By Any Other Name

Here is a collection of short stories by Spider Robinson that have nothing to do with Callahan's Saloon. This is the second of his short story collections without the Irishman's bar. And is as good as the first. Where the first short story book, User Friendly, gave the reader the warm fuzzies wrapped around great SF stories, this book puts the reader on a roller coaster of emotions. From the depressing to the thoughtful, from the punny to the erotic, By Any Other Name, is a book to read. A word of warning, from me, and somewhat from Mr. Robinson, the stories are mixed in a way that there is generally one happy story, then one depressing one. Read a depressing one, then a happy one. You'll end up liking yourself better!

Spider Robinson is one of the Great Ones. He's Part Heinlein, part McCaffrey, part Brin (from his early days when he had hope), and part something undefinable yet incredibly special. I don't like short stories (I usually end up feeling gipped), I get emotionally vested in the characters and then the story is over. These stories are worth it. Despite the disimilar settings each story is really about people and relationships, and the darkest story still has a ray of hope. I've been recomending Spider Robinson's stories to people since 1989, so far every person I've recommended him to has fallen in love with his characters.