Rating: 
Summary: Retirement should have come sooner
Review: The latest installment in Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series begins with the title character, a.k.a. "Slippery Jim" DiGriz enjoying a comfortable but boring quasi-retirement with his wife and sometime partner Angelina. A picnic is interrupted by a mysterious man offering Jim a job to alleviate his boredom and, of course, augment is personal fortune substantially. Is this autobiographical? Like his famous character, Harry Harrison has been quite successful at his career for many years, leaving him with a solid reputation and the means to live comfortably. Whether he was motivated by money or boredom I don't know, but just as Jim should have turned down the job, Harrison should have known better than to write this book. The first Stainless Steel Rat book was as fresh and exciting as Slippery Jim. Other books in the series, such as The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You!, exhibited a keen sense of humor. Although Jim is still skilled at the misdirection and sleight of hand that made him a successful criminal, Harrison's writing has become dull and predictable. At the end of this book, Jim indicates that he may retire permanently. I hope this signals an end to the series, because like Jim the series has grown old and tired.Rating: 1 star (only for the cleverly thought out magic tricks and robberies)
Rating: 
Summary: Did Harry not care?
Review: This book flows quickly and easily. It's a finely crafted piece of schlock with no depth or feeling. It felt like Harrision had no joy in writing it and was just doing it for a paycheck. Earlier SSR books had me caring about the heros, hating the villains, and loving the action. This one kept my attention with skillful prose but did nothing for me. I own a copy of almost every book Harrision has written and love most of his work to pieces, but this is one of if not the worst he's ever done.
Rating:
Summary: Did Harry not care?
Review: This book flows quickly and easily. It's a finely crafted piece of schlock with no depth or feeling. It felt like Harrision had no joy in writing it and was just doing it for a paycheck. Earlier SSR books had me caring about the heros, hating the villains, and loving the action. This one kept my attention with skillful prose but did nothing for me. I own a copy of almost every book Harrision has written and love most of his work to pieces, but this is one of if not the worst he's ever done.
Rating: 
Summary: The SSRat not on his highest wire.
Review: Throughout the years, I have always been a rat fan at heart. I read and re-read all of James diGriz's! adventures over and over. (for a factual statement, his last name is spelled like that! diG not DiG!) They are a master mind of work, until this one came. It's a great book with a good story line, but it has so many errors and loop-holes, you could drive a station wagon through them. But, if we were to look past all the errors and all the grammer points, we can see the old rat shining through. It's a great book, but a lousy book to end on. I'm 100% sure that this is not the last of the rat. That I will bet my life on! If you were a true rat fan you would remember that old diGriz will vacation for a while, but then find that boring and have an itch for action. Let's just hope that the Stainless Steel Rat hasn't gotten rusty.
Rating: 
Summary: Must Read for the Rat fan!
Review: What a relief after the last Rat book (goes to hell), this one is a much better read. Jim has lost some of his depth since the first few books, however some shines through in his last. We have missed the sleeping darts and the nose plugs, with a glimse of them here it takes us back to the early adventures. Must read for the Rat fan!
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