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From: Ahasuerus <ahasuerus@email.com>
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Subject: Re: Highlights and Lowlights - September-October 2024
Date: Sun, 17 Nov 2024 19:32:41 -0500
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On 11/11/2024 11:57 AM, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
[snip]
 > [re: The Stainless Steel Rat books and Harry Harrison]
 > I believe I read all the SSR books at one time but I cannot now
 > recall any specifics beyond the premise.  Perhaps time for another
 > go.

I loved the first book (1961) and liked the next two (1970-1972). I 
thought that the series began to deteriorate around book 4 (1978).

 > As far as Harrison, I recall liking the "Deathword" books,

The first book was very nice. The two sequels were not as good, but 
still readable.

 > "Technicolor Time Machine" (though admittedly, it's a one joke
 > premise) & "Star Smashers Of the Galaxy Rangers".  As we discussed
 > recently here, I read that when I was about 13, and when I looked
 > at "Bill The Galactic Hero" it seemed very heavy handed to me and
 > I didn't finish it.  I'm a bit scared I would think the same about
 > Smashers now.  Of his late works, I liked the King of the North
 > series (or whatever it was called) though I suspect a lot of it was
 > his co-author, and it fell a bit off the rails at the end.

FWIW, I thought that _Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers_ (1973) was 
even more heavy-handed than _Bill the Galactic Hero_ (1965), but it's 
worth noting that I read _Bill the Galactic Hero_ first. It's possible 
that it was a case of:

 > Are two types of jokes. One sort goes on being funny forever.
 > Other sort is funny once. Second time it's dull.

I liked _The Technicolor Time Machine_ (1967) a lot more even though it 
was, as you said, a one joke book. (In retrospect, it may have been 
inspired by G. C. Edmondson's _The Ship That Sailed the Time Stream_ 
(1965).)

Scanning the rest of Harrison's output 
(https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?28), my recollections are as follows:

1. _Planet of the Damned_ (1962). A passable adventure, but not in the 
same league as the first Deathworld novel.

2. _Make Room! Make Room!_ (1966). No introductions are needed since it 
was filmed as _Soylent Green_ in 1973

3. _Captive Universe_ (1969). A decent take on Heinlein's _Orphans of 
the Sky_.

4. The _Eden_ trilogy (1984-1988). A dinosaurs-vs-humanoids alternative 
history. Forgettable writing/characterization, but possibly Harrison's 
most ambitious world-building effort.