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Callahan's #1-3
The Callahan Chronicals
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon is the neighborhood tavern to all of time and space, where the regulars are anything but: time travelers, talking dogs, alcoholic vampires, cybernetic aliens--and a group of people who really, truly care about each other. It's the rare kind of place where bad pun are as appreciated as good conversation.
Time Travelers Strictly Cash is their policy, but then again everybody pays cash at Callahan's. Lay your money on the bar, name your poison, step up to the line drawn on the barroom floor, and after drinking make a toast and throw the glass into the fireplace. It's an odd tradition (don't worry about the cost--Callahan gets the glasses at a bulk discount), but one's that's led to some interesting stories.
Callahan's Secret may be something even the regulars would never guess. then again, it may be as simple as listening to those post-toast stories. After-all, like Callahan says, shared pain is lessened and shared joy in increased--a simple concept that could, after a few drinks, lead to saving the world....
This omnibus edition contains the trio of books that introduced the world to Mike Callahan, Jake Stonebender, Doc Webster, Mickey Finn, Fast Eddie Costigan, Long-Drink McGonnigle, Ralph Won Wau Wau and the rest of the regulars of Callahan's Place in the stories that helped Spider Robinson to win both a John W. Campbell Award and a legion of fans.
Time Travelers Strictly Cash is their policy, but then again everybody pays cash at Callahan's. Lay your money on the bar, name your poison, step up to the line drawn on the barroom floor, and after drinking make a toast and throw the glass into the fireplace. It's an odd tradition (don't worry about the cost--Callahan gets the glasses at a bulk discount), but one's that's led to some interesting stories.
Callahan's Secret may be something even the regulars would never guess. then again, it may be as simple as listening to those post-toast stories. After-all, like Callahan says, shared pain is lessened and shared joy in increased--a simple concept that could, after a few drinks, lead to saving the world....
This omnibus edition contains the trio of books that introduced the world to Mike Callahan, Jake Stonebender, Doc Webster, Mickey Finn, Fast Eddie Costigan, Long-Drink McGonnigle, Ralph Won Wau Wau and the rest of the regulars of Callahan's Place in the stories that helped Spider Robinson to win both a John W. Campbell Award and a legion of fans.
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
55 people are currently reading
889 people want to read
About the author
Spider Robinson
197 books674 followersSpider 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
September 16, 2019
This is a collection of short stories taking place in Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, a place where anything can (and eventually will) happen. The stories are full of puns and I guess are great for reading aloud in for a good audience. However, this play with the language makes it hard to follow for a non-native speaker like me, which I guess influenced the final rating.
There are stories inside stories. Almost every one starts with an evening in the Saloon where regulars play their games like a best pun or a toll story. Then someone new barges in and tells his/her/its story. It is an ultimate fandom fun with allusions to many SF classic works.
As an example of a good pun, but one you have to use Google, is the following:
"Say, Fogerty. I hear tell Stacy Keach was engaged to the same girl three times. Every time the Big Day come due, she decided she couldn't stand him."
"Do tell."
"Yup. Then the late Harry Truman hisself advised her, said, 'Gal, if you can't stand the Keach, get out of the hitchin.' "
I see that some proverb is punned, but it takes time and internet search to see that it is "If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen" which was popularized by Harry Truman.
There are stories inside stories. Almost every one starts with an evening in the Saloon where regulars play their games like a best pun or a toll story. Then someone new barges in and tells his/her/its story. It is an ultimate fandom fun with allusions to many SF classic works.
As an example of a good pun, but one you have to use Google, is the following:
"Say, Fogerty. I hear tell Stacy Keach was engaged to the same girl three times. Every time the Big Day come due, she decided she couldn't stand him."
"Do tell."
"Yup. Then the late Harry Truman hisself advised her, said, 'Gal, if you can't stand the Keach, get out of the hitchin.' "
I see that some proverb is punned, but it takes time and internet search to see that it is "If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen" which was popularized by Harry Truman.
March 27, 2020
I needed a break from a couple of tomes I'm reading & I've been wondering how the Callahan stories aged. The first are a product of the 1960s - 70s, but that's OK with me as I am too. Even better, Callahan's is located off 25A in Suffolk county, Long Island, NY, an area I grew up in, so I get the local references without his explanations. For instance, "King's Park" is mentioned. It's both an area & a mental hospital, but when someone in the area refers to it, it's generally the latter. It's somewhat notorious, so knowing the place & some inmates adds some depth.
This is a collection of the first 3 books: Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Time Travellers Strictly Cash, & Callahan's Secret. It starts off with 3 introductions that make it worth getting this edition. Robinson's first one was good, the original from the first book. The second by Bova was really interesting, a look into how a young writer made it into the pulps (Analog) late in their day. The third was Robinson's again & was interesting.
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon is excellent. I first read it at the perfect time in my early 20s & the short stories have a lot of heart, a 5 star read even though some aren't really SF. For instance, the first time traveler did so the hard way, one minute at a time in a cell. The point was great, though. Most do have some SF element, but it is used with great effect for the human story. The stories reflect the 1960s-70s, so some references might slip by younger readers. Still, it's a wonderful series of short stories. Highly recommended.
Time Travellers Strictly Cash are decent stories, but the puns that a were nice dressing in the first book took center stage in this one. I didn't care for it much nor were the stories as thoughtful. They reflected the mid 1970s into the 80s, I guess. It's worthy of 3 stars.
Callahan's Secret was first published in 1986 & I've never made it too far into this book. IMO, it's taking what was a fun idea (Callahan's saloon) too far. I think he wrote half a dozen other novels in the Callahan universe after this, but I've never had any interest in them. The magic of the friendly bar is gone. Even worse, Robinson lost his voice & emulates Heinlein's post-1970 style which I detest. (Robinson is a RAH fan boy. He polished & finished a couple of RAH's novels that were published posthumously. One of those was RAH's very first novel which he couldn't sell at the time, but is amazingly similar in style to his books from about 1980 on. They suck & prove that editors can be an author's best friend, IMO.) Anyway, I DNF'd it yet again, so give it 1 star.
The books average out to 3 stars, but I'll add a star for the introductions & the fact that it's a handy way to see if you like the series which many others love in full. Personally, I think if I'd stopped with the first book, I'd have been the happier for it.
This is a collection of the first 3 books: Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Time Travellers Strictly Cash, & Callahan's Secret. It starts off with 3 introductions that make it worth getting this edition. Robinson's first one was good, the original from the first book. The second by Bova was really interesting, a look into how a young writer made it into the pulps (Analog) late in their day. The third was Robinson's again & was interesting.
Callahan's Crosstime Saloon is excellent. I first read it at the perfect time in my early 20s & the short stories have a lot of heart, a 5 star read even though some aren't really SF. For instance, the first time traveler did so the hard way, one minute at a time in a cell. The point was great, though. Most do have some SF element, but it is used with great effect for the human story. The stories reflect the 1960s-70s, so some references might slip by younger readers. Still, it's a wonderful series of short stories. Highly recommended.
Time Travellers Strictly Cash are decent stories, but the puns that a were nice dressing in the first book took center stage in this one. I didn't care for it much nor were the stories as thoughtful. They reflected the mid 1970s into the 80s, I guess. It's worthy of 3 stars.
Callahan's Secret was first published in 1986 & I've never made it too far into this book. IMO, it's taking what was a fun idea (Callahan's saloon) too far. I think he wrote half a dozen other novels in the Callahan universe after this, but I've never had any interest in them. The magic of the friendly bar is gone. Even worse, Robinson lost his voice & emulates Heinlein's post-1970 style which I detest. (Robinson is a RAH fan boy. He polished & finished a couple of RAH's novels that were published posthumously. One of those was RAH's very first novel which he couldn't sell at the time, but is amazingly similar in style to his books from about 1980 on. They suck & prove that editors can be an author's best friend, IMO.) Anyway, I DNF'd it yet again, so give it 1 star.
The books average out to 3 stars, but I'll add a star for the introductions & the fact that it's a handy way to see if you like the series which many others love in full. Personally, I think if I'd stopped with the first book, I'd have been the happier for it.
October 10, 2023
Yazarın dergilere yazdığı öykülerle başlayan bir seri. Merkezinde Callahan Barı var. Yolu düşen herkesi kabul eden evrensel bir bar diyebiliriz. Barmeni ve müdavimleri olduğu gibi, pek çok yolcunun da uğrağı. Herkes kendi hikayesiyle geliyor diyebilirim. Zaman yolculuğu yapanların hikayeleriyle bir evren yaratıyor Robinson. Kimisi uzun kimisi kısa çok fazla hikaye var içinde, hepsine değinemeyeceğim. Genel olarak insani durumlar üzerine kuruyor hikayelerini. Uzaylılarla yaşanıyor, dünya alt üst oluyor, hemen her şeyi yaşayan insanın bu durumlara verdiği tepkileri anlatmak istiyor. Yaşanan değişimlere alışmasının aslında ne denli kolay olduğunu gösteriyor.
Öykülerden oluşan bir roman olarak da değerlendirilebilir. Baş karakteri bir bar olan roman. Uzun zamana yayılan ve belli bir plan olmadan yazıldığı için ben bütünlük yakalayamadım. Hatta öyküler arasında üslubun farklı olduğunu fark ettim. Hard sci-fi sevenlerin hoşlanacağını sanmıyorum. Mizahi ve insani çatışmaların yoğunlukta olduğu bir kitap.
Öykülerden oluşan bir roman olarak da değerlendirilebilir. Baş karakteri bir bar olan roman. Uzun zamana yayılan ve belli bir plan olmadan yazıldığı için ben bütünlük yakalayamadım. Hatta öyküler arasında üslubun farklı olduğunu fark ettim. Hard sci-fi sevenlerin hoşlanacağını sanmıyorum. Mizahi ve insani çatışmaların yoğunlukta olduğu bir kitap.
November 30, 2015
I expected to really like this book. It's one of the few books regularly listed as a science fiction classic that I hadn't read. But, so far I really find it kind of "meh..." I'm only about half way through it, so my view may change, but I kind of doubt it.
There are several things I find annoying in the book that someone with a different viewpoint might not. For example the relentless hippy politics with the smug assumption that the reader will wholeheartedly agree, or the intensely negative view of human nature. Some things crossed beyond annoying to insulting, like the suggestion that adoptive kids are so inferior that is a preferable alternative (I'm an adoptee who's trying to adopt a child). But I've read books with similar annoyances and even insults that I nevertheless loved.
I think what's missing for me is anything in any of the stories that really makes me go "wow!" The shocking oddities that come to the bar don't seem very shocking. The resolutions to their problems are either obvious or trite, and there is never much suspense leading up to them. The only thing that stands out about any of the regulars are their names. It's not so much that I dislike the book as I just don't find much in it to like.
There are several things I find annoying in the book that someone with a different viewpoint might not. For example the relentless hippy politics with the smug assumption that the reader will wholeheartedly agree, or the intensely negative view of human nature. Some things crossed beyond annoying to insulting, like the suggestion that adoptive kids are so inferior that is a preferable alternative (I'm an adoptee who's trying to adopt a child). But I've read books with similar annoyances and even insults that I nevertheless loved.
I think what's missing for me is anything in any of the stories that really makes me go "wow!" The shocking oddities that come to the bar don't seem very shocking. The resolutions to their problems are either obvious or trite, and there is never much suspense leading up to them. The only thing that stands out about any of the regulars are their names. It's not so much that I dislike the book as I just don't find much in it to like.
January 13, 2010
Oh, the humanity!
While listening to this, I sort of forgot for long stretches that I was listening to a sci-fi story; it's way more about interactions and acceptance than any sci-fi I've ever come across. Callahan's Bar, the setting for every story, never gets old and never gets tiring. It is peopled with aliens, time travellers, telepaths...and people. I was amazed at how some of the stories sucked me in totally, made me laugh (and groan at the sheer audacity and amount of terrible, terrible puns!), made me stand still and really, really listen and feel with these characters. I loved it and plan on looking for other Robinson titles.
If you plan on listening to the book on CD (especially if you get the Blackstone Audio version), the very last disc isn't that important. It's a note from the mid-90s about fanfics and the birth of Internet communities; about the only truly worthwhile part is the end of track 9 and beginning of track 10 when the narrator (Barrett something) sings one of Robinson's ridiculous songs...and he has one nice voice, really.
Recommended for sci-fi fans, people fans, drinking fans, and electric fans. (See what it does to you?)
While listening to this, I sort of forgot for long stretches that I was listening to a sci-fi story; it's way more about interactions and acceptance than any sci-fi I've ever come across. Callahan's Bar, the setting for every story, never gets old and never gets tiring. It is peopled with aliens, time travellers, telepaths...and people. I was amazed at how some of the stories sucked me in totally, made me laugh (and groan at the sheer audacity and amount of terrible, terrible puns!), made me stand still and really, really listen and feel with these characters. I loved it and plan on looking for other Robinson titles.
If you plan on listening to the book on CD (especially if you get the Blackstone Audio version), the very last disc isn't that important. It's a note from the mid-90s about fanfics and the birth of Internet communities; about the only truly worthwhile part is the end of track 9 and beginning of track 10 when the narrator (Barrett something) sings one of Robinson's ridiculous songs...and he has one nice voice, really.
Recommended for sci-fi fans, people fans, drinking fans, and electric fans. (See what it does to you?)
August 24, 2012
I briefly touched on my love of Spider Robinson in my ancient post about Super Secret Guilty Reading Pleasures. Spider Robinson was just one of those authors - along with David Eddings he arguably shaped why exactly I love reading for fun. I picked up Callahan's Crosstime Salon for 100% the opposite reason most people do - I got a kick out of the cover. I've heard time and time again that people hate the cover of this compilation book. Well, it made me laugh and for better or for worse, I grabbed it. So here's the long and the short of Spider Robinson's writing: The puns are so bad you can't help laughing out loud, and the characters are so delightfully human (mostly, but you know) that you really really wish Callahan's existed because it's somewhere you really do want to hang out it. The books aren't just about a bar and the people who drink there, they're about what happens to the regulars at a bar.
I don't think I've ever read a science fiction series that has so little to do with science fiction. These are stories I've carried around with me since I was 16, and are ones I'll carry around with me for the rest of my life. Both the Callahan's series, and the Lady Sally's series (hand to God, just go get it. It takes place in a brothel and it has Nikola Tesla as a main character.) and the post-Callahan's series are ones that will just put a smile on your face. One thing you'll hear time and time again from people who read these series is that they'll spend the rest of their lives looking for a place like Callahan's - and really, we should only be so lucky.
So here's the real thing about this book. This book is basically why I'm a librarian. “Librarians are the secret masters of the world. They control information. Don't ever piss one off.” is a part of the book that's stuck with me since I was 16. I can't help but feel nostalgic whenever I pick up one of his books. They're some of the most human books out there, even if not all the characters are entirely (or at all human). I'm not going to say this book will change your life like it at the very least impacted mine. But you'll finish it with a smile on your face, and the desire to go build yourself a community. I think we're missing a lot of community right now.
http://vivalakt.blogspot.ca/
March 27, 2017
I really enjoyed this book, mostly for the warm fuzzies. Listening to the puns and riddles wasn't always great (I'm not too quick on my feet with those sort of things) and probably would've been better for me in print, but I wasn't too bothered that I didn't figure them all out. In fact, Spider didn't even know the answer to one anymore for a very long time. The narrator was fantastic, his characterizations were well done, not over done, and always consistent. He even has a nice singing voice! It might have been better to spread the stories out over more time though, but I found I was forgetting who was who even so, so maybe not. Spider's writing style is so distinctive and I enjoyed the premise of Callahan's Place very much.
February 10, 2024
A collection of stories about Callahan's place, including the entire first and third books and all the Callahan stories from the second book Time Travelers Strictly Cash. These are good stories, and also show the growth of the author.
The main character is based on the author, whose first few stories started off this series. The second story isn't really science fiction, but future stories were definitely more so, including time travelers and extraterrestrials along with earth-based mutants and telepaths. The first book is good, but fits into an earlier mindset - few women patronize Callahan's.
The subsequent stories better incorporate the rest of humanity, and are also more enjoyable to read. This book comes to a natural (or is it cataclysmic?) conclusion, though there are other stories in the same "universe". I wouldn't mind delving into them, or a computer game published at the time. There's even a role playing game supplement for GURPS that is worth a read.
The main character is based on the author, whose first few stories started off this series. The second story isn't really science fiction, but future stories were definitely more so, including time travelers and extraterrestrials along with earth-based mutants and telepaths. The first book is good, but fits into an earlier mindset - few women patronize Callahan's.
The subsequent stories better incorporate the rest of humanity, and are also more enjoyable to read. This book comes to a natural (or is it cataclysmic?) conclusion, though there are other stories in the same "universe". I wouldn't mind delving into them, or a computer game published at the time. There's even a role playing game supplement for GURPS that is worth a read.
August 27, 2012
I have a copy of this that Spider very graciously inscribed for me at Darkover XX (it is one of my most treasured possessions, fully as much for the content as the inscription!)
November 5, 2017
Even though this compendium collects the early Callahan stories, the fact that it leaves out some non-Callahan works from the second book counts as a loss, in my estimation. For good or ill, those stories were part of the second book, and, even though they had different settings (and some were not even fiction) they are part of the original work, and I feel like this collection is worse for not having them.
June 12, 2025
“When you share pain, there’s less of it, and when you share joy, there’s more of it. That’s a basic fact of the universe, and I learned it here. I’ve seen it work honest-to-God miracles.”
---------------
Let me start off by saying that the Foreword—or I suppose as the author writes it, the Backward—of this book made me cry.
No, it really did. I can’t remember the last time a book made me cry. It has happened before in the past, but it’s been such a long time that I can’t quite remember. It’s interesting too because, well, it wasn’t even the story itself. It was some meta-commentary the author was writing about his stories years after they were first published. But his words were just so…profound. It touched upon the themes of Callahan’s saloon: camaraderie, the human condition, the inevitability of every human life, and the enduring infinity of love in the face of that mortality. It has given me a quote that has since become on my favorites:
Shared joy is increased; shared pain is lessened.
I start off with this little anecdote because I feel it really set the tone for the rest of my reading experience. It was a wild kind of ride, but I enjoyed it. Even more rare for me to say, this is the kind of book that gave me something after I put it down, and I’m grateful for it.
Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon is a series of short stories all revolving around the titular bar. There are recurring characters (such as the bar owner, Mike Callahan) and a couple of others, along with the strange customs that the patrons all practice. The stories center around strange characters coming into the bar, telling their stories or their predicaments, and then the collective forces of Callahan and the bar patrons help the person out in some way or give them something to reflect on in the midst of their journey. The people come from all walks of speculative life: time travelers, telepaths, emissaries from Mars…but wherever they come from and whatever their ailment, the stories all have one thing in common: the beautiful, sometimes painful, but all-encompassing force of companionship over a pint.
As a side note, the stories are very loosely connected with one another, so they are ones you want to read in order. It’s mostly references to events that happened in other stories or recurring characters that come back. I read these stories in the book The Callahan Chronicles, which I recommend as it collects the stories together in chronological order.
When I first began reading this book? I was utterly disappointed, despite the way the Foreword/Backward affected me.
This book first caught my attention by the cover. Despite being a Millenial, I have this weird soft spot for old, pulpy science fiction novels of the 50s to 80s, despite all the problems that they contain. I can’t quite put my finger on why. Maybe because they have this sort of fun camp that newer sci-fi doesn’t have? Maybe I just like how weird they get, and how much they stand out? Whatever the reason, when I saw the cover of the particular edition that caught my eye, that’s what I expected. The artwork showed a jolly human passing off classic mugs of beer to a crowd of colorful characters, aliens that looked right at home in the Star Wars cantina scene or from Wayne Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials artbook. This is the kind of premise I expected when I began to read. A bunch of crazy, kind of goofy aliens all coming together to drink and share their tales from across the galaxy in a very lighthearted and fun premise.
That’s maybe half of what you get. Yes, you got aliens and time-travelers and all sorts of fantastical people coming into this bar to share their tales, but it’s all very…grounded. They share stories, but they’re grounded in the experience of living and being alive. This wasn’t what I signed up for, and I admit to feeling quite disappointed. It reminded me of this time I signed up for a speculative fiction class in community college, expecting to read stories that involved spaceships and aliens and hiveminds but it was mostly stories of things like…a man struggling with divorce and his car just happens to float. Or a boy experiencing the pains of growing up out of childhood while the speculative worldbuilding is just a little dressing on top of the real focus: the interpersonal drama of it all.
But the more I got into it…the more I got hooked. Before I knew it, the story had grabbed me by the heartstrings and kept me there.
The speculative fiction is really just a topping, a sprig of parsley on the main dish. The stories may talk about time travel, or about aliens, or about people having to contend to immortality, but the way I see it, that’s not what the stories are about. They’re really about life. They’re about pain, joy, loss, love, solitude, companionship…about all the things that make us who we are, about what makes us human.
Robinson’s writing style makes it more effective. The writing is colloquial, filled with references of past decades I didn’t live through. People talk in heavy slang and with vocal tics that took me fifty pages to parse out. Half of these references flew over my head, so I had only the base familiarity with it and could hardly connect with it. Yes, I recognize the name Spiro Agnew. Could I tell you a damn thing about what it was like to witness him in American society? No, I couldn’t, because I wasn’t alive back then, not even close.
A big recurring part of the stories is that the characters often partake in puns, so mixed in with all of this, there’s wordplay. Here’s just a tiny, small example from the story The Wonderful Conspiracy:
Long-Drink got up and walked to the chalk line, and I assumed he wanted to give Doc's stinker the honor of a formal throw. I should have known he was setting us up. He toed the mark, an- nounced, "To the poor corpuscle," drained his glass, and waited.
The Doc had reflexively drained the fresh glass Callahan had already supplied unasked—Doc will drink to anything, sight unseen—but he paused with his arm in midthrow. "Wait a minute," he said. "Why the hell should I drink to 'the poor corpuscle'?"
"He labors in vein," Long-Drink said simply.
"Ah yes," I said without missing a beat, "but he vessels vhile he vorks."
"Plasma soul," exclaimed Callahan.
The Doc's eyes got round and his jaw hung down. "By God," he said at last, "I've never been outpunned by you rummies yet, and I'm not about to go down on medical puns. As a doctor I happen to know for certain there's only one other blood pun—I got it straight from the Auricle of Delphi."
I can tell you right now, I have been speaking American English for almost thirty years, and this passage made maybe 7% sense to me when I first read it.
Even though I struggled with the writing, at the same time, it flowed. It’s hard to explain. Even though I couldn’t get half the allusions or had to really work through some of the accents and wordplay, after a while, I found myself doing less of that and simply letting the story wash over you. Robinson nailed the narrator’s voice down and perfectly captured the vibe of somebody telling you this over a pint. I can imagine myself sitting in Callahan’s saloon right now, listening to the narrator telling me these stories in his own words. Even if you don’t understand the meaning exactly, you can feel it.
That was true for every character who was the subject of the story. That’s what each of the snippets really are: we meet somebody drinking in Callahan’s, and they tell their story. It’s always something that either guts you, or you feel along with them, or you just sympathize because despite the fact that they’re a time traveler or a psychic or something…they’re still human. Or, if they’re not human, their tale is one that speaks to the experience of being human. You still want to cry with them, laugh with them, hug them and just be their companion. I can tell you right now, it’s been a very long time since I’ve shed tears while reading a book. This one made me shed them twice.
My personal favorite stories out of the bunch:
The Time-Traveler
Dog Day Evening
The Law of Conservation of Pain
My criticisms are common with a lot of anthologies: as much as I loved these stories, you’ll get some that are weaker. One such example for me was Unnatural Causes. The story starts out speaking about a man’s experience in Vietnam and all the tragedies he saw and the atrocities he personally committed. I thought it would focus on that. That’s already such a strong hook there, even though the material was hard to stomach. But then, it pivoted into a story about an alien who talks about his people living among humans for thousands of years, influencing them throughout history. There seemed to be threads that tried to all come to a common point, but I just couldn’t see it, and everything felt like it fizzled out before a satisfying conclusion could come to fruition. There were strong building blocks to a good, solid story, but nothing more than building blocks. Another one was Have You Heard The One…? Al Phee’s dialogue made me want to drive rusty nails through my feet, and I started skimming through to get past the story as fast as possible so I could be rid of him.
And then my other criticism: parts of the book have not aged well. I mean, it’s speculative fiction written within the time period of the 50s-80s, which I personally call the Pulp Era, though I acknowledge that’s not a very good term for it. It’s pretty much a guarantee that you’ll come across a part that makes you think “well, that hasn’t aged well.” Luckily, I feel as if they’re few and far in between. There’s no undercurrent of problematic beliefs that are woven throughout like so many other Pulp Era books. It’s not on the level of, say, Heinlein (oh boy, I’m feeling brave today for dropping a name like that, aren’t I?) where problematic politics dominate the whole narrative or are a major focus. It’s mostly some terms or descriptions that we don’t use anymore because we’ve progressed as a society. I think we as readers can come together and acknowledge when something that may have been more readily accepted back in the day has since become unacceptable in modern times. And I think it’s okay to acknowledge that it can be upsetting to see. And I think we as readers are capable of coming together and acknowledging that we don’t condone those parts, but everything else about the book is commendable and compelling.
But overall? I can see why Spider Robinson has received letters throughout the years from readers asking where the fabled saloon is and so desperately wanting to go. This is a place that walks the tight line of being completely grounded, but with enough whimsy to make it seem magical without losing that humanistic touch.
It’s incredible the way this book made me feel. A person will walk into the bar, and in about 30 pages, I’ll care for that person and feel for them like I’ve known them for years. Robinson writes in a way that speaks to a reader emotionally. I laughed with these people. I cried with them. For a few minutes of my life, I really did feel like I was in that bar with them, cheering and throwing glasses into the fireplace and groaning at the incredible wordplay.
It really hit me how much I became emotionally invested in these characters when I came to the end of the book. Without spoilers, I feel like The Callahan Chronicals is the best way to read these stories. The way it starts, the way they’re collected and the way it ends…the very last story had my heart racing. You galavant through all of these peeks into Callahan’s place, a place that seems as unending and unyielding as time itself. And when the thought of something happening to the place seems unbearable. There’s a thread that connects all the stories together and it reaches a beautiful crescendo in the book.
Hell, even the Post Toast, which had me chuckling from how absurd it was (no spoilers, you’ll just have to read it), had tearing up while reading it. Spider just has that talent of bringing ethos into his writing, whatever he is writing about. It really felt like, despite Robinson never once having met me and probably not even knowing that I exist, he was talking to me. He was telling me those things, right there, with a pint of beer between us like we were old friends.
I mean, when the book was over and I turned the last page? I nearly started sobbing. I didn’t want it to end, because it was like Callahan was over. It was like all of these people I’ve grown to love and laugh at were now gone, and I found myself gutted at the thought of that. But, it’s like Robinson says himself. Callahan is a place that exists wherever you stand. Where I go, I will bring a little bit of that spirit with me, and when I do that, Callahan and his patrons won’t ever truly die. Even when Robinson, though the thought brings me great sadness, makes it to the great big saloon in the sky, Callahan’s won’t die. It’ll be here, in the shared joy of humanity, in the shared pain of humanity, in the way we refuse entropy.
I’ve read anecdotes from people who say the series saved them in one way or another. People come together and say how Callahan, and by extension, Spider Robinson have touched them and brightened their lives in some way. I understand why. I wish it was a real place. I don’t drink, but Callahan could probably convince me to.
It’s just like how Spider Robinson puts it so beautifully in a quote that’s carved itself into my heart:
Just as there are laws of Conservation of Mass and Energy, so there are in fact Laws of Conservation of Pain and Joy. Neither can ever be created or destroyed.
But one can be converted into the other.
January 30, 2019
Inventive, different, heart-felt and heart-warming. This collection is well worth your time, especially as it's so much more positive than pretty much anything this side of Disney (Or maybe Discworld).
Funny, punny and somewhat touching, it's not at all what I'd expected, but I really like the characters and camaraderie that inhabit this bar.
Funny, punny and somewhat touching, it's not at all what I'd expected, but I really like the characters and camaraderie that inhabit this bar.
December 4, 2021
After reading this book, I almost wanted to find a pub to call home. That's coming from someone who doesn't drink or like crowded places, or bars and pubs for the matter. But somehow, Spider Robinson hid humanity in its best to Callahan's Crosstime Saloon; I was like, yes, that's humanity when they care, that's humanity surviving when they have been kicked into their nuts and rejected. The ones who never got on with the program. At Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, you are accepted as you are.
The book is a collection of short stories published previously in a magazine and three separate books. All the stories are independent as their own, but there's a continuity in time and plot as they unfold. It's a sci-fi book, but more interested in the psychological make-up of such a world where aliens and weirdness exist. All the stories are told from Jake's first-person point of view, but they mainly handle the stranger stepping into the saloon and what their story is and how it relates to what is going on currently. The strangers are often in their lowest hour as they step amid the regulars, who are astonishingly accepting, kind, and sympathetic. A place where you can seek solace. A place we all want to go, thus making me want to find a pub like Callahan's.
This is a highly male-centric story, where female visitors start to come more towards the middle of the book and take their place as regulars in a semi-meaningful way. But that's okay, or at least it was for me. The target audience is male readers, and all the female characters symbolize hope. They are less jaded and more willing to act. Spider Robinson even jokes about this unbalance, and he doesn't put a female character down. But, of course, there's an imbalance in how they are portrayed: more emphasis on the figure. None of that is the gist of the book. What matters is the story the characters tell, what the reader can learn from them, and how to become more open, caring, and willing to help. That's the message. We are in this shit together, and it's up to us to make this world, our and others' lives better.
The gender gap isn't the only hiccup the book has. I could say something about the Jake-Spider Robinson conundrum, who is who, but I don't care about that. Nor do I care about puns being an important feature. Or not all stories were equal. Or about the somewhat soppy and one-sided view of human issues and how they should be solved. You can disagree with them; I can semi-disagree with them and still enjoy the book because it's more about the hope of belonging and people willing to do good by others than about some political issue or another. Oh yes, some statements made me frown, like the one about dismissing adoption, but that was the character speaking on their behalf.
A heart-warming book, which gives you hope that humanity isn't all jaded. (A statement I disagree with in my darkest moments.)
Happy reading and have a lovely day <3 Again, if you come across an alien life form, please say hello on my behalf and wish them good luck.
The book is a collection of short stories published previously in a magazine and three separate books. All the stories are independent as their own, but there's a continuity in time and plot as they unfold. It's a sci-fi book, but more interested in the psychological make-up of such a world where aliens and weirdness exist. All the stories are told from Jake's first-person point of view, but they mainly handle the stranger stepping into the saloon and what their story is and how it relates to what is going on currently. The strangers are often in their lowest hour as they step amid the regulars, who are astonishingly accepting, kind, and sympathetic. A place where you can seek solace. A place we all want to go, thus making me want to find a pub like Callahan's.
This is a highly male-centric story, where female visitors start to come more towards the middle of the book and take their place as regulars in a semi-meaningful way. But that's okay, or at least it was for me. The target audience is male readers, and all the female characters symbolize hope. They are less jaded and more willing to act. Spider Robinson even jokes about this unbalance, and he doesn't put a female character down. But, of course, there's an imbalance in how they are portrayed: more emphasis on the figure. None of that is the gist of the book. What matters is the story the characters tell, what the reader can learn from them, and how to become more open, caring, and willing to help. That's the message. We are in this shit together, and it's up to us to make this world, our and others' lives better.
The gender gap isn't the only hiccup the book has. I could say something about the Jake-Spider Robinson conundrum, who is who, but I don't care about that. Nor do I care about puns being an important feature. Or not all stories were equal. Or about the somewhat soppy and one-sided view of human issues and how they should be solved. You can disagree with them; I can semi-disagree with them and still enjoy the book because it's more about the hope of belonging and people willing to do good by others than about some political issue or another. Oh yes, some statements made me frown, like the one about dismissing adoption, but that was the character speaking on their behalf.
A heart-warming book, which gives you hope that humanity isn't all jaded. (A statement I disagree with in my darkest moments.)
Happy reading and have a lovely day <3 Again, if you come across an alien life form, please say hello on my behalf and wish them good luck.
April 11, 2010
There's a place out on Route 25A in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York; a unique tavern, indeed, but you couldn't tell by looking at it. Oh sure, the jumble of parked cars out front would seem a little odd, like a bumper cars rally frozen in time, or the fact that there was no mirror behind the bar like you'd see in any other drinking institution.
But that's all superficial and easily explained. What makes this institution so very special would require you to spend some time seated at the bar or one of the tables, enjoying a drink made with care and professionalism, before understanding dawned on you.
You see, this place you've found out on 25A (or wherever you are), and you can only find it when you need to, is Callahan's Place: a cross-time saloon and interstellar stop-over frequented by the kindest, nicest, most loyal group of regulars in the whole wide world...and far, far beyond.
There's a motto the folks at Callahan's believe in: "Shared pain is lessened, shared joy is increased." And two rules scrupulously followed: 1)Don't ask prying questions. 2)If a problem is shared, whoever's listening does all they can to help solve the problem.
Come pay a visit to Callahan's and meet the most bizarre blend of barflies you're likely to meet...and never forget.
But that's all superficial and easily explained. What makes this institution so very special would require you to spend some time seated at the bar or one of the tables, enjoying a drink made with care and professionalism, before understanding dawned on you.
You see, this place you've found out on 25A (or wherever you are), and you can only find it when you need to, is Callahan's Place: a cross-time saloon and interstellar stop-over frequented by the kindest, nicest, most loyal group of regulars in the whole wide world...and far, far beyond.
There's a motto the folks at Callahan's believe in: "Shared pain is lessened, shared joy is increased." And two rules scrupulously followed: 1)Don't ask prying questions. 2)If a problem is shared, whoever's listening does all they can to help solve the problem.
Come pay a visit to Callahan's and meet the most bizarre blend of barflies you're likely to meet...and never forget.
March 10, 2024
Picked this up to distract myself from getting depressed by Hugo's Les Misérables. I should’ve known that a book with group therapy at its core - all be it over a few drinks at a bar where bad puns can work as currency and time travel wouldn't raise an eyebrow - wouldn’t be all sunshine and rainbows. Yet, it totally worked. Hopeful, accepting (with one exception), and humanistic, this was just what the doctor ordered. Definitely adding this to my comfort books list.
The funny thing is, when I was reading Spider’s Backword to this collection I kept thinking to myself (in response to the description of people scouring Long Island for the location of a fictional tavern) are people really that nutty? And yet, my first instinct at finishing these “Chronicals” was to scour the internet for any sign of Callahan’s fellowships, where “they believe that shared pain is diminished, and that shared joy is increased.” How quickly these unassuming and quirky stories broke through my cynicism..., especially Fivesight and The Law of Conservation of Pain; damn, had I, an unsocial recluse, not been in bed and hugging two cats, I would've stumbled out into the cold in search of a nearest watering hole and friendly company just for these two stories alone.
The funny thing is, when I was reading Spider’s Backword to this collection I kept thinking to myself (in response to the description of people scouring Long Island for the location of a fictional tavern) are people really that nutty? And yet, my first instinct at finishing these “Chronicals” was to scour the internet for any sign of Callahan’s fellowships, where “they believe that shared pain is diminished, and that shared joy is increased.” How quickly these unassuming and quirky stories broke through my cynicism..., especially Fivesight and The Law of Conservation of Pain; damn, had I, an unsocial recluse, not been in bed and hugging two cats, I would've stumbled out into the cold in search of a nearest watering hole and friendly company just for these two stories alone.
November 25, 2008
Spider Robinson's tales about the denizens of the bar called Callahan's Place are the prescribed elixir for depression and worry. I avoided re-reading these stories for a while because they were unfailingly "perfect": everything happens exactly right, the right things happen to the right people, and it's all unrealistically utopian. But then, that's exactly what I want to read when I'm convinced that there ain't no justice in this world. I want to read about people who all get along and love each other and tell dumb jokes and stick together in the face of adversity.
Callahan's is the paradise for filk-singing spirits-loving punsters, for those outsiders whose intelligence makes them unwelcome in 'normal' society (and vice versa). At times in my life I find that world a bit twee for my tastes, but in the clinch it's a welcome respite from everyday crap.
If you love puns, music, fine spirits, science fiction, camaraderie and empathy, you may find your second home at a little out-of-the-way place in Long Island. If love at least some of those things, you will still enjoy your stay.
Callahan's is the paradise for filk-singing spirits-loving punsters, for those outsiders whose intelligence makes them unwelcome in 'normal' society (and vice versa). At times in my life I find that world a bit twee for my tastes, but in the clinch it's a welcome respite from everyday crap.
If you love puns, music, fine spirits, science fiction, camaraderie and empathy, you may find your second home at a little out-of-the-way place in Long Island. If love at least some of those things, you will still enjoy your stay.
August 30, 2015
I'm a very recent convert to Callahan and his place, but I already adore it. These stories, all centred around Callahan's Place, its weird and wonderful regulars and how they all go out of their way to help others are a joy to read. Warm, witty and humanist, Robinson shows a depth of feeling and empathy that really resonates with me. And the puns, oh goodness, the marvellous truly awful puns! I love puns (even if I'm not very good at them myself) so seeing them celebrated here was a(nother) wonderful thing about the book.
I've read many of the stories here in another collection but this is a superset of that, containing all the stories from there and a few others. This means that I can give away the other book, to let somebody else experience the joy of finding Callahan's Place while I go on and get hold of both the Lady Sally and Mary's Place books to continue the journey.
The unofficial motto of Callahan's Place is that pain shared is lessened while joy shared is increased. I'll get a glass of something, step up to the chalk line and raise a toast to that any day.
I've read many of the stories here in another collection but this is a superset of that, containing all the stories from there and a few others. This means that I can give away the other book, to let somebody else experience the joy of finding Callahan's Place while I go on and get hold of both the Lady Sally and Mary's Place books to continue the journey.
The unofficial motto of Callahan's Place is that pain shared is lessened while joy shared is increased. I'll get a glass of something, step up to the chalk line and raise a toast to that any day.
February 16, 2009
A wonderful collection of connected short stories. Imagine a series like the TV show 'Cheers' or 'Night Court' (two of my favorites) where the characters not only care about each other but come from across time and space to talk about their troubles in a very unusual bar with a lovable, quirky group of characters. Community is a constant theme in the stories and I presume throughout the series' other books as well. As I read I laughed at the puns and the many joking references to classic science fiction. I was moved by the portrayal of compassion, empathy, loyalty and sympathy among the core and cameo characters. "Pain shared is lessened" and "Happiness shared is increased"
The stories are upbeat and zany, but touch on some serious emotional and psychological issues of the human condition. I recommend this book and others in the series to people who enjoyed works by Douglas Adams, Robert Heinlein, Piers Anthony (Jacob) or Robert Asprin. I urge caution for anyone who is sensitive to swearing (lots of f-bombs), sexual innuendo and references to adult sexuality.
The stories are upbeat and zany, but touch on some serious emotional and psychological issues of the human condition. I recommend this book and others in the series to people who enjoyed works by Douglas Adams, Robert Heinlein, Piers Anthony (Jacob) or Robert Asprin. I urge caution for anyone who is sensitive to swearing (lots of f-bombs), sexual innuendo and references to adult sexuality.
August 17, 2014
Кофти сготвена кръчмарска яхния от скучни, тъповати истории без никаква свързваща нишка, на светлинни години от фентъзи, фантастика и хумор.
По-лошото в книгата обаче е стилът или подобието на стил в опит да се имитира Хайнлайн и ужасният, дразнещ, изнасилен жаргон, използван за целта.
Твърде, твърде далеч от литература и без грам оригиналност ...
"Нахвърли се на храната като женкар на порносписание."
От изгубено време за част тази толкова прехвалена боза мога да си направя два извода:
1. Безвъзвратно съм прекрачила горната възрастова граница на таргет аудиторията. Малко вероятно е обаче (предвид изобилието от алкохол, бой, насилие и намеци за интимни заигравки, дори и маскирани с ужасно плосък и скопен хумор) това творение да се е прицелило в детско-юношеските уши и очи.
2. Някои препоръки, ревюта и литературни вкусове трябва да ползвам предимно като ориентир какво да НЕ чета.
По-лошото в книгата обаче е стилът или подобието на стил в опит да се имитира Хайнлайн и ужасният, дразнещ, изнасилен жаргон, използван за целта.
Твърде, твърде далеч от литература и без грам оригиналност ...
"Нахвърли се на храната като женкар на порносписание."
От изгубено време за част тази толкова прехвалена боза мога да си направя два извода:
1. Безвъзвратно съм прекрачила горната възрастова граница на таргет аудиторията. Малко вероятно е обаче (предвид изобилието от алкохол, бой, насилие и намеци за интимни заигравки, дори и маскирани с ужасно плосък и скопен хумор) това творение да се е прицелило в детско-юношеските уши и очи.
2. Някои препоръки, ревюта и литературни вкусове трябва да ползвам предимно като ориентир какво да НЕ чета.
December 5, 2017
Fun read, excellent voice work.
January 11, 2019
I figured it was time to revisit some old favorites and Callahan's Saloon seemed like a good place to start. I've missed Jake, the Doc, Fast Eddie, and Callahan, himself, and the others, so it was nice just listen to some truly awful puns and fun storytelling. The riddles in book two don't quite work in audio format, but otherwise, not bad as an audio book.
>Steps up to the chalkline with a glass of Shirley Temple and holds it up: to some wonderful memories of the past! Drinking off the rest of the glass, I raise my arm and throw the glass dead center of the fireplace. Smashing glass has a wonderfully satisfying sound, doesn't it?<
>Steps up to the chalkline with a glass of Shirley Temple and holds it up: to some wonderful memories of the past! Drinking off the rest of the glass, I raise my arm and throw the glass dead center of the fireplace. Smashing glass has a wonderfully satisfying sound, doesn't it?<
May 9, 2008
Get ready to laugh and to love. This is a collection of three of Spider Robinson's classic "Callahan's" novels: "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon," "Time Travelers Strictly Cash," and "Callahan's Secret."
The stories center around a Long Island bar that is the merriest place in the universe, where coincidences (and puns) pile up like home runs in Coors Field, and which you only find if you need to. And this bunch of barflies may be the only hope for saving our species.
Not only fun, but SMART fun. Yes, that's still legal.
The stories center around a Long Island bar that is the merriest place in the universe, where coincidences (and puns) pile up like home runs in Coors Field, and which you only find if you need to. And this bunch of barflies may be the only hope for saving our species.
Not only fun, but SMART fun. Yes, that's still legal.
January 16, 2013
The collection of all the stories that take place in Callahan's. Full of puns, some obvious some subtle. And a valuable lesson; Pain is reduced when shared, and joy in multiplied when shared. You got to love a bar where you can break a glass in the fireplace and the mirror leads to another dimension.
April 6, 2012
A collection of previous collections, this is the definitive collection of short stories set in Callahan's Place, a special bar where everyone and anyone can appear and tell their tale. My favorite story is the "Time Traveler," which has nothing to do with science fiction, despite the title.
December 27, 2012
The details and ideas are fun, but the stories lack meat, there's never any real challenge for the characters, and the sexism and lack of interesting female characters are turn-offs. This is really a 2.5 star book, if Goodreads allowed half-star ratings.
April 18, 2015
I found that these are a bunch of entertaining stories with some sentimentality, but lacked a lot of depth or character development etc. Kind of like an episode from the Outer Limits.
November 15, 2020
I discovered this series thanks to a Facebook group I'm part of. Concellation 2020 is an online gathering of people who enjoy attending pop culture conventions but can't this year due to the pandemic. So they gather on Facebook to reminisce about conventions past, tell jokes and make copious inside references, and encourage each other while we look forward to the day when the world's waking nightmare ends and we can meet again in the flesh.
I posted in this group a couple of months ago asking people to name their favorite fictional cafes, restaurants, and business establishments. I got hundreds of responses, and a surprising number of people kept saying "Callahan's." I had never, until then, heard of the place. But the number of my fellow group members who clearly cherished it convinced me to seek out the books where Callahan's might be found.
Callahan's is an imaginary tavern on Long Island that is basically the ultimate stereotype of what people think taverns SHOULD be like. A person walks in with a crisis or personal problem of some sort, and the entire bar sits and listens respectfully to the person's story before giving advice and trying to do what they can to help the person through.
The reason the Callahan's series is classified as sci-fi is that the bar patrons might be anything from a werewolf or vampire to an all-powerful cockroach, a talking dog, or even a . . . former minister who moonlights as a bartender! Really!
The Callahan tales are told in the form of short stories that originally came out in magazines like "Analog" back in the 1970s and '80s. What's interesting is that this particular collection came out in the '90s just when the Internet was becoming a thing. Several retrospective essays are included, as well as a "new" story by the author that discusses just how flabbergasted he is that people are taking the Callahan's concept and running with it in real life--the example he uses is the "alt.callahans" newsgroup, an online message board of sorts that some 60,000 people were using in the 1990s as a place to create the kind of welcoming space that the Callahan's in the stories is.
It's actually quite . . . touching. The attachment people have to these stories is just as interesting (if not more so) than the stories themselves.
Don't get me wrong. These stories are hilarious, off-the-wall, and frequently moving. But it's what the stories represent to people that really seems to matter.
My favorite story, of the nearly 20 that are included in this collection, is "The Law of Conservation of Pain." I don't want to say too much about it and spoil the details, but let's just say that it's a devastatingly effective love story about a person who falls in love with a singer and finds a way to travel through time, not just to BE with that person, but to prevent that person's life from being ruined by a series of tragedies that the would-be lover knows about thanks to their being from the future. Think of it as a mix of "Somewhere in Time" with a dash of "Lightning" by Dean Koontz (itself a time-travel love story).
In researching the author, Spider Robinson, after I finished the stories, I was saddened to learn that his beloved wife Jeanne of some 35 years passed away from cancer in 2010 and that his daughter Terri, likewise, passed away from cancer at the all-too-young age of 37. All of them were (and are) creative artists of one sort or another. What a legacy they seem to have left.
"Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased—thus do we refute entropy."
~Callahan's Law
H/T to the members of Concellation 2020 for introducing me to this classic sci-fi gem. If I had a fireplace, I'd raise a toast to all 36,000 of you before shattering the glass in the flames :-)
I posted in this group a couple of months ago asking people to name their favorite fictional cafes, restaurants, and business establishments. I got hundreds of responses, and a surprising number of people kept saying "Callahan's." I had never, until then, heard of the place. But the number of my fellow group members who clearly cherished it convinced me to seek out the books where Callahan's might be found.
Callahan's is an imaginary tavern on Long Island that is basically the ultimate stereotype of what people think taverns SHOULD be like. A person walks in with a crisis or personal problem of some sort, and the entire bar sits and listens respectfully to the person's story before giving advice and trying to do what they can to help the person through.
The reason the Callahan's series is classified as sci-fi is that the bar patrons might be anything from a werewolf or vampire to an all-powerful cockroach, a talking dog, or even a . . . former minister who moonlights as a bartender! Really!
The Callahan tales are told in the form of short stories that originally came out in magazines like "Analog" back in the 1970s and '80s. What's interesting is that this particular collection came out in the '90s just when the Internet was becoming a thing. Several retrospective essays are included, as well as a "new" story by the author that discusses just how flabbergasted he is that people are taking the Callahan's concept and running with it in real life--the example he uses is the "alt.callahans" newsgroup, an online message board of sorts that some 60,000 people were using in the 1990s as a place to create the kind of welcoming space that the Callahan's in the stories is.
It's actually quite . . . touching. The attachment people have to these stories is just as interesting (if not more so) than the stories themselves.
Don't get me wrong. These stories are hilarious, off-the-wall, and frequently moving. But it's what the stories represent to people that really seems to matter.
My favorite story, of the nearly 20 that are included in this collection, is "The Law of Conservation of Pain." I don't want to say too much about it and spoil the details, but let's just say that it's a devastatingly effective love story about a person who falls in love with a singer and finds a way to travel through time, not just to BE with that person, but to prevent that person's life from being ruined by a series of tragedies that the would-be lover knows about thanks to their being from the future. Think of it as a mix of "Somewhere in Time" with a dash of "Lightning" by Dean Koontz (itself a time-travel love story).
In researching the author, Spider Robinson, after I finished the stories, I was saddened to learn that his beloved wife Jeanne of some 35 years passed away from cancer in 2010 and that his daughter Terri, likewise, passed away from cancer at the all-too-young age of 37. All of them were (and are) creative artists of one sort or another. What a legacy they seem to have left.
"Shared pain is lessened; shared joy, increased—thus do we refute entropy."
~Callahan's Law
H/T to the members of Concellation 2020 for introducing me to this classic sci-fi gem. If I had a fireplace, I'd raise a toast to all 36,000 of you before shattering the glass in the flames :-)
October 12, 2024
As the title suggests, this is an omnibus edition of three earlier collections of short stories by Spider Robinson. They were originally released in 1977, 1979, and 1986, but the third one retains a '70s feel to it. As such, this is not a novel, but an episodic confabulation about—as we told repeatedly—a bar on Long Island where anything can happen. The set-up for each and every one of these stories is that a person with a problem walks into Callahan's and is given help by the swell regulars in the place. There are all kinds of rituals at this bar that I think are supposed to be endearingly goofy but wore thin for me with repetition.
Not all of these are science fiction stories, which made for a nice change now and then. My favorite one of these is the one about the time-traveler who traveled through time one minute at a time ... because he was in a Central American prison for a decade. This sort of "joke" can be found on every one of the nearly 300 pages in this book. While puns are Robinson's favorite form of humor, he is also fond of riddles and twists of logic like the time-traveler or the "Earth ... and Beyond" epilogue that I confess I didn't finish reading.
In that chapter, Spider Robinson himself visits the fictional bar he has created, explaining to his characters that his world and theirs are adjacent realities. This chapter was added in 1996 as part of this omnibus reissue. Robinson tells his creations something called Usenet, another adjacent reality, has sprung up and a whole new set stories about both him and the Callahan's crowd exists there. If you like this kind of old-fashioned "wow, man, that's heavy" humor, then you will enjoy this collection more than I did.
That said, it is hard to find fault in the ethos that Robinson communicates. Although the amount of drinking that goes on bears no relation to reality, everyone at Callahan's is a kind soul just trying to find their way through the difficulties of being alive in the late 20th century. There is even a sympathetic vampire in one story. All the stories are related by Jake Stonebender, Robinson's alter ego (they look exactly alike), but if you don't like suburban hipster types, then he will get old on you rapidly. Jake is one of those philosopher-jester types who most people would think of as squandered talent personified, but he is much beloved at Callahan's.
This stuff is dated, but there is anthropological value to it. A lot of the more progressive attitudes espoused here—e.g., a ready acceptance of the gay community—have become much more widespread, so much so that younger readers will not even know that Robinson is being a bit radical for the 1970s. Furthermore, the general tendency of the Callahan crew to accept anyone who walks into the bar for who (or what) they are, presages our present effort to get more comfortable with every time of "difference" in order to have a truly more diverse society.
Robinson seems entirely a creature of the science fiction genre community. There are endless references, both overt and covert, to the work of other writers. If you are a stalwart fan, this must add to the humor. If not, it just comes across as inside baseball, which is undeniably fun ... for insiders. Again, the good-heartedness on display in story after story redeems a lot of the datedness and the clubbiness. I invite anyone to dip into this volume at random. Little is lost by skipping over stories that don't interest you and reading them at intervals instead of plowing through it will recreate the way they were originally published. In the omnibus form, however, it does all build to a thrilling climax in "The Mick of Time" and brings the cycle of stories to an acceptable close, (although he did continue to write more stories about these characters). Apparently Robinson will never tire of that single room in Callahan's where every one of these stories takes place.
Not all of these are science fiction stories, which made for a nice change now and then. My favorite one of these is the one about the time-traveler who traveled through time one minute at a time ... because he was in a Central American prison for a decade. This sort of "joke" can be found on every one of the nearly 300 pages in this book. While puns are Robinson's favorite form of humor, he is also fond of riddles and twists of logic like the time-traveler or the "Earth ... and Beyond" epilogue that I confess I didn't finish reading.
In that chapter, Spider Robinson himself visits the fictional bar he has created, explaining to his characters that his world and theirs are adjacent realities. This chapter was added in 1996 as part of this omnibus reissue. Robinson tells his creations something called Usenet, another adjacent reality, has sprung up and a whole new set stories about both him and the Callahan's crowd exists there. If you like this kind of old-fashioned "wow, man, that's heavy" humor, then you will enjoy this collection more than I did.
That said, it is hard to find fault in the ethos that Robinson communicates. Although the amount of drinking that goes on bears no relation to reality, everyone at Callahan's is a kind soul just trying to find their way through the difficulties of being alive in the late 20th century. There is even a sympathetic vampire in one story. All the stories are related by Jake Stonebender, Robinson's alter ego (they look exactly alike), but if you don't like suburban hipster types, then he will get old on you rapidly. Jake is one of those philosopher-jester types who most people would think of as squandered talent personified, but he is much beloved at Callahan's.
This stuff is dated, but there is anthropological value to it. A lot of the more progressive attitudes espoused here—e.g., a ready acceptance of the gay community—have become much more widespread, so much so that younger readers will not even know that Robinson is being a bit radical for the 1970s. Furthermore, the general tendency of the Callahan crew to accept anyone who walks into the bar for who (or what) they are, presages our present effort to get more comfortable with every time of "difference" in order to have a truly more diverse society.
Robinson seems entirely a creature of the science fiction genre community. There are endless references, both overt and covert, to the work of other writers. If you are a stalwart fan, this must add to the humor. If not, it just comes across as inside baseball, which is undeniably fun ... for insiders. Again, the good-heartedness on display in story after story redeems a lot of the datedness and the clubbiness. I invite anyone to dip into this volume at random. Little is lost by skipping over stories that don't interest you and reading them at intervals instead of plowing through it will recreate the way they were originally published. In the omnibus form, however, it does all build to a thrilling climax in "The Mick of Time" and brings the cycle of stories to an acceptable close, (although he did continue to write more stories about these characters). Apparently Robinson will never tire of that single room in Callahan's where every one of these stories takes place.
September 22, 2022
Many years ago I read all of the Callahan's stories, and enjoyed the witty wordplay and deadly puns. Recently I purchased this collection, thinking a re-read might be fun. And it was. I enjoyed the stories the second time around, in fact, a lot more than I did the first time. I think I was too young and full of myself to really grasp some of the layers back then.
One complaint I've heard is that these stories feel dated. Well, of course they do. They were written long before pandemics, social media, sexual moderation, and politicians piping gaslight through the twitter tubes existed. The vibe is relaxed, half-drunk and touchy-feely hippy-ish. The characters are opinionated, smoke too much, have no concept of recycling glass, and for the most part, are unlucky in love.
But, they have each other. And a tighter, more respectful chosen-family has never existed. There are rules that must be followed in Callahan's Place, but they all exist for damn good reasons. The overall theme is 'how can we help you heal'. If a place like Callahan's existed for real, you'd know where to find me on any given night.
The stories told and adventures shared by the patrons of Callahan's are outrageous. Tall tales of the highest elevation. The puns are wicked good. The easy-going tone of the narrative lets you forget that there's an author behind these contrived stories and people, they just seem so real.
I highly recommend getting to know what's going on in Callahan's Place to those born after the Boomers and Generation Jones. You may not have heard this sort of mind-play in a novel before, and I think you'll find it worth exploring if you sincerely want to understand the generations that came before you.
One complaint I've heard is that these stories feel dated. Well, of course they do. They were written long before pandemics, social media, sexual moderation, and politicians piping gaslight through the twitter tubes existed. The vibe is relaxed, half-drunk and touchy-feely hippy-ish. The characters are opinionated, smoke too much, have no concept of recycling glass, and for the most part, are unlucky in love.
But, they have each other. And a tighter, more respectful chosen-family has never existed. There are rules that must be followed in Callahan's Place, but they all exist for damn good reasons. The overall theme is 'how can we help you heal'. If a place like Callahan's existed for real, you'd know where to find me on any given night.
The stories told and adventures shared by the patrons of Callahan's are outrageous. Tall tales of the highest elevation. The puns are wicked good. The easy-going tone of the narrative lets you forget that there's an author behind these contrived stories and people, they just seem so real.
I highly recommend getting to know what's going on in Callahan's Place to those born after the Boomers and Generation Jones. You may not have heard this sort of mind-play in a novel before, and I think you'll find it worth exploring if you sincerely want to understand the generations that came before you.
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