A review by titusfortner
Callahan and Company: The Compleat Chronicles of the Crosstime Saloon by Spider Robinson

4.0

Spider Robinson was a guest of honor at the 2018 World Science Fiction Convention, the first one I attended. I'll admit that I'd never heard of him, but I added this collection of his apparently popular stories to my list of things to read. This quirky set of 17 stories and at least 4 separate author's notes is truly special. It's a little interesting bingeing them all at the same time; I actually think processing these in the serial manner in which they were originally written would provide more opportunity for each story to settle before the next one, as often the tone and direction taken were slightly changed. Overall it is a vivid imagination of acceptance and community with patrons that were not always normal (or human). It addresses a number of topical references that were large concerns in the 70's and 80's including the sexual revolution and drug culture to Vietnam and the looming nuclear threat. Not all of the content was specifically to my taste, but the world itself is enjoyable and well realized.

The food court area of WorldCon 76 was called Callahan's Place in honor of Spider's presence, and I'm both happy in retrospect to have consumed a beverage there, and sad that there wasn't a recycling bin inside a fake fire place for loudly toasting and cathartically throwing empty beer cans into it. A real missed opportunity in myself opinion. :)