Callahan's Con

Callahan's #9

by Spider Robinson

The discreet little bar that Jake Stonebender established a few blocks below Duval Street was named simply The Place. There, Fast Eddie Costigan learned to curse back at parrots as he played the house piano; the Reverend Tom Hauptman learned to tend bar bare-chested (without blushing), Long-Drink McGonnigle discovered the margarita and several señoritas, and all the other regulars settled into comfortable subtropical niches of their own. Nobody even noticed them save the universe.

Over time, the twice-transplanted patrons of Callahan’s Place attracted a collection of local zanies so quintessentially Key West pixilated that they made the New York originals seem, well, almost normal. The elfin little Key deer, for instance--with a stevedore’s mouth; or the merman with eczema; or Robert Heinlein’s teleporting cat.

For ten slow, merry years, life was good. The sun shone, the coffee dripped, the breeze blew just strongly enough to dissipate the smell of the puns, and little supergenius Erin grew to the verge of adolescence. Then disaster struck.

Through the gate one sunny day came a malevolent, moronic, mastodon of a Mafioso named Tony Donuts Jr., or Little Nuts (don’t ask). He’d decided to resurrect the classic protection racket in Key West--and guess which tavern he picked to hit first? Then, thanks to very poor accessorizing (she chose the wrong belt--and no, we’re not going to explain that one), Jake’s wife, Zoey, suddenly found herself in a place with no light, no heat, and no air. And no way home. The urgent question was where--precisely where--but that turned out to be a problem so complex that even the entire gang, equipped with teleportation, time travel, and telepathic syntony (you can look it up) might not be able to crack it in time.

And while all this was going on, Death himself walked into The Place. But this time he would not leave alone. . . .

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Humor, Science Fiction Fantasy, Audiobook, Adventure

286 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Spider Robinson is an American-born Canadian Hugo and Nebula award winning science fiction author. He was born in the USA, but chose to live in Canada, and gained citizenship in his adopted country in 2002.

Robinson's writing career began in 1972 with a sale to Analog Science Fiction magazine of a story entitled, The Guy With The Eyes. His writing proved popular, and his first novel saw print in 1976, Telempath. Since then he has averaged a novel (or collection) a year. His most well known stories are the Callahan saloon series.

Reviews

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got my Covid booster shot the other day and I'm all achy and crabby. Add to that a precarious balance on the edge of a reading slump. Desperate times call for desperate measures. When crabbiness and slumpiness attack at the same time, there are two alternatives: re-reading favourite books or reading books that I'm reasonably sure I won't love. Either way, there is no disappointment.

I am so glad to be done this series! I picked up all the volumes of it second-hand before I knew how irritating I found the author’s tone in these books. For whatever reason, I've been too stubborn to just cut my losses and turn them in at the used bookstore. First, I am allergic to puns, one of the mainstays of these characters. Second, although I have read some Robert Heinlein books and enjoyed some of them, I'm not a rabid fan and Robinson is. Third, like Heinlein, Robinson is a libertarian, an outlook of which I am skeptical . We need more community (ironically like Jake's little village of friends) and less rugged individualism.

As Callahan's books go, this one was better for me than the others. The mountainous and dumb-as-a-stick mafioso, Tony Donuts, provides comic relief. Jake and his crew manage to run circles around the guy, right up until they don't. But you've gotta know that the commune in the Florida Keys is up to the challenge. If there is one aspect of these books that I agree with wholeheartedly, it's that friendships are vitally important to the human being and that found family can be just as important as blood relations.

Book Number 439 of my Science Fiction & Fantasy Reading Project.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the last book of Robinson's Callahan's series, set in Key West, the third established location. I think the story suffers somewhat by having too much infrastructure and history from the previous volumes that needs to be explained before this one really gets going, and there are several digressions explaining previously established character histories that interrupt the flow throughout. The early books were compilations of interlocked stories, which worked quite well as a framework, but the overall effect is diluted by the continuous narrative in this one. Perhaps having several different main publishers confused things a little. There's the usual amount of zany banter, jokes and puns galore, and big doses of emotion and sentiment. It's a good read, by turns quite funny and quite sad with a nice level of suspense, but this is a series that should be read in strict order, I think.

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

A poor conclusion to the series, although the way it degraded so quickly after the first three volumes makes it a wonder they kept publishing them so long. Just like the other lousy volumes in the series, these are infected with name dropping, unnecessary political screed, and endless recapping of previous plots. Additionally, this one doesn't even bother with a sci-fi hook on which to hang the story, since the 'time travel plus teleportation plus ultra-genius intellect' power set of the main character's spawn is so ridiculous that its now fantasy, and to add even any little bit of tension the even more super-powered members of the extended cast are just....absent. And the explanation is "They didn't answer the phone". Ok. Good riddance to a lazy series.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was in the mood for something swift and silly, OK? -- and I've always had a weak spot for the Callahan stories. Besides, Matt Peckham gave it a pretty good review (B+) over at Scifi Weekly: http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue326/boo... [dead link 3/29/20]

Well, I got silly. You may recall that Jake Stonebender relocated Callahan's Place (sans the Mick of Steel) to Key West, after a nuclear explosion (in Jake's hands, iirc) vaporized his bar on Long Island. This time, an officious school bureaucrat arrives to check up on Jake's kid, and then a man-mountain racketeer shows up, demanding "protection" payoffs. The thug, called "Little Nuts" (his father was Tony Donuts (don't ask)), provides most of the worthwhile moments. Left unexplained is why such an obnoxious creature -- even the Mafia can't stand him -- has survived so long in the Miami underworld, not known for reluctance to shoot first and often. Especially since Tony Jr. lacks the supernatural protection against firearms (not to mention nuclear weapons) that The Place regulars enjoy. The titular con is how they finally get rid of Tony.

This is really only enough material here for a couple of short stories, so the rest is filler: bad bar jokes, worse puns, dull inner musings, standard capers by the usual suspects.... I skipped/skimmed that stuff, so I got swift, too. But I think you'd be pretty annoyed if you'd paid $24 for this.

About the only surprise here is that one of The Place old-timers dies onscreen, permanently (I think). Callahan doesn't come, even when called. And the cover art (by Jeff Fischer) is unusually clumsy. Has moments. For hardcore fans only.

[review first posted at Usenet rasfw, 8/27/03]

[Jeff Yoak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was an excellent ending to the Callahan's series. (At least among available audio.) It was at least as strong as the first. It was the perfect culmination of the Florida move with the excellent nod to Lawrence Shames. The characters finally feel completely developed. The wit was first rate. I just loved it!

2015: On a re-read, the Callahan novels are still delightful, but are starting to feel formulaic.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this up for something to read because I remembered the original Callahan stories. It was a fun read that flowed along like those currents in the Florida ocean.

It is a light hearted science fiction slash fantasy if that is your taste. There is no stress or strain and all the characters are entertaining.

Give it a try.

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saw Callahan's Con on the New Arrivals table during my last library trip & had to give it a try, hoping for something better than Callahan's Key or Callahan's Touch - both of which I've read, but can't remember which is which (or much else about them, other than a general feeling of disappointment, for that matter).

Bad news - the swearing parrot is back. Worse news - there's now a talking Key Deer as well :rolleyes: As you may know, the group of misfits from NY state is now in Key West, and Jake & Zoey are being visited by a representative of the Board of Education regarding their homeschooling of their ultra-genius daughter, Erin. Surprise, surprise - they don't have to save the world this time - just pull off a con to get Tony Donuts Jr (a guy who gives the Mafia a bad name) out of the picture.

Did I mention Spider kills off one of the original characters in a pretty nasty way (brain cancer)? :rolleyes: There is one parody verse of "Live and Let Die" about Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle that redeemed him for about a chapter and a half. Sigh - I have a feeling Spider ought to stick to short stories.

If you've never read any of Spider Robinson's Callahan stories - do *not* start here - go back & find yourself a copy of Callahan's Crosstime Saloon. If you lost interest a few novels ago - this probably won't be enough to bring you back. If you're a SR completist - check it out from the library or wait til it's out in paperback.

It's not the worst book I've read this year - but I won't be adding it to my library anytime soon.

[Steven · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Callahan series continues to get less and less interesting. The book is not bad, per se, but I no longer feel like the Callahan crew is a group that I want to hang out with (some of whom are kind of out of the mainstream); rather it seems like a group of weirdoes who we are supposed to revere as superheroes, but whose actions no longer merit reverence. Many of the characters introduced in this book are flatly disrespectful to folks with speech problems: they're stooges for Spider Robinson to write oddly structured weak puns, instead of legitimate deep characters with real and interesting problems who happen to have a penchant for punning. The plot is also a total retread of the Tony Donuts story from Callahan's Lady. The final climax occurs purely because characters act in stupid ways, necessitating the usual get-drunk-save-the-world bit tacked on at the end. I'm sorry to see the series fail like this.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ridiculous but charming plot with the usual suspects and a few new ones. "Shared pain is lessened. Shared Joy is increased. Thus we refute entropy." -- Spider Robinson

All of the stories touch on that motto/principle which is a key factor in their appeal for me. Robinson weaves multiple literary references with awful puns together with an odd ball assortment of incredible characters who exemplify diversity and community. The deus ex machina of most stories and the novels is the establishment of rapport among friends which resonates of the 60's and still offers hope. The Callahan series makes me laugh and get sentimental simultaneously, or maybe in such rapid shifts it only seems synchronous since time is relatively elastic or plastic in that ficton.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very funny collection of SiFi short stories. Recommended

[Elmer Foster · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, so here I am giving Robinson/Callahan another go. And I am further removed from the clique I spoke of within Callahan's Lady than ever before.

Somehow, there is no Callahan, the story isn't in New York, but Key West, of all places, and there is another Tony Donuts, albeit, his son, Junior a.k.a. Little Nuts. With a cast of barflies than have more in common than I do with this series of books.

There are two main plots within the story, primary being an educational review of the home-schooled (internet-bred super genius, time traveling) daughter of the main couple (Jake and Zoey), who run this particular bar called The Place, by a relative of a disgraced former associate from the previous locale. Hardly an attention getter. Highly contrived premise that results in the protagonists delving into being human with a heartful introspection that seems out of place for a "Sci-Fi" book.

Then we have a return of sorts to the previous mafia style double cross effort with counterfeit cash and Tony Donuts, except this time the son Jr., is working on his "button" as a soon to be made man. Junior is replete with contrived written-as-spoken dialogue added for effect just like dear old dad. And I am still not a fan of this method.) But to flip the script as it were, the con is for the location of the "Fountain of Youth", yes, that one. The through line is submerged beneath asides and hyperbole from a not so bright wannabe gangster type. Treaded into "DNF" territory reading this b$.

The only redeeming content concerned one member of the clique, having an inoperable brain tumor, with barely weeks to live, how Jake is told the news, how the gang receives said news, (deftly written and heartfelt (presumably this reflects real life somewhere and someone for Spider)) and the resulting final curtain for one of the crew. Probably the only part of the story I connected with, to be honest.

The latter quarter of the book deals with quantum spatial relationships and the requisite physics and calculus to locate someone in space and terrestrial time through teleportation, following a group mental Zen moment of WTF?! to generate the necessary computing power for the calculations. Diametrically opposite to homeschool verification inspections. Akin to reading Mother Goose with Stephen Hawking contributing unnecessary theories to assist the flow.

Again, I felt as if I was reading something meant for a small clique who knew all the references and inside jokes, talking parrot and dog, Mer-man in the indoor pool, Meddler's belt - to peek ahead to the end of one's actual life story (time traveling device), included. I still understood the plot(s), settings, actions, etc., but didn't get the "why" of it all, as there was no real point. Is this just a day in the supernatural life of these supposedly important Spider creations that knew Callahan, or were his friends? And took all the puns with them?

Which brings me back to another alliteration, rhyming, and pun smattering (most of the book, actually.) Again, with the missed point, the puns while erstwhile funny in attempt, weren't. And for me every "punny" attempt just grated on my nerves. Surely, I am not that old to enjoy a good pun, or thirty. I liken Spider to Robert Aspirin or Piers Anthony, meaning, you walk in knowing how it will probably get a groan or seven, have some mild humor, and even grow the characters somewhat. But I wasn't connected to anyone within the book except the name of the original bar owner, who wasn't in it and didn't even answer his phone in this story (although I get why he wouldn't.)

Unless you know who is in The Place, I couldn't recommend this book to you.

Thanks for reading.

[Jon]

I discovered a "new" thrift store the other day, and while browsing its treasures I came upon the only novel in Robinson's Callahan's series that I didn't previously own. For 89 cents, whaddaya gonna do?

Jake and his wife, Zoe, and their teleporting, time-traveling daughter, Erin, are enjoying life at Jake's Place in Key West, with many of their old friends living in the various bungalows that surround the place. Unfortunately, a couple of serpents invade their paradise - a bureaucrat form the state board of education who needs to determine if Erin's home schooling meets department standards, and a mobster called Little Tony Donuts, who is trying to run the old protection racket on Jake's pied a terre.

For Spider's old fans, this book will have plenty of everything that makes his work fun and entertaining - puns, spoonerisms, wordplay, shaggy dog stories, and all that jazz (literally, Jake & Fast Eddy do a couple of numbers). But it's not really breaking any new ground. If you've read the last few Jake's Place stories, you've read them all. Lots of Irish coffee, a couple of telepathic linkups, and a time-traveling teleporter seem to be able to solve any problem, and everyone gets to lay (literally) around the cabana once more. Glad I've got the complete set now, but it's just a can of lite beer compared to the single malt whiskey days at the old Crosstime Saloon.

[Charles Dingman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The collected first 3 works about this world, The Callahan Chronicles, gave a good introduction to this unusual community of decidedly odd individuals. Although I missed some intervening books that I couldn't find in audio editions, that was not a barrier to getting into the swing of this later setting. The central character here is the regular participant, guitar player, and singer/songwriter from the bar scene of Callahan's, on Long Island, Jake, now the keeping a bar of his own, The Place, in Key West, where the whole community migrated in converted school buses. To save the bar, the community, and wider society from the depredations of the underworld heavy of this story, our hero Jake and his cooperating friends create and run a very long con on him. In this world, the occasional time travel of the early works has been naturalized, along with teleportation, but things that seem marvelous can go terribly wrong. The ins and outs, the rules and dangers of moving back and forth in time are entertainingly tangled to give the diverse and gifted group at The Place> and the reader a rewarding challenge.

[Karen A. Wyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read at least a couple of the earlier books in the Callahan's Series -- collections of stories, as I recall. I obviously missed some key events between those and this novel, but the novel did a good job of allowing a reader so situated to catch up.

The characters and their abilities are in many cases gloriously weird, but also three-dimensional and easy to care about. There's a nice change in (expansion of) perspective re one character. The plot is suspenseful throughout, but increasingly so as the narrative progresses.

There's only one element that annoyed me, though it obviously pleases the author and no doubt many readers as well. Robinson likes to throw in strings of silly rhymes and/or puns, sometimes quite long, and at least once or twice during moments where they drain the story of momentum. I could happily do without the longer and the more intrusive ones.

[Johnny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Humorous circumstances, wild solutions, imaginative aliens, and outrageous humor have always been the hallmark of Spider Robinson’s Callahan series. Much of that humor is the so-called “lowest form of humor” in that it often involves pun stacked upon pun. But since some of the characters critique or twist the “groaners,” the whole process seems clever and amusing.

Callahan’s Con takes place a little over a decade after the quantum twisting of Callahan’s Key. In the latter adventure, you’ll remember that the group which is more than merely the stammtisch (you know, those regulars at a meeting place who always seem to be there—like Norm and Cliff at Cheers?) of Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon or Mary’s Place had all moved to Key West and opened The Place. This interesting mix of regulars is more like family than customers. And, did I mention they had saved the Earth at least twice? (Take that Stainless Steel Rat --BTW, I don’t think the late Harry Harrison would be offended at that. I only crossed paths with him three times but I miss him.)

As Spider pulls you into Callahan’s Con via the first-person narrative of protagonist Jake Stonebender’s information dump of problematic circumstances and slapstick escalation of said circumstances, it seems that the master of punishment (I couldn’t resist—even though it’s an old one) has narrowed his scope and this time, the plot concerns saving Key West, The Place, and their delightful lifestyle. Just imagine dealing with a vindictive bureaucrat, a dangerous criminal who wants to become a “a friend of mine” instead of “ours,” a teenager who bends time and space, and a potential turf war involving “New Russians” (essentially, the Russian mob).

Between books, one almost forgets how deftly Spider handles conversations and how elaborate the comedic set-up could be. In addition to puns and slapstick moments, there is one character who speaks in a sort of anastrophe (that’s usually mixing up the word order for emphasis while here it is mainly for variety and eccentricity), one who speaks in Spoonerisms (imagine “Holy This!”), and metathesis (switching letters around) to form humorous anagrams or silly sounds (so “Jack Nicholson” becomes “Nick Jackleson” and (it gets worse) “Knack Sickle Gin” and more sanely, “Jackson Nickel.”). If you don’t like “word play,” don’t even risk the first chapter of this book. At one point, there is reference to a reverse “Big Bang,” but it is written gnaB giB (p. 126) with the type set backwards on the letters as well (Yes, fellow lovers of rhetoric, this would also be an anastrophe, but with letters switched around.)

Another joy of the series would be homages to science-fiction greats. There is a brief song parody about Larry Niven’s and Jerry Pournelle’s The Mote in God’s Eye and, as in Callahan’s Key, Florida writers. Robert A. Heinlein’s Cat Who Walked Through Walls appears (p. 28). Lawrence Shame’s unlikely pair of mobsters from his Key West Capers series (Bert the Shirt and Don Giovanni – p. 80ff). There’s even a reference to the way all the plans are concocted in Donald Westlake’s Dortmunder books (p. 124). There’s even a nod to futurist Eric Drexler (p. 128) and to Stephen Hawking as “Rain Man in a wheelchair.” (p. 159)

And sometimes, Robinson just hits a sweet-spot in describing something. What an ex-Brooklynite might call a “teary” would be a theory and a “teary” is: “A guess that’s been to college. Some guy in a white coat makes a guess, he don’t wanna admit it’s a guess, so he calls it a ‘teary.’” (pp. 84-85) Working in Academia makes me chuckle at the underlying truth of how quickly we move from speculation to hypothesis to theory in such writing. There was also a delightful bit about therapeutic crying during grief: “It was like vomiting: you don’t exactly feel good afterwards, just a tiny bit less rotten—but that tiny bit makes the difference between intolerable and endurable.” (p. 150)

Now, this may be a partial spoiler, but the most moving section of the volume is how the characters react to a significant death in the family of characters. In addition to the words about crying above, I really appreciated a word of wisdom passed along during a time of crisis. “Tragedy has no pecking order, Jacob,” the Doc said. “Pain is pain, and all pain is infinite and eternal.” (p. 265) With what some of my church members have suggested is an almost science-fiction perspective on the afterlife, I don’t expect pain to last beyond our immediate existence but I do expect pain to shape our personality until our entropic mortal selves are transformed into non-decaying entities. But that’s not the point! The point is that, if you’ll pardon the language in the quotation which follows, this life (whether there is an “afterlife” as I believe or not) MATTERS! “’Why don’t you learn from your mistake: this time try just assuming that you’re not a worthless piece of shit and get on with your life, and see how that works out?’” (p. 267)

Let’s put it this way, I don’t cry in the middle of comedy movies very often and the Callahan books (even those with the connected short stories) usually follow the U of comedy. So when I say that there were tears as I read through a portion of this book, I consider it a recommendation and a testimony to its emotional power. If you choose to read this volume, I hope you feel it, too!

[Robert Plummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every time I read this book, I cry. For those that have read it, they know why I do. I was introduced to the series by a dear friend who passed away in 2008. And I can't help but love her for giving me a way to deal with her passing before she did.

The Place, because it's Time... And time it is.

[Juan Sanmiguel]

The gang is back and thriving in Key West. This time Jake and the gang has to face mobsters and bureaucrats. There are some laughs and some tears. It is always a blast. More so since it is in Florida.

[Hoover Public Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great intro to science fiction to people who aren’t familiar with the genre. Each chapter almost works as a separate short story with ongoing continuity.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is this really the end of the series? It was a good run.

[A Jaylis]

++

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the Callahan books I've read so far, this was the best. Even though I red it out of order, it made sense. A little ski-fi and a lot of mystery, comedy, thriller.
Even Sue loved it.

[Becky Beaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a hoot! A cross between Janet Evanovich and Poul Andersen -- light-hearted mayhem. Not exactly timeless prose, but it does feature time travel...

[Wetdryvac · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite of the series.

[Marfita · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know where to start with this. It seems to be a mash-up of more than one genre. There's the Crazy Florida Genre that is currently championed by Carl Hiaasen and Tim Dorsey, the Crazy Ass Mystery Genre I associate with Donald Westlake, the Poorly Thought-Out Time Travel Genre (all tv time-travel stories), and the Pointless Fantasy with Bad Puns that seems to be the bailiwick of Piers Anthony. It was all I could do to finish this so I could write about it.

Well, it did get a bit better towards the end, and more gripping, but loose threads abound. As much as I love song parodies, I found the ones in this book tiresome, not to mention the spoonerisms etc. And I'm still trying to figure out the cover. What's with that foot? It's a foot pressed against the floor. There's no floor. [This is not Robinson's fault, of course.]

There is no way to summarize this story. It takes place in Key West (cue Tim Dorsey). In a bar populated by only regulars apparently. The owners have a genius-plus teenage daughter capable of time travel and teleportation who can't be in the same place/time so how the heck can she coordinate stories with her older selves? Leave notes? Then why not leave notes to help the two year old version daughter with finding Zoey?

The non-T-shirt businesses in Key West are being shaken down by a literally monstrous Mafia-wannabe. Now, you can't shoot this guy because it will only make him angry and probably pique the interest of the local gendarmerie. And they can't let him use deadly force on them because of some deadly force shielding that is explained in a previous story because the CIA might get wind of it and they'll either be conscripted into spy work or end up like that goose that lay golden eggs. The gangster can break noses and fingers, though. So, phew. But he needs to be dealt with.
As for the T-shirt shops - this seems to be some money-laundering conspiracy of the Russian Mafia, but I don't see how it works. Or maybe this is a problem of my humor deficit. If no one is buying t-shirts, how effective is the money-laundering?

Also, the denizens of the bar are able to join hands and minds to work as single entity.
And if you teleport/time travel, whatever you're wearing gets left behind ... with "hilarious" results. [I really must get my humor gland checked.]

But it all starts with the Florida Dept. of Education checking up on the homeschooling of the teen, a person who needs no schooling and is rarely home in this timeline or any other. It's apparently a grudge thing dating back to a previous story with the opportunity to make fun of vowel-deficient eastern European names. Ha ha. Oh, and of humanity-deficient bureaucrats. I spent (wasted) a great deal of time trying to figure out if the character described was human, alien, or cyborg.

Looking over the rave blurbs on the back I saw that the author was likened to Tom Robbins. So I looked to see if we had any books by that author and found one. Inside was a list of books, two titles of which I immediately recognized.

Perhaps this book will be better - and I might be able to thank Spider Robinson for that. All in all, I got a headache from the eye-rolling.

[Ginger Vampyre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another adventure at The Place, Jake's bar in Key West, Florida. In this one organized crime finds Jake and the crew and tries to run a protection racket. Poor Tony Donuts Jr., aka Little Nuts, he thinks it is as simple as walking into the bar and telling them he wants their money. In trying to extort them he 'kidnaps' Erin until her parents pay up. Jake of course goes to the rescue of his daughter, but clever Erin had a plan the entire time. A plan that involves a lot of time travel and supposed reverse aging. With a bit of help from Jake, the plan goes off without a hitch and they are soon headed home. Except Zoey didn't have the simple faith that her daughter would be safe and sound and home soon and tries to save her by using a time traveling belt. Except that she forgets that she needs to travel through time AND space and while she gets the time part correct she doesn't get the space part and the planet is not where is was. Upon their homecoming Jake and Erin have to come up with a plan to save her. A plan with no room for error and requiring all the brainpower of all the friends in The Place. And even then things do not go the way they hoped. And oh yeah, in walks Death.

[Space · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had pretty good fun with this one. It's a big story, all over the place. I really enjoyed the bits with Tony Donuts. I wasn't completely impressed with the interactions with Erin when she was two years old, because that leads to temporal gaps that can't easily be explained. For instance, if she's gone back in time to two years old, that means she was unsupervised for at least that much time back when she was two. This doesn't seem realistic. Then, a merman who lives at the bottom of the pool doesn't really either.

But that's the thing about Sci-Fi. You take that as truth if it's backed with good science - even made-up science. The talking dog, deer and parrot - well, they're explained well enough that you accept them. But telling me a two-year-old can conjure up the plans and furthermore command the attention of the whole bar to make it happen? Just a little uncomfortable.

I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Robinson though, and really enjoy his stories. This one was fun, as I listened to Barrett Whitener narrate it. He's got a pretty good voice for this stuff.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no such thing as a bad Callahan's book, but this one was less fun than the others.
Spider just isn't very good at writing bad guys, so whenever he introduces a villain into a story it always tends to drag the story down.
Then you add in the fact that whenever he forces the Callahan's crew to go out and interact with the real world they tend to come across as way out of their depth and a bit feeble.
The constant mentions of if anyone knew what really happened at Callahans they'd all be dragged away to some lab at Langly feels really weak and whiny when there's never been any hint that anyone knows about them at all, despite the poor job they do of keeping anything a secret, and most people who go to see them end up drunk and their best friend.

Though, despite my complaints, I still love these characters and there was more than enough humor, fun and nice bits of Callahan history to get me through and forgive Spider for the parts that didn't work.

[Rabbitambulance · Rating 2 out of 5]

The biggest reason I almost didn't like this book is entirely the publisher's fault: Nowhere on the cover or the introduction there's any indication to be found that there's bloody ten books with these characters before this one.

And, therefore, the way all the characters are so madly in love with each other just annoyed the piss out of me; Maybe if I'd read the books before, and seen these relationships develop, and learned to love the characters myself as they love each other, I would have felt differently. But, as it was, I found myself making disgusted noises whenever the narrator went off on a tangent about how amazing this or that friend was.

One more note: Having a character tell a joke, and then describing the other characters laughing riotously, only works if I'm laughing as well. And, well, I wasn't.

All in all, I think I will give the first book in the series a try, seeing as I saw stuff I liked here, and I've enjoyed other Spider Robinson books in the past.

[Nytetyger · Rating 3 out of 5]

BIG FAT SPOILER WARNING
This might be the one and only book of the series I had issues with. No really. I get it; the series had to end, Spider had to move on, shit was hitting the fan in his life and he wanted to put these folks to bed. But DAMNIT, WHY THE FUCK DID HE KILL DOC? And WHY **that** way. I mean, he twisted himself into pretzel shaped assholes to save Jake’s wife when logically SHE died, but then to off the one character I loved so deeply that when I read the end of this book I sobbed for twenty minutes? It was cheap, and I feel a bit used, to be honest. If Jake’s wife had died as well, I’d feel less betrayed—but that was almost as if Spider was a bit too attached to those toons, and that they were the avatars of himself, Jeannie, and his daughter… and if that was the trust, shame on him. Sometimes the good guy dies… and the good GAL too…

[Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is really more like only 2 1/2 stars. Anyone who is just starting to read this series should start with Callahan's Crosstime Saloon and ride the series downhill like the rest of us did. Hoped for better especially considering that it is the last book in the series.

Stuff that felt new at the beginning of the series has gotten old. The talking parrot was funny, the talking dog was entertaining, the talking deer is boring.

The product placement has also become irritating. The story is set in Key West but characters keep mail ordering stuff from British Columbia. Surely there must be someplace closer to buy coffee.