This is Jim diGriz's 'coming of age' story: in it, he loses his virginity and.
presumably, by joining the army, his innocence. The grotesque sergeants of
Harrison's Bill, the Galactic Hero and Planet Story are again present, and
under the adventure story is a serious anti-military message. There is a
parody too of Isaac Asimov's recent novels in the Foundation/Robot series.
Dedication: This book is for Rog Peyton and all the Brum gang.
Continuing from A Stainless Steel Rat is Born, where Jim was left in
the custody of the League Navy, this story opens with him escaping from his
prison cell on the League base on Steren-Gwandra, where he is awaiting
deportation back to his home world. He has discovered that Bibs, a crew girl
from Captain Garth's ship, is also a prisoner. Jim holds Garth responsible
for the Bishop's death, and plans to hunt him down, with Bibs' help.
Garth is really the crazed Captain Zennor, head of an army which continually
defies League peace treaties, and now plans to invade and conquer the planet
Chojecki.
The people of Chojecki are pacifists, having no armies and no police. But
Garth's generals decide to attack anyway, since there are no medals for
"generals who bring back the troops intact". Jim must save the people of
Chojecki before he can face Garth.
London: Bantam, 20th August 1987, 255pp., ISBN: 0-593-01233-X, hbk. Jacket: Jim Burns.
New York: Bantam, October 1987, 256pp., ISBN: 0-553-05220-9, hbk.
New York: Bantam (Science Fiction Book Club), October 1987, hbk.
London: Bantam, April 1988, 256pp., ISBN: 0-553-17351-0, pbk. Cover: Jim Burns.
New York: Bantam, July 1988, 262pp., ISBN: 0-553-27307-8, pbk. Reprinted April 1994; 1st Juky 1988.
as: Stahlratte Wird Rekrut. Munich: Heyne, 1988, 334pp., ISBN: 3-453-02500-8, pbk. Translated by Thomas Schlück. Cover: Karel Thole. [German]
as: Libro Terzo: Il Ratto d'Acciaio Viene Arrulato, in: Il Ritorno di Jim diGriz. Milan: Editrice Nord, May 1990, 649pp., ISBN: 88-429-0406-6. Translated Giampaolo Cossato and Sandro Sandrelli. [Italian]
as: Stalowy Szczur Idzie do Wojska. Poland: Amber, 1994, ISBN: 83-7082-383-1. Translated by Jaroslaw Kotarski. [Polish]
The Stainless Steel Rat Series