Customer Reviews

By Any Other Name

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Yes, this is a re-release of previously published material, but good luck finding it anywhere else! It took 3 years for Amazon to come up with a used copy of Antinomy for me, and when they did, they wanted $27.00 for it (paperback) and no I didn't buy it. And I have yet to see it in any used book store. Moreover, without your support, authors like Spider Robinson will find it increasingly difficult to stay in business.

And THIS book is WONDERFUL, and worth every penny. I am having trouble thinking of a single instance in which Spider Robinson has ever published a clunker, and some of the stories in this book are among his best, IMO. Melancholy Elephants, Antinomy, Satan's Children, Apogee, and True Minds are among my favorites in the book (I've yet to read the last two). As always, Spider's writing is sensitive, thoughtful, and very, very human, just like the author himself. Strongly influenced by the work and life of Ted Sturgeon (whose work is also a must-read if you haven't yet) his stories are sometimes poignant, sometimes hilarious, and always a good read. Buy one for yourself, and three to give away.

Here is a collection of short stories by Spider Robinson that have nothing to do with Callahan's Saloon. This is the second of his short story collections without the Irishman's bar. And is as good as the first. Where the first short story book, User Friendly, gave the reader the warm fuzzies wrapped around great SF stories, this book puts the reader on a roller coaster of emotions. From the depressing to the thoughtful, from the punny to the erotic, By Any Other Name, is a book to read. A word of warning, from me, and somewhat from Mr. Robinson, the stories are mixed in a way that there is generally one happy story, then one depressing one. Read a depressing one, then a happy one. You'll end up liking yourself better!

True, this is a collection of Spider's older work, but those works are out of print. People who shop at used bookstores, instead of paying the extra money (when they can afford to) will put authors out of work. OK, business lecture is over. On to the review

All of the stories in the collection are excellent, but some stand out more than others. The title piece, which incidentally is at the end of the book, _By Any Other Name_, has a protagonist who has descended into the ruins of a post apocalyptic NYC to kill a mad scientist responsible for a plague that killed off most of man kind. In true Spider Robinson style, the base concepts of revenge, killing, fear and who is or isn't one's enemy come ot the forefront. The science takes a back seat to the moral dilemmas, which are deep, and meaningful to anyone at any time.

The rest of the stories share that style. They ask us to question our emotions and our values by presenting people who are forced to do so through such plot devices as a drug that addicts people to tell the truth, perpetual copyrights, and a host of other causes that have unforeseen effects. It is his ability to ask those questions that separates Spider Robinson from so many other Science Fiction authors who craft good stories, but never made me *think* about the deeper things.

For those people out there who agree with the first part of my review on supporting authors by buying their books and not getting a cheaper copy at a used bookstore, try checking out http://www.spiderrobinson.com, and following the amazon dot com link back to here. That way you not only support Spider by buying his book, but also by his amazon dot com affiliate site.

Spider Robinson is one of the Great Ones. He's Part Heinlein, part McCaffrey, part Brin (from his early days when he had hope), and part something undefinable yet incredibly special. I don't like short stories (I usually end up feeling gipped), I get emotionally vested in the characters and then the story is over. These stories are worth it. Despite the disimilar settings each story is really about people and relationships, and the darkest story still has a ray of hope. I've been recomending Spider Robinson's stories to people since 1989, so far every person I've recommended him to has fallen in love with his characters.

With one or two brief exceptions, this (as well as Robinson's other recent anthology "User Friendly") is a reissue of material from his out-of-print anthology "Meloncholy Elephants" and the still older "Antinomy." Hit the used bookstores first, save your money.