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1994-01-28
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Book Reviews
Copyright (c) 1994, Joe DeRouen
All rights reserved
WINTER MOON
Dean R. Koontz
ACE Science Fiction
$4.99 US, $5.99 Canada
This is Spider Robinson's first Callahan-related novel since CALLAHAN'S
LADY a couple of years back. This novel isn't really a sequel, though it
repeats the setting and several of the characters. Like the original
CALLAHAN'S CROSSTIME SALOON and it's two sequels, the book contains
several funny stories, a lot of puns, and a mishap or two.
In this case, Detective Joe Quigley has been hired by a big-name
politician (never revealed, but strongly hinted at) to investigate some
strange happenings at Lady Callahan's House (a high-class brothel) on
the other side of town. He's given few if any facts, and even less to go
on. He's to meet with Lady Callahan herself to get the actual scoop on
what he's been hired to do.
The interplay between the characters is fun and lively, and filled with
enough puns to make ever the worst punster (myself included) happy.
However, when it comes to a plot, this is where the book falls short.
As it turns out, someone is accosting the artists (read: prostitutes) at
Lady Sally's place. The frequency and viciousness of the crimes seems
to be increasing each night, and not only can't the catch the man
responsible there are no witnesses and they don't know who he is.
The solution to the problem is interesting and creative, and Mr. Quigley
does indeed eventually get his man. However, how the story arrives to
that point is somewhat contrived and simplistic. Worse still, the
storyline ends halfway through the book. The second half moves in a
totally different direction and takes on no less a plot than saving the
entire world.
The original CALLAHAN'S CROSSTIME SALOON books were a collection of
previously published short stories. They were full of humor, puns, and
even a moral lesson or two. They were great, and there's few better and
writing in the science fiction humor genre than Spider Robinson. He
should have stuck to that approach with this novel, because what he
ended up with was a sort of hybrid which just didn't work.
Regardless of the novel's flaws (and there's a lot) it's still a fun
read, and one that no true fan of Mr. Robinson's should be without. It's
worth the cover price, if you buy it in paperback.
My score on a scale of one to ten: 6