[.ca] LADY SLINGS THE BOOZE (ISBN 0743435788)

Wow!:
This added feature to Callahan's Chronicles is truly a memorable and enjoyable read. The entertwining of the characters is only a feat that Robinson can pull off. Once again, Robinson has written a book that ever so slightly hits the political nerve to lighten one's mood- and quickly.

Lady slings the booze:
slightly more flagrant than Robert Heinlien...but is defintely in the running for Heinlien's style of writing...a combination of Mickeyn Spillane meets Heinlien

Interesting Logical Leaps:
This is actually a very entertaining novel. Set in an upscale brothel in New York, this novel is about expanding your mind to accept things that seem to be impossible. A talking dog and telepathic twins are some of the strange things the protagonist simply accepts, while the reader gapes. This book has two parts - the first part is a mystery which the protagonist eventually solves. The solving of the mystery involves some bizarre logical leaps by the hero - which turn out to be absolutely correct. Then, having proved his ability to fit in mentally with the eccentric group of characters who run the brothel, the novel turns into a "save the world" story. It's amazing how the characters are able to figure everything out with very little evidence to back them, but again, they turn out to be correct. One of the best things about this novel is the humor, which is sprinkled (almost) literally on each page. If you enjoy the author's sense of humor, this book is a fun romp through an implausible situation.

An excellent book:
I personally enjoyed Robinson's books, but then again, they appeal to my somewhat immature personality. This book seemed, granted, to have been Robinsons attempts to intergrate a more direct line of plot into his story. While odd, it was very entertaining, and shocking, for this was the first "Lady Sally" novel I had read, and I read it 3 years ago, in 7th grade. My dad bought the books because he is a monster book freak. Soon after reading the second Lady Sally book, he dropped his interest in Robinson's work, which is unfortunate for me because there are still easily $100 of books I have to buy, in addition to a replacement for this particular book. Please buy this book. Robinson wrote a very funny piece of literature. I urge you to buy the other books as well. You won't be sorry.

A Hard-Boiled World Saver:
Spider has always been known as a writer with a strong taste for slumming (sorry, I meant punning), coupled with outlandish situations and strong, personable characters that are easy to empathize with. For this book, he decided to pay homage to some of the great mystery/detective writers of yesterday, deliberately trying to emulate their styles, mannerisms, and at least for his protagonist, their characters. In doing so, he seemed to lose sight of the idea of telling a cohesive integrated story, as this book very much separates itself in to two separate plot lines that are really only marginally related to each other. His protagonist is, naturally, a private eye, one who tries hard to imitate the role models defined by Chandler, MacDonald, Spillaine, and others. He is called on to investigate some strange goings on in the most incredible bordello ever devised, Lady Sally's Place, located just across the bridge from the UN. It's a place where the 'artists' have 'clients', where talking dogs and telepathic twins are considered normal, a place where everyone can satisfy their desires without guilt or fears. Our P.I. quickly accepts the impossibilities of this place, and by making consistent intuitive leaps (which will sometimes leave you gaping at the holes he jumps over), fairly quickly solves the original mystery, falls in love, and is accepted as being good enough to join the crowd at Lady Sally's. Most of this section is quite good, with puns flying, clues properly presented, and the scene well painted, although it will definitely help if you have read several other books in the Callahan series, as many of the characters introduced here are very much cameos, with their background buried in the those other stories. The concept of Lady Sally's place is one that should make you think, and might help give you completely different viewpoint on the 'world's oldest profession' - but this item was covered better, with more grittiness and real-world activity, in Callahan's Lady. But after solving the one mystery, the story takes off in a totally different direction, where the crowd of Lady Sally's is now engaged in a strong bit of world saving. The premise is good - nuclear weapons smuggled into the US and other countries by pacifists as the ultimate hammer to convince the world to abrogate war. Unfortunately, the solutions to finding these weapons and the plotters behind them is very far-fetched, from having Nichola Tesla (one of the early pioneers of electricity) whip up a super-duper circuit to pinpoint the weapon's location to the immediate acceptance by all concerned that this was really happening without any objective basis in known fact. This section is also much more serious than the first half, and the hard-boiled P.I. character that Robinson has so carefully constructed in the first half seems to get lost. This book should probably have been published as two separate novelettes, given the disparity of plot line between the two halves. As it is, it makes for an enjoyable read, but is certainly not Spider's best, and not even one of the better Callahan series tales. Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)