Rating: 
Summary: Warning: This review contains a spoiler
Review: Somewhere in the afterword of "The Callahan Chronicals," Robinson alludes to an SF writer who wrote a series of stories that were deliberately bad, I suppose as a sort of commentary on the literary standards of the public. The series proved popular. After reading this note, I wondered for a few days what the series could be. Then, duh, it struck me. Robinson is, of course, referring to the stories in this very book. It's a reasonable joke, but not one I was happy to pay for. As for the stories themselves, if you like characters that are organic (i.e., wooden) and multidimensional-remember that one is a multiple of itself-and don't care about plots, you might like the book. Readers who prefer science fantasy to science fiction may like the book as well: most non-human characters are unique, freeing Robinson from any obligation to consider implications of the presence of different sentient species in this adolescent fantasy world. The book might also appeal to science fantasy fans who crave reassurance about how cool they are and who don't mind page after page of authors showing off how clever they are.
Rating: 
Summary: Punniest book I've ever read!
Review: Spider Robinson pulls out a lot of nice puns in this compilation of short stories about Callahan's, a bar for all those who happen by. A very fun read, at times thought provoking but mostly just good writing with interesting allusions to sci-fi and history.
Rating:
Summary: Punniest book I've ever read!
Review: Spider Robinson pulls out a lot of nice puns in this compilation of short stories about Callahan's, a bar for all those who happen by. A very fun read, at times thought provoking but mostly just good writing with interesting allusions to sci-fi and history.
Rating:
Summary: Shared pain is lessened, shared joy is increased
Review: That's the lesson of Callahan's Bar, and it's why Spider Robinson's Callahan stories are the most warmly _humane_ speculative fiction since Theodore Sturgeon.Actually the same could be said of his non-Callahan stories, and I've mentioned in another review that the Callahan tales aren't my personal favorites of his work. But they are very, very good; the best of them -- and all of the best are included in the present volume, along with the second-stringers -- will draw you in, rip you apart, fix you up better than before, and then turn you loose to get on with your life. The later Callahan (and para-Callahan) _novels_ are okay too, but the original short stories are like the first twenty-four Holmes tales by Conan Doyle: the later stuff just couldn't touch them. The _very_ best of them (most of which make up most of the first volume) are pure magic. This collection (the title of which is spelled correctly) assembles all of the original three books, with the exception of the non-Callahan material from _Time Travelers Strictly Cash_. It also incorporates some other neat features, like the 1976 introduction by Ben Bova, a Callahan bibliography, and some additional stuff by Spider (including the Callahan "short story" that was published on the Internet a few years ago). The stuff has held up mighty well. I usually recommend that newcomers to Robinson start with _Mindkiller_ and _Time Pressure_ (available in the combo volume _Deathkiller_), but you could start here instead if you like. The important thing is to start _somewhere_; Robinson's fiction, profoundly hopeful without being even remotely Pollyanna-ish, is almost a multivolume primer on the difficult art of nonviolent conflict resolution.
Rating: 
Summary: Spider can spin a good yarn
Review: The stories that make up this book (or, technically, the stories that made up the three books in this collection) are some of the best stories in modern SF. Spider tells a good tale, full of puns, pop culture references, and characters that are often admirable and/or likeable, if not believable. And the stories have enough weight to them that the comedy comes as a breath of fresh air. Really, that is Spider's main skill. He can create a tale that is like life: sad in parts, funny in parts, and you can never quite tell which will come next... humor or pathos. But Spider really did take some time to get into full swing, in my opinion. Some of the Callahan stories (usually the early ones) are a bit overly-sentimental, bordering on schlock. And some of the things that happen in the stories seem forced or contrived. It seems that everyone breaks into spontaneous cheers, or roaring laughter, or (Spider's favorite description) "table-pounding" hysterics. And usually, they crack up over nothing. But over time, this eases. Spider seemed to become more natural, and his writing developed a better flow. In the end, I think I like Spider Robinson not for his writing style (which, sometimes, is contrived), or his plots, which are often virtually non-existant events around which the characters interact. Instead, his strengths are in his characterizations. Jake, Doc Webster, Mickey Finn, Ralph von Wau Wau... so many characters, each one a treat. Every time I crack open a Callahan's book, I know that I'm not in for much of a plot. Instead, I'm in for great people and some cracking good dialogue. In the end, Spider's books are like the bar. You go in for the people, not the action. The action is secondary... the action comes FROM the characters. It's like spending a night with good friends. Nothing actually happens all night, but you wouldn't trade the evening for a million exciting adventures.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent example of a fine old tradition
Review: There are other collections of tall tales told in bars, but this is my favorite. I've been reading Callahan's stories for decades and they still make me laugh, even though I KNOW the punchline. The only reason I prefer my older Callahan and Company omnibus edition, is that d**ned misspelling of chronicles in this edition's title. It would drive me bananas in a week if I had it on my shelf.
Rating:
Summary: Every hour is Happy Hour at Callahan's!
Review: There is literally nothing like "Callahan's", and there is no writer quite like Spider Robinson. He is the ideal antidote for soulless science fiction(e.g. cyberpunk) because his stories have heart. Jake Stonebender, Doc Webster, Fast Eddie, and of course Mick Callahan are the most gregarious cast of any science fiction story. If you need to get out of "The Matrix", then pull up a chair, knock back a tall one, and watch for flying glasses, bad puns, and assorted aliens, monsters, telepaths, and other strange creatures, none of whom are any stranger than you or I. Welcome to Callahan's, you'll be glad you did!
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Summary: The Callahan Stories
Review: This is a colection of the Callahan stories, from the night Micky Finn first walked into Callahan's to the explosive (ouch) climax years later. It does not contain the post-Callahan stories of Mary's Place, or the para-Callahan stories of Lady Sally, both of which I hope will be available in simular editions. Spider Robinson is sometimes called the sucessor to Robert A. Heinlein, a fact that he says he finds humbling and somewhat suprising. This book contains his earliest work, the stuff he won the Campbell award for, and many that were Hugo quality even though none of them actually won. If you are not familiar with Spider (his legal name by the way), this is a great introduction to a great writer. If you know Spider but not Callahan, be prepared for a much lighter touch than the rest of his work. If you know Callahan, you'll be as happy as I am to have these stories in one book. In any event, buy this, pour a glass of you favorite, enjoy, and make a toast when you're through!
Rating:
Summary: Very interesting and innovative, a story full of warmth
Review: This is one of the few stories that I've read that benefits from the fact that the science part is almost excluded. Also, Robinson has not included any real antagonist, and the protagonist, Jake Stonebender, is not a strong character. but rather one in the gang. Robinson choose to write these stories in first-person perspective, something that I wouldn't've done, but I discovered, much to my surprise, that the descriptions of these exceptional characters achieves a fullness rarely seen because Stonebender may add his own thoughts on the characters as well as what the reader discovers about them. The lack of science and antagonist is much more than compensated with very much warmth, compassion, love, and humor and a surprising twist of events. Here we meet all sorts of persons, from aliens claiming that they were Adolf Hitler in a previous life to a talking German sheep dog and his mute human partner. The end isn't bad, either. This is clearly a tale that must be read, to show humans that warmth and compassion still exists, and that sorrow can lessened through sharing and that joy increases through sharing it. Whatever you do, read it!
Rating:
Summary: To Those who weren't as lucky...
Review: Well Robinson has got me hooked! I don't know how I started reading him, but I started with "The Callahan Touch" And read the lady slings the booze, and a few others, but wow!
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