Rating: 
Summary: Trolling for trolls
Review: "The Free Lunch" is a cheerful amalgam of Heinlein plotlines, staunch characters spouting Heinleinisms, and even a few of his settings rolled in as amusement park attractions. This book must have been written for the fans of RAH's so-called juvenile science fiction, of which I am one. Old and decrepit though I may be, I can still quote whole paragraphs of "Have Spacesuit Will Travel" from memory.
As with all tributes, "The Free Lunch" falls a bit flat if you are expecting something signed, sealed, and proofread by the Master. This is an imitation of Heinlein from one of his talkier novels, with computers instead of slide rules, and the author never did quite convince me that I would want to actually live in his Dreamworld theme park.
So TANSTAAFL ("there ain't no such thing as a free lunch") as the Master once said. Get over it. Mike and Annie make "The Free Lunch" worth reading. Annie is a sort of human midget Mother Thing, only a bit rougher around the personality. Mike is a male Pee Wee ("I'd rather dance with the kitchen stool"), young and sort of sexless (except for an involuntary boner when he wakes up in Annie's hide-out under Dreamworld), and very, very smart. He and Annie, aka the Mother Elf band together to outwit the owner of a rival theme park, who wants to destroy Dreamworld. While keeping an eye on the bad guy's thugs and hiding from Dreamworld's employees, Annie notices that more trolls are leaving the park at quittin' time than showed up for work in the morning.
Are the extra trolls employed by the master thug? Are they aliens from outer space who have found a great place to beam down? What?
If you're tired of gore-and-guts Alien-Dreamcatcher-Matrix ripoffs, this book is a trip back to 1960s SF (with holographs and the occasional boner).
Rating: 
Summary: Hilarious And Thoughtful Little Novel from Spider Robinson
Review: "The Free Lunch" isn't the best piece of writing I've seen from Spider Robinson, but it is surely among his funniest, most thoughtful examinations of humanity being affected by technology. I agree with a previous recent reviewer that the writing sounds a bit like Robert Heinlein's typical prose, but to Robinson's credit it is more thoughtful than almost anything Heinlein wrote (The notable exception is "Stranger in a Strange Land".). Here Robinson writes of two people trapped in a technological amusement park, trying to cope with a sadistic business tycoon determined to destroy the park. It receives a good recommendation from me as a satisfying, light bit of reading.
Rating:
Summary: Roll Over, Walt!
Review: DreamWorld is a thinly veiled, future-ized DisneyWorld, with advances in customer, er, guest, psychology that provide an almost seamless, happy experience to everyone. When a boy runs away and goes "under," or behind the scenes, he's aware that the ripple effect of his behaviour will be so widespread. 'Nuff said about the plot; read it for yourself.I've been a fan of Spider Robinson's for a long time, from the early Callahan's stories on. Is this his best work? I don't know; I do know I like it. It's written in his trademark irreverent, poke-fun-at-the-silly-things style, and it kept my attention all the way through. The end is fitting, if just a little weak.
Rating:
Summary: Dreams Worth Fighting For
Review: Fairs and theme parks are an almost irresistible attraction to the young and the young at heart, places where the everyday cares of the world can be safely ignored for a while as you indulge in a little bit of fantasy and just plain fun. And just a little bit into the future, there may be a new theme park, one that draws on the images and ideas of fabulists such as Robert Heinlein, Barry Hughart, and yes, even the Beatles of Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields to create its attractions. For anyone with a smidgen of liking for the fantastic, for things which are a little bit beyond the current world, such a theme park might just be heaven. For Mike, a twelve year old who has had to face cares and responsibilities that would try the best efforts of most adults, Dreamworld is more than a temporary haven. It's a place where he can live, sheltered from the world, and even hidden from park employees, helped by the other non-regulation denizen of this park, Annie, sometimes known as the Mother Elf. Ah, but there's something really strange happening in Dreamworld - at the end of the day shift, there are more employees leaving the park than arrived in the morning. And the arch-nemesis of this park, Alonzo Haines, proprietor of the competing park Thrillworld, would dearly love to find out who these 'extras' are, as a lever to destroy Dreamworld. The battle to save the park is joined, and Mike and Annie find themselves in a fight to save not just their adopted home, but perhaps the entire universe. Clearly, this is a fun book, written very much in the mold of some of Heinlein's juveniles, and echoes of The Mother Thing and the older Hazel Meade are clearly present in the character of Annie, while Mike evokes something of Kip and Thorby. Those who don't recognize those names will not be lost, as they are fully realized, engaging personalities, while for those who do these items provide a greater ambience and they will be treated to a great trip down memory lane. This is true also of the many references within this book to other authors and books - all of them are deserving of a read, but if you haven't read them, it won't detract from your enjoyment of this novel. This being a Spider and not a Heinlein novel, there is a fair amount of Spider's specialty present, his penchant for puns and ironic humor, as evidenced most by some of the chapter titles like Out of Kin Troll. This adds a different flavor to this book, and those who like Spider's Callahan's Bar series will not be disappointed here. The plot itself is well developed, although there is nothing startling new or different here, and there are a few places where the action may give one a feeling that 'this is just not a believable set of actions for a 12 year old', but in general this is a smooth read, with each new scene developing logically from the prior one. Not a great book, but one where you can sit down for a few hours and just lose yourself in its nicely imagined world, and experience a nice adventure. --- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)
Rating:
Summary: A must for DisneyWorld Fans!
Review: Have you ever wanted to live in a themepark? As Spider says in the intro, the idea came to him while visiting a famous California theme park. The premise is simple, life is bad enough in the future that one young boy wants to live in a DisneyWorld-type theme park (Dreamworld) where all is good, magic lives and he'll be safe forever. Until something mysterious starts to happen after the park closes. There's a healthy amount of "gee whiz" to overcome but Spider does it easily. Be warned, I read this book in about a 3 hour sitting, its pretty short. Consider that when shelling our hardcover dollars. Characters were pretty well fleshed out. This book would be great for young adults also.
Rating: 
Summary: Heinlein Heir?
Review: I agree with critics who have compared this book to some of Heinlein's work--it has the same sketchy, ridiculous plotting and totally unbelievable characters as Heinlein's later work. What it doesn't have is any of Heinlein's fascinating, provocative ideas or his genuine wit. In spite of their many flaws, Heinlein's books somehow work; this one doesn't. It reads like a first draft of a so-so idea that wasn't plotted or outlined beforehand: classic sloppy writing. And incidentally, I'm tired of authors writing brilliant "child" characters that are really just little adults. A child can be convincingly brilliant--Orson Scott Card anyone? But the outlook of Robinson's child character here is that of a little adult, and not a very smart one at that.
Rating:
Summary: Heinlein Heir?
Review: I agree with critics who have compared this book to some of Heinlein's work--it has the same sketchy, ridiculous plotting and totally unbelievable characters as Heinlein's later work. What it doesn't have is any of Heinlein's fascinating, provocative ideas or his genuine wit. In spite of their many flaws, Heinlein's books somehow work; this one doesn't. It reads like a first draft of a so-so idea that wasn't plotted or outlined beforehand: classic sloppy writing. And incidentally, I'm tired of authors writing brilliant "child" characters that are really just little adults. A child can be convincingly brilliant--Orson Scott Card anyone? But the outlook of Robinson's child character here is that of a little adult, and not a very smart one at that.
Rating: 
Summary: An exquisite work of literature
Review: I love the Callahan books as much as the next guy, possibly more. But Robinson, who with tongue in cheek makes one of the eight sections in his Dreamworld amusment-park-of-the-future honor his own works, has produced what may ultimately be his finest novel in The Free Lunch. No words wasted, no stone left unturned, the ride through this roller coaster is fast-paced, friendly, opinionated, thoughtful and hilarious -- surpassing, I daresay, all we have come to expect of Spider's best. Robinson is seemingly energized by the opportunity to simultaneously honor the ideals of the Heinleinian universe -- applied intellect, physical and technical knowledge, and his own specific brand of fairness included -- and here creates a fantastic universe of his own, peopled with twelve year old geniuses, smug villains, and, thanks to the Disney-esque fantasy world of the amusement park setting, plausible dwarves, trolls, and elves, played by midgets. Shades of the greatest Sci Fi -- Gibson and Stephenson included -- with the sense of humor and cathartic love which Robinson brings to all his works, this mystery/fantasy/future brings us headlong through complex plot, sterling premise, and edge-of-your-seat narrative. It's no secret that Spider Robinson considers Heinlein one of the greats; his respect for the master is evident in the care and craft with which he has produced this novel, earning his own place in the pantheon. Few could truly pay homage to Heinlein without producing a poor substitute; only Spider Robinson, I daresay, could pull it off with such aplomb, creativity, and true literary genius while bringing us a wholly believable futuristic world -- as comprehensive, cynical, powerful, and value-laden as Heinlein's best -- all his own. Plan on reading this book in one sitting. Then plan on reading it again in a week.
Rating:
Summary: An exquisite work of literature
Review: I love the Callahan books as much as the next guy, possibly more. But Robinson, who with tongue in cheek makes one of the eight sections in his Dreamworld amusment-park-of-the-future honor his own works, has produced what may ultimately be his finest novel in The Free Lunch. No words wasted, no stone left unturned, the ride through this roller coaster is fast-paced, friendly, opinionated, thoughtful and hilarious -- surpassing, I daresay, all we have come to expect of Spider's best. Robinson is seemingly energized by the opportunity to simultaneously honor the ideals of the Heinleinian universe -- applied intellect, physical and technical knowledge, and his own specific brand of fairness included -- and here creates a fantastic universe of his own, peopled with twelve year old geniuses, smug villains, and, thanks to the Disney-esque fantasy world of the amusement park setting, plausible dwarves, trolls, and elves, played by midgets. Shades of the greatest Sci Fi -- Gibson and Stephenson included -- with the sense of humor and cathartic love which Robinson brings to all his works, this mystery/fantasy/future brings us headlong through complex plot, sterling premise, and edge-of-your-seat narrative. It's no secret that Spider Robinson considers Heinlein one of the greats; his respect for the master is evident in the care and craft with which he has produced this novel, earning his own place in the pantheon. Few could truly pay homage to Heinlein without producing a poor substitute; only Spider Robinson, I daresay, could pull it off with such aplomb, creativity, and true literary genius while bringing us a wholly believable futuristic world -- as comprehensive, cynical, powerful, and value-laden as Heinlein's best -- all his own. Plan on reading this book in one sitting. Then plan on reading it again in a week.
Rating:
Summary: A perfect escape
Review: I read this while stuck in bed recovering from an injury. I was depressed, in pain, and feeling really jaded. The Free Lunch provided me with a perfect refuge. This was a zany wild ride through the "underworld" of a not so far in the future theme park. It was not a "serious" book (though it did touch upon a few serious matters) which makes it a nice alternative when you crave something a little lighter, but still greatly entertaining. Full of humor and adventure, this book kept me hooked from beginning to end. It is nice to be able to laugh at society. This book also serves as a gentle reminder that learning to make what you have work for you can be the greatest achievement (as opposed to always longing to be taller, for example). I don't want to touch upon too much of the plot, because watching it unfold for yourself is a big part of the experience. However, I must say that the ending left it wide open for a possible sequel which I am hoping for! Come on, Spider, give me more!
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