The latest Stainless Steel Rat book keeps up the spirit of the other nine. Chronologically, it follows The Stainless Stell Rat Goes to Hell and involves the entire DiGriz family, Slippery Jim and his lovely wife Angelina, and their two sons, James and Bolivar.

While no one will ever accuse this book (or any other in the series) of even pretending to approach high literature, when you're in the mood for a light, fast, action-packed sci-fi adventure where the criminal is the good guy, look no farther. Just like the other books, this one is full of fun and makes me laugh aloud.

Just as an FYI, here is the list of Stainless Steel Rat books in chronological order (not the order they were written in, but in order of the stories' chronology):

A Stainless Steel Rat is Born
The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted
The Stainless Steel Rat Sings the Blues
The Stainless Steel Rat (The original novel)
The Stainless Steel Rat's Revenge
The Stainless Steel Rat Saves the World
The Stainless Steel Rat Wants You!
The Stainless Steel Rat For President
The Stainless Steel Rat Goes to Hell
The Stainless Steel Rat Joins the Circus

This latest in the series earns a rating of 3 1/2. It's a fun, quick read, well worth the trouble.

I wanted my own CD recording of "The Four Seasons" for quite some time, but hadn't yet got to it. Then my sister, who had raved and raved about her CD recording of Orpheus' performance, brought it over to my home. I was instantly captivated as I listened to track 10, Allegro non Molto from Winter. I had to have my own copy of the CD. Needless to say, I was soon the owner of my own copy and I've not regretted it even the least bit.
I love it, in fact.

I usually preferred a small ensemble performance over a larger group unless the larger group has insane precision and clarity, both in choral works, and string works. The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra's crisp precision backing Gil Shaham's own amazing accuracy and skill blend together making this a recording that I give a whole-hearted rating of 5.

This is recording of "The Four Seasons" is a must have for any collection. Get it!

Hilarious! The computer animated movie "Ice Age" was a blast to see in the theater, so it was a no-brainer that I would be buying it on DVD as soon as it came out. Or so I thought...

Since it came out before Christmas, my roommate, Scott, informed me that he was buying me this DVD as a Christmas gift. Woohoo! I couldn't turn down a deal like that. As we were both dying to watch it, I didn't have to wait until Christmas before enjoying the DVD. It was all of two seconds after getting home from the store before the DVD was in the player.

Of times, I, like my sister, have an illogical aversion to any animated movies where the main character is an animal. I can't explain it. My sister's aversion, however, runs more deeply which is why she never saw this movie while it was in the local theaters. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that since I enjoyed this movie so much and it contains animals as main characters, it must be good. And it is.

The dialog is funny and the voice acting superb. The various creatures' voices were well cast, and the animators did a superb job bringing the characters to life.

If you haven't seen this, rent it or borrow it from someone who has it. If you're like me, you'll want to buy it.

My rating: 4 out of 5