# Harry Harrison Has Died **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 15, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556 "2012-08-15T13:30:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/1 "2012-08-15T13:30:47Z")
> [@](#): > > [Harry Maxwell Harrison, the science fiction author best known as the author of the 1966 novel Make Room! Make Room! that was made into the 1973 film Soylent Green, passed away at age 87.](http://blastr.com/2012/08/harry-harrison-author-of.php) _The Stainless Steel Rat_ series and the _Eden_ series are some of the most enjoyable books I’ve ever read. Oddly, I’ve never read _Make Room, Make Room_ or seen _Soylent Green_. More links: [The Official News Blog](http://harryharrison.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/harry-harrison-1925-2012/) | [Harry Harrison Website](http://www.harryharrison.com/) One of the masters. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/2 "2012-08-15T13:37:54Z")
I also enjoyed _Stars and Stripes Forever_, an alternate history of the Civil War, in which Britain invaded the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/3 "2012-08-15T13:38:06Z")
I loved the SSR and the Eden series too. This sucks. “Make Room, Make Room!” was more interesting than the movie, and had nothing in it about Soylent Green but two small references. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/4 "2012-08-15T13:42:06Z")
Loved the Stainless Steel Rat. Bah. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/5 "2012-08-15T13:43:38Z")
Oh, we’re losing too many of the greats lately. I guess it was inevitable. ☹ The first few 'Stainless steel rat’s were great, (didn’t think that much of the series after “The Stainless Steel Rat saves the world”,) and I’m a huge fan of “Homeworld” and “Starworld”, from the ‘To the Stars’ trilogy. (The middle one was lackluster.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/6 "2012-08-15T14:15:01Z")
Damn! I loved his Eden series, too, along with a ghreat many other works about teleportation, generation starships, and robots. He had a far-ranging mind, and it’s not really indicative that he be remembered solely for “Make Room! Make Room!” \* He also wrote an interesting historical novel about the building of Stonehenge, and the odd proto-Steampunk "A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah!’ I liked the first couple of Stainless Steel Rat stories, and the send-up that was Bill, the Galactic Hero, but both series went on too long, and I lost interest. One work of his I haven’t read is Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers. \*I’ve read it. It’s depressing, but it’s meant to be. They completely changed it for the film, a topic on which Harrisomn has written, and his story is as engaging as any “I Hate How Hollywood Screwed Me Over” work by Harlan Ellison. Chuck Connors reportedly asked why they weren’t actually filming Harrison’s book, instead of the script that had been written. As has been noted many timesd on this Board, there’s bo cannibalism in the book, no Death Parlors, and “Soylent Green” is made of SOYbeans and LENTILS. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Ed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Just\_Ed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Ed)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/7 "2012-08-15T14:29:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ve read it. It’s depressing, but it’s meant to be. They completely changed it for the film, a topic on which Harrisomn has written, and his story is as engaging as any “I Hate How Hollywood Screwed Me Over” work by Harlan Ellison. Chuck Connors reportedly asked why they weren’t actually filming Harrison’s book, instead of the script that had been written. As has been noted many timesd on this Board, there’s bo cannibalism in the book, no Death Parlors, and “Soylent Green” is made of SOYbeans and LENTILS. Thanks, **CalMeacham**. Now I really do want to read _Make Room! Make Room!_ - though I have a somewhat lesser inclination to see the movie (the end of which is known anyway). More RIP posts: [iO9](http://io9.com/5934884/rip-harry-harrison-creator-of-the-stainless-steel-rat-bill-the-galactic-hero-and-soylent-green) | [John Scalzi’s Whatever](http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/08/15/rip-harry-harrison/) Scalzi tells a touching story of his first meeting with Harrison, as a brand-new SFWA member, and also touches on Harrison’s being known only for _Soylent Green_ with this: > [@](#): > > I think it’s worth noting that in his storied career, Harrison never won a Hugo (he was nominated twice, in the Novel category) and had a share in only a single Nebula (for _Soylent Green_, adapted from his book). The measure of someone’s influence and stature as a writer is not always immediate; the Grand Master award was a fine way of noting that Harrison’s work and reputation built over an entire career. And that’s an encouraging thing. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/8 "2012-08-15T14:32:43Z")
One thing I like about Harrison is that a scene in the Danish film [The Olsen Gang Sees Red](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075002/plotsummary) (he lived in Denmark when the film was released) must have inspired him to use a similar plot in one of the Stainless Steel Rat books, IIRC A Stainless Steel Rat Is Born. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/9 "2012-08-15T14:39:46Z")
> [@chrisk](#): > > Oh, we’re losing too many of the greats lately. I guess it was inevitable. ☹ You know what’s neat, though? A lot of them got to SEE some of the innovations they were dreaming of, and lived long enough to realize that things were changing faster than anyone had ever thought possible. Pretty damn cool. ---
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/10 "2012-08-15T14:50:54Z")
This saddens me. ☹ Loved his work! ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/11 "2012-08-15T16:02:20Z")
:’( ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/12 "2012-08-15T16:58:02Z")
_Bill the Galactic Hero_ - great. Every one of the sequels… eh, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/13 "2012-08-15T17:38:29Z")
I really liked the SSR series, and the Deathworld books. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/14 "2012-08-15T17:41:35Z")
I liked the SSR books, but my favorite is Deathworld III. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/15 "2012-08-15T17:47:20Z")
I loved Stainless Steel Rat (the first four books anyway), and “Star Smashers of the Galaxy Rangers;” also, Harrison’s creepy short story “I Always Do What Teddy Says” was one of the first SF stories I read. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/16 "2012-08-15T17:48:42Z")
Another great passes. On the up-side, the First Editions I got him to sign for me a few years ago just shot up in value (like I’d sell them). ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/17 "2012-08-15T19:18:15Z")
I always thought that Steve Martin would have made a marvelous Slippery Jim. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/18 "2012-08-15T20:07:16Z")
In junior high I loved Deathworld. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/19 "2012-08-15T20:28:21Z")
I used to read all his work I could get my hands on; haven’t even heard of him in a long time though. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556/20 "2012-08-15T21:15:23Z")
Ripozi en paco, Harry. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-harrison-has-died/631556.md?page=2)