I've read a couple of the Stainless Steel Rat books, although probably some 30 years ago. Since I'm having a Golden Age phase in my reading, I picked up this megapack. A few thing struck me as I worked my way through this collection. And unfortunately, it was work in parts.

Many of his protagonists have similar characteristics. There was a certain Gary Stu-ness to them, and they didn't have a lot of problem summoning the resources and abilities needed to cope with the scenarios where they found themselves. I guess the stories were more an exploration of unusual concepts/situations, and less about the people dealing with them or any challenges they might face. This might explain why I generally enjoyed the shorter stories more than the novella-sized ones: in a short, I don't feel so bothered by a lack of character development (or even, frankly, by a lack of character).

I bailed out of Deathworld and didn't touch the sequel. While the start was interesting, dinAlt had absolutely no personality, and the whole scenario was implausible enough (both the world and dinAlt's amazing progress against all odds) that my eyes were rolling constantly. The sexism didn't help, though I realise that probably just reflects the time it was written. Oddly, although diGriz has similar characteristics, I enjoyed The Misplaced Battleship more. diGriz is certainly a more distinct character, and the first person PoV with snarky asides helped.

Although I'm not particularly into robots, my two favourite stories were probably Arm of the Law and The Velvet Glove.

Overall, an interesting book to dip into for historical interest, though I wouldn't view any of the stories as must-read classics.