The Stainless Steel Rat Joins the Circus

I really enjoyed this book, the dynamics between the family, and the drama of escapes and near misses. Love and thoroughly enjoyed this book. Brilliant author, easy read, enjoy an escape from the world.

This Rat adventure is a bit better. The richest man in the universe comes to Jim and asks him to find out who is robbing all his financial institutions. It is not all that simple, though, but luckily Jim has his whole family with him, and has recently received some training from a master magician as part of his new employment. Sneakiness, doublecross and scamming ensue.

Throughout the years, I have always been a rat fan at heart. I read and re-read all of James diGriz's! adventures over and over. (for a factual statement, his last name is spelled like that! diG not DiG!) They are a master mind of work, until this one came. It's a great book with a good story line, but it has so many errors and loop-holes, you could drive a station wagon through them.But, if we were to look past all the errors and all the grammer points, we can see the old rat shining through. It's a great book, but a lousy book to end on. I'm 100% sure that this is not the last of the rat. That I will bet my life on! If you were a true rat fan you would remember that old diGriz will vacation for a while, but then find that boring and have an itch for action. Let's just hope that the Stainless Steel Rat hasn't gotten rusty.

What a relief after the last Rat book (goes to hell), this one is a much better read. Jim has lost some of his depth since the first few books, however some shines through in his last. We have missed the sleeping darts and the nose plugs, with a glimse of them here it takes us back to the early adventures. Must read for the Rat fan!

So this is the last "Rat" book but what a good one to end on. This is a welcome return to form as Slippery Jim robs banks, avoids the tax men and makes daring escapes - exactly why we like him in the first place! I think the author is right to end the series now if only because Harrison has allowed the Rat to age naturally. He is not the same devil-may-care hero first seen in ASF so long ago. However, a movie is long overdue. If we have to suffer through "The Avengers" why not a Rat movie?