From Publishers Weekly
In a distant future, with human civilization spread across the stars, Slippery Jim DiGriz, the Stainless Steel Rat, has flourished, first as a classically noble outlaw, then on the side of the law as a member of the elite Special Corps. When his beloved wife, Angelina, vanishes in the Temple of Eternal Truth, both love and duty drive the Rat to find out what happened. Rescuing his wife is easy enough; solving the rest of the mystery requires the help of Angelina, both their sons, several other Special Corps operatives and a company of Space Marines (going into at least one battle armed with nothing but 20-pound salamis). The villain is one Justice Slakey, a physicist who has solved the secret of traveling among multiple universes and replicating himself, and who is using these new powers to create a transuranic element that stops time and thereby confers immortality. If the Rat's long-running adventures (begun in 1961, with The Stainless Steel Rat) had ever been intended to be more than lightweight entertainment, the adolescent sexism and casual acceptance of the romantic myth of the noble outlaw might have long since become offensive. But as it stands, the novel offers fast action, abundant (if sometimes forced) humor, swarms of weird concepts and, for fans of the Rat, a welcome return (after The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted, 1987) of what is probably Harrison's (King and Emperor, Forecasts, June 24) most popular series.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
In the latest exploit of Slippery Jim DiGriz, well-known adventurer, bon vivant, criminal mastermind, and sometime upholder of the right (or at least his right), the Stainless Steel Rat (i.e., DiGriz) faces a foe deadlier and even more outrethan any he has faced before: the Powers of Darkness. When his beloved wife, Angelina, is foully kidnapped from a vacation planet, he, his son, and the usual collection of colorful cohorts must track her down, even unto Hell itself. Along the way, he gleefully battles assorted grim villains, vile powers, and, of course, the stodgy interference of more conventional forces of law and order. Fans of the Stainless Steel Rat will welcome this new chapter, the most outrageous yet, in Harrison's engaging and delightful saga. He has made this corner of the galaxy his own.
Dennis Winters
