Time Travelers Strictly Cash [Paperback]

Spider Robinson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1981

The second book continuing the stories of the neighborhood tavern to all of time and space. Pull up a chair, grab a glass, and listen to stories spun by the most entertaining characters in this galaxy and beyond.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Tall tales...fine and funny...A significant achievement!" --Houston Post

"If one were given the task of creating Spider Robinson from scratch, the best way to do it would be to snatch James Joyce from history, force-feed him Marx Brothers films and good jazz for the better part of a decade, then turn him loose on a world badly in need of a look at itself." --Vancouver Sun

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Spider Robinson, winner of three Hugos and a Nebula, was born in the Bronx and raised on Long Island, and has been a Canadian resident for 30 years. Holder of a bachelor's degree in English from the State University of New York, he worked as a folksinger and journalist before publishing his first story in Analog in 1973. He now lives with his wife Jeanne Robinson (co-author of the Hugo- and Nebula-winning Stardance trilogy) on an island outside Vancouver, B.C., where they raise and exhibit hopes.

Eleven of his 31 books are set in Callahan's Place, a fabulous tavern founded by a time traveler, where puns flow as freely as beer, and smell far worse. The most recent is Callahan's Con [Tor July 2003]. He has contributed a regular editorial column, "Future Tense," to Canada's national newspaper, The Globe & Mail, since 1995. In 2000, he released Belaboring the Obvious, a CD of original music with the legendary Amos Garrett ("Midnight at the Oasis") on lead guitar, and in 2001 he was a celebrity judge at the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Ace; 1st edition (March 1, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441812775
• ISBN-13: 978-0441812776
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,834,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wishful thinking?, May 28, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Time Travelers Strictly Cash (Mass Market Paperback)

Robinson's Callahan books are always emotional wringers, and though this is not restricted to Callahan stories, the others also have that same empathy. You may see some of the same stories (Fivesight, God is an Iron) elsewhere, but in this collection they also come with anecdotes and a bit of explanation that can be as entertaining as the stories themselves. I highly recommend it, not least because it is ideally structured to read in small doses, and so can fit into a busy schedule!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Mixed emotions., May 29, 2009

By 

James Yanni (Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews
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In general, I love the Callahan's Saloon series of books, as well as the related "Lady Sally" books. I confess that I do believe that I loved them MORE 20 years ago than I do now, but while they no longer have the same power to thrill me that they did when they could surprise me, and when I was a callow youth easily impressed, I generally still enjoy them. I distinctly remember finding this a superb read the last time I read it, to say nothing of the first time I read it.

So having just re-read it for the first time in years, I find myself somewhat baffled by the fact that I'm seriously disappointed in it. For one thing, there are only four very short "Callahan's Place" stories in it; the rest of the book, thin as it is, is filled in by random short stories, essays, and commentary on the various bits. It is transparently a weak attempt to fill in enough words to justify publishing a book when Robinson really didn't have the material handy to do so because his publisher had given him an advance and was demanding a return on his money. I sympathize, but that doesn't make the book worthwhile.

What's more, while the four Callahan's stories are perfectly serviceable, they aren't spectacular enough to carry the book by themselves, and of the other material, the only piece worth reading is "God Is An Iron". (Which just happens to be my all-time favorite Spider Robinson story, and may explain my previously elevated impression of this book, and is the only reason that I give it three stars instead of one or two.) I could certainly have done without the 26 page lecture on why we should all worship at the feet of Robert A. Heinlein, who I generally consider to be an adequate author, vastly overrated. I'm perfectly willing to grant Robinson the right to disagree with that assessment and consider me a heretic, and will concede that he makes some good points in defending Heinlein from some very silly slurs (as well as some weak points in defending him from some much fairer slurs) but the main point is, I don't consider his polemic on the subject appropriate material for what wants to be considered a collection of "Callahan's" stories.

So, like I said, I have mixed emotions on the subject of this book: when it's good, it's very good; when it isn't, it's a real waste of shelf space.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Callahan Saloon Series, February 22, 2009

By 

C. R. Cofer (Winter Park, FL) - See all my reviews
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Spyder Robinson is great in this series. Never a dull moment and well worth the read.