shane's review against another edition
2.0
Unfortunately I struggled with this. It's clearly one of those books that was written because the author had to write something. Quite frankly, it's a bit of a mess and doesn't do the name Spider Robinson any justice at all. It contains a few callahan's stories, some other none callahan's stories and an awful lot of gumph in between these stories which is simply the author filling-in... a great deal of filling-in in fact.
My advise would be to simply scip this one and go straight onto the next. I wish I had.
My advise would be to simply scip this one and go straight onto the next. I wish I had.
ksultzer10946's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed the first one a lot more. While it was interesting to see a larger body of Robinson's work, I didn't really like the non-Callahan's stories.
wetdryvac's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed bits. Really don't care for speech transcriptions, however clever - and I recognize the cleverness here - they're just not my thing. So, loved the stories, didn't love the speeches, and was neutral on the reviews.
jonsolo's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
crowcaller's review
3.0
★★★☆☆
(3 stars)
This is a very difficult review to write, for one simple reason: the parts of this book that were good, were good. Other parts I skipped, and while there were reasons for that, I feel I shouldn't include them in my grading- but then I have to, actually, since they are a part of the whole.
And the whole of this book is disappointing. Callahan's Crosstime Saloon was excellent, and this book could have nearly been excellent if it was actually a sequel. Now, you don't know this from the back, cover, or anything else, but this book is maybe a third Callahan's stories, the other 2/3s being miscellaneous short stories and non-fiction.
Yes, non-fiction! That is the part I skipped. Look, they might have been fine, but I didn't pick up this book to read interviews, essays, and speeches.
For what it's worth, Spider's writing continues to be Good when it counts. There's only two Callahan's stories I'd say were really great, but they were really great. The first of which is the first in the book and has a multitude of fabulous lines and wonderful emotions, the second of which is about a talking dog (and that's always fun).
" 'You know what gives me the courage to keep on living? The courage to love myself a little? It's having a whole bunch of friends who really give a goddamn. When you share pain, there's less of it, and when you share joy, there's more of it.' "
The short stories were a strange batch. I didn't dislike any of them really, but I often struggled to 'get' the twist of them, or really understand the message that was clearly being conveyed. One of them, 'Soul Search', was just as good as the mentioned Callahan's (it was exactly like a Black Mirror episode!), but the others fell by the wayside for me.
More than last book, I found there were things I didn't follow in the story, especially in terms of punchlines. I suppose it's good comedy to not explain your punchline, but- well, a lot of this book has puns and semi-humorous twists, and you lose something by not understanding them!
This is a small book, and smaller still when you skip a third of it. The short stories are likely worth a go, but it still feels cheap to have them in there at all. It's a Callahan's book, man! I know he was probably under a contract or wanted to cash in quick, but Spider really should have waited until he had a full book before heading this one out. It's disjointed as is.
" 'You're gonna award yourself a guilt that you don't deserve, and the moment you accept it and pin it on it'll stay with you for the rest of your life. Believe me, I know. Damn it, it's okay to be glad you're still alive!' "
-
Like before, there's a couple really weird bits that haven't aged well. Last book there was a line out of nowhere that one guy went to a Halloween party in good spirits and blackface, which was just a sparse detail. This book mentions there's just one black regular at Callahan's, and previously the only other black people had been a would-be robber and a soul singer. It was the 80s, but that's not that long ago!
Especially for a book which is about moral support and open empathy, it was always a little dis-jarring when there'd be something like that. The main character describes someone as looking like a 'democrat', which must have meant something back then- but also we see a lot of support for women being independent, there's one guy who's a crossdresser and no one cares, the whole theme is understanding. It was weird!
Also the author uses the term 'wetbacks' in an authors note about one of his short stories. Hey dude? What's going on??
I can sort of slide past it because there's no explicitly racist attitudes in the book (the whole theme and characters are quite against that), but it makes reading a little strange. There's not a lot, but every off-color reference like that made me pause for a second and threw me out of what is otherwise a very lovely story.
So, you know, I'll likely be buying the third book in this series, but I just hope it's actually a full book this time.
" 'To my family- each and every one of you.' "
(3 stars)
This is a very difficult review to write, for one simple reason: the parts of this book that were good, were good. Other parts I skipped, and while there were reasons for that, I feel I shouldn't include them in my grading- but then I have to, actually, since they are a part of the whole.
And the whole of this book is disappointing. Callahan's Crosstime Saloon was excellent, and this book could have nearly been excellent if it was actually a sequel. Now, you don't know this from the back, cover, or anything else, but this book is maybe a third Callahan's stories, the other 2/3s being miscellaneous short stories and non-fiction.
Yes, non-fiction! That is the part I skipped. Look, they might have been fine, but I didn't pick up this book to read interviews, essays, and speeches.
For what it's worth, Spider's writing continues to be Good when it counts. There's only two Callahan's stories I'd say were really great, but they were really great. The first of which is the first in the book and has a multitude of fabulous lines and wonderful emotions, the second of which is about a talking dog (and that's always fun).
" 'You know what gives me the courage to keep on living? The courage to love myself a little? It's having a whole bunch of friends who really give a goddamn. When you share pain, there's less of it, and when you share joy, there's more of it.' "
The short stories were a strange batch. I didn't dislike any of them really, but I often struggled to 'get' the twist of them, or really understand the message that was clearly being conveyed. One of them, 'Soul Search', was just as good as the mentioned Callahan's (it was exactly like a Black Mirror episode!), but the others fell by the wayside for me.
More than last book, I found there were things I didn't follow in the story, especially in terms of punchlines. I suppose it's good comedy to not explain your punchline, but- well, a lot of this book has puns and semi-humorous twists, and you lose something by not understanding them!
This is a small book, and smaller still when you skip a third of it. The short stories are likely worth a go, but it still feels cheap to have them in there at all. It's a Callahan's book, man! I know he was probably under a contract or wanted to cash in quick, but Spider really should have waited until he had a full book before heading this one out. It's disjointed as is.
" 'You're gonna award yourself a guilt that you don't deserve, and the moment you accept it and pin it on it'll stay with you for the rest of your life. Believe me, I know. Damn it, it's okay to be glad you're still alive!' "
-
Like before, there's a couple really weird bits that haven't aged well. Last book there was a line out of nowhere that one guy went to a Halloween party in good spirits and blackface, which was just a sparse detail. This book mentions there's just one black regular at Callahan's, and previously the only other black people had been a would-be robber and a soul singer. It was the 80s, but that's not that long ago!
Especially for a book which is about moral support and open empathy, it was always a little dis-jarring when there'd be something like that. The main character describes someone as looking like a 'democrat', which must have meant something back then- but also we see a lot of support for women being independent, there's one guy who's a crossdresser and no one cares, the whole theme is understanding. It was weird!
Also the author uses the term 'wetbacks' in an authors note about one of his short stories. Hey dude? What's going on??
I can sort of slide past it because there's no explicitly racist attitudes in the book (the whole theme and characters are quite against that), but it makes reading a little strange. There's not a lot, but every off-color reference like that made me pause for a second and threw me out of what is otherwise a very lovely story.
So, you know, I'll likely be buying the third book in this series, but I just hope it's actually a full book this time.
" 'To my family- each and every one of you.' "
shane's review
2.0
Unfortunately I struggled with this. It's clearly one of those books that was written because the author had to write something. Quite frankly, it's a bit of a mess and doesn't do the name Spider Robinson any justice at all. It contains a few callahan's stories, some other none callahan's stories and an awful lot of gumph in between these stories which is simply the author filling-in... a great deal of filling-in in fact.
My advise would be to simply scip this one and go straight onto the next. I wish I had.
My advise would be to simply scip this one and go straight onto the next. I wish I had.
jeffy's review against another edition
carol26388's review against another edition
4.0
Short shorts that play around with some of the classic concepts of sci-fi fiction. Perhaps my favorite of the series, but be warned: puns happen more frequently than just Punsday Night.
"Fivesight" about a woman who's husband could see negative events three hours into the future. One of the few Callahan bar stories that is told by a woman. It works well, achieving a quite poignant tone with a twist.
"Dog Day Evening" happens on Tall Tales Night, but puns also seem to be part of the agenda. A human and a dog walk into a bar... and it's a sci=fi twist what happens next, but safe to say it involves a time-traveling Temporal Agent. I enjoyed it.
"Have You Heard the One...?" was Tale Tales Night again, and an intergalactic traveling salesman steals the show. Almost literally. Another fun twist.
"Mirror, Mirror off the Wall" is another sci-fi thought experiment on closely aligned worlds. A little confusing.
"Fivesight" about a woman who's husband could see negative events three hours into the future. One of the few Callahan bar stories that is told by a woman. It works well, achieving a quite poignant tone with a twist.
"Dog Day Evening" happens on Tall Tales Night, but puns also seem to be part of the agenda. A human and a dog walk into a bar... and it's a sci=fi twist what happens next, but safe to say it involves a time-traveling Temporal Agent. I enjoyed it.
"Have You Heard the One...?" was Tale Tales Night again, and an intergalactic traveling salesman steals the show. Almost literally. Another fun twist.
"Mirror, Mirror off the Wall" is another sci-fi thought experiment on closely aligned worlds. A little confusing.
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