What's Jake Stonebender's standard fee for saving the universe? That's easy: "A bar, and enough money and clout to run it." It's time for Jake to save the day yet again, with a lot of help from the rest of his pun-happy, cosmically strange crew. And no more kiddie stakes like in the previous Callahan books, when mere humanity was on the line. Nope, Jake needs to save the totality of the universe. From, of all things, the quest for knowledge. What does that mean? Well, it's got something to do with a classified satellite called the Deathstar, a hurricane named Erin, a superenergetic cosmic ray in the wrong place at the wrong time, the Soviet space station Mir, and a shamelessly enormous volume of Irish coffee. But as any Callahan fan will duly attest, all of this is really beside the point.

Books in this series (this one included) showcase the Münchhausen-style storytelling skills of Nebula- and Hugo-winner Spider Robinson. Putting one of cinema's most robust tropes into service--calling the team back together, à la Oceans 11--and doing a bang-up job at it as usual, Robinson should please old fans and win new ones. If nothing else, you'll surely come to love the eclectic cast of dozens, including everybody from a talking baby (Jake's teleporting, superhacker daughter) to a talking German shepherd (Ralph Von Wau Wau) to--why not?--the forgotten father of the 20th century, Nikola Tesla. --Paul Hughes


From Publishers Weekly
The universe is again threatened with destruction, but fans of Jake Stonebender and his team will fear not, for they know that these heroes will not only save the day but will make it safely to happy hour. At the outset of the latest book in Nebula-winner Robinson's series of feel-good SF romps, we find Stonebender frustrated by the failure of his bar, Callahan's, and by the fact that none of his 50 closest friends still live near his Long Island home. So, in exchange for the chance to move with his friends, his wife and his wunderkind toddler to Key West, where he'll open a new watering hole, Jake accepts an assignment from famed scientist Nikola Tesla to save the universe. The narrative progresses as Jake and company board 20 buses for the road trip down to Florida, during which they party, clash with the fuzz and meet a talking German shepherd (complete with accent) and Robert Heinlein's cat, Pixel. Along the way, Robinson delivers some amusing good times and an inspirational description of a space shuttle launch. True to form, he constructs the end of the universe from some mind-bending but solid science, and he proves as consummate at maintaining suspense as he is at keeping the laughs coming. Fans and the uninitiated alike will devour this intoxicating blend of character comedy and hard SF, for Robinson's writing remains as potentially addictive and as full of earthy delight as Stonebender's famed Irish coffee. (July) Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
The universe faces total annihilation, and Jake Stonebender, former proprietor of the now-defunct Mary!s Place, his wife, Zoey, and an assortment of oddball friends answer the call to arms"after they relocate from Long Island to the warmer climes of Key West. The latest addition to Robinson!s Callahan novels features his usual blend of homegrown wisdom and laconic humor and includes a guest appearance by the late Nikola Tesla ( Uncle Nikky ). Series fans will welcome this unabashedly rollicking sf adventure. Recommended for most collections. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
What's the new Callahan novel about? Longtime fans will point out that the plot isn't particularly important; what is, is the characters' interactions and wordplay (mostly puns--real groaners). Jake Stonebender is mourning the closing of his bar, Mary's Place, and cursing the depth of the Long Island winter. A series of chance and purposeful encounters collects him, wife Zoey, their wildly precocious daughter, and the usual suspects--Ralph Von Wau Wau the talking dog, immortal scientist Nikola Tesla, Fast Eddie the monosyllabic fixer, etc.--and points them toward Key West, to prevent the earth's destruction, as usual. A ginger tomcat--a dead ringer for the late Robert Heinlein's pet--completes the entourage, and the fun comes from assembling a fleet of school buses, evading state troopers, and exploring NASA's shuttle launch system. Robinson resembles Heinlein in his mild anarchism; oft-cited, never described sex; and characters that think they're smarter than the rest of us--and are. His personal touch is recreational drugging. The results delight Callahan devotees. Others may find them a trifle tedious. Roberta Johnson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


From Kirkus Reviews
Another outing (Callahan's Legacy, 1996, etc.) for bullet-proof bartender Jake Stonebender, his wife Zoey, their superintelligent 14-month-old, Erin, and the eponymous bar that, thanks to a vindictive licensing inspector, has been closed and shuttered for 18 months. Still, some of the regulars will show up: reconstituted genius scientist Nikola Tesla, the probability-bending Lucky Duck, and Fast Eddie the piano player. A move to a warmer and less inhabited location seems in order, since this time they have ten years to save not just Earth but the entire universe. Puns, booze, coffee, save the universe, not necessarily in that order. Okay for the fans, and is there some reason why all the question marks--just the curly bits, not the dots--have been rotated 180 degrees? -- Copyright © 2000 Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Review
"I'd nominate  Spider Robinson as the new Robert Heinlein."
--The New York Times

RAVES FOR SPIDER ROBINSON

"Spider Robinson is the hottest writer to hit science fiction since [Harlan] Ellison, and he can match the master's frenetic energy and emotional intensity, arm-break for gut-wrench."
--Los Angeles Times

"Robinson writes with such authority that you find yourself accepting his projections as the future....I'd nominate Spider Robinson as the new Robert Heinlein."
--The New York Times

"Nobody's perfect, but Spider Robinson  comes pretty damn close."
--Ben Bova

"Solid plotting enlivened by dashes of Zen."
--Library Journal

And for The Callahan Touch

"Tall tales...fine and funny...a significant achievement for light humor!"
--The Houston Post

Callahan's Lady

"Larger-than-life fun!"
--Locus


Book Description
Nobody blends good science with bad puns as brilliantly as Spider Robinson, as his legion of devoted fans will attest. Now he's back with the latest chapter of the Callahan saga -- an improbable tale of impending doom, a road trip, space, drugs, and rock 'n' roll.

The universe is in desperate peril. Due to a cluster of freakish phenomena, the United States' own defense system has become a perfect doomsday machine, threatening the entire universe. And only one man can save everything-as-we-know-it from annihilation.

Unfortunately, he's not available.

So the job falls instead to bar owner Jake Stonebender, his wife, Zoey, and superintelligent toddler, Erin.

Not to mention two dozen busloads of ex-hippies and freaks, Robert Heinlein's wandering cat, a whorehouse parrot, and misunderstood genius-inventor Nikola Tesla, who is in fact alive and well....

FROM THE PUBLISHER

The universe is in desperate peril. The United States' own defense system, orbiting above an unknowing populace, is more vulnerable than its creators could have envisioned, Now, bombarded by a freakish cluster of natural phenomena, the ultimate protection has become a perfect doomsday machine. Its target: not just the U.S., not just Earth, but the entire universe. And only one man can stop the devastation this unholy weapon will wreak." "Unfortunately, he's not available." "So the job falls instead to bar owner Jake Stonebender. And his wife, Zoey, and superintelligent toddler, Erin. Not to mention two dozen busloads of ex-hippies and freaks, Robert Heinlein's wandering cat, a whorehouse parrot, and misunderstood genius-inventor Nikola Tesla, who is in fact alive and well." "It'll take a move to Key West, an experiment in mass telepathy, and hundreds of gallons of Irish coffee to save everything-as-we-know-it from annihilation. But it's nothing Jake Stonebender hasn't done before ...

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

The universe is again threatened with destruction, but fans of Jake Stonebender and his team will fear not, for they know that these heroes will not only save the day but will make it safely to happy hour. At the outset of the latest book in Nebula-winner Robinson's series of feel-good SF romps, we find Stonebender frustrated by the failure of his bar, Callahan's, and by the fact that none of his 50 closest friends still live near his Long Island home. So, in exchange for the chance to move with his friends, his wife and his wunderkind toddler to Key West, where he'll open a new watering hole, Jake accepts an assignment from famed scientist Nikola Tesla to save the universe. The narrative progresses as Jake and company board 20 buses for the road trip down to Florida, during which they party, clash with the fuzz and meet a talking German shepherd (complete with accent) and Robert Heinlein's cat, Pixel. Along the way, Robinson delivers some amusing good times and an inspirational description of a space shuttle launch. True to form, he constructs the end of the universe from some mind-bending but solid science, and he proves as consummate at maintaining suspense as he is at keeping the laughs coming. Fans and the uninitiated alike will devour this intoxicating blend of character comedy and hard SF, for Robinson's writing remains as potentially addictive and as full of earthy delight as Stonebender's famed Irish coffee. (July) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

KLIATT

Filled with madcap humor and an irritating obsession with puns, Robinson's newest title in the Callahan series makes no pretension to be serious. After saving the world in a previous installment, former bartender Jake Stonebender, with his wife Zoey and his genius baby Erin, are living in a ruined bar in Long Island, NY when the famous scientist Nikola Tesla pops in for a visit, bearing troubling news. He needs Jake to reunite with all of his bar buddies from the past, such as Lucky Duck, Fast Eddie, and Ralph Von Wau Wau, this time to save the universe. A caravan of school buses and other miscellaneous vehicles that include dozens of friends of varying strangeness take a road trip to Key West, to a new bar in Key West, where Jake and his friends plan to work together on a solution. The majority of the book follows the group on their quest as they are joined by the "Cat Who Walks Through Windshields," a former policeman, and Mei-Ling (Doc's girlfriend and a previous coworker of Lady Sally's). The reverence Robinson has for Robert Heinlein and for John D. MacDonald is demonstrated with the appearance of the "cat" and the group's pilgrimage to see the dock of Travis McGee's boat. Not until the last quarter of the book, when the group establishes "The Place" (the new bar), do the friends start to develop a plan to save the universe. The plan eventually involves a dangerous "transit" for Baby Erin, sabotage aboard the space shuttle, and a mental group effort on the part of Jake and all of his pals (along with the help of some Nike missiles). Self-consciously humorous at times but a fun read, this novel is recommended for those who enjoy Douglas Adams and SF with a sense of humor. Definitelyrecommended for fans of the Callahan series! KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Bantam, Spectra, 335p., $5.99. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Ginger Armstrong; Principal Lib. Assoc., Chesterfield Cty P.L., Ches , September 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 5)

Library Journal

The universe faces total annihilation, and Jake Stonebender, former proprietor of the now-defunct Mary s Place, his wife, Zoey, and an assortment of oddball friends answer the call to arms after they relocate from Long Island to the warmer climes of Key West. The latest addition to Robinson s Callahan novels features his usual blend of homegrown wisdom and laconic humor and includes a guest appearance by the late Nikola Tesla ( Uncle Nikky ). Series fans will welcome this unabashedly rollicking sf adventure. Recommended for most collections. Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Another outing (Callahan's Legacy, 1996, etc.) for bullet-proof bartender Jake Stonebender, his wife Zoey, their superintelligent 14-month-old, Erin, and the eponymous bar that, thanks to a vindictive licensing inspector, has been closed and shuttered for 18 months. Still, some of the regulars will show up: reconstituted genius scientist Nikola Tesla, the probability-bending Lucky Duck, and Fast Eddie the piano player. A move to a warmer and less inhabited location seems in order, since this time they have ten years to save not just Earth but the entire universe. Puns, booze, coffee, save the universe, not necessarily in that order. Okay for the fans, and is there some reason why all the question marks—just the curly bits, not the dots—have been rotated 180 degrees?