Product Description

Callahan's Place is the neighborhood tavern to all of time and space, where the regulars are anything but. Pull up a chair, grab a glass of your favorite, and listen to the stories spun by time travelers, cybernetic aliens, telepaths...and a bunch of regular folks on a mission to save the world, one customer at a time.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #152793 in Books
• Published on: 1999-12-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 224 pages

Review

About the Author
Spider Robinson, winner of three Hugos and a Nebula, was born in the Bronx and raised on Long Island, and has been a Canadian resident for 30 years. Holder of a bachelor's degree in English from the State University of New York, he worked as a folksinger and journalist before publishing his first story in Analog in 1973. He now lives with his wife Jeanne Robinson (co-author of the Hugo- and Nebula-winning Stardance trilogy) on an island outside Vancouver, B.C., where they raise and exhibit hopes.

Eleven of his 31 books are set in Callahan's Place, a fabulous tavern founded by a time traveler, where puns flow as freely as beer, and smell far worse. The most recent is Callahan's Con [Tor July 2003]. He has contributed a regular editorial column, "Future Tense," to Canada's national newspaper, The Globe & Mail, since 1995. In 2000, he released Belaboring the Obvious, a CD of original music with the legendary Amos Garrett ("Midnight at the Oasis") on lead guitar, and in 2001 he was a celebrity judge at the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam.

Customer Reviews

A marvelous blend of sci-fi, humor, and compassion
"Callahan's Crosstime Saloon," by Spider Robinson, is a collection of 9 linked short stories. All are set at the saloon of the title. Callahan's has a colorful collection of regulars and is often visited by aliens, time travelers, and humans with paranormal gifts. The book contains a fascinating introduction by Ben Bova entitled "Spider Robinson: The SF Writer as Empath."

This book is a great blend of humor and science fiction. Robinson puts inventive spins on classic sci-fi themes. He also deals effectively with such down-to-earth issues as war, motherhood, and personal loss. The book is also full of puns--the Callahan's regulars observe a Punday contest.

Along the way Robinson invokes Isaac Asimov and Charles Fort. The book as a whole is grounded by a real compassion for the human (and nonhuman!) condition--this is sci-fi with both brains and heart.

Aorta Try to Quit Laughing!
These were the stories that kick-started Robinson's writing career. Originally appearing in Analog, they met such a warm reception and requests for more that Spider was almost forced to oblige, even though these stories have only a bare minimum of that 'hard science' feel that is the normal requisite for stories in that magazine.

The reason these stories got that kind of reception is simply that they deserved it. All happen within the confines of Callahan's bar, a most congenial place that people seem to find just when they need it, for the patrons of this bar are always willing to listen to and help anyone who truly needs it. Fully loaded with humanity even when dealing with aliens out to destroy our world or turn us into their own private feed cattle, these stories are tightly plotted, filled with recognizable people from just down the street, and just wacky enough to engage both your interest and your funny bone. Just to add icing to the cake, most of these stories are also loaded with puns (most especially in those stories that occur on Tuesday night, officially designated PunDay), some of them quite good and original, and guaranteed to raise a groan or two. And then there is Tall Tales Night, where some really, really tall ones get told just as sidelights to the main story.

The stories I liked the best in this collection were "The Time Traveler" which is science fiction only by courtesy, but is a riveting story that may have you reaching for your handkerchief, and "The Law of Conservation of Pain" where science fiction mixes with the world of music in a most painful and joyous manner. These are two of the longest stories here, and Robinson does seem to do better at this length. Some of the shorter length stories, such as "The Centipede Dilemma", depend too much on a single gimmick or idea to be fully satisfying, but the overall level of this collection is very high. And once you have tasted the flavor of Callahan's bar, you'll more than likely wish you had one just like it around your neighborhood. Alas, the supply of Callahans is very limited, but at least you can read more about this fascinating place in all the other Callahan books Spider has published over the years.

Callahan's where Cheers meets the Outer Limits
I first came across the stories of Spider Robinson's Callahan's Crosstime Saloon while on deployment in the navy. What an eye opener! Talk about something that will grab your imagination and happily drag you into its world. After I finished the first book, I had to find them all. Still can't find off the wall at Callahans but am perseveering. The first thing I thought when I read the time traveler and the descripions of the bar owner, Mike Callahan, and the patrons was that this was what would happen if Cheers did an outer limits type episode. ANd I was hooked!