reading (The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat)

I finished Harry Harrison's The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat on Sunday. This is actually first three books of the Rat series (The Stainless Steel Rat,The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge, and The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World), though since it's published in one volume, I'm counting it as one book.

Silliness pervades these books, there isn't any other way to put it. Harrison mixes high tech, low tech, and extraordinary luck just because he can. His ovary empowered companion (nee nemesis) is a Heinleinian female of epic proportion. They are a romp, bouncing from adventure to adventure, world to world, and time to time. Character development, well that's basically for other people. I will give Harrison credit in his humor toward his main character. He's often being rescued by stronger and smarter women or coming up short at the critical moment (like Indiana Jones being cocky and reaching for his whip only to discover it's not there). The politic commentary can be pretty heavy handed, if well meaning.

Three books in a row was a bit much and I might be suffering from Rat overdose.

12. Harry Harrison The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat