Callahan's Key

By: Spider Robinson

Narrated by: Barrett Whitener

Nobody blends good science with bad puns as brilliantly as Spider Robinson. 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 doomsday machine, threatening the entire universe. 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 their 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.

©2000 Spider Robinson (P)2003 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Fans and the uninitiated alike will devour this intoxicating blend of character comedy and hard sci-fi, for [Spider] Robinson's writing remains as potentially addictive and as full of earthy delight as [Jake] Stonebender's famed Irish coffee." (Publishers Weekly)
"[Spider] Robinson resembles [Robert] Heinlein in his mild anarchism; oft-cited, never described sex; and characters that think they're smarter than the rest of us, and are." (Booklist)
"I'd nominate Spider Robinson as the new Robert Heinlein." (The New York Times)

Fun Fun Fun

Incredibly make-believe but terrific humor. Light, easy, good clean fun.

puns!

Just a fun Sci-fi/fantasy Diddy. Words to get to the minimum requirement 13, 14, 15!

Shuttle Launch Worth It All

This is a great story . . . and Callahan's gang travels to Florida to start a new life. Along the way, Spider Robinson writes one of the best descriptions of someone watching a Space Shuttle launch I've ever heard. The mental imagery brought tears to my eyes.

It is a great book, especially if you want to hear some great puns and good story line.

welcome to the place

my favorite of the Callahan series, though it's rather light on the puns. this is certainly my favorite as a novel, and the performance as in previous iterations was an excellent portrayal of the cast.a definite recommendation for all.

do yourself a favor, and read this book or give it a listen.

Ready for More

I loved this book. I am ready for more Spider and hope Audible contracts other works by the "New Heinlein". I am not usually a fan of hard sci-fi, but Mr. Robinson softens it so deftly with the addition of such great characters. It ended much to soon for me and left me wanting more.

Superior to the last book.

This story flowed along a similar vein to that of the stories contained in The Callahan Chronicles. Not entirely SFW, but I enjoy Spider's writing equally at lower volumes.

Loved it!

I'm a huge Douglas Adams fan. I just happened upon Callahan's Key durring a search and it sounded a bit like a Douglas Adams book. I couldn't have been more on the money. Spider is like the American Version of Douglas and I can give no higher priase then that. Barrett Whitener is a great narator! Listening to this book was like going on a great vacation with good friends. Audible, PLEASE GET US MORE SPIDER ROBINSON BOOKS NARRATED BY BARRETT WHITENER! I'll buy them all!

Another journey to Callahan's Place

A great book and the narrator is wonderful, but this book is one of many by Robinson about Callahan. It might be hard to jump into if you haven't read _Time Travelers Strictly Cash_ and _Callahan's Secret_. (There are more Callahan books, but those two are most important to understanding _Callahan's Key_.)

A good idea poorly exicuted

I liked the idea of this book but found the dialouge trite and cheesy.

Really great

Out of all of the Callahan books that I have listened to thus far this was the most entertaining one yet. The story was light and enjoyable. The decriptions of the Florida Keys is true to my own memories, and the puns were repugnant as usual. The only word of warning is that you can't start the series by listening to this book. It is obvious that you'd have to listen to the first two books first. But that's all right because those are almost as enjoyable as this one was. I can't wait to listen to the next one and see how the gang saves the universe again. happy listening.