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Sci-fi Author Harry Harrison Dies at 87
tmjva writes "Per BBC's Entertainment page, author Harry Harrison died today at the age of 87. His body of work included Make Room! Make Room!, (the inspiration for Soylent Green), The Stainless Steel Rat, and Bill the Galactic Hero. From the article: 'Harrison's first novel, Deathworld, was published in 1960, while the first book in the Stainless Steel Rat series was published a year later. The last of the series was published just two years ago in 2010 and the books are widely regarded as producing one of science fiction's great anti-heroes, Slippery Jim diGriz, aka The Stainless Steel Rat. The author also parodied the sci-fi genre in his seven Bill the Galactic Hero books, which were first seen in 1965. He saw his work as anti-war and anti-militaristic.'"
The guy was talented. The Stainless Steel Rat series was quite funny.
Odd coincidence that I just re-read his Deathworld books recently. Apparently they are old enough that they are public domain these days.
A fond farewell.
Thank you, Harry, I truly enjoyed the books.
You can't handle the truth.
The adventures of Jim di Griz were as formative in my teenage years as any other book I could name. I love the idea that in the future, when poverty and war was more or less eliminated and even murderers could be (mostly) rehabilitated, the government itself would allow a few of the brightest criminal minds to slip through the cracks and cause a little chaos (and occasionally stop bigger chaos from leaking off various planets.) The world was mildly dystopian, but still a much more tongue in cheek vision of the future than it was outright depressing. Rest in peace, Harry Harrison.
Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
I still remember picking up my first Harry Harrison as a teenager planning and being completely pulled into the story. Slippery Jim diGriz is one of my fictional heros. I don't know if I'd still enjoy those books in the same way but I have always treasured his stories as part of growing up. RIP
I think you know what THEY'RE made of...
"Slippery Jim" diGriz and Bill, the Galactic Hero. I've worn out 2 or 3 copies of both series over the years.
Oddly enough, just a couple of days ago, I just happened to run across a reprint of A Trans-Atlantic Tunnel, Hurrah! which I bought and read on impulse, having seen it years and years ago but never having actually cracked the cover. A fun read, if you've not not already had the pleasure.
Thanks, Harry. I don't think I'll ever tire of your work.
Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
His name was one of the first I learned to recognize as a young beginner sci-fi-aficionado (ohh, maybe 10 years old?). I really liked the Steel Rat books, both others as well.
Here is a comment by John Scalzi (who is actually surprisingly similiar in style - I recommend).
I first read his Stainless Steel Rat books in a small town in the bible belt, whre my stepfather was a minister. His were the first books I ever encountered that openly made the case for athiesm. It was so different form everything else I'd run into-of course I had head of it, but to come right out and openly advocate it in the books (and a bit after the story proper, IIRC) was definitely a bit of a first. Tonight, I'm heading out to a sushi joint with the other members of my Skeptic/Freethinkers' singles group, and I'll raise a toast to Slippery Jim. For me, he was step one on a long, long journey, and I am grateful.
died :(
I met Harry Harrison at a con in glasgow - a charming chap - where he was very happy to be abducted by two Angelina-look-alikes wielding prop blasters.
'86 I think.
I suggest 'In Our Hands the Stars' as an example of an enjoyable departure from his more widely-known works.
RIP Harry. As with many others I spent many a night wearing out old paperbacks with his name on the binder.
One of the set of novels that has not been mentioned is his Edan series. A very good series that Harry put some serious effort into. Not as much 'fun' as some of his other work but very good sci-fi.
Really, I know what I'm doing...Ohhhh, look at the shiny buttons!
Here's to you Mr. Harrison! You will be missed.
Harry Harrison wrote quite a bit of stuff during the days when copyright actually could expire.
http://www.feedbooks.com/books/search?query=harry+harrison
Noteworthy: "The Misplaced Battleship" (the first Stainless Steel Rat story) Deathworld (the first Deathworld novel)
It would be cool to see the Stainless Steel Rat adventures turned into movies. I'd love to see what a .75 calibre recoilless pistol would look like as a prop.
steveha
lf(1): it's like ls(1) but sorts filenames by extension, tersely
Mi gutted sciante ke vi estas ne en la mondo ie, pensante. Ripozi en paco!
He wore the most screamingly funny science fiction book ever written - "Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers". A parody of Doc Smith's books. It's worth te the trouble to find.
There is no God, and Dirac is his prophet.
As our bookshelves can attest, my spouse and I have been fans of Mr. Harrison's writing for decades now. He was a versatile writer who excelled at creating engaging and entertaining characters. We were so excited to find "The Stainless Steel Rat Returns" a couple of years ago, after thinking he had retired the series...
Rest in peace, good sir, and may the stars watch over you.
"I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
Harry, i grew up with you. You changed my childhood. I wouldn't be the man I am without you. Thanks a bunch! Slippery Jim
War is the statesman's game, the priest's delight, the lawyer's jest, the hired assassin's trade.- Shelley
Big fan of his. Read all the Rat books but didn't own the first few. Was lucky and found a hard bound of the first three stories in excellent condition and bought it a week ago. As much fun to read now as they were then. He will be missed.
Loved the Stainless Steel Rat. It influenced my life in 3 key ways. Jim di Griz's mastery of judo inspired me to earn a green belt and stand up successfully to the bullies in my junior high school. And if it weren't for you I wouldn't have known Esperanto existed. Never learned much of that, but it kicked off a life-long love for languages that has led to mastery of five others. Lastly, it began a life-long quest for a real-life glass of Syrian Panther Sweat.
If not us, who? If not now, when?
Sadly this is the only Harry Harrison novel I've read, but I still remember it vividly. It's one of the better alien invasion stories with a thoughtful twist at the end. Also, I vividly remember some of the illustrations - creepy aliens!
Actually Bill the Galactic Hero seemed more like a parody of one book specifically, Starship Troopers. Did a good job of skewering Heinlein I thought.
Is still working to save humanity. R.I.P. and good luck?
All your database are belong to U.S.
West of Eden, the first in the Eden series, was particularly good sci-fi. When re-read as an adult it wasn't quite as good, but held up better than many other sci-fi writers' material.
No mention of The Hammer and the Cross?
Thank you, Harry, I truly enjoyed the books.
we find it hard to believe that you have read anything other than the writings of your cult leader or the books of ayn rand.
even worse you probably don't consider either of them to be fiction.
Loved the Stainless Steel Rat...but I also really enjoyed his more serious book "Homeworld". An interesting look at a big brother society... He was one of the better Sci-Fi authors. He will be missed.
Thinking about the Grey Men and the training methods still makes me uneasy.
Very sad to hear this news. He was too one of the authors I most read during my teens. It is clearly time to crack open the yellowing pages of my old paperbacks and give the SSR and Deathworld novels are re-read - possibly the last before they fall apart. Then probably off to Amazon to replace with whatever's available in hard cover. For some reason I would rather pay $50 for hard cover copy of the 'old classics' than $2.50 for the ebook edition.
Let's not forget the 'Hammer and the Cross' and the 'Stars and Stripes' series. Both well researched and great alternate history trilogies. Even if he does indulge in a bit of Britt bashing, Stars and Stripes is still one of my favorite Civil War alternate history novels, and as I recall HH was regarded as an authority on that era too.
Julian is a fan. He made Harry Harrison his okcupid profile name.
The Stainless Steel Rat's mentor said that society wanted criminals, since they wanted to be entertained (this was in a dull absolutely law abiding galactic civilization).
And his criminal plot in that movie was featured in Superman, and Office Space, can't remember where else. (Skimming fractions of a penny.)
On page 666, I remember of one of his novels, the protaganists' hands were cut off by the alien. Unexpectedly, squicky, so I looked at the page number.
Saber
I have a large collection of mostly translated SF books. Harry Harrison is one of those writers that regularly got translated into Dutch, so I had to run into him sooner or later in the beginning of the seventies, I think it was Wheelworld. Most of his work is nice to read. I was impressed by 'One Step from Earth'. He also had a feel for the nonsensical and burlesque, and this combined with SF made him at least original. However, his way of writing doesn't seem to be consistent across his books, and while he had many nice ideas, the way some of his books are written does sometimes give an impression of amateurism. It could be that this comes from the translation of course. A couple of years ago I found a translated version of 'Planet Story'. I knew that this book existed, but I did not remember the title any more , having it seen only once in 1978 or 1979. I did not even know at the time it was from HH. I think that concerning the writing (and probably also the translation) this is one of his finer works. HH had always good stories, but I do think that regarding writing he might have learned a bit of some of his colleagues.
(Reformatting for better readability)
I have a large collection of mostly translated SF books. Harry Harrison is one of those writers that regularly got translated into Dutch, so I had to run into him sooner or later in the beginning of the seventies, I think it was Wheelworld.
Most of his work is nice to read. I was impressed by 'One Step from Earth'.
He also had a feel for the nonsensical and burlesque, and this combined with SF made him at least original. However, his way of writing doesn't seem to be consistent across his books, and while he had many nice ideas, the way some of his books are written does sometimes give an impression of amateurism. It could be that this comes from the translation of course.
A couple of years ago I found a translated version of 'Planet Story'. I knew that this book existed, but I did not remember the title any more , having it seen only once in 1978 or 1979. I did not even know at the time it was from HH. I think that concerning the writing (and probably also the translation) this is one of his finer works.
HH had always good stories, but I do think that regarding writing he might have learned a bit of some of his colleagues.
s/beginning of the seventies/beginning of the eighties/
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