – can save the world from the invading horde.
In a galaxy where civilization covers every world with steel and ferroconcrete, only a very special man can break all the rules and still stay free. A man who moves through the rafters of society like a rat. . . A stainless steel rat. . . And when the galaxy goes to war, it needs special men. . . That’s when. . .
The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted
The 25th century’s most outrageous outlaw is back – and this time it means war! “Slippery Jim” diGriz, better known as the Stainless Steel Rat, is seeking revenge for the murder of his mentor-in-crime, the fabled archcriminal known as The Bishop. His trail leads to Nevenkebla and the iron-fisted dictator General Zennor – the kind of man who’d sell his own mother into slavery just to see the expression on her face. Now in the uniform of a Nevenkeblan soldier, Jim discovers Zennor’s vile plan to enslave a defenseless planet. Only a man with a special code of honor – only a Stainless Steel Rat – can save the world from the invading horde.
262 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 1, 1987
24 people are currently reading
1049 people want to read
About the author
Harry Harrison
1,291 books1,042 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
March 20, 2021
This picks right up after Stainless Steel Rat is Born in all ways, and it really justifies his way of life. Always one more new pan-to-fire adventure, but this time it's going right up the food chain and right out of the military to the other side, master-thief style.
It's funny, fast, and delightful, but not quite as delightful as the ones that came before it. It's still an Adventure that performs a wonderful skewering.
You know the type. The enemies are all idiots and the hero exposes all of them in grand glory. Fun. :)
It's funny, fast, and delightful, but not quite as delightful as the ones that came before it. It's still an Adventure that performs a wonderful skewering.
You know the type. The enemies are all idiots and the hero exposes all of them in grand glory. Fun. :)
May 18, 2016
The Stainless Steel Rat series is definitely an iconic one in the scifi community—it played with the idea of the charismatic criminal in that genre. It seems to me that Harrison’s SSR proved that science fiction didn’t need to just be space ships and ray-guns, it could also involve elements of the thriller and of comedy. In some ways, Jim diGriz reminds me of a more competent, less up-standing version of Maxwell Smart (of the Get Smart TV show) in the way he bumps along from problem to problem.
These books are light and fluffy. They are great when you need an easy read that will make you smile. As a female reader, you will have to put up with a certain amount of sexism, but at least to my mind it is sexism light. By this point in the SSR franchise, the ideas are quite tired and well worn. This volume is another prequel, dealing with Jim’s early life, but the ideas are basically the same—Jim must think his way out of various scrapes and problems quickly and often in extremely unlikely ways.
The basis of this book is making fun of the military, a rather easy target in many ways. Everyone “knows” that the food is awful, that recruits are worked to exhaustion and yelled at, and that the older men at the top stay safely behind while they send the younger men into battle. Harrison pokes fun at all of these ideas.
If you have found the previous books to be entertaining, you will probably enjoy this one too. If you were bored or disappointed by the previous volume, I would suggest quitting while you are ahead. These books are not getting better and might be arguably considered of lesser quality than the earliest ones.
Book 222 of my science fiction & fantasy project.
These books are light and fluffy. They are great when you need an easy read that will make you smile. As a female reader, you will have to put up with a certain amount of sexism, but at least to my mind it is sexism light. By this point in the SSR franchise, the ideas are quite tired and well worn. This volume is another prequel, dealing with Jim’s early life, but the ideas are basically the same—Jim must think his way out of various scrapes and problems quickly and often in extremely unlikely ways.
The basis of this book is making fun of the military, a rather easy target in many ways. Everyone “knows” that the food is awful, that recruits are worked to exhaustion and yelled at, and that the older men at the top stay safely behind while they send the younger men into battle. Harrison pokes fun at all of these ideas.
If you have found the previous books to be entertaining, you will probably enjoy this one too. If you were bored or disappointed by the previous volume, I would suggest quitting while you are ahead. These books are not getting better and might be arguably considered of lesser quality than the earliest ones.
Book 222 of my science fiction & fantasy project.
September 20, 2020
Another fun SSR prequel, with Slippery Jim ricocheting from one troublesome situation to another in style. If you love space opera and found Han Solo to be much more entertaining than Luke Skywalker, the Stainless Steel Rat books could well be right up your street.
October 2, 2020
Jim's still in a bit of a pickle after the end of the previous adventure, not to mention still looking to get the guy that killed his mentor - which is a nice touch, as it saves time in setting up a new story and allows us to just drop right in for a change, into new trouble and new adventure. It's got a lot more than that going for it, too: some good laughs bright and dark alike, bleakness and tension, most likely the single most psychopathic villain in the series so far, some of the best and most likeable pacifists I've ever seen anywhere, good and slightly fleshed-out characters in general, and even a solid life lesson or two. Even the writing's gotten better, I think, and Harry has almost entirely phased out the almost incessant cliffhanger chapter breaks from the previous volumes! One was growing tired of them.
Overall, it's my favourite of the series so far by quite a far margin - enough for the first five-starer, or at least four-and-a-half.
Overall, it's my favourite of the series so far by quite a far margin - enough for the first five-starer, or at least four-and-a-half.
April 19, 2015
Opens well enough, and a few daring escapes later, our hero ends up drafted. After that, it becomes clumsy anti-army kind of stuff. The antagonist is a paper-thin caricature. Few daring escapes, little cleverness, one great character (Mark). There is one more sequel to this, prequel to the original book, and I am hoping for better.
April 27, 2011
ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.
This seventh novel in Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat series is actually the sequel to the prequel A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born. Young Jim DiGriz is alone, back in prison, and out for revenge. After he escapes and is tracking his nemesis, he gets captured and drafted into the military.
At this point, The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted (1987) turns into anti-military propaganda that doesn’t even try to be circumspect. The army are the bad guys — all blood-hungry idiots — and they’re preying on a planet who practices Individual Mutualism, an anti-work-ethic cooperative utopian philosophy that could never stand up to human nature. While the Stainless Steel Rat books are definitely meant to be fun, these types of themes come up often enough that I can’t help but think of them as “agendas,” and this particular anti-military agenda is likely to be perceived as insulting and disrespectful to the brave men and women all over the world who risk their lives to protect their countries.
Unfortunately, even if you manage to overlook the agenda, The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted offers little new entertainment for fans who’ve seen most of Jim’s antics before. If you haven’t read any of the Stainless Steel Rat books, you’re likely to be more forgiving than I am, and this book is a fine place to start — it will actually help if you haven’t read most of the previous books.
The redeeming factor for the audiobook version of A Stainless Steel Rat is born is Phil Gigante’s narration — that’s entertaining in itself. I’m not giving up on The Stainless Steel Rat, but I hope the next book will offer more creative entertainment and less ridiculous political philosophy.
This seventh novel in Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat series is actually the sequel to the prequel A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born. Young Jim DiGriz is alone, back in prison, and out for revenge. After he escapes and is tracking his nemesis, he gets captured and drafted into the military.
At this point, The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted (1987) turns into anti-military propaganda that doesn’t even try to be circumspect. The army are the bad guys — all blood-hungry idiots — and they’re preying on a planet who practices Individual Mutualism, an anti-work-ethic cooperative utopian philosophy that could never stand up to human nature. While the Stainless Steel Rat books are definitely meant to be fun, these types of themes come up often enough that I can’t help but think of them as “agendas,” and this particular anti-military agenda is likely to be perceived as insulting and disrespectful to the brave men and women all over the world who risk their lives to protect their countries.
Unfortunately, even if you manage to overlook the agenda, The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted offers little new entertainment for fans who’ve seen most of Jim’s antics before. If you haven’t read any of the Stainless Steel Rat books, you’re likely to be more forgiving than I am, and this book is a fine place to start — it will actually help if you haven’t read most of the previous books.
The redeeming factor for the audiobook version of A Stainless Steel Rat is born is Phil Gigante’s narration — that’s entertaining in itself. I’m not giving up on The Stainless Steel Rat, but I hope the next book will offer more creative entertainment and less ridiculous political philosophy.
December 19, 2016
The book is an easy and entertaining read. Akin to Catch-22 it tries to show the issues of present-day army. However, it does not try hard to do that. Instead, the author recalls there is a story line to tell and proceeds with that.
Although the story features a lot of action, I wouldn't call it an interesting or intriguing one. Even though there some unexpected events, it is safe to assume the protagonist will always come on top no matter what. Even when you think that situation is hopeless, there is deus ex machina for the rescue.
Although the story features a lot of action, I wouldn't call it an interesting or intriguing one. Even though there some unexpected events, it is safe to assume the protagonist will always come on top no matter what. Even when you think that situation is hopeless, there is deus ex machina for the rescue.
July 12, 2017
I definitely read it before, just forgot. My rating is for "individual mutualism", which's similar to more in-depth Hominids world, but also even more advanced - a society without army or police, probably how it should be, because funding those institutions is just the pure waste of money and effort. If instead of crashing heads of each other for thousands of years over idiotic ideas, like whose god is greatest, they invested time into real things, today we would probably wouldn't had borders, and as a consequence - no need in "armies" or arm's race. From my experience, even possibility of such vision for majority is ridiculous. F*cking idiots.
Similarities with Hominids: car for a ride, low-rise buildings, "aggression gene" screening.
Similarities with Hominids: car for a ride, low-rise buildings, "aggression gene" screening.
December 7, 2013
Well, pretty much a lot of the same for our intrepid hero. Stuck on a planet, getting into trouble and finding ridiculously inventive (read: deus ex machina) ways of escaping trouble.
There isn't much to say on this book, there is nothing really new in comparison to his previous and the next book. So I am thinking that I might have a bit of break before the next one. To be honest, I use these when I have flights as they are small and light and good for take off and landing.
There isn't much to say on this book, there is nothing really new in comparison to his previous and the next book. So I am thinking that I might have a bit of break before the next one. To be honest, I use these when I have flights as they are small and light and good for take off and landing.
January 22, 2016
Another in the stainless steel rat books. They are all quick reads with alot of humor in them. The stories remain fresh and new. Very recommended, especially to teen readers or someone new to SiFi
January 19, 2021
A decent, antimilitaristic space opera romp with shades of everything from "Starship Troopers" to "Gulliver's Travels." Jim di Griz is a wisecracking, planet-hopping young buck with a taste for adventure and a knack for getting into trouble. Through convoluted circumstances, he gets involved in an intergalactic conflict that involves a libertarian-inclined civilization invaded by a nation of interstellar Spartans whose martial obsessions with killing and conquest turns young di Griz's stomach.
Harry Harrison, the book's author, is a military vet and it shows in his distaste for the kinds of careerists and sadists who populate the higher echelons. Vets will recognize the architypes, and if they're unlucky enough, maybe even themselves. I certainly don't miss those days.
The humor works sometimes, and at other times falls flat. Ditto for the satire and social commentary, which can be trenchant but is more often belabored. "Stainless Steel Rat gets drafted" is the second in a series, but can be read as a standalone, since every character has a past and therefore every tale is told in media res.
My copy includes an excerpt from Harrison's "Return to Eden," a sort of "Lost World" riff that tries to imagine what might have happened if the extinction event hadn't snuffed the dinosaurs, and the saurian survivors somehow grew sentient enough to go to war with Homo Sap. A promising premise, maybe, but I'm not rushing to my used bookstore to scour the shelves after "Stainless Steel." To each their own, however.
Harry Harrison, the book's author, is a military vet and it shows in his distaste for the kinds of careerists and sadists who populate the higher echelons. Vets will recognize the architypes, and if they're unlucky enough, maybe even themselves. I certainly don't miss those days.
The humor works sometimes, and at other times falls flat. Ditto for the satire and social commentary, which can be trenchant but is more often belabored. "Stainless Steel Rat gets drafted" is the second in a series, but can be read as a standalone, since every character has a past and therefore every tale is told in media res.
My copy includes an excerpt from Harrison's "Return to Eden," a sort of "Lost World" riff that tries to imagine what might have happened if the extinction event hadn't snuffed the dinosaurs, and the saurian survivors somehow grew sentient enough to go to war with Homo Sap. A promising premise, maybe, but I'm not rushing to my used bookstore to scour the shelves after "Stainless Steel." To each their own, however.
February 24, 2022
James ‘Slippery Jim’ diGriz has been imprisoned after being betrayed by Captain Garth, and the incarceration has killed his mentor The Bishop. Vowing revenge, Jim enlists the girl Bibs, one of Garth’s crew who he also sold down the river, to help escape and search for him. Once on the planet Nevenkebla Jim is caught in the military draft and discovers that Garth is in fact the notorious General Zennor, and that Zennor is set to invade a peaceful planet known as Chojecki. The planet has no army, no police and no crime, as they follow the tenets of a system known as IM - Individual Mutualism - which allows complete personal freedom and public responsibility. When Zennor commences the invasion it is up to Jim and the locals to try to find a way to fight back yet still stick to the tenets of this strange pacifist system. Harry Harrison has given us another entertaining Rat tale and despite the quite deliberate (and literal) deus ex machina his version of D-Day is amusing and satisfying.
November 4, 2021
Classic Stainless Steel Rat. Written about halfway through Harrison's series, this book is set relatively early (he's still in his teens) in Slippery Jim DiGriz's career as an intergalactic thief and conman. As with the rest of the series the writing style is very tongue in cheek, the plots larger than life, and most of the other characters pretty simplistic (good or bad), which is what makes DiGriz stand out in the far future utopias or dystopias that he finds himself in. This particular installment pokes fun at the army as the SSR has to infiltrate and subvert a militarized nation bent on conquest.
November 20, 2024
I feel like all of my Stainless Steel Rat reviews are the same. Great books, very funny, Slippery Jim is one of the all timers. If I've been reading these pretty intermittently, but when I finish my first read through, I'm going to have to dive right back in and read them closer together. I love this cagal.
September 30, 2016
Хан Соло, Снейк Плискин, Корбен Далас, Капитан Майкъл Рейнолдс, Ридик, Спайк Спийгъл, Питър Куил... Съвременната фантастика е бъкана с чаровни анти-герои, някои лениви и лежерни, други тарикати, трети устати, а повечето всичко от изброеното на куп. Брадясали циници, отегчени от живота, плюещи (че дори и хапещи, дращещи, стрелящи...) по системата, всеки със своето тъмно минало и лични демони, и всеки въоръжен с богат репертоар от хапливо-иронични лафове. И дълбоко, под тази яка черупка, зад маската на корав тип с ампутирана съвест, дреме златно сърце, което често подтиква към неохотно забъркване в чужди неприятности и дори евентуална саможертва.
Как да не ги обичаш, нашите сай-фай анти-герои и космически каубои?
Но има един, може би не толкова известен като гореизброените, но определено заслужаващ свое място в пантеона (а защо не и екранизация!) – предшественик на днешните популярни физиономии, едно старо куче... Е, може би не точно куче, по-скоро плъх! Да, говорим за героя на покойния Хари Харисън - Джеймс Боливар ди Гриз, познат още като Хлъзгавия Джим или Стоманения плъх. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле":
https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...
Как да не ги обичаш, нашите сай-фай анти-герои и космически каубои?
Но има един, може би не толкова известен като гореизброените, но определено заслужаващ свое място в пантеона (а защо не и екранизация!) – предшественик на днешните популярни физиономии, едно старо куче... Е, може би не точно куче, по-скоро плъх! Да, говорим за героя на покойния Хари Харисън - Джеймс Боливар ди Гриз, познат още като Хлъзгавия Джим или Стоманения плъх. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле":
https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...
December 22, 2016
The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted
Seventh Novel in the Stainless Steel Rat series, authored by Harry Harrison.
Slippery Jim DiGriz is a comedic character dreamed up by Harry Harrison (“Make Room Make Room”) and wrote several novels about Jim and his excuses about why it’s OK to rob and lie and cheat and steal.
And yet, the reader can’t help but be immensly entertained!
Jim finds himself breaking out of prison on a mission of revenge. His friend The Bishop has been killed by a man who formerly ran a spaceship with Jim and others in the crew. Jim however finds himself in jail. Not a great place to start from.
Through various finagling, he finds himself smuggled onto an island nation which is quite paranoid when it comes to military discipline. He somehow gets into the armed forces of the planet, while they are looking for him. He steals aboard a ship bound for invasion of a peaceful planet in an uncharted area of the galaxy.
Harrison introduces us to Individual Mutualism – a crazy mix of socialism and and odd reference to let others be as they are. Trippy.
Final Thoughts:
Some critics consider this seventh book in the Stainless Steel Rat series as anti-military but I consider it hilarious parody of the military system.
A must-read for sergeants and admirals everywhere!
Seventh Novel in the Stainless Steel Rat series, authored by Harry Harrison.
Slippery Jim DiGriz is a comedic character dreamed up by Harry Harrison (“Make Room Make Room”) and wrote several novels about Jim and his excuses about why it’s OK to rob and lie and cheat and steal.
And yet, the reader can’t help but be immensly entertained!
Jim finds himself breaking out of prison on a mission of revenge. His friend The Bishop has been killed by a man who formerly ran a spaceship with Jim and others in the crew. Jim however finds himself in jail. Not a great place to start from.
Through various finagling, he finds himself smuggled onto an island nation which is quite paranoid when it comes to military discipline. He somehow gets into the armed forces of the planet, while they are looking for him. He steals aboard a ship bound for invasion of a peaceful planet in an uncharted area of the galaxy.
Harrison introduces us to Individual Mutualism – a crazy mix of socialism and and odd reference to let others be as they are. Trippy.
Final Thoughts:
Some critics consider this seventh book in the Stainless Steel Rat series as anti-military but I consider it hilarious parody of the military system.
A must-read for sergeants and admirals everywhere!
May 26, 2011
Genre: sci-fi, clever capers
Summary: Jim diGriz is out for revenge, going after the man that killed his mentor, the Bishop. Only, this man is a big-wig in a secret military machine. Adventures and scrapes abound.
Response: There was quite a bit of commentary about militarism and life in the military in general. I have a sneaking suspicion that the author has less than favorable views towards the military. It makes for an interesting read, especially when viewed within our context here and now. Jim also comes across a paradisaical world with an interesting political philosophy. It would have been enough to leave Jim there, happy and contented but then that would be the end of his story and seeing as there are, like, ten more books in the series, it obviously isn't the end. I enjoyed the plot-line, however unbelievable it got at points. diGriz is a fascinating character. Like I said before, he isn't perfect but he is introspective and a character which I admire.
Summary: Jim diGriz is out for revenge, going after the man that killed his mentor, the Bishop. Only, this man is a big-wig in a secret military machine. Adventures and scrapes abound.
Response: There was quite a bit of commentary about militarism and life in the military in general. I have a sneaking suspicion that the author has less than favorable views towards the military. It makes for an interesting read, especially when viewed within our context here and now. Jim also comes across a paradisaical world with an interesting political philosophy. It would have been enough to leave Jim there, happy and contented but then that would be the end of his story and seeing as there are, like, ten more books in the series, it obviously isn't the end. I enjoyed the plot-line, however unbelievable it got at points. diGriz is a fascinating character. Like I said before, he isn't perfect but he is introspective and a character which I admire.
December 8, 2010
Whenever I'm feeling low on smarm, I pick up a Stainless Steel Rat book and top myself right up again.
"Gets Drafted" is my favorite SSR book by far, partly because I can see myself as the luckless Morton, in the wrong place at the right time, getting dragged along on every adventure possible, a reluctant Wooster to Slippery Jim diGriz' Jeeves.
Way back when, I even started writing a SSR-like novel, but it never got much beyond the first chapter; I'm too much like Petey Otterloop in Richard Thompson's Cul de Sac comic strip: I tend to write 98 chapters of exposition until I'm ready to begin the adventure. (I've gotten better as of late, thank you very much.)
Another reason to like this particular book" I'd love to live on Chojecki, where for the basics of life one need only work two hours every seven days. Sounds like a peaceful place to me. Thoreauesque, actually.
"Gets Drafted" is my favorite SSR book by far, partly because I can see myself as the luckless Morton, in the wrong place at the right time, getting dragged along on every adventure possible, a reluctant Wooster to Slippery Jim diGriz' Jeeves.
Way back when, I even started writing a SSR-like novel, but it never got much beyond the first chapter; I'm too much like Petey Otterloop in Richard Thompson's Cul de Sac comic strip: I tend to write 98 chapters of exposition until I'm ready to begin the adventure. (I've gotten better as of late, thank you very much.)
Another reason to like this particular book" I'd love to live on Chojecki, where for the basics of life one need only work two hours every seven days. Sounds like a peaceful place to me. Thoreauesque, actually.
October 29, 2008
My favorite of the Stainless Steel Rat books.
July 14, 2014
Not one of the better books in the series. Less "laugh out loud" moments than in the other books. Still enjoyable enough to pass the time, however.
September 15, 2021
This is the good old days of the Stainless Steel Rat.
December 31, 2014
I would rate it as 3.5 stars. Easy to read, but it's more for teenagers.
February 18, 2009
This whole series was wonderful when I was young. I loved it.
March 15, 2013
The Stainless Steel Rat series was an excellent and entertaining read.
December 8, 2018
Ths begins almost immediately after the close of the last book. This is a very rare occurrence in the life of the Rat. And while it does add to the immediacy of the story it does make the reader want to compare the two adventures more than they might normally. Which is a shame because this is probably the weakest of the Rat's adventures so far: it's a good fun read, but it covers no new ground, feels like a rerun of capers past and has possibly the clunkier exposition in a series that relies on exposition as part of its tropes and formulae.
Put simply, it's a bit of a dud. An entertaining dud but it contradicts a few points of continuity - the idea of interplanetary invasion being expensive and pointless, for one; the continuing references to Earth/ Dirt, although that ship sailed very early on in the series, to be honest; and the entirety of the plot of The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge seems to be cribbed here, if I'm honest - but we do get a deepening of Jim's personal philosophy as well as a few glimpses into his life that we hadn't had before, so it's worth it for bridging the gap between the callow youth we met in the previous book and the seasoned criminal we meet in the (actual) first novel of the series.
Jim's capers are still one of the best ways to waste your time, though, even with a subpar entry in the series.
Put simply, it's a bit of a dud. An entertaining dud but it contradicts a few points of continuity - the idea of interplanetary invasion being expensive and pointless, for one; the continuing references to Earth/ Dirt, although that ship sailed very early on in the series, to be honest; and the entirety of the plot of The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge seems to be cribbed here, if I'm honest - but we do get a deepening of Jim's personal philosophy as well as a few glimpses into his life that we hadn't had before, so it's worth it for bridging the gap between the callow youth we met in the previous book and the seasoned criminal we meet in the (actual) first novel of the series.
Jim's capers are still one of the best ways to waste your time, though, even with a subpar entry in the series.
December 9, 2025
Interesting plot. Jim is forcefully drafted only to discover that this particular military is a totalitarian regime with zero regards towards the individual's literal anything and consider might to be right and money makes the world go round.
So it makes sense that on the other side we have the extreme opposite. Pacifists that hold individuality as at the highest regard and use the barter system... aka hippies.
The book is fun, pacing is fast and writing style entertaining.
I am removing a star for inconsistencies. Jim is 17, it's hammered in that he is not just 17 but has a baby face and can easily pass for tween.
Only when the plot needs it. He usually treated and acts like someone in his mid to late 20s and at times the plot treats him like someone in his late thirties. Imagine a baby faced 17 year old in a general uniform walking up to you and barking orders. Yeah there's no way that would look like anything but a kid wearing his dad's uniform and playing make believe.
At the end of the book the pacing slows down so the author can explain the hippy's system and belief. It's pretty shaky logic though and it seems the author knows that because there is a lot of exposition dumps in last chapters causing the finale to be rushed.
So it makes sense that on the other side we have the extreme opposite. Pacifists that hold individuality as at the highest regard and use the barter system... aka hippies.
The book is fun, pacing is fast and writing style entertaining.
I am removing a star for inconsistencies. Jim is 17, it's hammered in that he is not just 17 but has a baby face and can easily pass for tween.
Only when the plot needs it. He usually treated and acts like someone in his mid to late 20s and at times the plot treats him like someone in his late thirties. Imagine a baby faced 17 year old in a general uniform walking up to you and barking orders. Yeah there's no way that would look like anything but a kid wearing his dad's uniform and playing make believe.
At the end of the book the pacing slows down so the author can explain the hippy's system and belief. It's pretty shaky logic though and it seems the author knows that because there is a lot of exposition dumps in last chapters causing the finale to be rushed.
December 4, 2025
Aw man, I did so many stupid things when I was young because of this book. I idolized the SSR as a teenager. Am I lucky I never got caught and saddled with a record. Now it's, what 30+ years later, I've dug this book out and given it to my own kid and decided to reread it. It's just as fun as it was then. Sure, the science and faith in humanity displayed in the novel are obsolete and dated, as are the attitudes towards heavy drinking (what's a liver to do if not to be heroically challenged?) and cross-dressing (light-hearted humor, whereas now it's a serious political issue). It represents a time when science fiction had its comedies and when there was hope and optimism that there were still frontiers and adventures to be had, instead of grim planetary survival. This is also the last good SSR book that was published (please note this was published 7th, but is #2 chronologically). Subsequent ones appears to have no to little editing, and Mr Harrison was starting to show some facultative slipping. For me, this book was the first I read for the SSR and my favorite.
February 10, 2025
This is one of the later books but set early in his career. The story opens with James DiGriz, prisoner, being shipped to some planet to face charges of bank robbing, after lamenting his misfortune he escapes from the pot into the fire.
James finds himself on a military planet and promptly gets drafted. He learns a nemesis of his, formerly Captain Garth, is now General Zennor, planning an invasion of an unknown planet and is enlisted by the League Navy to identify that planet – if he can’t kill General Zennor first.
The target planet turns out to be a utopian planet with no government and practicing a philosophy of Individual Mutualism, which seems to be a rather libertarian approach to life. There is no army, no police and no problems. On such a world, how do you defeat a heavily-armed invasion force?
As usual, he goes from one problem to another finding the most unusual solutions to problems in amusing ways and finds a most unusual solution to outwitting an invading army.
James finds himself on a military planet and promptly gets drafted. He learns a nemesis of his, formerly Captain Garth, is now General Zennor, planning an invasion of an unknown planet and is enlisted by the League Navy to identify that planet – if he can’t kill General Zennor first.
The target planet turns out to be a utopian planet with no government and practicing a philosophy of Individual Mutualism, which seems to be a rather libertarian approach to life. There is no army, no police and no problems. On such a world, how do you defeat a heavily-armed invasion force?
As usual, he goes from one problem to another finding the most unusual solutions to problems in amusing ways and finds a most unusual solution to outwitting an invading army.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 18, 2021
(same write-up exactly as I did for the other books in the series)
I could understand someone giving a 5 rating for this and I could understand a 1 rating too. It's not a deep book in any way but it neither wants to be nor does it pretend to be. It's a great comedy sci-fi romp, completely intended to make you giggle your way through a summer holiday on the beach. Its real selling point (to me) is that I think it's a pretty unique writing style and I don't know whether it was intended for a teen audience in the 60s but I think that's the likely audience now. You're unlikely to remember the story a couple of years from now but you'll enjoy reading it and have fond memories of having read it too.
I could understand someone giving a 5 rating for this and I could understand a 1 rating too. It's not a deep book in any way but it neither wants to be nor does it pretend to be. It's a great comedy sci-fi romp, completely intended to make you giggle your way through a summer holiday on the beach. Its real selling point (to me) is that I think it's a pretty unique writing style and I don't know whether it was intended for a teen audience in the 60s but I think that's the likely audience now. You're unlikely to remember the story a couple of years from now but you'll enjoy reading it and have fond memories of having read it too.
September 15, 2025
Досить гарно, як для легкої авантюрної фантастики.
Антивоєнна сатира Гаррісона не дуже актуальна сьогодні (особливо для країни на яку здійснили напад), але загалом навіть для розважальної фантастики автор дуже класно протиставляє мілітарне тиранічне суспільство завойовників та "індивідуальний мутуалізм" планети, яку намагаються завоювати. Між класним і іноді гірким гумором, сатирою і карколомними пригодами проминає думка, що нехай це все і наівна вигадка, але , якщо люди сформували ієрархчні диктаторські суспільсва, то можливо колись в майбутньому ми зможемо прийти і до чогось іншого, подібного до "індивідуального мутуалізму"? Про це можна поки хіба що помріяти, читаючи про пригоди Джима Ді Ґріза.
Антивоєнна сатира Гаррісона не дуже актуальна сьогодні (особливо для країни на яку здійснили напад), але загалом навіть для розважальної фантастики автор дуже класно протиставляє мілітарне тиранічне суспільство завойовників та "індивідуальний мутуалізм" планети, яку намагаються завоювати. Між класним і іноді гірким гумором, сатирою і карколомними пригодами проминає думка, що нехай це все і наівна вигадка, але , якщо люди сформували ієрархчні диктаторські суспільсва, то можливо колись в майбутньому ми зможемо прийти і до чогось іншого, подібного до "індивідуального мутуалізму"? Про це можна поки хіба що помріяти, читаючи про пригоди Джима Ді Ґріза.
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