The eighth Rat book, and the third in the 'prequel' sequence, following A Stainless Steel Rat is Born and The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted.
Slippery Jim is caught red-handed when he tries to rob the mint in Paskönjak. He is presented with a simple choice: a horrible death, or a job for the Galactic League. The League want Jim to go to the planet Liokukae and bring back a missing artefact - the only known evidence of an alien life-form ever found.
To ensure that Jim doesn't try to escape, he is given a slow-acting poison - he's got 30 days to return with the artefact, and receive the antidote, or he'll die. Liokuke is a colony where misfits and maniacs are sent, so to ensure a warm welcome and safe passage around the planet, Jim arrives with three League agents, disguised as a rock band sent to entertain the inhabitants. But as time passes - and Jim's life expectancy is reduced - the mission becomes less about recovering the artefact, and more about liberating the planet.
London: Bantam Press, 31st March 1994. 229pp., ISBN: 0-593-02620-9, hbk. Jacket: Jean Pierre Targete.
New York: Bantam, April 1994, 229pp., ISBN: 0-553-09612-5, hbk. Jacket: Jean Pierre Targete.
New York: Science Fiction Book Club, June 1994, 229pp., hbk. Jacket: Jean Pierre Targete.
London: Bantam, February 1995, 229pp., ISBN: 0-553-40501-2, pbk. Cover: Jean Pierre Targete.
New York: Bantam, March 1995, 244pp., ISBN: 0-553-5639-2, pbk. Cover: Jean Pierre Targete.
as: Jim DiGriz e il Pianeta Maledetto. Milan: Editrice Nord, April 1995, 265pp., ISBN: 88-429-0821-5. Translated by Annarita Guarnieri. [Italian]
as: Die Stahlratte Singt Den Blues. Munich: Heyne, 1995, 283pp., ISBN: 3-453-08556-6, pbk. Translated by Thomas Schlück and Ronald M. Hahn. [German]
The Stainless Steel Rat Series