"We are the rats in the wainscoting of society—we operate outside of their barriers and outside of their rules. Society had more rats when the rules were looser, just as the old wooden buildings had more rats than the concrete buildings that came later. But they still had rats. Now that society is all ferroconcrete and stainless steel there are fewer gaps between the joints, and it takes a smart rat to find them. A stainless steel rat is right at home in this environment."

James Bolivar "Slippery Jim" diGriz was a criminal in a time when crime was almost non-existent. And he was good at it. His latest scheme had been a real money-maker, but now, he had to run and find a new caper on a new planet.

"The Stainless Steel Rat" appeared in "Astounding Science Fiction," August 1957, pages 41 - 59.

Harry Max Harrison (March 12, 1925 – August 15, 2012) was an American science fiction author, known mostly for his character "The Stainless Steel Rat" and for his novel "Make Room! Make Room!" (1966). The latter was the rough basis for the motion picture Soylent Green (1973).

Long resident in both Ireland and the United Kingdom, Harrison was involved in the foundation of the Irish Science Fiction Association, and was, with Brian Aldiss, co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.

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LibSyn: libsyn.com

"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know using the Contact Form.

There was a savage cruelty in Durkin's hatred of his children. Little did he know that on other worlds—cruelty boomeranged.

Today's story is "The Cottage" by Frank Belknap Long. It appeared in the September 1954 issue of "Fantastic Universe" on pages 58 to 69.

Frank Belknap Long Jr. (April 27, 1901 – January 3, 1994) was an American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best known for his horror and science fiction short stories, including contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos alongside his friend, H. P. Lovecraft. During his life, Long received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement (at the 1978 World Fantasy Convention), the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement (in 1987, from the Horror Writers Association), and the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award (1977).

Links

Reaper: reaper.fm

LibSyn: libsyn.com

"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know using the Contact Form.