The Stainless Steel Rat

I was looking through my collection of paperbacks the other day and came across a gem from my misspent youth: The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison.

Harry Harrison is best known for the novel “Make Room, Make Room” that was turned into the movie: “Soylent Green (1973)” Starring Charlton Heston, about a world where the runaway greenhouse effect left the only the coasts inhabitable.

In his Stainless Steel Rat series Harrison strikes a much lighter tone as the title character is a thief in the 30th or so Century. He is recruited as an Intergalactic Spy, whose biggest weakness is his own arrogance.

He gets in to trouble by doing things like masterminding a cunning and daring escape, ducking into a vacant hotel room and then risks it all to make himself a sandwich, with side items of course.

Throughout the entire series of books he jumps from one outrageous adventure to another and always has a sense of humor about it.

I highly recommend any of The Stainless Steel Rat series when you are looking for something to brighten up your day.