Matt Dickinson, our Guest Editor for January 2013 - When I was fifteen I got into science fiction and The Stainless Steel Rat was the book that hooked me. It’s a quirky crime thriller based far in the future, where arch villain ‘Slippery Jim’ DiGRiz is on the run from all sorts of exotic enemies. It’s a short book and doesn’t take itself too seriously (unlike a lot of sci-fi). The writing style is slick and easy. The characters are ‘noir’ with a wry sense of humour and it boasts the type of sharp dialogue you would expect from a cracking piece of crime fiction. It even has a love story as the series develops, thanks to ‘Slippery Jim’s fascination with the lethal and sharp-tempered Angelina. A glorious, twisting piece of entertainment, which transported me effortlessly to another world. The book has recently been re-released and is enjoying a new lease of life.
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