Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderful tale of the power of humanity, 13 Aug 1999
By A Customer
Entropy is an omnipotent force. It erodes and degrades just about every facet of our lives. But not at Callahan's. Spider Robinson paints a picture of a place where people are genuinely interested in each other. It isn't a utopic scene where nothing ever goes wrong. In fact just the opposite, if it can go wrong, it will go wrong first at Callahan's. Fortunately, the patrons of this wonderful place are capable of dealing with these problems. The characters range from the (forgive me) mundane to the utterly outrageous. The puns are some of the best (worst?) ever put on paper. Spider's characters are real. Spider has a way of grasping someone out of every walk of life and putting them together in this place on Route 25a Long Island. The lively characters show the qualities that, over time, we may all learn to embrace. To quote a line from the book, only because it fits so well, "Shared joy is increased; shared pain is lessened."
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very interesting and innovative, a story full of warmth, 2 Nov 1998
By A Customer
This is one of the few stories that I've read that benefits from the fact that the science part is almost excluded. Also, Robinson has not included any real antagonist, and the protagonist, Jake Stonebender, is not a strong character. but rather one in the gang. Robinson choose to write these stories in first-person perspective, something that I wouldn't've done, but I discovered, much to my surprise, that the descriptions of these exceptional characters achieves a fullness rarely seen because Stonebender may add his own thoughts on the characters as well as what the reader discovers about them. The lack of science and antagonist is much more than compensated with very much warmth, compassion, love, and humor and a surprising twist of events. Here we meet all sorts of persons, from aliens claiming that they were Adolf Hitler in a previous life to a talking German sheep dog and his mute human partner. The end isn't bad, either.This is clearly a tale that must be read, to show humans that warmth and compassion still exists, and that sorrow can lessened through sharing and that joy increases through sharing it. Whatever you do, read it!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely makes you feel-good., 21 Sep 1998
By A Customer
I've been reading this book at the same time as playing the computer game Callahan's Crosstime Saloon (now being blown-out for about $10). The game certainly feels like Spider actually wrote it and provides great visuals to make the many characters in the books more memorable. The stories themselves are all worth reading. My only complaint is some are a bit far-fetched. I have nothing against being far-fetched since most science-fiction is, however the best SF is able to make you "suspend your disbelief". Robinson is not always successful in this. However, the reason for reading these stories is the clever dialog and great writing. The plot often takes a back seat and that's my only complaint. Overall, this summer has been memorable for me as I've spent the past few months reading this book and playing the game. I have several more months to look forward to it as well since the game is so long. One last compliment: I've bought this book for my friends.
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by Spider Robinson
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