[ Spider's website links reviews by Barnes and Noble, and Publisher's Weekly. I don't think either *read* the book all the way through, a problem you won't find in my review. ;-) ]

' "Michael and I need you to save the Universe", Nikola Tesla said to me. '

You knew it was going to start there, right? Saving the world seems to be the order of the day for Jake Stonebender and the gang, these days. Of course, they're *going* to have some fun along the way...

After Mary's Place was shut down by the town-inspector nephew of the ugly Ukrainian next-door-neighbor with the un-pronounceable (and -- from memory -- un-typeable :-) name, Jake went into a sort of a blue funk. After about a year -- after fighting with a snowplow, a snowdrift, a puddle... and a set of swinging doors (propelled by Ernie Shea, the Lucky Duck), he decided it might be time to stir things up a bit. An unexpected phone call from Doc Webster, who'd moved to (ta da!) Key West, a bunch of phone calls, a little blackmail, and two dozen remodeled schoolbuses later, Jake and a cast of hundreds set off on a wild and wacky (I've always wanted to use that phrase in a review :-) trip down the eastern seaboard.

Chronicling each of several strategic stops, Spider displays his trademark talent for situational dialog, turning the first half of the book into a creditable facsimile of an old Bob and Bing road picture. After making pitstops to visit the home of the Busted Flush and watch a shuttle launch up close (and if you think arranging *that* for 24 converted school buses is a simple task, I invite you to try it sometime)... and making an overnight pitstop during which they're adopted by Robert Heinlein's (or is that Colin Campbell's?) cat Pixel... they finally end up crossing the Seven-Mile-Bridge -- all seven miles of it -- and pulling into Key West.

Doc, of course, had made friends with the locals, and corralled the local Realtor<tm>/lawyer/etc/etc... into finding a likely location for the next incarnation of The Place.

Once they move in, Nikky informs Jake that he's made a 'slight' miscalculation in the amount of time they'd have to get things figured out, and Jake replies "Where am I going? And why am I in this handbasket?"

Well, not really, but things do get a bit more pressing, and they do seem to find a way to save the world. Hell, if they didn't, we wouldn't get another book out of them, would we? :-)

[ MILD spoilers ahead ]












I have to admit, I had more fun with the first half of the book than the last half. I'm not sure why, honestly, but I think that it's because Spider spends more time handling the *solution* than the situation. I know he can avoid this trap; he did a great job of it in _Lady_Slings_The_Booze_.

[ late update: I've figured out what bothered me. The problem is that we *know* they have to save the *universe*; they can't exactly *not*, can they? There is, therefore, less suspense about what's going to happen than there was in the earlier 'save other *people*' stories. ]

I'm re-reading it, perhaps my opinion will change.

[ UPDATE: I've re-read it twice now. I'm quite a lot happier. You know, it's strange: I had exactly the same problem with one of its' predecessors, _Callahan's_Legacy_. I wonder why I didn't remember that earlier... ]

I also miss, quite a lot, the Author's Notes that appeared in several volumes; a habit Spider shared with, among other authors, Piers Anthony.

Don't misunderstand me: I *loved* the book, I'm happy as a clam to have Spider in hardcover, and I didn't object at all to paying $24 for it. Callahan's fans, in particular, will probably enjoy it quite a lot (I'm a real hard reviewer...), and there's enough backstory in it not to lose new readers.

Personally, I think you ought to go buy all the other stories, and read them first. :-) It will make a lot of difference in how much fun this one is.

Spider's reverence for the Admiral is well known, and never more obvious than in this novel. I remember finishing my first reading of _To_Sail_Beyond_The_Sunset_ and crying... because I was so happy (and relieved) that he'd managed to get it written before he died.

With the re-appearance of several of the Lady Sally's alumnae in this volume, I think I can say that Spider's written *his* "Sunset"... and I don't think it's at all an accident.

Luckily, we get more out of him. :-)

Now that we've pulled everything back together at last, Spider, now that you have your establishing shot in Key West, I really think it's time for another short story collection. Frankly, I like 'em better.

Maybe a subscription website? Yeah, lots of people ripped off Stephen King... but *400,000* people paid. And he got a much higher percentage than Big Random's paying...



Recommended: Yes