Vintage Sci Fi: Book No.14
14 January 2016
Filed under Book Reviews
Tags: Book Covers, Little Red Reviewer, Vintage Sci Fi
No.14: The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison
As part of Vintage Sci Fi month being hosted by Little Red Reviewer I’ve given myself a small challenge to post a vintage book each day – one that I’ve read – and to highlight some of the covers. Today’s choice is The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison. This is another of my Vintage Sci Fi reads.
The original blurb:
‘We must be as stealthy as rats in the wainscoting of their society. It was easier in the old days, of course, and society had more rats when the rules were looser, just as old wooden buildings have more rats than concrete buildings. But there are rats in the building now as well. Now that society is all ferrocrete and stainless steel there are fewer gaps in the joints. It takes a very smart rat indeed to find these openings. Only a stainless steel rat can be at home in this environment.’
I must confess that I’m not absolutely enamoured with any of these. If anything, I would say the Ace 1986 is my favourite – I like the bold colour and the mechanical looking rat.
First Edition 1961
Sphere 1973
Ace 1986
Sphere 1988
Orion 1988
Books and travelling with Lynn 
The 1988 one…you just have to wonder what is going through that guy’s mind, with that expression on his face.
Well – you’d think the look on his face would be embarrassment about being on that cover – instead of that he looks either (1) really self satisfied with himself for some strange reason or (2) like he’s just broke wind and is pleased with his own aroma (sorry – couldn’t help myself – to coin one of our phrases ‘he looks like he’s smelling his own brand!’ A thousand apologies!)
Lynn 😀
So cool to see the evolution of book covers through time for these classics 🙂 Eep! Looks like that rat is chewing on it’s own arm
Haha – I never noticed that but now you mention it – it really does!
Lynn 😀