‘Callahan’S Key’ Twisted But Funny

From the moment I saw the cover, I was intrigued. After I read the jacket, I was more than intrigued. Think of it: Nearly a hundred barflies, a bartender, his family and one immortal “mad scientist” on a quest to save the universe. Sounds like quite a tall tale, doesn’t it?

That’s just what I found when I picked up “Callahan’s Key” by Spider Robinson and started reading. Oh, boy.

Let’s start with the main group of characters. There’s Jake Stonebender, barfly and ex-hippie; Zoey, Jake’s mostly normal wife; Erin, their super-genius child who walks and talks intelligently at the age of 1; the Lucky Duck (aka Ernie Shea), a ghost horse; and a Fir Darrig (an evil elf), who seems to control the laws of probability.

There also are the barflies mentioned earlier who have stayed together through the closing of two bars, Callahan’s Place and Mary’s Place. There’s an ex-cop who joins the crew on its quest. And, of course, who could forget the late, great Nikola Tesla, who faked his own death in 1943 and was given immortality so he could save the universe from himself? Oh, and I almost forgot. In Florida, Robert Heinlein’s cat Pizel, “The Cat Who Walks Through Windshields,” joins them.

Already, it’s a twisted story.

I supposed the next thing I should warn you about is the puns. I’m one of those people who find them hilarious. While they can’t compare with the puns in Piers Anthony’s “Xanth” series, the puns are plentiful in “Callahan’s Key.” I laughed uncontrollably through the first two chapters.

Unfortunately, the book didn’t make a lot of sense to me because it’s the second in a series of three. But it’s not impossible to figure out the important stuff. The two bars have been closed for at least a year when Lucky Duck and Tesla appear out of nowhere. After some discussion, the three plan to move to Key West. The group quickly grows to include the entire gang from the two bars, which amounts to nearly two dozen buses full of ex-hippie barflies moving in a big yellow caravan down the East Coast.

Once they arrive, they discharge a forgotten missile from the days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Obviously, I’ve omitted a lot of details, but I don’t want to ruin the story.

At this point, I need to make excuses for the characters. They smoke pot and cuss like delinquents. The main character thinks about sex probably more than he should. But the characters also idolize great science fiction writers - a trait that needs no excuse.

On the whole, if you don’t mind puns and can overlook the language, “Callahan’s Key” is a very enjoyable, very funny book. You just might want to start by reading the first book in the series.