| Author: | Harry Harrison |
| Copyright: | 1985 |
| Date Reviewed: | 9/28/85 |
| Rating: | 7.0 |
Synopsis: James Bolivia diGriz finds the society on his home world of Bit 0' Heaven a bore. At a very young age James learned that he was much more intelligent and capable than any of his contemporaries. He begins his life of crime by stealing candy from the local supermarket. The candy is hidden in a false text book. At the age of 17, no longer a minor, diGriz gives himself a birthday present. He robs a bank and is purposely caught with the hope of going to jail and learning from the masters there the secrets of crime. Once in prison, he finds that those incarcerated are no more capable than the people on the outside. They are all losers. About all he learns is that 10 years ago a mastermind criminal, the Bishop, pulled his last caper after a glorious 50 career.
James escapes from prison without too much difficulty and sets out to look up the Bishop. He knows he'll never find him so he attempts to get the Bishop to find him by pulling the perfect crime in the Bishop's name. James heists the box office cash box at Looney's World and leaves the Bishop's calling card. On it is a hint of where the next crime will take place, which he hopes only the Bishop will be able to interpret. The crime goes like clockwork but when he arrives at his hotel room, Jim is arrested and brought to Federal Building to meet the Bishop. The Bishop, it seems, can infiltrate any computer system and has done so to apprehend James. James pleads for the Bishop to teach him everything he knows but is refused.
After a quick vacation to boost his spirits, James comes back to find that the Bishop has been captured under an alias. It's a quick trial and just as sentence is about to be pronounced, Jim helps him escape. The two try to make their way on Bit 0' Heaven but a former classmate of Jim's threatens to turn them in. They jump planet by stowing away on a Venerian transport ship with plans to bribe the crew, especially the Captain, to not take them back to their home world. The captain takes the bribe and sets them down on Spiovente, a backwards planet of slaves and gangster like warlords.
The Bishop and his protege are immediately captured by Capo Doccia and made slaves. Just as quickly they escape. They join forces with an enemy Capo in the hopes of stealing his treasures and contacting the Black Monks who have technology and may have contacts with other worlds. While James is on a campaign, his Capo's castle is sacked by the original slaver Capo and the Bishop is killed. James seeks revenge at the hands of his Capo and is eventually taken off of Spiovente by a League ship.
Review: "A Stainless Steel Rat is Born", the latest volume in the series, starts off well but becomes tedious about half way thorough. The first part of the book, in which Jim learns of his unhappiness with his society and embarks on a life of crime is fun reading. Jim gets into a lot of trouble and interesting adventures as he plans and executes his crimes. Each crime is more spectacular than the last. I enjoyed meeting the Bishop and learning about his views on the present lax civilization; although after a while it seemed the Bishop didn't have much to offer. I could see how this part of Jim's life would lead to his future adventures. However, the stint on Spiovente was just like all the other civilized man meets primitive society stories that I've read. The book would have been much better if the two criminals escaped Bit O' Heaven and landed on a more technologically advanced world. We could then have learned more about the Bishops advanced skills.