This is the penultimate novel in Robinson’s Callahan saga. I
have enjoyed the prior ones to varying degrees, but generally consider myself a
fan of the series. And even though this one features a new location, and a few
new characters, it is a plot that we’ve seen before.
In this one, a bizarre cluster of freakish phenomena has
brought us to the edge of nuclear war. The United States' own defense system
has become a perfect doomsday machine, using Nikola Tesla’s death ray. The
motley crew from Jake Stonebender’s old bar pack up in school buses and head to
Key West. Along with Tesla himself, Jake, his wife, and his super-intelligent
toddler Erin set out to break into NASA to stop the end of everything.
And Robert Heinlein's wandering cat shows up, too. And there
are a lot of puns. A lot of bad puns. Spider Robinson is very skilled at combining
humor with his science fiction, but I think sometimes the wackiness of the
story overwhelms the narrative of the story. The crew learning their way around
a new location was a nice touch, creating opportunities for nice character
moments.
I am probably biased, as I enjoyed this series when it
started out life as a series of connected short stories. Once Robinson switched
the series over to novels a few books back, the need for a more cohesive plot
arises, and that is not necessarily Robinson’s strength as a writer.
There is one more book left in this series, and although I
was a little underwhelmed by this one, I am definitely looking forward to
wrapping up the series.
Source: Delaware County library
The only Spider Robinson sf novel I've read is Stardance, written with his wife. I enjoyed it very much, and still have a copy of the book.
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