RIDICULOUS! But that's OK.

For centuries man has thought he was alone in the universe. Until today, when aliens found us. Not just one species but like 100s, and they all look really gross, testicles and squishy and stuff. And because they think WE look gross, with our crunchy self, rhey ave declared war on the entire human race and they must be eliminated.

Slippery Jim of course saves the day, this time he dresses like an ugly dinosaur that the aliens think is a super hot female alien. ( )

In the very far future, where Earth is forgotten and planets are now tamed with bureaucracy, it takes a thief (and his family), to save the human worlds from ooze filled monsters. Of course, the plot is silly - the monsters speak Esperanto because they learnt it from transmissions and found it to be superior language. Of course, there is an evil human empire in the mix that is actually behind the attacks. And Mr. Jim deGriz manages to solve all the problems, with a bit of luck.

Unfortunately, the book is of its time. We have an attempt at gender equality but it misses the point entirely. Woman are not part of the military in this world, unless she's smoking hot with talents. The monsters are a stand in for all the things America hates - and on top of it all, easily deceived by a costume that Jim wears to get into the ranks. Now, I thought the culture of the Gray Men to be the best part of the book - I'd like to see it expanded into a larger story that is more serious. ( )

The usual fast paced and wisecracking dash through a space future that bears an uncanny resemblance to the American Wild west. Fun, but you don't need your brain. 8 February 2017 ( )

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

I’ve been enjoying Harry Harrison’s Stainless Steel Rat series, especially the superb audio versions produced by Brilliance Audio. Slippery Jim DiGriz is a con artist who’s been forced to work undercover for the Special Corps, an intergalactic investigating agency. Each of these short novels starts with him (and now his family, too) hiding out from the Special Corps and living it up on other taxpayers’ money. Each time, the Special Corps traps him and sends him off on a fast-paced, dangerous mission that usually involves saving the galaxy in some way.

This time aliens are invading, so Slippery Jim, with the help of his beautiful and deadly wife and their delinquent teenage twins, infiltrates their lair by disguising himself as an alien who wants to join their army. How could he possibly know that his alien costume is so sexy that he’ll have to fight off male suitors while he’s trying to save the galaxy?

The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You is another entertaining offering from Harry Harrison and narrator Phil Gigante. It was fun to see Jim and Angelina’s twins grown up and following the family traditions. Unfortunately, this story relies on some of the same plot elements that we’ve seen before — it seems fairly simple to save the world when your enemies are all brainwashed by outdated moral philosophies, you’ve got a time machine on hand, and the laws of physics bend at your will.

Still, if you’re willing to overlook all that, then these stories are definitely entertaining, especially with Phil Gigante reading them. ( )

This particular book in the series was printed several times in several years (August 1979, October 1979, March 1981, May 1982, and July 1983). The book cover I've selected was used only for the 1983 printing, and not the earlier ones, as far as I know.

Dammit, Harry, I really *miss* you. ( )