Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 beta 3/9/83; site nsc.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!floyd!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!menlo70!nsc!chuqui From: chuqui@nsc.UUCP (Chuq Von Rospach) Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers Subject: Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers Message-ID: <728@nsc.UUCP> Date: Sun, 4-Mar-84 19:18:47 EST Article-I.D.: nsc.728 Posted: Sun Mar 4 19:18:47 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 6-Mar-84 02:38:14 EST Organization: National Semiconductor, Sunnyvale Lines: 32 In an unending search for funny SF, I picked up a copy of 'Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers (hence SSotGR)' by Harry Harrison (Ace, $2.50). Harrison has written a number of humourous (depending upon your taste, of course) books, including the classic 'Bill, the Galactic Hero' and the Stainless Steel Rat series. The book, to put it mildly, it terrible. Now, from reading other HH I have learned to expect to give up things like plot and characterization for the sake of his humour, but this book makes 'The Flying Sorcerors' read like Tolstoy. The plot is so stupendously non-existant that I found I didn't mind when the cardboard characters stood up and postured (Example: the heros are about to be killed by a KGB agent. In a last ditch attempt to save their skin, they say 'Sure, you were brought up as a socialist, but your father was an american (true assumption) and that makes you an american as well!' This moved this highly trained and motivated KGB agent so much that he changed sides ('Gee, I never thought of that!', he mutters as he drops the gun...). Guess what? This is the highlight of the books intelligence. Enough said. This is not a book for reading, this is a book for throwing as far away for you as you can. If you are ever lost, all alone on a desert isle, with only this book for company, I suggest you seriously consider suicide instead of reading this book. On a scale of 1-5, I can't rate it because I'm not sure if I can give it a negative number. q -- From the Citadel of the Autarch: Chuqui the Plaid {fortune,menlo70}!nsc!chuqui P.S. Nuke Wobegon! A relationship is like a shark. It has to keep moving forward or it dies. What we have here is definitely a dead shark.