A serious favorite, flaws and all. ( )

Has some of my favorite Spider Robinson quotes in it. ( )

A continuation of Spider Robinson's marvelous "Callahan" science-fiction series (I've evidently missed one or two), in which Jake Stonebender, the new and struggling proprietor of Callahan's saloon, wife Zooey and genius baby daughter Erin gather the denizens of Callahan's and migrate from Long Island to the Florida Keys, in order to be situated to save the universe from an inadvertent Doomsday scenario. Much of the book consists of a zany and joyful travelogue from NYC to the Keys, with many stops along the way that must resonate with the author. Anyway, it stimulated me to duplicate the trek one day. The Callahan books have all been a happy and imaginative hoot so far, and this does not disappoint. However, maximum enjoyment will be derived from reading the books in sequence. And fair warning; atrocious puns abound. ( )

http://www.amazon.com/review/RHX... ( )

Recommended by Lauri. The problem with jumping into a really long series in the middle (or at the end, as in this case) is that there are a host of established characters that you don't have any particular attachment to. It's a hard balancing act to introduce these characters in a way that doesn't bore your faithful long-time readers, but still forms a bond with the new ones. This book didn't really work for me as a member of the latter category.

The book starts with a long road-tripping sequence, which serves to establish the characters and provide some meaty character development. I'm sure this is appealing to old fans, but as a newcomer I was just waiting for them to get the setup over with and start on the adventure. I was fated to disappointment, since the road-tripping was a large part of the adventure. The more typical adventure material came and went in about the last third of the book. There wasn't much feeling of danger; most of the tension was between characters. Again, I'm sure this appeals to fans who've seen these characters grow and change, but it wasn't very exciting to me. ( )