Callahan's Crosstime Saloon
by Spider Robinson · first published 1977
83% recommend17% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Light, humorous short stories set in a time-travel bar, where patrons from different timelines share drinks and trouble. Its warmth makes it a fit for science fiction fans who want heart.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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Mentions per year
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Lot's of my favorites already listed Some more good ones: Ilium/Olympos - Dan Simmons Centuries - A. A. Attanasio Callahan's Crosstime Saloon - Spider Robinson Signal to Noise - Eric Nylund
on “What are your favourite sci-fi books?” ↗Callahan's Crosstime Saloon. "Shared pain is lessened, shared joy increased." It's really that simple, folks.
on “Ask HN: Which non-technology book has influenced you the most and why?” ↗I vaguely remember The Gods Themselves by Asimov being a strong contender here, but it's been decades since I read it. Spider Robinson's "Callahan's Crosstime Saloon" series had a story towards the end that blew my tiny little teenaged mind back in the 90's. Octavia Butler, of course. Xenogenesis.
on “Sci-fi books that you may never have heard of, but definitely should read” ↗I disagree. Legend Entertainment managed to make some great "text & graphics" adventure games: Companions of Xanth, Deathgate, Shannara, and Callahan's Crosstime Saloon spring to mind. Perhaps it helped that they were all based on novels.
on “The Death of Adventure Games” ↗Yes, it’s ”The time traveler”, first published in Analog, April 1974. Reprinted in the collection “Callahan’s Crosstime Saloon”, and in the meta-collection “The Callahan Chronicals”. Is shows how much cultural shift can take place in a decade: the protagonist is taken prisoner in 1963 and returns to a changed society in 1973.…
on “Out of prison after 30 years and people telling him to find forms on the web” ↗I remember that one of Spider Robinson's Callahan's crosstime saloon stories (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callahan%27s_Crosstime_Saloon) had a similar situation with a guy getting back from being a prisoner of war or in prison in solitary for a couple of decades and…
on “Out of prison after 30 years and people telling him to find forms on the web” ↗