Golden Anvil

I would like to get back in the habit of reviewing books as soon as I finish reading them. So, lacking a better topic, now is a good time to start. I will always do my best to avoid any real spoilers.

The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues by Harry Harrison

This is book 3 according to the chronological order of the 11 book Stainless Steel Rat series. This sci-fi series is a humor series whose main character (Jim) is a master thief with a heart of gold. In this particular book, Jim is blackmailed into leading a team down to a prison planet in order to retrieve an alien artifact which was accidentally lost during transport. The team will be going in under cover, disguised as a band who was sentenced to the planet.

This series is definitely not one that everyone would enjoy, as the author's sense of humor doesn't appeal to all. I have generally enjoyed the books though. This one fits in well enough with the rest of the series, and takes place before the (chronologically) later books in which Jim is married and has children. To me, this is a good thing, since I've enjoyed the stories I've read more without the additional characters. As with most of these books, there is some type of twist on things, and this one works pretty well, leaving the book with a satisfying ending.

However, for some reason, this was probably one of my least favorite books in the series that I've read so far. I suspect that some of this is due to the fact that this is the 8th book in the series published, and the author style has shifted someone since the earlier books. I think I'm more fond of his earlier style. Still, if you are interested in humor sci-fi, this is worth taking a look at.

3.5 / 5 stars