http://www.stillhq.com The life, times, travel and software of Michael Still en Copyright (c) Michael Still 2000 - 2006 blosxom simplerss20 v20050208hh 180 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss /book/Harry_Harrison Mon, 12 May 2008 03:19:00 GMT I am increasingly becoming obsessed with science fiction from 1950s and 1960s. Again stolen from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_Steel_Rat">Wikipedia</a>, here is a list of all the Stainless Steel Rat books: <br/><br/> <table> <tr><td><b>Year</b></td><td><b>Title</b></td><td width=50%><b>Notes</b></td></tr> <tr><td>1985</td><td><a href="http://www.stillhq.com/book/Harry_Harrison/A_Stainless_Steel_Rat_is_born.html">A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born</a></td><td>I got this one from powell's</td></tr> <tr><td>1987</td><td>The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted</td><td></td></tr> <tr><td>1994</td><td>The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues</td><td></td></tr> <tr><td>1961</td><td>The Stainless Steel Rat</td><td></td></tr> <tr><td>1970</td><td>The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge</td><td></td></tr> <tr><td>1972</td><td>The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World</td><td></td></tr> <tr><td>1978</td><td>The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You</td><td>I got this one from bookbuyers</td></tr> <tr><td>1982</td><td>The Stainless Steel Rat for President</td><td>I got this one from bookbuyers</td></tr> <tr><td>1996</td><td>The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell</td><td>I got this one from bookbuyers</td></tr> <tr><td>1999</td><td>The Stainless Steel Rat Joins the Circus</td><td></td></tr> <tr><td>1993</td><td>The Golden Years of the Stainless Steel Rat</td><td></td></tr> </table> <br/><br/><i>Tags for this post: book(<a href="http://www.stillhq.com/book"><img src="http://www.stillhq.com/favicon.png" border="0" alt="S"></a>) Harry_Harrison(<a href="http://www.stillhq.com/Harry_Harrison"><img src="http://www.stillhq.com/favicon.png" border="0" alt="S"></a>) </i> <br/><br/> <a href="http://www.stillhq.com/book/Harry_Harrison/Stainless_Steel_Rat_Series.commentform.html">Comment on this post</a> http://www.stillhq.com/book/Harry_Harrison/Stainless_Steel_Rat_Series.html http://www.stillhq.com/book/Harry_Harrison/Stainless_Steel_Rat_Series.html /book/Harry_Harrison Sat, 10 May 2008 14:19:00 GMT 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: <br/><br/> <blockquote> 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. </blockquote> <br/><br/> It seems to me that this book is so terrible it has to be deliberate, and its good to see that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill,_the_Galactic_Hero">Wikipedia agrees</a>: <br/><br/> <blockquote> Bill, the Galactic Hero is a satirical science fiction novel by Harry Harrison, first published in 1965. <br/><br/> 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". </blockquote> <br/><br/> 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. <br/><br/><i>Tags for this post: book(<a href="http://www.stillhq.com/book"><img src="http://www.stillhq.com/favicon.png" border="0" alt="S"></a>) Harry_Harrison(<a href="http://www.stillhq.com/Harry_Harrison"><img src="http://www.stillhq.com/favicon.png" border="0" alt="S"></a>) </i> <br/><br/> <a href="http://www.stillhq.com/book/Harry_Harrison/Bill_The_Galactic_Hero.commentform.html">Comment on this post</a> http://www.stillhq.com/book/Harry_Harrison/Bill_The_Galactic_Hero.html http://www.stillhq.com/book/Harry_Harrison/Bill_The_Galactic_Hero.html /book/Harry_Harrison Wed, 07 May 2008 12:19:00 GMT 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. <br/><br/><i>Tags for this post: book(<a href="http://www.stillhq.com/book"><img src="http://www.stillhq.com/favicon.png" border="0" alt="S"></a>) Harry_Harrison(<a href="http://www.stillhq.com/Harry_Harrison"><img src="http://www.stillhq.com/favicon.png" border="0" alt="S"></a>) </i> <br/><br/> <a href="http://www.stillhq.com/book/Harry_Harrison/A_Stainless_Steel_Rat_is_born.commentform.html">Comment on this post</a> http://www.stillhq.com/book/Harry_Harrison/A_Stainless_Steel_Rat_is_born.html http://www.stillhq.com/book/Harry_Harrison/A_Stainless_Steel_Rat_is_born.html