Rating: 
Summary: A marvelous blend of sci-fi, humor, and compassion
Review: "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon," by Spider Robinson, is a collection of 9 linked short stories. All are set at the saloon of the title. Callahan's has a colorful collection of regulars and is often visited by aliens, time travelers, and humans with paranormal gifts. The book contains a fascinating introduction by Ben Bova entitled "Spider Robinson: The SF Writer as Empath."This book is a great blend of humor and science fiction. Robinson puts inventive spins on classic sci-fi themes. He also deals effectively with such down-to-earth issues as war, motherhood, and personal loss. The book is also full of puns--the Callahan's regulars observe a Punday contest. Along the way Robinson invokes Isaac Asimov and Charles Fort. The book as a whole is grounded by a real compassion for the human (and nonhuman!) condition--this is sci-fi with both brains and heart.
Rating:
Summary: A marvelous blend of sci-fi, humor, and compassion
Review: "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon," by Spider Robinson, is a collection of 9 linked short stories. All are set at the saloon of the title. Callahan's has a colorful collection of regulars and is often visited by aliens, time travelers, and humans with paranormal gifts. The book contains a fascinating introduction by Ben Bova entitled "Spider Robinson: The SF Writer as Empath." This book is a great blend of humor and science fiction. Robinson puts inventive spins on classic sci-fi themes. He also deals effectively with such down-to-earth issues as war, motherhood, and personal loss. The book is also full of puns--the Callahan's regulars observe a Punday contest. Along the way Robinson invokes Isaac Asimov and Charles Fort. The book as a whole is grounded by a real compassion for the human (and nonhuman!) condition--this is sci-fi with both brains and heart.
Rating:
Summary: Barnes and Nobles carries this book
Review: Amazon says this book is out of print but Barnes and Nobles carries this book.
Rating:
Summary: Where Everything Comes Together
Review: Callahan's Crosstime Saloon is a compilation of many stories centered around a backwoods bar named Callahan's. It is here where old friends meet, new friends are made, puns are exchanged, glasses are shattered, healing begins, and the world is saved. Join Jake, Fast Eddie, the Doc, and a slew of other characters as they tell jokes, stories, and make the acquaintainces of some very odd aliens, with equally odd problems. No one just stumbles into Callahan's, you find it.
Rating:
Summary: Where Everything Comes Together
Review: Callahan's Crosstime Saloon is a compilation of many stories centered around a backwoods bar named Callahan's. It is here where old friends meet, new friends are made, puns are exchanged, glasses are shattered, healing begins, and the world is saved. Join Jake, Fast Eddie, the Doc, and a slew of other characters as they tell jokes, stories, and make the acquaintainces of some very odd aliens, with equally odd problems. No one just stumbles into Callahan's, you find it.
Rating:
Summary: Tall tales and puns abound - You have been warned!
Review: Callahan's Crosstime Saloon is an anthology of Spider Robinson's wonderful an-alien-walks-into-a-bar stories. Of course, the bar is more spectacular than any of the aliens - in fact, it spawned a Usenet newsgroup, alt.callahans (check it out!).A pretty cool book, and one of my personal favorites. Four stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Bar jokes, beers for everyone, and smash your glass, Sir!
Review: Callahan's Place is a mysterious little bar in the wilds of Suffolk County, owned and operated by a large, red headed, pudding faced Irishman named Mike Callahan. Callahan's place is where people from all over time and space and earth gather just to be together and to expel the demons that haunt them. Most notable for every drink in the place costing 50 cents, you put a dollar bill on the bar, drink your drink, and either gather your 50 cents in change or choose to make a toast and smash your glass in the large fireplace that Callahan sweeps out daily. Most choose to smash their glass. There is a mystery to Callahan's, it is a place that has some mystical power to heal the wounds of the soul, a power that seems to be solely comprised of camaraderie and friendship. In Callahan's every Monday is the Fireside Fill-More Sing-a-Long, every Tuesday is Punday, every Wednesday is Tall Tales Night, and everyday is a celebration of life. This frivolous and bawdy tale is told by one Jake Stonebender, a man who lost his wife and daughter in an automobile accident and came to Callahan's to find healing. He introduces us to Mike Callahan himself, plus Old Doc Webster, a large, red faced doctor who is always present; Fast Eddie Costigan, the piano player; Mickey Finn, the alien sent to destroy the world who winds out a regular at Callahan's; young Tommy Janssen who kicks his herion habit to join the happy ranks at the bar; Rachael, whose extended mortality only makes her more aware of death; and many others. Along the way we hear fantastical stories by young Jim McDonald about his telepathic brother Paul, the Meddler who tells a tale of time travel to save a beautiful singer, Tony Telasco who refused to kill anyone in `Nam and went from booze to smack to mediation to Callahan's, Fogerty and his telekinetic powers during the Third Annual Darts Championship of the Universe, and even Broodseven-Sub-Two Raksha, who spins a tale of incubating the earth for his people in order to harvest it. Callahan's Crosstime Saloon is only 205 pages, and while I enjoyed the bawdy humor and basic plot of the story, I did find it to be just a little dry in the telling. But, since this is the first in Spider Robinson's series, I am looking forward to reading more sequels, and hoping that he falls into a more liquid and flowing niche with this fun tale. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Bar jokes, beers for everyone, and smash your glass, Sir!
Review: Callahan's Place is a mysterious little bar in the wilds of Suffolk County, owned and operated by a large, red headed, pudding faced Irishman named Mike Callahan. Callahan's place is where people from all over time and space and earth gather just to be together and to expel the demons that haunt them. Most notable for every drink in the place costing 50 cents, you put a dollar bill on the bar, drink your drink, and either gather your 50 cents in change or choose to make a toast and smash your glass in the large fireplace that Callahan sweeps out daily. Most choose to smash their glass. There is a mystery to Callahan's, it is a place that has some mystical power to heal the wounds of the soul, a power that seems to be solely comprised of camaraderie and friendship. In Callahan's every Monday is the Fireside Fill-More Sing-a-Long, every Tuesday is Punday, every Wednesday is Tall Tales Night, and everyday is a celebration of life. This frivolous and bawdy tale is told by one Jake Stonebender, a man who lost his wife and daughter in an automobile accident and came to Callahan's to find healing. He introduces us to Mike Callahan himself, plus Old Doc Webster, a large, red faced doctor who is always present; Fast Eddie Costigan, the piano player; Mickey Finn, the alien sent to destroy the world who winds out a regular at Callahan's; young Tommy Janssen who kicks his herion habit to join the happy ranks at the bar; Rachael, whose extended mortality only makes her more aware of death; and many others. Along the way we hear fantastical stories by young Jim McDonald about his telepathic brother Paul, the Meddler who tells a tale of time travel to save a beautiful singer, Tony Telasco who refused to kill anyone in 'Nam and went from booze to smack to mediation to Callahan's, Fogerty and his telekinetic powers during the Third Annual Darts Championship of the Universe, and even Broodseven-Sub-Two Raksha, who spins a tale of incubating the earth for his people in order to harvest it. Callahan's Crosstime Saloon is only 205 pages, and while I enjoyed the bawdy humor and basic plot of the story, I did find it to be just a little dry in the telling. But, since this is the first in Spider Robinson's series, I am looking forward to reading more sequels, and hoping that he falls into a more liquid and flowing niche with this fun tale. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Callahan's where Cheers meets the Outer Limits
Review: I first came across the stories of Spider Robinson's Callahan's Crosstime Saloon while on deployment in the navy. What an eye opener! Talk about something that will grab your imagination and happily drag you into its world. After I finished the first book, I had to find them all. Still can't find off the wall at Callahans but am perseveering. The first thing I thought when I read the time traveler and the descripions of the bar owner, Mike Callahan, and the patrons was that this was what would happen if Cheers did an outer limits type episode. ANd I was hooked!
Rating:
Summary: Callahan's where Cheers meets the Outer Limits
Review: I first came across the stories of Spider Robinson's Callahan's Crosstime Saloon while on deployment in the navy. What an eye opener! Talk about something that will grab your imagination and happily drag you into its world. After I finished the first book, I had to find them all. Still can't find off the wall at Callahans but am perseveering. The first thing I thought when I read the time traveler and the descripions of the bar owner, Mike Callahan, and the patrons was that this was what would happen if Cheers did an outer limits type episode. ANd I was hooked!
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