Review: Callahan's Secret by Spider Robinson
Summary: More adventures at Callahan's Place, which, as you may recall, is the best damn bar ever. This time we get three comparatively long short stories instead of several collected ones.
The Good: I still love the premise behind these short stories. The set we're presented here, though, are more serious tales than the Callahan stories in the last two books. Especially, we get lots more insight into the characters of Jake Stonebender, who has narrated all the Callahan tales, and Mike Callahan himself.
The Bad: This is such a minor nit to pick, but it still bugs me. I hate it every time Jake the character or one of the other Callahan's patrons mentions that they read science fiction. There's something smug in the way Robinson's characters bring up the science fiction they all read. It feels a lot like a self-insert to me, an indication that Spider Robinson and his characters would totally all be part of the good old SF boy's club if they had a chance. And now I have started looking for all the Robert Heinlein alusions. :P
Grade: I really did enjoy this book, but it's definitely not my favorite. On the other hand, it was so much better than its prequel, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and give this an A-.
The Good: I still love the premise behind these short stories. The set we're presented here, though, are more serious tales than the Callahan stories in the last two books. Especially, we get lots more insight into the characters of Jake Stonebender, who has narrated all the Callahan tales, and Mike Callahan himself.
The Bad: This is such a minor nit to pick, but it still bugs me. I hate it every time Jake the character or one of the other Callahan's patrons mentions that they read science fiction. There's something smug in the way Robinson's characters bring up the science fiction they all read. It feels a lot like a self-insert to me, an indication that Spider Robinson and his characters would totally all be part of the good old SF boy's club if they had a chance. And now I have started looking for all the Robert Heinlein alusions. :P
Grade: I really did enjoy this book, but it's definitely not my favorite. On the other hand, it was so much better than its prequel, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and give this an A-.