The Callahan Chronicles
                   Author Spider Robinson

                      Reviewed by Sue

Sometimes I do things in the wrong order. The game Callahan's
Crosstime Saloon would have made a lot more sense if I'd read at
least one of the books before playing it. I would have been more
familiar with the characters, who (even what) they were, their
motivations, their history. The game is unusual to say the least -
see my review in Issue 66 - and certainly the books would have
helped me wrap my brain round some of it.

This volume contains the first three books in the series. These
are Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Time Travellers Strictly Cash and
Callahan's Secret. From the way the second section is headed 'From
...' I think maybe not all the stories are reprinted here. The
collection is dated 1997 but the stories go back as far as 1977.

So, what is Callahan's Place? Simply put it's a bar somewhere in
Suffolk County, USA. It doesn't have a neon sign, just a small
hand-lettered wooden one. All the drinks are 50c each.  You can
either take change from a box as you leave or make a toast and
smash your glass in the fireplace. This is usually what people do.
Having made your toast, you can talk about your problem if you
like, and if you do, you'll have the undivided attention of
everyone in the bar. Everyone who find the bar does so in a
mysterious way because they have a problem that needs solving.

But don't get it wrong. This isn't a miserable place. The lighting
is bright and the patrons friendly. Mike Callahan takes the view
that a bar should be lively ... as long as no bones get broken,
and he's been known to set fire to a chair cushion to settle a bet
about which way a draft is blowing. There are also regular nights
when puns are traded, the winner having his tab wiped.

Some of the patrons are regulars. Others drift in, tell their tale
and leave. And this is the magic of the books. Each story is the
story of one of these visitors, their problem and, usually, its
solution. Sometimes as a result, the visitors become regulars.
Some of them are human, others are aliens. There have even been
a vampire, time travellers and a talking dog.

The stories in this book are excellent; there isn't a duff one
among them except for the bonus one at the end. In this, Spider
Robinson visits his own creation to chat to the patrons of the bar
about why he isn't going to reply to readers' emails or letters
any longer. I found it over the top and could have done without
it. But the main stories are extremely entertaining.










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