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Michael Still
mikal@stillhq.com

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These posts mostly relate to books I am reading or series I am collecting to read in order (I tend to collect the series and then read it in one block). You can see a see a list of the books I am currently seeking, as well as a list of all the books I've bothered to catalog if you're interested.


Mon, 27 Oct 2008



You Can Be The Stainless Steel Rat




    ISBN: 0441949789
    LibraryThing
    This is a Stainless Steel Rat book, although different from the norm because it is a choose your own adventure. Its also the last of the Stainless Steel Rat books in the series, and the only one I hadn't yet read.

    I figured I'd document my path through the story, so here goes:

    30 - 42 - 62 - 90

    Well, that was a disappointment. 90 makes no sense in the context (62 talks about meeting someone and deciding to talk to them, 90 talks about someone accepting a bribe). Lame, I think I found a bug already. Let's go with the other choice then:

    30 - 42 - 62 - 14 - 99 - 106 - 65 - 48 - 67 - 97 - 186 - 33 - 12 - 65

    I think I hit another bug... I was meant to go back to before a fight, but ended up after it instead. I give up.

    Tags for this post: book(S) Harry_Harrison(S)


posted at: 14:12 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Bill the Galactic Hero: The Planet of the Robot Slaves

posted at: 13:49 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Tue, 21 Oct 2008



The Stainless Steel Rat Joins the Circus




    ISBN: 0812575350
    LibraryThing
    This book is better than the Stainless Steel Rat books which insist on things like time or dimensional travel -- this one sticks to the more traditional crime plot, which I think are generally better. Then again, its nowhere near the best Stainless Steel Rat book I have read.

    It feels a little like the editor was lazy for this book though -- there are typographical errors which make it hard to read. There have been several times when I have had to reread a sentence to work out what was meant. One example is when a character declares himself to be a "Galactic Inspector of Texas". That should have read "Galactic Inspector of Taxes".

    Tags for this post: book(S) Harry_Harrison(S)


posted at: 22:40 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Thu, 09 Oct 2008



The Stainless Steel Rat Goes To Hell

posted at: 19:50 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Wed, 17 Sep 2008



The Stainless Steel Rat for President




    ISBN: 0553227599
    LibraryThing
    I need a break from all this serious reading, and the Stainless Steel Rat books are always amusing. In fact, this book was much better than the previous two I have read (The Stainless Steel Rat Saves The World and The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You) as it didn't suffer from the incredibly weak plot lines that books involving time travel seem to cause for Harrison.

    This book is back to the classic rat -- a simple criminal romp through an unsuspecting society, his hottie wife in tow, and with his two now grown kids along for the fun. I enjoyed this book a lot.

    Tags for this post: book(S) Harry_Harrison(S)


posted at: 19:57 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Sat, 09 Aug 2008



The Stainless Steel Rat Series

posted at: 22:36 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You




    ISBN: 0553253956
    LibraryThing
    I'm helping out with SciFoo for the third year running, which is a blast. Neal Stephenson is back again, which is fun. Anyway, there is always a bit of hurry up and wait at conferences, so I got a chance to finish off this book. Its an ok read, but suffers from the hard-to-believe time travel that The Stainless Steel Rat Saves The World suffered from as well. It was ok though. I'd say 3 out of 5 stars if I had a star rating system.

    Tags for this post: book(S) Harry_Harrison(S)


posted at: 22:34 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Sun, 03 Aug 2008



Stainless Steel Visions




    ISBN: 0099925605
    LibraryThing
    A collection of Harry Harrison short stories that I read on the flight back from Australia to the US. Includes a Stainless Steel Rat story, as well as a story using the Deathworld characters (I haven't read any of the Deathworld books yet). Excellent read.

    Tags for this post: book(S) Harry_Harrison(S)


posted at: 20:36 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Thu, 31 Jul 2008



The Stainless Steel Rat Saves The World




    ISBN: 0727845373
    LibraryThing
    I thought this was quite weak -- certainly the weakest Stainless Steel Rat book. It was ok, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who hasn't read any of the others first. Frankly the time travel premise is hard to believe, and the resolution at the end of the story is a total non-resolution.

    Tags for this post: book(S) Harry_Harrison(S)


posted at: 01:32 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Tue, 29 Jul 2008



The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge




    ISBN: 0441779123
    LibraryThing
    I'm frantically trying to reduce the size of the mound of books I need to take back to the US at the end of our annual trip back to Australia. As part of this I read the Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge last night and on a flight to Sydney this morning. That's not in any particular rush though -- the Stainless Steel Rat books are pretty light reading.

    I didn't like this one as much as the others, to be honest. It wasn't as humorous, and seemed to lag a little in the middle. It kept me occupied on the plane though.

    Tags for this post: book(S) Harry_Harrison(S)


posted at: 20:46 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Wed, 23 Jul 2008



The Stainless Steel Rat




    ISBN: 1857984986
    LibraryThing
    I'll keep this post short and sweet, like the book which took me three hours to read. This is the first Stainless Steel Rat book, and I think the best that I have read so far. Love it.

    Tags for this post: book(S) Harry_Harrison(S)


posted at: 06:10 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Thu, 10 Jul 2008



The Stainless Steel Rat Sings The Blues




    ISBN: 0533405012
    LibraryThing
    The underlying premise of this book is weak (a criminal forced into a band in order to find a stolen item), but like I've said in the past the Stainless Steel Rat books are fun, and not really intended to make you a better person. This one is along those lines too -- its an enjoyable light read, with a much better plot twist than the other Stainless Steel Rat books I've read. I liked it, even with the weak premise.

    Tags for this post: book(S) Harry_Harrison(S)


posted at: 05:16 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Mon, 07 Jul 2008



The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted




    ISBN: 9994607332
    LibraryThing
    This book is another Stainless Steel Rat prequel, although it was written well after the original book. This book takes up from where A Stainless Steel Rat is Born ends -- with Jim arrested (of course), on a surprisingly low tech planet. Jim must then escape, and make his way in the universe once more. He has some unfinished business with some previous acquaintances if he finds a way as well...

    Harrison's writing is very easy to read, especially because his science fiction books always seem to require a good dose of suspension of disbelief, although some need more disbelief than others, so I read this book as a break from my quite a lot of Asimov. The book is 300 pages, but I managed to knock it over in a day, which I guess means I found it engaging.

    I liked this book. Its silly, and I'm not a better person for having read it, but it was entertaining.

    Tags for this post: book(S) Harry_Harrison(S)


posted at: 03:20 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Sun, 08 Jun 2008



Bill the Galactic Hero Series

    This series is a set of parodies of militaristic science fiction, and is excellently bad.

    YearTitleNotes
    1965Bill The Galactic Hero
    1989Bill, the Galactic Hero On the Planet of Robot SlavesHarry Harrison
    1990Bill the Galactic Hero On the Planet of Bottled BrainsRobert Sheckley and Harry Harrison
    1991Bill the Galactic Hero On the Planet of Tasteless PleasureDavid Bischoff and Harry Harrison
    1991Bill the Galactic Hero On the Planet of Zombie VampiresJack C. Haldeman and Harry Harrison
    1991Bill the Galactic Hero On the Planet of Ten Thousand BarsDavid Bischoff and Harry Harrison (Was also published under the title: "Bill, the Galactic Hero on the Planet of the Hippies from Hell")
    1991Bill the Galactic Hero: The Final Incoherent AdventureDavid Harris and Harry Harrison


    Tags for this post: book(S) Harry_Harrison(S)

posted at: 20:40 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Fri, 09 May 2008



Bill The Galactic Hero




    ISBN: 0743423763
    LibraryThing
    This book is an interesting read, but for unusual reasons. Its as if Harrison sets out to write a terrible book, and learns new techniques to achieve this terrible along the way. An example of his mastery of the art:

    A hundred bucks a month was good money, though, and Bill saved every bit of it. Easy, lazy months rolled by, and he regularly went to meetings and reported regularly to the G.B.I., and on the first of every month he would find his money baked into the egg roll he invariably had for lunch. He kept the greasy bills in a toy rubber cat he found on the rubbish heap, and bit by bit the kitty grew.


    It seems to me that this book is so terrible it has to be deliberate, and its good to see that Wikipedia agrees:

    Bill, the Galactic Hero is a satirical science fiction novel by Harry Harrison, first published in 1965.

    It is a response to Heinlein's controversially militaristic Starship Troopers. The overall plot is similar, the details rather less so; and Harrison makes the most of an opportunity to spoof the work of other authors including Isaac Asimov, "Doc" Smith, and Joseph Heller. Harrison reports having been approached by a Vietnam veteran who described Bill as "the only book that's true about the military".


    This book is a study in bad writing, and that's what makes it great. This book is entertaining, stupid, and funny. You wont to be a better person at the end, but you wont be bored while reading it either. To be clear -- I loved this book and its paranoia-like universe.

    Tags for this post: book(S) Harry_Harrison(S)


posted at: 21:19 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry


Tue, 06 May 2008



A Stainless Steel Rat is Born




    ISBN: 0553279424
    LibraryThing
    This was another book I read as a kid and had fond memories of. When I found it at Powell's books for under $4 I just had to pick it up. Harrison seems to focus on "pulp science fiction" -- all of the stuff I have seen from him has been short and easy reading, as is the case with this book. What do you do if you're stuck on a farming planet, smart, and bored out of your brain? Apparently the answer is to turn to a life of crime for entertainment. That's what James DeGriz does, and he is a great anti-hero while he's at it. Great book.

    Tags for this post: book(S) Harry_Harrison(S)


posted at: 19:19 | path: /book/Harry_Harrison | permanent link to this entry