The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I made it a goal to return to some of my all-time favorites of SF this year. Revisit fond memories, try to determine whether my teenage self had as good taste as my adult self.

You know. A nostalgia trip.

In this case, I'm not going for the full best of the best of the best, but the ones that had me snickering and enjoying the wild rush of being bad for the sake of FREEDOM. In this case, it's the Stainless Steel Rat.

Master thief of many, many worlds, finally caught, turned into a thief-catcher, and delightful light SF ensues.

And it's not even that surprising a plot. Femme Fatale stuff. But I still enjoyed the lot of it, from special psychological drug cocktails to full-body makeovers to hilarious commentaries of nationalism, banks, and paperwork.

What can I say? I LOVE a great heist novel. Harry Harrison just happened to make a whole fun series out of it, and it has rung a bell on my subsequent delights ever since.

It holds up. It's light and fun SF with a healthy dose of snark. Lupin for the SF age. :)

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